If there’s no one to read them, do my words truly exist?
This angst-laden question is posed by the narrator of my latest short story Markets of the Otherworld now live at Uncanny Magazine. But it could be mine – in the spirit of the famous question “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Continue reading
Hello, hello. It’s been a while since I posted. Some quick writerly news first. Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove is getting both a Russian and a Spanish translation. I’m delighted, because I’m a firm believer in cross cultural pollination. The more translations that exist, the more bridges people can choose to walk across and meet each other. Continue reading
It’s October, my book release month! I received the finished copies of FLOWER AND THORN and they’re just gorgeous. The book is out on 17th October, but I’ll be doing a launch in-person at my favorite local bookstore Bakka Phoenix Books on 21 October at 3 pm. Link to event page is here. If you’re in the GTA and enjoy reading fantasy, I hope to see you! The first chapter is free to read if you want to try it out. If you can’t make it and want a signed copy, you can pre-order from the store and they will ship it to you. Make sure you let them know you want it signed. Continue reading
Do you ever think about the sun signs of the characters in the books you read or the shows you watch? I do, and I always know my main characters’ sun signs when I write them. Not to be superstitious, but it’s a fun exercise, and one way to develop characters on the page. If you’ve read my books and are curious, here are the sun signs of all the major characters! Continue reading
Hello! Hope everyone is having a great summer. I just received my ARCs (advance reader copies) of Flower and Thorn. Isn’t it pretty? To celebrate, I’m doing an international giveaway for one signed copy! The giveaway ends on 31 July. I will pick a winner at random and announce on 1 August. Details here. All you need is an Instagram account. Continue reading
Delighted to share that Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove is a 2023 Aurora Award nominee for Best Young Adult Novel! You can view the entire ballot here. The Aurora Awards are Canada’s annual English-language Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards and I am so thrilled my medieval Indian fantasy is a finalist. Continue reading
It’s April and Spring is in the air! Despite falling to -7C two days ago, lol. That’s Toronto for you. But the birds are back! Spotted in the last week during my daily walk: starlings, robins, red-winged blackbirds, dark-eyed juncos, grackles, red cardinals, swallows, house finches, and geese. I love this time of year. Continue reading
Story days are happy days! I am delighted to share my latest publication, a short story about food, death, the afterlife, and one very special frog: Amma’s Kitchen in The Deadlands, Issue 22. I love the fiction and poetry published by this magazine and am so happy to have placed my work there. I can’t think of a better home for this story, which is my very own take on the folkloric ferryman/woman who ferries souls in the afterlife. The story is free to read online. Continue reading
Now that the cover for my next YA Fantasy book Flower and Thorn has been revealed, and we have a firm date for publication (17 October 2023), I wanted to talk a little bit about the historical background of the book. It is set in an alternate sixteenth century India near the beginning of European colonization of the Indian subcontinent. While it is a fantasy, and all characters and settings are used fictitiously, it is the most ‘historical’ book I’ve written and I wanted to give some background to interested readers. Buckle up, this is a long ride. Continue reading
I am thrilled to share the beautiful cover of Flower and Thorn – my second YA fantasy novel! It will be released on 17 October 2023 from Wednesday Books. This is also a medieval Indian fantasy, like my previous book Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove, but is set in a different world. It is the most ‘historical’ book I’ve written. It is set in the Gujarat Sultanate in the early sixteenth century, at the time of the Portuguese invasion. It was the beginning of European colonization of the subcontinent, and the time period was fascinating for me to research. Continue reading
Rati Mehrotra 