A Valentine’s Day Defense of ‘May I Meet You?’”
Perhaps you’ve heard the dire forecasts about romance these days. Gen Z is dating less, swiping more, and sounding exhausted by the whole enterprise. Headlines warn of a “sex recession,” a phrase that manages to be both alarmist and deeply unromantic. Apparently, young people are lonely, birthrates are falling, and something—someone—must be done. Enter Bill […]
When Love Becomes Care: Notes from the Sandwich Generation
I have a long-running group chat with my four closest childhood friends—the women who’ve known me through awkward haircuts (the infamous ’80s perm), ill-advised bravado (challenging my brother to a table-tennis match; my right thumb has never recovered), and and every milestone that truly mattered, including finishing the first draft of my first novel: 85,000 […]
Planning for Joy (Instead of Failing at Resolutions)
I’m not immune to the seduction of resolutions—especially the earnest, well-meaning, health-adjacent ones that arrive every January like a relative who insists this time will be different. For a good twenty-five Januarys, I promised myself 10,000 steps a day. And for twenty-five Januarys, I failed. Spectacularly. Usually by Day Three. I would start strong—laps around […]
Strategies for In-Law Season
I’m traveling to Los Angeles for the holidays to visit my sister-in-law and her husband, and I’m genuinely looking forward to it. We have one of those easy relationships—full of affection, shared jokes about our kids, the comfort of not having to perform. It’s not something I take for granted. In our culture, that counts […]
Welcome To Delhi: Where Nothing Moves Fast Except My Heart
The moment the plane’s wheels kiss the tarmac at Indira Gandhi International Airport, I know I’m back. There’s something about that first breath of Delhi air—a blend of dampness, Vim floor cleaner, and human sweat—that no fragrance company could ever bottle. It’s unmistakable. It’s India. Inside the terminal, I wave off the men who approach […]
Happy Diwali from Across the Diaspora
Growing up in India, Diwali wasn’t a day—it was a season. Weeks before the festival, our home buzzed with anticipation. My mother would polish the silver diyas until they gleamed like tiny moons, while my father hung strings of marigolds across the entryway, their citrus scent announcing that celebration was near. The kitchen became a […]
My 4-Day Copenhagen Caper
CRAFT CORNER FICTION TIP FOR EMERGING WRITERS: Stop worrying about writing a great novel—focus on writing an honest one. Don’t chase brilliance in your first draft; chase authentic emotion. Let your characters speak the way real people do. Let them make mistakes, contradict themselves, and stumble. Truth in fiction doesn’t come from perfect prose—it […]
Winding down the Blog
Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone. —Billy Cox
My dear subscribers, readers, and supporters,
I wanted to let you know that I\’m back to college again, pursuing a Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing, while finishing up the fourth round of edits on my third novel, NO ORDINARY THURSDAY, which releases in August 2022. While I am honored to be the recipient of the Alumni Scholarship and the Advisory Board Grant for 2021-2023, the heavy workload means I cannot continue writing blog posts anymore.
9/11 and its impact on Minorities
On a wet and windy day, during her junior year at high school as Najma Khan was holed up in the library, a photo flashed on her phone.
It showed a beheading by Islamic State militants along with a caption in red letters: “Go back to your own country.” Najma reported the incident but the school never tracked down the person who sent it.
It was not the first time she had been the focus of hatred, the 19-year-old who is my niece’s best friend said, with unshed tears at the corners of her eyes as she narrated similar incidents, sitting next to her parents in their Santa Monica home. I noticed that a copy of the Quran was prominently displayed on a bookstand on the mantelpiece.
A Vaccine or My Family: Children of anti-vaxers caught in the Middle
When she went to get her first dose of the vaccine, Anya, 27, told her parents she was going to get her Friday fix of samosas and rasmalai from Bharat Bazaar, the local Indian store. Her parents (family friends of mine) whom she was staying with, in Yuba City—while working remotely —believe that Covid 19 vaccines are “manufactured by the deep state” and that “when 5G gets turned on, it will kill everyone.”
“When they found out I was even thinking about getting it, they cried and legitimately thought I’d be dead in three years,” said Anya. So Anya decided to get the shot in secret. “I almost got caught,” she recalls. Getting the shot took quite some time and adding on the time to get groceries made my trip “seem extremely long.”