{Blog Tour} The Taste of Ginger by Mansi Shah – Author Q&A!

I love my title and felt like I had struck gold when it came to me early in my writing process! I knew I wanted something that was multi-layered, and that was woven into the story in a fun way for readers, so I feel like I accomplished that and don’t want to give up too much about how it came to be for anyone who hasn’t read the book yet! 😉 When I got my book deal, I had been warned by many people that the publisher will change the title, and I was so wedded to The Taste of Ginger by then, but I told myself I would be open when new options were presented. Lucky for me, my publisher loved the title and they never even suggested anything else! The same thing happened with my second novel, so I’m excited to reveal that title and cover soon…

Can you introduce us to your main character, Preeti Desai?

Preeti is a 30-year-old lawyer in Los Angeles who is trying to find her way home. She is on the outs with her parents after they wouldn’t accept the Christian American carnivore she fell in love with, and then the relationship she gave up her family for also falls away. She’s left floundering and is forced to return to the city of her birth in India and face the people, culture, and memories that she had spent most of her life running from.

Does being an avid traveller influence your writing?

YES!!! I am an avid traveller and have travelled to over 70 countries thus far. My goal is to take readers around the world with my characters and allow them to escape to a new place through my pages. My books are always going to cross borders and cultures, and I’m currently in the process of trying to figure out where we should go in my third book!

70 countries is incredible! What are some of the themes in The Taste of Ginger and what drew you to writing them?

This book was very personal to me, because I wanted to write something that authentically represented an immigrant experience that I had not yet seen in books. I wanted to explore the universal themes like mother-daughter relationships, the search for one’s identity and a place of belonging, and what home truly means, while also having an honest discussion about the cost of assimilation to one’s identity and the generational dynamics within a family.

Favourite vs least favourite part of the writing process?

I love so many aspects of the writing process because I’m just so grateful to be here after a decade-long journey to get a book deal!! Developing the initial story and focusing in on the issues I want to tackle in a particular book is always fun. I love editing too. I’m ruthless when it comes to cutting my own words , but I love making the book as clear and concise as I can.

My least favorite part is probably less about writing, and is more about trying to balance social media. I love interacting with other authors and readers on social media, but doing my own book promotion is so unnatural to me and I’d much rather promote other people’s amazing books!

And lastly! What are some of the best author moments you’ve had so far?

There are so many, but one of the top ones is getting the Booklist review that said my novel was “reminiscent of Jhumpa Lahiri.” Being thought of in the same sentence as the first Indian author I had ever read (and the winner of a Pulitzer!!) was surreal!! The others are really the touching messages I’ve gotten from readers via social media or email who have really connected with the book in exactly the way I had hoped. Seeing that there are over 8,000 reviews of the book less than 3 months from launch is beyond my wildest dreams! I also fell in love with the cover and am so grateful to the talented cover designer who put that together because I would never have thought of that myself!