Hello!
First of all, I’d like to thank Holly for giving me this opportunity to interact with her readers.
I’m Apeksha Rao, a YA author from India, and I’m here to talk to you about my debut novel, Along Came A Spyder.
Guys, if I had a penny for the number of times I’ve been told to “show, not tell”, I’d be zipping around the world in my own private jet. Only in non-COVID times, though, since India is still in lockdown.
So, in the interests of “show, not tell,” I’d like you to meet a kick ass group of teenagers from Mumbai – The Spyders.
These girls are juvenile covert operatives, which is just fancy-speak for teen spies!
Along Came A Spyder is a book about a seventeen year old girl, Samira Joshi, who wants to be a spy.
When she accidentally discovers a secret sisterhood of teen spies, she wants in! The question is, do they want her?
The answer to that lies within the pages of my book, Along Came A Spyder.
For updates on the release date, do check out my book page.
Contrary to popular belief, I. Am. Not. A. Spy.
Because, simply writing about spies does not a spy make. I should know.
I spent most of my teen years convinced that I was deep undercover for R&AW, India’s foreign intelligence agency.
I waited and waited for my handler to find me, until I made peace with the fact that my level of klutziness did not recommend itself to espionage.
Meh.
I decided to do something even cooler than being a spy. I decided to create my own spies.
I just didn’t plan on writing about them, because I wanted to be a doctor.
Well, I grew up and became a homœopath, set up my practice, and like the adult that I was supposed to be, put away my writing dreams.
Until… I gave birth to twins.
Motherhood gave me the courage to start writing again, because if I didn’t follow my dreams, how could I teach my kids to follow theirs?
I knew that if I ever wrote a book, it had be about spies. I’d been researching that topic for years, after all.
Hey, reading spy novels totally counts as research!
My obsession for teenage spies has led me from tiny pieces of flash fiction to a full novel, the first in a series of four books, and I hope to write a lot more in the same line.
In my next post, I will give you a peek into the world of The Spyders.
Stay tuned!
Yes, I agree reading about spies totally counts as research. It was nice meeting the Spyders, Apeksha. Now I have to find out more about them.
Thank you for sharing, Holly!
You’re my kind of girl! I too wanted to be a spy and even now harbour hopes of being asked questions by the cops that would lead to the solving of an International mystery.
Can’t wait to meet your Spyders . And yes motherhood does strange things to your brain .
I enjoyed your flash fiction and am really looking forward to reading the book.
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Waiting eagerly for the Spyders. Feel like a fly with the Spyders inviting me to their parlor.
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Yes!