Author Learning Center: Ask the Author: Ten Questions with Bestselling Author Sejal Badani

A former attorney, Sejal Badani is the author of the bestselling novel and Goodreads Fiction Award finalist Trail of Broken Wings. When not writing, Sejal enjoys reading and traveling.

ALC: Tell us about your writing process, how you set goals, and the amount of time you spend writing vs reading each week.

SB: Once the story idea – usually just a concept - comes to me, I spend a few weeks fleshing it out and outlining. I will read books in the same genre to get my imagination flowing. Once I have a concrete outline I will reach out to my freelance editor and see when she is available to review a first draft. That deadline helps keep me focused and on track. From there I am at my desk from morning until dinnertime. Though I’m not always successful, I try to read about two to three books a month.

Bookroo: 22 of the Best Book Quotes from Sejal Badani

1| ″You should be with someone who can make you happy.’ My heart breaks as I set him free. With all the love I have ever felt for him, I whisper, ‘You deserve that.” - The Storyteller’s Secret

2| “With humility may I reap my own power, and at the end of the journey, I hope I learn when to stand small so others can feel tall.” - The Storyteller’s Secret

3| ″It was sobering to learn of a woman one generation removed who lived a life I can’t imagine or understand.” - The Storyteller’s Secret

Olio By Marilyn: Interview with Sejal Badani, Author of The Storyteller's Secret: A Novel

By: Marilyn Wilson

Can you share a bit about your journey to becoming a writer/published author? Looking back can you remember any instances growing up that hinted you would put pen to paper?

I knew around the age of six that I wanted to be a writer. I wrote screenplays, short stories, monologues for plays and novels. I became a ABC/Disney Fellowship finalist and a few years later, “Trail of Broken Wings” was published. Reading was my escape and a source of salvation. I would read three to four full length novels a week as a child and from there I would start creating stories in my head.

Sincerely Stacie: Book Review: The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani

By: Stacie Gorkow

After suffering from her third miscarriage, Jaya realizes her heart is empty and her marriage is likely over. When her own mother refuses to return to India at the request of her dying father, Jaya wonders if this is the escape she needs. Jaya decides to go and see what is keeping her mother from going back home and maybe by connecting with her heritage she will fill the hole in her heart.

Badani, the best-selling author of TRAIL OF BROKEN WINGS, dives readers deep into the culture of India, but not in the big cities of India. Instead, we visit small villages where the customs and traditions are vital to how individuals are treated and their status is viewed. The caste system decided who could work, who could speak to whom, and who could go to school. Arranged marriages and dowries were also the norm for Jaya’s grandma, Amisha. Her story is the missing piece to the puzzle of why Jaya’s mother has been so distant and unforgiving her whole life. Jaya has no idea the story that will unfold and the impact it will have on her future.

New York Journal of Books Review: The Storyteller's Secret

Reviewed by: Cynthia A. Graham

“The Storyteller’s Secret is a lavishly told tale of secrets, love, and loyalty. It is a celebration of the beauty of story and its ability to help us be heard and understood.”

Jaya, a journalist in New York, is desperate for closeness and connection. Growing up as the only child of Indian immigrants, she has never been able to bridge the distance between her mother and herself and desperately longs for a child of her own. Her world begins to unravel after her third miscarriage, and she and her husband separate, neither of them able to deal with their grief. She decides to visit her parents and, while there, learns that her grandfather in India is dying and wishes to give Jaya’s mother a gift.

Coffee With a Canine: Sejal Badani & Skyler

By: @ZeringueMarshal

Who is in the photo at right?
My Teacup Morkie, Skyler. She's nearly 7 years old and the baby of the house.

What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine?
Skyler sits at my feet while I write, so naturally when I head out she assumes we're in it together.

What's brewing?
Venti Decaf Soy Cappuccino. I live on them.

Any treats for you or Skyler on this occasion?
I always take a treat with me for Skyler. She has a sensitive stomach so anything random that goes in I'm paying for later.

How were you and Skyler united?
She is really my daughter's dog but we're keeping it between Skyler and me that her loyalties have shifted.

Female First: 7 things I'd like my readers to know about me, by Sejal Badani

Formerly working as an attorney, Sejal Badani left the profession to pursue writing full-time, and what a great decision she made! With her new book The Storyteller's Secret on the horizon, we got Sejal to open up a little about herself, and share 7 things she'd like her readers to know about her.

1. At the age of six I told my sister, who is also my best friend, that I wanted to be an author and win an Oscar. She nodded her head vigorously and told me I could do it and that she believed in me. Five seconds later she asked me what an Oscar was. She’s still my biggest fan and reads every draft of everything I write. Any wonder why she’s my best friend?

BookRiot: 21 of Your Favorite Books about Indian Americans

By: Maria Cristina Garcia Lynch

This Riot Recommendation for favorite books about Indian Americans is sponsored by Flatiron Books and If You See Me Don’t Say Hi by Neel Patel.

A Vanity Fair Ultimate Fiction Pick for summer and a bookseller favorite, If You See Me Don’t Say Hi is a modern story collection that Behold the Dreamers author Imbolo Mbue calls “a joy to read, reminiscent of Jhumpa Lahiri and David Ebershoff.”

Read it Forward: 26 Authors on the Books They’re Giving Kids This Holiday

By Guinevere de la Mare

A shared love of books is a bond that transcends time and spans generations. Reading books as a child is a powerfully formative experience. So many of our early memories are shaped by the stories we read and by the characters who enter our hearts. Giving a beloved book to a child of any age, even adult children, is a reflection of the hopes and dreams we have for our offspring. We hope that they will enjoy the book as much as we did, and that they will grow into the kind of people with whom we share the unique kinship that comes from loving the same books. Here, 25 authors share the books that they will be giving the children (and a few adults!) in their lives this year for Jólabókaflóð.

15 Feminist Novels that Need to be TV shoes, Because Season 2 of "Handmaid's Tale" Cant Come Fast Enough

By Kristian Wilson

With The Handmaid's Tale on everyone's radar, now seems like a good time to start talking about the other great, feminist novels that should be on TV. There's always room for one more good story on TV, and both streaming services and premium channels have picked up on the bankability of bringing great books to the small screen.