At our next Signature Series, the Fort Thomas Branch welcomes internationally bestselling author Alka Joshi. Fans will hear her talk about The Henna Artist, Six Days in Bombay, her nontraditional career path and more! CCPL book club members and Joshi fans alike will be especially excited for this Signature Series. Stick around after the presentation for a book signing with Joshi. Roebling Books will be onsite with Joshi novels for purchase.
Event Details
When: 7 pm Friday, Nov. 7
Where: Fort Thomas Branch (1000 Highland Ave.)
Joshi has broken many norms in her life, and one of them is becoming an internationally acclaimed bestselling author after publishing her first novel at 62. Her debut novel, The Henna Artist, was included on The New York Times and LA Times bestseller list and is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, along with many other accomplishments.
After the success of her first novel, Joshi made it her mission to tell her story across the world at festivals, conferences, book clubs and libraries. You will not want to miss the opportunity to meet Joshi as she visits the Fort Thomas Branch to discuss her work.
To learn more about her story and her books, we sat down for an interview with Joshi.
In what ways has writing fulfilled your desire to learn?
Joshi: I think we writers are nerds! We spend all our time reading instead of socializing. I was a shy person as a kid, so I started observing people to see what they were saying, how they were reacting and what they did in general, both verbally and nonverbally. I also ask people a lot of questions to understand them better, and I’ve found that people want to talk about themselves to help you understand, especially when they’re talking to a writer. They want to help you understand your characters better. It really helped me write well, because I think that you have to be a good observer of people to be a good writer. I’ve never had writer’s block because all of my observations just easily come out on paper.
To be honest, the painter whom Mira was based on in Six Days in Bombay was a narcissist. What I wanted Sona to find out is that even though we may look at people initially and put them on a pedestal because we think that they’re all that, there are layers to them that we aren’t aware of. There are layers that expose their vulnerabilities, their weaknesses, their betrayals, their sorrows. I think that people are all everything: we’re all good, all bad, all selfish, all unselfish, all sad and all joyful. Our characters, I think, should be all of those things, too. It makes them more meaningful.
You are open about how long it took you to write your debut novel, The Henna Artist. How was the writing process for your fourth book, Six Days in Bombay, different?
Joshi: The biggest difference between the two books is that Six Days in Bombay takes place in the 1930s, whereas The Henna Artist takes place in the 1950s. For The Henna Artist, I found people who had been old enough during that time period to tell me what life was like, but I couldn’t do the same for Six Days in Bombay. So, I had to rely more on outside sources like archivists, academicians and art historians.
I went to Europe a few years ago and spent six weeks there to fully immerse myself in the places I was writing about. I wanted to give each place I went to some breathing room so that I could think about the things I was learning from various people. I wanted to meet all of them in person instead of over Zoom so it could be more personable and not have a time constraint to it. In person, you can meet the experts at a café and get coffee with them. They can also walk you through the districts that you’re writing about and give you information on them along the way. They can show you the same route and sights that your protagonist would take and see in your book to give you more familiarity. So, that was definitely different.
Unless I spend time in each of the cities I write about, I’m not able to explain them fully. I pick up interesting details about them while I’m there that I make notes to put into my book!
There was a professor at Stanford whom I was referred to because I wanted to learn more about the role of Black women in Paris in the 1930s. She informed me of the Nardal Sisters, who were very sophisticated and educated women. In Paris, they opened up literary salons for artists, and I thought, “This is fascinating!” Men and women are both amazing, but I don’t want women to get sidelined, so when I find a remarkable woman in history, I have to call her out. So I thought, “I have to find a way to work this into the novel.”
You are very open and interested in participating in book clubs and other speaking opportunities around the country. Why is it important for you to participate in activities such as these?
Joshi: For one, my debut novel was released in March of 2020, one day before the pandemic was announced. So, for me, hooking up with book clubs online and through social media was the only way I could connect with people to talk about my book. I wasn’t able to do book signings or talk to people in person about it, and I’ve been surprised by how much it has snowballed. I think we were all looking for a connection at that time, feeling isolated and lonely.
Zoom became popular, and we could get together and do book clubs. At one point, I was doing three to four book clubs every day. I have a firm belief that when something seems as though it’s going to be negative, there’s going to be a very positive aspect about it that we just can’t see yet. For me, having to do these book clubs over Zoom and feel connected with others in that way was very positive.
Also, the beauty of book clubs is that I can interact with each member individually. Before I was an author, I would go to book signings and really want that connection with the author I was seeing. When I was a kid, I was so shy and couldn’t talk to people, so I felt left out. Now, I just feel so comfortable talking to people, and I know they want all the same things I want: they want to be heard and feel cared about by the person they are currently spending time with.
When speaking at libraries, what do you want people to take away from your talk?
Joshi: One thing that I want them to take away is that their love for reading should be distributed to their family members. I especially want mothers to share this love of reading with their daughters. I saw a quote from an artist in the 1800s that said, “If women stopped reading, reading would cease to exist.” It’s true, women carry reading. Men typically only read books about war or biographies about famous men. Historically, men don’t read books written by women, but women read books by both men and women.
I also like to tell my library audiences that they should talk to their older family members to hear their stories. If they’re older, I tell them to tell their stories to their grandchildren. Once you’re gone, the stories you have are also gone unless you tell your grandchildren. I think granddaughters specifically will be particularly interested.
I’m trying to encourage my dad to write down his history because he’s so fascinating! He’s in his nineties and was born in a village in India. He came to the United States on a doctoral fellowship, worked in the private sector for a few years, became a professor and then started a program for civil engineering graduate students. I’m amazed that this guy went from nothing to something!
What are you reading right now?
Joshi: I’m reading The House of Doors by Tan Twang Eng. It’s a fictional account of Somerset Maugham’s life.
Is there anything else you want our patrons to know before you come to speak this November?
Joshi: I appreciate readers who are curious about worlds that they’re not familiar with. I honor them, and I acknowledge that it requires curiosity, empathy and intelligence to absorb a world that they’ve never encountered before.
I appreciate that, you know? That’s why I appreciate the audiences that come and see me. Not just that they read or listen to my book, but that they understand what I’m saying in my novels. India deserves so much more attention and acknowledgement than it has received for all the beauty and comfort that she has brought into this world. All of my novels focus on what India has contributed.
In The Perfumist of Paris, it’s about the spices and ingredients that go into the major fragrances of this world. I consider India the fragrance capital of the world. In The Henna Artist, it’s about the herbal remedies that maybe the West is just finding out about now, but has been a tradition there for thousands of years. The artisans in The Secret Keeper of Jaipur make the beautiful jewelry and arts and crafts that require so much dedication and handwork. In Six Days in Bombay, it’s artists such as Amrita Sher-Gil who I think the world deserves to know about.
Joshi is dedicated to her stories, to the people who help her write them and to the people who read them. She can’t wait to see you there, and neither can we!
Thank you to the Friends of the Campbell County Public Library for making Signature Series possible.
Friends of the Campbell County Public Library help by volunteering for a number of tasks from hosting library events to assisting staff with special projects. They seek to create public support for the library by keeping the community informed about library services.
