The Henna Artist(98)

For inspiration, I read authors whose works recall an India of times past and present: Kamala Markandaya, Ruth Prawer Jhabwala, R. K. Narayan, Anita Desai, V. S. Naipaul, Rohintin Mistry, Amitav Ghosh, Manil Suri, Chitra Banerjee Divakurani, Thrity Umrigar, Shobha Rao, Akhil Sharma and Madhuri Vijay. I also read brilliant postcolonial works by authors such as Jamaica Kincaid, Chinua Achebe, Khaled Hosseini, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Edwidge Danticat.

Finally—and always—I thank my husband, Bradley Jay Owens, who told me I married a writer because I secretly wanted to be one. If he hadn’t given me that encouragement in 1997, I might never have taken a writing workshop, never earned my MFA, never had the chance to immortalize my mother in the way she deserved. You have my heart, love.

I love hearing from readers, so if you’d like to get in touch, you’ll find me at www.thehennaartist.com or visit me on Facebook (alkajoshi2019) and Instagram (@thealkajoshi).