Sonali Dev - Author & Character Interview

Today I’m excited to share something a little bit different than what I usually post. Continue to scroll on, not only to find an interview with the author and a link to enter the rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win a book but also, drumroll please… a character interview! This is the first time I’ve ever done an interview of this nature, so it was new to me. I’m excited to share both interviews with you here.

A Change of Heart by Sonali Dev

Published: September 27, 2016

Book Details:

Dr. Nikhil ‘Nic’ Joshi had it all—marriage, career, purpose. Until, while working for Doctors Without Borders in a Mumbai slum, his wife, Jen, discovered a black market organ transplant ring. Before she could expose the truth, Jen was killed.

Two years after the tragedy, Nic is a cruise ship doctor who spends his days treating seasickness and sunburn and his nights in a boozy haze. On one of those blurry evenings on deck, Nic meets a woman who makes a startling claim: she received Jen’s heart in a transplant and has a message for him. Nic wants to discount Jess Koirala’s story as absurd, but there’s something about her reckless desperation that resonates despite his doubts.

Jess has spent years working her way out of a nightmarish life in Calcutta and into a respectable Bollywood dance troupe. Now she faces losing the one thing that matters—her young son, Joy. She needs to uncover the secrets Jen risked everything for; but the unforeseen bond that results between her and Nic is both a lifeline and a perilous complication.

Delving beyond the surface of modern Indian-American life, acclaimed author Sonali Dev’s page-turning novel is both riveting and emotionally rewarding—an extraordinary story of human connection, bravery, and hope.

Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About the Author – Sonali Dev

Author Links: Website |Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter | Book Trailer

Author Bio

Award winning author, Sonali Dev, writes Bollywood-style love stories that let her explore issues faced by women around the world while still indulging her faith in a happily ever after.

Sonali’s novels have been on Library Journal, NPR, Washington Post and Kirkus Best Books lists. She won the American Library Association’s award for best romance in 2014, is a RITA Finalist, RT Reviewer Choice Award Nominee, and winner of the RT Seal of Excellence. Sonali lives in the Chicago suburbs with her very patient and often amused husband and two teens who demand both patience and humor, and the world’s most perfect dog. Find out more at sonalidev.com.

Interview with the Author – Sonali Dev

1. What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

I love everything about it. The fact that my characters feel like real people and I get to live in their world. The fact that I can explore ideas and live inside the heads of characters who think like me but also those who don’t. The fact that I can find ways to overcome anything, do everything I’ve ever wanted to, be anyone.

2. Did you always want to be a writer?

Yes. I remember writing before I remember reading. I used to make up little rhyming couplets about everything when I was very little. Once I grew up, I wasn’t sure I could make a living as a writer though, so I got a degree in architecture. But I couldn’t make it work, the need to write was always too strong.

3. What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?

You have a lot to say, don’t ever stop saying it

4. What are the things you can’t live without in your kitchen?

My big anodized stir fry wok and my ginger grater for my chai

5. What are the things you can’t live without in your wardrobe?

Yoga pants and halter bras

6. What are the things you can’t live without in your makeup bag?

Kohl eyeliner

7. What would we find if we looked in your handbag right now?

A mess and no cash

8. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Read, cook, dance, watch movies and plays

9. A few of your favorites

Animal– Giraffe (those eyelashes!)

Season– Monsoon (I’m a Mumbai girl)

Scent– Lavender

Color– Turquoise

Food– Yes

Curse Word– Asswipe

Dogs or cats?– Dogs

Red or white wine?– The redder the better

Coffee or tea? Tea- (and I like it like I like my men, strong, hot and Indian)

Summer or Winter? Summer (do people ever actually pick winter?)

Sleep in or get up early? I’m one of those super annoying morning people, who runs out of steam by 7 pm

Apple or PC? Recent Apple convert. And yes, I got the zeal to show for it.

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Character Interview with Dr. Nikhil ‘Nic’ Joshi

1. I’m sorry to hear about your late wife. Can you tell me a bit about her previous work with Doctors Without Borders and what drew her to that work? Did you also work for Doctors Without Borders, or were you a doctor elsewhere?

Just as I was finishing my residency at the University of Michigan I attended a lecture by this doctor who ran a clinic in this completely remote part of India in the foothills of the Himalayas. I was moved and fascinated by the work she was doing and responded to her call to spend a few months at the clinic. I ended up working there for several years and met Jen there. I later followed her to the MSF. Truth be told I would have followed her to the ends of the earth.

2. It’s been two years since your wife Jen passed. Has it gotten any easier or do you still miss her terribly?

Losing someone you love is like losing a limb or living with an incurable disease. You are always aware of the missing part but you learn to go on around it. Jen would have wanted me to go on living, to go on using my life. I’d forgotten that for a while, but she found a way to make sure I remembered it again.

3. If you could tell Jen one last thing, what would it be?

That I’m sorry I was angry and didn’t understand why you did what you did. I do now, and I’m so proud of you for it.

4. I learned that you’re a cruise ship doctor. That sounds like a fun job. Can you tell me how you got that position and how long you’ve been in that role?

After Jen died I had a hard time leaving our flat in Mumbai, and continuing to live there would have killed me. I couldn’t go home to Chicago and I couldn’t go back on mission. Our friend Omar who owns the cruise line came to see me, and when he offered me a job on The Oasis, where the worst ailments I’d have to treat were sunburn and upset stomachs, it seemed like the only bearable option. Once I was there I didn’t step off the ship for close to two years.

5. What’s your favorite thing about working on a ship?

The fact that everyone there is transitional. There are no relationships to be built. All I wanted was to be left alone.

6. What’s your normal cruise schedule like? Do you ever get a day off or vacation time to enjoy the places the ship travels to?

I work ten hour shifts. Most days are slow. Initially Omar tried to force me to take some time off or to get off the ship at ports. But I had no interest in either and he gave up.

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Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway: Click the link to enter the giveaway here

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