A current resident of California, USA, Aarti was born and brought up in Mumbai, India. Aarti has Master of Arts degree in Psychology as well as in Business Administration and also a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science.
Working as a technical professional in the IT sector for over 15 years didn’t curb her enthusiasm to continue exploring art. Aarti feels fortunate and blessed to be able to balance her creative right vs her analytical left. Being passionate about all forms of arts, Aarti has played lead actress role in a lyrical music video in Mumbai, as well as performed in theatre in the bay area.
A foodie at heart, she has cooked with celebrities like Sanjeev Kapoor and won cooking competitions in the bay area. She does her best writing in the comfort of her cozy Californian home but her writing journey began at her alma mater in the form of short stories and poems. You can learn more about her at her website www.iamaarti.com
TBE: Tell us about your book, can you share with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?
Aarti: My book “The Housewife”, is focused on two strong female leads- Ava who is the housewife and her best friend forever Jennifer. Ava and Jennifer both find themselves thrown off balance from their otherwise routine and serene family lives when they meet an old friend after many years. The foundation of friendship rests on love, trust, and mutual respect but what happens when secrets start thriving?
It’s simply impossible not to think of what will happen next especially when Ava wakes up in a pool of blood of her good friend. Trust breaks, secret finds its centerstage and friendship is put to test. A lot happens that will hold you to the pages till the end. I can promise you it is one of the greatest stories ever told before of true friendship.
TBE: From where did you draw inspiration for your story and the characters in The Housewife?
Aarti: The characters are so real that they bring alive your own life experiences. Many moments from the story, you will instantly identify with and relate to! Though my characters are fictional, they are inspired from real life situations which can arise in any of our lives. Situations that force us to doubt the choices we make, sometimes even our own capabilities!
One thing that majority of people would agree is that we should continue to believe in ourselves. As humans, we tend to do the best that we can to take care of our own life and of that of our near and dear ones. I have tried to capture in my characters the real nature of humans and the typical actions and reactions that real life people would probably undertake to address real life situations.
TBE: In The Housewife, the reader immediately knows something horrible has happened, but it takes until the end of the book to find out exactly what it is. How did that affect your writing process? Did you write the book in the order the events happened, or in the order of the text?
Aarti: That is a very interesting observation. In fact, this I believe has been my biggest accomplishment as an author. Looking at the complexity of life of Ava and the hardships that she had to go through in her life, l was determined to focus on each part of her life journey to give justice to the events. I actually had a mixed combination of writing- the initial part was written in order of the text, but as the mystery got more intriguing, I rewrote some part to follow the actual order of events.
TBE: The women in this book are keeping some pretty big secrets. Sometimes those secrets can cement a friendship and other times they destroy it—can you talk a little bit about the power of secrets?
Aarti: As you rightly pointed out, there is a massive power of secrets. As a post-graduate in psychology, to understand the human mind one cannot ignore secrets that the human mind holds deep in itself. No psychological study can be complete without understanding the role that secrets play. As its said, the best stories have a lot of secrets and all of them are not necessarily revealed by the writer. I merely tried to capture the right ones to power the story of Ava and Jennifer.
TBE: The bonds between women is a big theme of the book. What inspired you to explore this theme?
Aarti: I have been fortunate from my early days to live with and follow extremely strong women in my life: my mother who is a doctor, my mother-in-law who is a farmer, my sister and my sister-in-law who are leading successful professionals in their respective fields and my daughter who is working towards becoming an exemplary lawyer. All these women have taught me one basic truth of life that is “each one of us is enough”! Enough to be happy, enough to be successful! We don’t need anybody or anything to make us complete. As women we are complete in ourselves and only need to believe in ourselves!
TBE: How would you sum up the journey that the characters go through in The Housewife?
Aarti: The two main leads who are both women have a roller coaster life with incidents that come as shock and surprise but by supporting each other and not pulling each other down, they both emerge to be stronger and more resilient.
TBE: Do you read much and if so, who are your favorite authors?
Aarti: Reading is one of the most devoured activity in our family for generations. It’s like the baton of life that is passed from my grandparents to my parents to my generation and now to my children.
TBE: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Aarti: I hold a Master of Arts degree in Psychology, Master of Business Administration in Marketing and also an Engineering degree in Computer Science. I have always worked as a technical professional in the IT sector for over 15 years now. So, exploring my creative side could sound surprising to many and I feel fortunate to be able to balance my artistic and analytical side. And a lot of credit goes to my family who has always been supportive.
Cherishing my passion for arts, I played lead actress role in a lyrical music video in Mumbai, India; as well as performed in theatre in the bay area. I have cooked with celebrities like Sanjeev Kapoor on his tv channel and continue enjoying cooking different kinds of world cuisines. Being born and brought up in Mumbai, I am a true fan of Bollywood and enjoy watching Hindi movies from all genre though as you may have guesses, suspense, murder mystery, thrillers are my favorites.
TBE: In your opinion, what is the most important thing about any book?
Aarti: If a book makes me think out-of-the-box, holds me on the edge of my seat, either to be shocked or surprised or brings even a slight smile on my face, it is a winner for me!
TBE: What was one of the most surprising things you learned during creation of your book?
Aarti: As Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge”. As I went through my writing journey, I was surprised to know the true potential imagination holds. I still feel there is a lot that I have not yet squeezed out of myself.
TBE: Is there anything you are currently working on that may intrigue the interest of your readers?
Aarti: Yes. The sequel of “The Housewife” is underway and should be coming out next, packed with more mystery and more surprises. Not to reveal much, my readers be prepared to be mesmerized by the characters of my story once again, in ways you would have not imagined!!! Until then, hope you continue to enjoy “The Housewife”.
