How do you go from teaching medicine to writing mystery novels?


Today I'm delighted to welcome author Vee Kumari to my blog, as she celebrates the release of Dharma, a Rekhaq Rao Mystery.

Vee grew up in India, has a doctorate in anatomy, worked at the Keck School of Medicine (where my son studied!), and... she's an actor as well as an author. Okay, interesting person. Welcome to my blog!

So, Vee, how does someone with a background in medicine end up writing a mystery series?

As a scientist, my fall back was reading fiction. When I retired, it gave me the time to try it.

Does your background feed into what you write? What do you think makes a good story?

A good story speaks about issues that are universal and poses challenges to all of us regardless of our differences.

So what inspired this story?

I watched an OPRAH/Dr. PHIL an episode about a family who ... well ...  It’s best to keep this under cover since this is one of the threads that’s revealed only towards the end!

Is that how story ideas usually come to you?

 I may hear something on the news or watch an episode of a TV show, or watch a movie, and my head gets filled with “What Ifs”. Some of these take life, others don’t. Right now, I have my second novel almost finished, and several premises written, based on these “What Ifs”.

Is there a message or theme in this novel?

Yes. My protagonist takes a chance at solving a crime and “grows up”. I love the relationship between her and her brother. My grandson who read the book says the brother is the comic relief. 

And finally, coming from a very non-fiction writing background, what was the most surprising thing for you in creating your books.

One of the most surprising things to me is that I could finish a 300-page book. I have always been persistent and devoted to fulfilling my responsibilities, but I doubted it would translate into finishing my first book. 

What kept you going?

Persistence. I gave up on it for months and months but always came back to it because I believed there was a good story in it to tell.

Thank you so much Vee. I really planned to read the novel before interviewing you, but life got in the way. However, I'm very much looking forward to reading and reviewing it soon. Meanwhile, good luck with the release. And thank you for visiting me here.


About the Author:

Vee Kumari grew up in India. She loved to read, and often used it to avoid her mother, who might want her to do a chore or two. It was her mother who directed her to use the dictionary to learn the meanings of new words and construct sentences with them. Vee wanted to become an English professor but went to medical school instead.

 Upon coming to the US, Vee obtained a doctorate in anatomy. She became a faculty member at the UC Davis Medical Center, where she worked for over 35 years, and later worked for the Keck School of Medicine for five years. Teaching neuroanatomy to medical students became her passion. She published many scientific papers and won several teaching awards.

 When she retired in 2012, she took classes from The Gotham Writers' Workshop and UCLA Writers Program. Dharma, A Rekha Rao Mystery is her debut fiction that incorporates her observations on the lives of Indian immigrants and Indian Americans in the US.

 Vee lives in Burbank and is also an actor who has appeared in TV shows, including Criminal Minds and Glow, and produced and was the lead in a short film, Halwa, which garnered the first prize in HBO's 2019 Asian Pacific American Visionaries (APAV) contest.

 She is at work on her next novel about an Indian immigrant family whose American dream shatters when one of their twin daughters goes missing.

 Where to find her: 

Facebook: @vijayakumari. Instagram:  @veewriteractorhuman, Twitter: @veekumari1


About the Book:

Rekha Rao, a thirty-something Indian American professor of art history, is disillusioned by academia and haunted by the murder of her father. She believes police convicted the wrong person, and moves away from her match-making family.

 She’s focused on managing her PTSD and healing her heart, broken by an abusive boyfriend. She gets entangled in a second murder, that of her mentor and father figure. The murder weapon, an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga, is left behind on the body. Detective Al Newton asks her to look into the relationship, if any, between the meaning of the statue and the motive for the murder.

 Rekha is attracted to Al but steers clear of him because of her distaste for cops and fear of a new relationship. The two constantly clash, starting a love-hate relationship. Meanwhile, her family sets her up to meet a suitor, an Indian attorney. When police arrest one of her students and accuse her mentor of idol theft, Rekha is left with no other choice but to look for the killer on her own.

 Despite admonitions from Al and bodily harm caused by an intruder, Rekha finds the killer, and in the process, emerges from the cocoon of a protected upbringing to taste the prospect of romance and discover her true identity.

 Praise for the book:

 “A polished, confident whodunit brimming with personality and the right amount of intrigue and mayhem.” – Kirkus Reviews

 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards M&M Mystery & Mayhem Award Semi-Finalist

 "A murder mystery set against an intriguing backdrop of Indian mysticism and archaeology makes this a very good pick. Dharma, A Rekha Rao Mystery may also provide some readers with a glimpse into the rich religious history of India's gods, rich mythology at least as rich to American readers as the more familiar Greco-Roman gods and goddesses. It's one of the hidden treats that makes this novel an enjoyable read for mystery lovers everywhere." - Chanticleer Reviews

Rating: 5/5 star

 “Dharma is a lively story about duty, discovery, and growth as much as it is a murder mystery steeped in Indian tradition, yet set in Los Angeles. It will please those seeking strong characterization that drives an underlying story of intrigue and revelation.”

- Midwest Book Review

WHERE TO FIND IT

https://www.amazon.com/Dharma-Rekha-Mystery-Vee-Kumari-ebook/dp/B0868TRY2C/


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