Q&A with MJ Soni

  

 

 

 

MJ Soni is the author of the new novel The Masala Chai Mystery Club. She also has written the book Defying Apartheid.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Masala Chai Mystery Club, and how did you create your character Neeti?

 

A: Thanks for having me on your blog, Deborah.

 

To be honest, over the past many years I have written multiple other books including thrillers, psychological suspense, and domestic suspense. And I was getting nowhere with them.

 

Out of frustration I decided to write something I could have fun with, and The Masala Chai Mystery Club gathered in my head to have chai and discuss crimes.

 

Neeti was inspired by my mom who was an amazing badass lady before she developed dementia and began to forget everything, including that I was her daughter. I think I subconsciously wanted to bring back my pre-dementia mother. Also, my mom was never allowed an education, so I made Neeti a librarian. 

 

I grew up in apartheid South Africa and even though the beautiful Johannesburg Public Library was within a 10-minute walk from us, we couldn’t enter it because it was for White people only. So, I really appreciate libraries, especially those that will allow me as a member, and librarians who are warriors against censorship. 

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: Yes and no. I knew how the murder happened but I didn’t know who the murderer was until much later. I made lots of changes along the way to completing it, especially adding suspects and their motives.

 

And then my agent made me rewrite the novel five times, and each time I had to take out a point of view character or merge two point of view characters.

 

I think it was Ernest Hemingway who said, “The only kind of writing is rewriting.”

 

Q: Did you need to do any research to write the book, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: Oh yes, I did a fair amount of research about how to kill people and make it look like an accident. I learned about homeowners associations and how they function, and about various types of fraud. Also, how to get away with financial shenanigans through offshore accounts, oh, and pirate costumes and pirate invasions. 

 

So many things surprised me. For example, there is a sub-specialty of forensics called forensic physics, which is where I learned all about the physics of falling down stairs. 

 

I also learned, mainly from Reddit, that homeowners associations can be pretty nasty to the point where they can take your home away from you by taking out a lien on your house. I have to add a caveat though, my own HOA is wonderful. 

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from your novel?

 

A: That they loved the characters and would like to read more stories about them, that masala chai and Indian appetizers are delicious, that female friendships between badass boomer ladies are a thing of beauty, and diverse multicultural multigenerational novels are great to read.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: A follow up to The Masala Chai Mystery Club, but it’s still too early for me to give details and I don’t want to jinx myself. 

 

I’m also working on another series with an interfering Indian family. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Firstly, congrats on your new book as well. I love that it’s a mystery and you literally achieved what I find so difficult to do, to have the body appear within the first few pages. Bravo! 

 

I’d also like to say a huge thank you to the writing community, it is truly the most supportive and warm community I’ve been so lucky to be a part of. I love being an author.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb