Sajni Patel: On Pursuing Creative Dreams Over Logical Ones
Award-winning author Sajni Patel discusses the inspiration behind her new novel, Isha, Unscripted.
Sajni Patel is an award-winning author of women’s fiction and young adult books drawing on her experiences growing up in Texas, an inexplicable knack for romance and comedy, and the recently resurfaced dark side of fantastical things.
Her works have appeared on numerous Best of the Year and Must Read lists, including Cosmopolitan, O, The Oprah Magazine, Teen Vogue, Apple Books, AudioFile, Tribeza, Austin Woman , NBC, Insider Reviews, PopSugar, BuzzFeed Books, and many others. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.
In this post, Sajni discusses the inspiration behind her new novel, Isha, Unscripted, what she hopes readers get out of the experience, and more!
Name: Sajni Patel
Literary agent: Katelyn Detweiler
Book title: Isha, Unscripted
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: February 14, 2023
Genre/category: Comedic Women’s Fiction with Rom-Com elements
Previous titles: The Trouble with Hating You; First Love, Take Two; The Knockout; My Sister’s Big Fat Indian Wedding
Elevator pitch for the book: Unwilling to yield to familial expectations, an aspiring screenwriter attempts to pursue her dreams during an unforgettable night of chaos in this hilarious and heartfelt novel.
What prompted you to write this book?
I wanted to express some of the issues I faced pursuing creative dreams over logical ones, but with over-the-top hijinks. As this small idea was trying to form, I struggled to find the core plot. That is, until I saw a magazine layout that featured my debut novel beside a local celebrity’s novel, and I thought, yes, why not write a book about a woman chasing dreams by trying to find this celebrity in her hometown? It felt like fate.
Isha, Unscripted features the bond between Isha and her cousin, Rohan, which was inspired by the friendship I share with my cousin, the real Rohan. He’s often referred to as the Brohan because he’s one of those people you can always count on. I wanted to share his amazingness with others, and how, even as level-headed adults, we sometimes revert back to immature kids when we’re with each other.
Additionally, I aimed to write a comedy. Reminiscent of movies like Bad Moms where we have fully-functioning adults whose lives seem to be falling apart, and who make bad decisions because maybe they had one too many drinks and took giant leaps of faith.
This wild adventure is set in my hometown of Austin, TX. A lot of elements are taken from personal experience … famous 6th Street, UT campus, our local celebrity, and even the clown.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
It took almost a year to go from fledgling idea to an actual plot, Then a few months to write the novel and several months to revise and edit with my agent. I received multiple offers of publication relatively quickly and from there, the typical one to two years from offer to publication.
As far as how the idea changed during the process—the book was originally just about Isha and Rohan, and our sexy bartender was in the background. I focused more on cousin bonding and drunken hijinks, and less on romance. And instead of a clown, there was an accidental murder. As we all know, things can change dramatically during the writing process.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Yes! Turns out that I can’t write comedic murders well! (There was an accidental murder in the original version.)
Also, in the novel, Isha has one too many drinks over the weekend and there are many drunk chapters. Writing drunk scenes was harder than I expected. I was also surprised to learn that many early readers found the conept of a close cousin relationship as being uncommon whereas it’s very common in my life.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope readers will have a fun, silly ride. Although the book touches on generational trauma and becoming emotionally independent from parents who are perpetually disappointed, this book was written to be a humorous adventure with over-the-top hijinks.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Enjoy your craft. There’s a time for honing writing skills and challenging yourself. There will be critical readers and rejections. But writing should always be for you. You don’t have to enjoy every moment, but keep your joy and don’t let anyone or anything extinguish it.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
