DEBUT SPOTLIGHT: Mansi Shah
Have you ever been completely transported by a novel? Has a book ever grabbed you from the very first page, immersed you completely, and then kept you enthralled by the author’s storytelling ability, until the very end? THE TASTE OF GINGER is that kind of story. Today, I’m thrilled to bring you my interview with fellow Lake Union author, Mansi Shah, whose brilliant debut about an Indian immigrant caught between cultures launched on January 1st, 2022 to critical acclaim, and is now rocketing up the Amazon charts!
THE FULL SYNOPSIS
In Mansi Shah’s stunning debut novel, a family tragedy beckons a first-generation immigrant to the city of her birth, where she grapples with her family’s past in search of where she truly belongs.
After her parents moved her and her brother to America, Preeti Desai never meant to tear her family apart. All she did was fall in love with a white Christian carnivore instead of a conventional Indian boy. Years later, with her parents not speaking to her and her controversial relationship in tatters, all Preeti has left is her career at a prestigious Los Angeles law firm.
But when Preeti receives word of a terrible accident in the city where she was born, she returns to India, where she’ll have to face her estranged parents…and the complicated past they left behind. Surrounded by the sights and sounds of her heritage, Preeti catches a startling glimpse of her family’s battles with class, tradition, and sacrifice. Torn between two beautifully flawed cultures, Preeti must now untangle what home truly means to her.
“A poignant debut novel, reminiscent of Jhumpa Lahiri, that touches on the immigrant experience in America, being caught between two cultures, and finding one’s place in the world.” —Booklist
And now for our interview:
Paulette: Your novel is simply spectacular, Mansi. I can’t stop thinking about it, months after reading your advance reader copy. Can you tell us a bit about what inspired you to write THE TASTE OF GINGER?
Mansi: I have wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl, in large part, because I was a voracious reader as a kid, but none of the stories that I read reflected my lived experience as an immigrant in North America. In 2009, I began writing The Taste of Ginger, because I wanted to write a very authentic story about the immigrant experience, and how immigrants often feel adrift between the world they left and the one they now inhabit, while still writing a story that focuses on universally-relatable topics like family, identity, and belonging. I had a very long path to publication, but am thrilled that the perseverance paid off and I now get to call myself a published author!
Paulette: The publishing process, and writing in general, often seems to be an exercise in patience and persistence, but it has certainly paid off for you! Can you talk about your writing process a bit? Do you come to your work with a plan, write every day, etc?
Mansi: I try not to give myself too many rules. I don't write every day, as it's often difficult to do that while balancing a demanding day job. I wrote The Taste of Ginger without an outline or vision, flying by the seat of my pants, and I will never do that again!! I spent so much time revising to make it cohesive, and now I work with a loose outline. Before I start writing a single word, I decide the three things that each character wants and think about how each will get to their goals. From there, I give myself the flexibility to change things as I go, but having a plan made my subsequent books so much easier (and more fun) to write!
In an early writing class, I got the best practical writing advice I've ever gotten and use that to this day. I was told to think of writing in intervals and that I should spend no more than 40 minutes writing at a time and then always take a 20 minute break. That method works so well for me because it means I only need to find 40 minutes at a time to write and is less daunting. On my more productive days I try to do four 40-minute sessions, but the reality is that I usually do less because 40 productive minutes is worth more than staring at a screen for hours. If the words aren't coming to me, then I don't force them and go do something else until I feel like trying again.
Paulette: I can relate to the struggle of “pantsing” something and then having to completely rewrite it later, as that was my experience with Parting the Veil’s first and second drafts. After I took the time to work out a simple outline, things went much more smoothly. Love the interval advice! It’s similar to what I do with writing sprints. Breaking things down into smaller chunks of time makes drafting seem so much less intimidating, as drafting is my least favorite part of crafting a new novel. I can’t just sit down at the computer and write for three or four hours straight—my eyes get all swimmy and my body gets restless, although it’s tempting once I’m in the revision phase, which is my favorite part!
What about you? What are your favorite and least favorite parts of the writing process?
Mansi: My favorite part is deciding what message I want to convey in a novel and then creating the story that supports it. The first draft is the best part because anything is possible. I love when I'm writing and realize that things are working toward that goal and I can feel like the words are flowing effortlessly from me to the page. There is no better feeling than typing "The End" on that first draft!
I like all the various aspects of writing depending on my mood, so it's hard to pick a least favorite. I'd say the worst part is after I turn something in to my editor or agent and am waiting for feedback. That's what the imposter syndrome kicks in and I start questioning whether they hate it and are just trying to find a nice way to tell me!
Paulette: Imposter syndrome is a struggle for many authors! But you’ve accomplished so much already, and The Taste of Ginger is receiving the acclaim it deserves! You’ve also shared that several readers have already reached out to you to tell you that they saw themselves in your story, which must be so gratifying. How have you celebrated?
Mansi: I try to take a moment to reflect on how far I've come since this has been a decade+ journey in the making. I like to just take a quiet moment to appreciate a great review, or being selected for Amazon's First Reads, or seeing the cover, or holding the book in my hands for the first time. And whenever possible, I try to celebrate with a good glass of wine!!
Paulette: Good wine makes everything seem like a celebration! And as a counterpoint, what have been the more challenging aspects of your debut year?
Mansi: For me, it's been the marketing piece of the business. It doesn't feel very natural to promote myself, and I would much rather be in the position of championing someone else! I've definitely been forced outside of my comfort zone with self-promotion. Social media has also become such a significant part of the business and it's another area that I don't naturally gravitate toward. Prior to my book deal, I had been a ghost on social media, and creating and maintaining author accounts has been a whole new challenge for me. Connecting with readers and other writers has been a great aspect of it though, so I try to remember that when it takes me 2 hours to put together a 30 second reel!
Paulette: I agree. Content creation for social media is such a time-consuming thing. I have a love/hate relationship with social media. On one hand, it’s great for visibility and connecting with other writers and readers, but on the other hand, spending time with my family, or you know—actually writing—is more important, I feel. I’ve come to the determination that sharing on social media in an authentic way and posting only when I feel like it, as opposed to having a posting schedule or being online constantly, is more attainable for me. My preferred comfort zone is definitely promoting other writers, as well! It’s so much more fun to talk about my friends’ books than my own.
Any advice for up-and-coming writers getting ready to break out their debut novel?
Mansi: Take it all in! There is so much happening all at once and so much of it is good, but it's easy to get overwhelmed with everything there is to do. The debut year feels a bit like laying track ahead of a train that has already left the station and you are just trying to keep it on the rails! The hardest part is writing a great book, and if you've already sold your book, then you've done that job. Give yourself some grace if you can't fit in everything that you wanted to do on the marketing and promotion side.
Paulette: Yes. Pace yourselves! You don’t have to do it all. Finding a readership and connecting with that readership is a long game—a marathon. Your readers will find you, and want more, so keep writing the next thing! Thanks so much for joining me, Mansi! I hope your debut month brings everything you’ve dreamed, and I can’t wait to see what comes after The Taste of Ginger.
You can purchase THE TASTE OF GINGER from Bookshop, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble, and Shelves book store, which is hosting a virtual launch event for Mansi with best-selling author Jen Pastiloff on January 12th, 2022. To RSVP for the event, go here.
Mansi Shah was born in Toronto, Canada, and her family immigrated to the United States when she was a young girl. She first lived in rural Oklahoma, in a small town of fewer than 5000 people with only a single stoplight—it could not have contrasted more from the cosmopolitan city of her birth! She then lived in Hannibal, Missouri (the boyhood home of Mark Twain), and she was in fourth grade when she wrote her first novel and decided she wanted to publish a “real book” someday. (That first book is likely in a box in her parents’ garage.) Her family later moved to the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, and from there she attended the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign.
While at UIUC, Mansi majored in psychology, and still never ceases to be amazed by human behavior, firmly believing that truth is always stranger than fiction. She also had the opportunity to study abroad in Melbourne, Australia, and her love for exploring other countries and immersing herself in new cultures was ignited! After Australia, Mansi moved to Los Angeles to attend law school at UCLA. After working at a large international law firm for a few years, she moved to London to attend the London School of Economics and hoped an adult sabbatical to England would help her figure out “what she wanted to be when she grew up.” The answer hadn’t changed since fourth grade. While working as an entertainment lawyer upon her return to Los Angeles, she began writing The Taste of Ginger. She signed her first “real book” deal in 2020.
When Mansi is not writing, she’s traveling and exploring different cultures near and far. She’s traveled to over 70 countries spanning 6 continents and has many more places she wants to visit. She also loves experimenting on new culinary creations and finding ways to blend the Indian flavors from her childhood with other cuisines. She also loves to play tennis, but admits her culinary game is much stronger than her tennis game! You can connect with Mansi on her website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.