Vaishnavi Patel Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Vaishnavi Patel is a fantasy fiction novelist best known for her debut novel “Kaikeyi,” that she published in 2022.

When she first wrote her novel, she was a law student studying civil rights and constitutional law. Since then she has made a name for herself writing novels at the intersection of anti colonialism, feminism and Indian myth.

The author was brought up in the suburbs of Chicago. When she is not writing her novels, she can usually be found doing typically midwestern hobbies. Some of the things she loves doing include making hotdish, knitting, drinking hot chocolate and ice skating.

Kaikeyi, the novel that made her famous, is an adaptation of the Ramayana myth from Indian folklore that is told from the point of view of the evil stepmother.

The Chicago native currently makes her home on the east coast, even though she has said her heart will always be in the Midwest.

As a first generation American citizen, Vaishnavi Patel’s writing is for the most part informed by her Indian heritage.

She has asserted that writing is something that she loved to do even when she was very young. As a child, Patel used to spend most of her summers with her grandmother, who would use lunchtime to tell all manner of stories derived from Indian myth.

She would look forward to hearing the stories year after year and could never tire of them. She still loves the many stories her grandmother told even though her perspective has changed.

Even though as a child she used to think of them from an entertainment perspective, she now thinks critically about the purpose and message behind each story.
Reimagining the Ramayana myth from the perspective of a female villain, her manuscript is a particularly troubling retelling.

Vaishnavi Patel got her start when she participated in Pitch Wars “DVpit,” from where she got Sarah her agent. She had just started querying agents when the agency emailed telling her that they loved her manuscript and were reading it.

Soon after she got an email asking to schedule a call. It was a nerve wracking week waiting for that cll but once she got on it, she was put on ease. It seemed that the vision she had for the story and that of the editor were in alignment. She felt that her suitors understood what she wanted to say.
Her agent was very helpful throughout the process and handled much of the technical details. She finally got the agency to buy the work while she celebrated with long walks and online pictionary with her brothers and sisters.

As an author that has been reading and writing for the longest time, there are so many authors she finds incredible and would love to have a coffee with. However, one of Vaishnavi Patel’s absolute favorites has to be Rick Riordan the author of the “Percy Jackson” series.

She used to read a lot of the series as a kid and the author has only gotten better with age. Moreover, Rick is a huge supporter of OwnVoices authors and always seems to be a huge supporter of including diverse voices in his works, unlike many of his contemporaries.

As a writer of fantasy and myth, he is someone Patel would like to have a drink with just to get a feeling of how his storytelling process works and what he has in the pipeline.
As for fiction characters she would love to meet, there are a plethora of very fine ones that she would be spoilt for choice.

However, Phryne Fisher is a brilliant character both on TV and the book series she would die to meet. She loves how funny, sharp and badass looking she is and she would like to bask in her style and glow, hoping that some of it would rub off on her.

“Kaikeyi” by Vaishnavi Patel introduces the kingdom of Kekaya’s only daughter that has been brought up on tales of the benevolence and might of the gods.
She has been told of how they trawled the oceans to get the nectar of immortality and ensure the land of Bharat prospers by vanquishing evil.

She knows all about how they provide their favor to the wise and devout but watches in disbelief as her mother is banished by her father and she is made part of a bargain in securing a marriage alliance.

The gods never seem to ever hear her cries for help and turning to the stories she read with her mother she finds a magic that only she possesses.

With her new powers, she turns herself from an insignificant princess into a diplomat, warrior and most favored queen that will do anything to lift her fellow women up and create a better world for herself.

But the cosmic order in her world is threatened by the evil from the childhood stories she loved so much. She needs to decide if she is ready to resist the destructive forces which could be more powerful than she is.