Hello API Romance Authors!

This month, we have picked "The Mysterious Disappearance of Devi Dhungel" by evacharya for Book of the Month. If you'd like to read this story, we encourage you to check it out in our Hidden in the Stars reading list.

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Logline:

When a 'body' washes ashore in Hector's quiet country town, with a knife wound, he has his first opportunity to solve a 'real crime' and secure that promotion he has wanted so he can finally get out of his small hometown.

Excerpt from the Book:

"There's a body on the beach, Hector," Hunter said again, peering at him. "Like an actual dead body."

Hector plunged his coffee too quick. "What?"

"A dead body."

"Whose?"

Hunter shrugged. "No one knows. She looks like a stranger."

A stranger? In our town? "Oh yeah? What did she look like?

"Hunter shrugged again. "I don't know. Like a dead body."

Yup, this is a prank! Hector poured his coffee into the mug, careful not to spill it. He was going to need every drop if he was to deal with this... I bet Gavin put him up to this... a dead body?! Pfft."

So, you gonna come?"

Hector sipped the coffee, relishing his first taste for the day. Am I gonna come? Of course, I'm not!

"Hector?" Hunter stared at him, expectant.

"You gonna continue lingering?" Hector sipped his coffee, hoping the boy would say yes and go away.

Hunter nodded.

Hector took another sip. It's too early for this horseshit, honestly! "Fine."

The boy continued to stare.

"What? You want me to come like this?" He pointed at his boxer and his loose robe. "Go. Tell them I'll be a minute," and if by any chance this is real, "don't touch nothing, especially Gavin."

Satisfied, Hunter immediately scrambled out of his place and Hector stood before the sink, watching the sun colour the ground slowly. There's a body on the beach... He sipped his coffee, repeating Hunter's words, trying to wake up. There's a body on the beach?

... a dead body...

Hector took another sip, letting the dark nectar quench his thirst

.... a dead "Body?" He spat the coffee out all over the sink and the windowsill, the words having finally registered.

"Shit!" He threw the rest of his barely touched coffee in the sink, rushed to pull on his uniform hanging at the back of his door, slipped his thongs on, and ran out of the place, buttoning up his shirt, keyless and his door wide open. There was nothing in there worth "borrowing" anyway.

His thongs slapped the concrete rhythmically as he ran after Hunter towards the beach, chanting: fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck... a body?... fuck, fuck, fuck... what do I do with a body...?

About the Author:

Born in Nepal and raised in three different countries, Eva Acharya is a contemporary romance and romcom writer who also dabbles in fantasy and science fiction author. Her journey on Wattpad began at the end of 2018, and she has won two Wattys (2020 in Romance and 2021 in Sci-Fi) to date. When she's not writing, she enjoys watching spending time with her infant, browsing for recipes she may or may not ever make, and binge watching shows on Netflix.

Interview:

1. What influenced your story? What inspired you to write it?

I am a lover of cosy mysteries and used to devour crime thrillers growing up. I was obsessed with Risoli & Isles sagas by Tess Gerritsen, and the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva. I still love their books even though I have little time to read the newer works. I also love watching/listening to true crime podcast. In an alternative life, I might have wanted to be a detective, or at least work in forensics (I would have too if my mum hadn't had a panic attack when I suggested it's what I wanted to study once upon a time). Alas, I never got that degree, but my love of solving crime from the couch with a book in hand never died. And suddenly, I was seeing all these fun cosy mysteries come out and get raved about and thought to myself, 'why don't I try it?' So you can say all the years of loving crime stories and procedurals inspired this story. But what got me to actually write it? That's a bit different. I was invited into the Creators program when it first started, with its tiers. You could say I was pleasantly surprised. I got to work with an editor, it was my first time, and I thought why not tackle this genre while I have professional help. So truly, Wattpad having the confidence in me to bring me on as one of the initial Creators was definitely something that inspired me to write this story.  

2. What were some challenges you faced while writing your story?

There were many challenges with this story. One, it was my first time writing in the cosy mystery genre, albeit with my usual flair for comedic romance. So naturally, I was struggling to see if I was staying true to the genre and not deviating too much into the romcom territory. But as an experimental writer, meaning I try new things out all the time and see if I can crack them, I'm sure there are things in THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPAERANCE OF DEVI DHUNGEL (TMDODD) that are not a genre convention. While some things were influenced by genre conventions, other things were purposefully done the way they are (like the narrative structure), and it was definitely troublesome to write the story in a way that was fun and cinematic/visual.

I was extremely lucky to have my editor (Katie McLean from Wattpad) to bounce off ideas with and test the chapters and the plot flow before I posted it.

Other than that, I got pregnant with my first child during this time and with that came several health challenges that I had to navigate and not let it drag me down or off schedule too much as I was under contract to finish the story within one year.

3. What message do you hope to convey with your story?

It's a fun story so there isn't a deep-seated message or anything I'm trying to convey other than fun stories and premises can happen around BIPOC characters too!

4. Do you have any advice for other authors who are interested in writing Asian & Pacific Islander Fiction?

I say do it. If you've been thinking about a story or a character or just, 'hey, I think I might try that,' just do it. Life is too short and unpredictable to sit there questioning everything you do a thousand times before you do it. Write that thing, try that new genre, experiment with your 'voice' – just have fun. You're writing for you first and foremost. So just make sure what you're writing is something you want to write, something you're enjoying, and just go for it. I'd thought about this weird character 'Devi' and her situation, rocking up almost dead in a backwards country town for almost a year before I decided to put pen to paper, and I possibly would have procrastinated further had Wattpad not given me the wonderful opportunity and invited me into one of their high tier Creator's program. That's how I ended up writing the book we're talking about today (TMDODD).

5. If you could write another story to be featured on the profile, which of our reading lists would you write it for?

I'd have to say I'd write for 'Celebrating Asian & Pacific Islander Voices in Romance' list as I predominantly write romance or romance adjacent stories. For example, I'm currently rewriting my 2020 Wattys winning story, FOR JUNE, to self -publish it in 2025, so that list would be the most suitable.

6. If you are an author of Asian and/or Pacific Islander descent, what's one cool fact about your culture you can share with us?

I feel as a Nepali, from a tiny landlocked country in Asia where Lord Buddha was born, we are full of opposing qualities. Like, we're peace-loving, friendly and helpful, but we are also patriotic, feisty and passionate. We hate confrontation, but if you press the right buttons, we will go into never-ending debates. And also, it's very rare to find a Nepali who doesn't love mo:mo (Nepali dumplings). Very rare. In all my life, I've met two. TWO!

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Thank you evacharya for giving us the opportunity to interview you and chat more about your book!

We'll see you all in the next Book of the Month.