She grew up in India and inherited her love of reading from her mother, who introduced her to Dickens, Conan Doyle, Christie, Shakespeare, and many other authors.
Her stories are set in India, the Middle East, and Canada, and explore the nuances of complex family relationships within Indian communities, as well as their impact on younger generations.
A keen observer of human nature, idiosyncrasies, and mannerisms, Neetha enjoys practising yoga, solving crossword puzzles, playing word games, and even indulging in Candy Crush to keep her mind sharp. She also admits to binge-watching Seinfeld and Friends.
Murder in Mylapore is her first work of crime fiction, and she is currently working on a sequel - in which even more characters will meet their untimely demise. She has also received a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to support her research and writing of the sequel.
She lives in Toronto with her husband and works in broadcast media.
Q.1 Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
A. Hmm, let some mysteries remain unsolved!
Q.2 When should we expect your next book? What will it be about?
A. The sequel to Murder in Mylapore is my next book! We’re looking at a 2027 publication. The sequel follows through on the first mystery, with returning characters and new ones too.
The vibe will be different, a more thriller-style book with cops and villains chasing each other across India, the Middle East and Canada!
Q.3 When and why did you decide to write Murder in Mylapore?
A. About ten years ago, I started thinking about writing crime fiction. The why is easy: I love crime fiction and told myself that it would be tragic if I did not attempt this genre!
Q.4 Why did you choose Mylapore as the setting for your first murder mystery? What does the neighbourhood offer a story like this that another Chennai setting might not?
A. For those unfamiliar with Chennai, Mylapore is one of the oldest settlements and is steeped in tradition, old-fashioned values and loads of culture.
Q.3 When and why did you decide to write Murder in Mylapore?
A. About ten years ago, I started thinking about writing crime fiction. The why is easy: I love crime fiction and told myself that it would be tragic if I did not attempt this genre!
Q.4 Why did you choose Mylapore as the setting for your first murder mystery? What does the neighbourhood offer a story like this that another Chennai setting might not?
A. For those unfamiliar with Chennai, Mylapore is one of the oldest settlements and is steeped in tradition, old-fashioned values and loads of culture.
For me, the setting was ideal as I was writing about a family that is traditional and the patriarch holds on to a lot of old values, most of which are no longer relevant in contemporary times. Each family member hides a secret that could potentially ruin the status of this respected business family.
The idea of a crime and sordid secrets in a suburb like this sounded delicious to me, and hence Mylapore! It was like setting a cat among the pigeons…
Q.5 Which character/s was the most challenging for you to write and why?
A. Kumar was certainly the most challenging character to write. Talented, brilliant, erudite, caring; but horribly flawed. And broken. Bringing out these elements was not easy.
Q.6 Did you base any of the characters or events on real people or experiences?
A. All characters and events are entirely fictional. Locations are real, of course. In terms of experiences, it is hard to pinpoint when lived and non-lived experiences creep into your writing. Imagination does lean on real life at times!
Q.7 Did you know the murderer and the complete solution before you began writing, or did some aspects of the mystery evolve as the manuscript developed?
A. I mostly knew where I was going with the plot. I had the murder, the MO and the perp mapped out in the early stages. Of course, tweaks did happen once I started getting feedback from an editor friend and my beta readers.
Q.8 How long did it take you to complete the first draft and then move into revisions?
A. The first draft, I think, was done in a few months. The rewrites ran into years!
Q.9 How much did you want the novel to reflect contemporary Indian family dynamics rather than simply use them as a backdrop for the crime?
A. Although fiction, my book does explore societal norms, traditional ideas, status, power, wealth, class, caste, and patriarchy. These elements underpin the narrative and its outcome in a very strong way.
Q.10 What was the most surprising thing you learned during the publishing process?
A. There were no surprises. This is my second book, so I pretty much knew the drill. As well, I have recently completed my Editing Certificate, so I knew exactly what to expect when my own manuscript was going through the editing and publishing process.
Q.11 Who are some authors that have influenced your writing, especially in the crime fiction genre?
A. Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Richard Osman, Robert Galbraith, M. C. Beaton, Alexander McCall Smith, Abir Mukherjee – the list is endless!
Q.12 What makes your book stand out from the crowd?
A. The fact that it is set in Chennai. The fact that the story is unique. And what a lovely cover!
Q.13 What did the editing process teach you about your own writing?
A. I need to pay more attention to punctuation!
Q.14 Have you received any reader feedback that particularly moved or surprised you?
A. The reviews that are coming in are so wonderful. Friends calling me and discussing my characters as if they are real people is so very heartwarming!
Q.15 If you could sit down with one of your characters, who would it be and what would you ask them?
A. I’d like to have a long chat with Kumar. Ask him why he never stood up for himself. And I would tell Vaani, “You go, girl!”
Q.16 Do you believe in writer’s block? If yes, how do you deal with it?
A. For some reason, and trying not to jinx this, I never encountered writer's block while writing all my manuscripts. Yes, there were days when I was not very productive, but that is not surprising, as I was, and still do all my writing after 5 p.m. since I work full-time. When my brain freezes or blanks out, I just walk away and come back to the manuscript the next day. I never force myself to write.
Q.17 What does your ideal writing day look like?
A. As mentioned, since I work full-time, I write in the evenings and weekends. It is not ideal when you are brimming with thoughts, but I do keep notes of all the ideas/phrases on my phone and go back to them when I resume work on my manuscript.
Q.18 How do you select the name of your characters?
A. With a little help from friends and family. This part is harder than one thinks!
Q.19 What is the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
A. It’s not easy writing a character of any gender! Specifically, while writing about men, I try to put myself in the shoes of my male friends and family members and imagine how they would react to a situation or how they would respond to something. It also helps when you read extensively and encounter different POVs. I do like observing people in public places and shamelessly eavesdrop too!
Q.20 Share the experience of your writing journey so far.
A. From manuscript to paperback was a long and arduous journey. It was exciting but also very disappointing, frustrating, and heartbreaking. Each rejection brought a new wave of self-doubt.
Q.5 Which character/s was the most challenging for you to write and why?
A. Kumar was certainly the most challenging character to write. Talented, brilliant, erudite, caring; but horribly flawed. And broken. Bringing out these elements was not easy.
Q.6 Did you base any of the characters or events on real people or experiences?
A. All characters and events are entirely fictional. Locations are real, of course. In terms of experiences, it is hard to pinpoint when lived and non-lived experiences creep into your writing. Imagination does lean on real life at times!
Q.7 Did you know the murderer and the complete solution before you began writing, or did some aspects of the mystery evolve as the manuscript developed?
A. I mostly knew where I was going with the plot. I had the murder, the MO and the perp mapped out in the early stages. Of course, tweaks did happen once I started getting feedback from an editor friend and my beta readers.
Q.8 How long did it take you to complete the first draft and then move into revisions?
A. The first draft, I think, was done in a few months. The rewrites ran into years!
Q.9 How much did you want the novel to reflect contemporary Indian family dynamics rather than simply use them as a backdrop for the crime?
A. Although fiction, my book does explore societal norms, traditional ideas, status, power, wealth, class, caste, and patriarchy. These elements underpin the narrative and its outcome in a very strong way.
Q.10 What was the most surprising thing you learned during the publishing process?
A. There were no surprises. This is my second book, so I pretty much knew the drill. As well, I have recently completed my Editing Certificate, so I knew exactly what to expect when my own manuscript was going through the editing and publishing process.
Q.11 Who are some authors that have influenced your writing, especially in the crime fiction genre?
A. Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Richard Osman, Robert Galbraith, M. C. Beaton, Alexander McCall Smith, Abir Mukherjee – the list is endless!
Q.12 What makes your book stand out from the crowd?
A. The fact that it is set in Chennai. The fact that the story is unique. And what a lovely cover!
Q.13 What did the editing process teach you about your own writing?
A. I need to pay more attention to punctuation!
Q.14 Have you received any reader feedback that particularly moved or surprised you?
A. The reviews that are coming in are so wonderful. Friends calling me and discussing my characters as if they are real people is so very heartwarming!
Q.15 If you could sit down with one of your characters, who would it be and what would you ask them?
A. I’d like to have a long chat with Kumar. Ask him why he never stood up for himself. And I would tell Vaani, “You go, girl!”
Q.16 Do you believe in writer’s block? If yes, how do you deal with it?
A. For some reason, and trying not to jinx this, I never encountered writer's block while writing all my manuscripts. Yes, there were days when I was not very productive, but that is not surprising, as I was, and still do all my writing after 5 p.m. since I work full-time. When my brain freezes or blanks out, I just walk away and come back to the manuscript the next day. I never force myself to write.
Q.17 What does your ideal writing day look like?
A. As mentioned, since I work full-time, I write in the evenings and weekends. It is not ideal when you are brimming with thoughts, but I do keep notes of all the ideas/phrases on my phone and go back to them when I resume work on my manuscript.
Q.18 How do you select the name of your characters?
A. With a little help from friends and family. This part is harder than one thinks!
Q.19 What is the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
A. It’s not easy writing a character of any gender! Specifically, while writing about men, I try to put myself in the shoes of my male friends and family members and imagine how they would react to a situation or how they would respond to something. It also helps when you read extensively and encounter different POVs. I do like observing people in public places and shamelessly eavesdrop too!
Q.20 Share the experience of your writing journey so far.
A. From manuscript to paperback was a long and arduous journey. It was exciting but also very disappointing, frustrating, and heartbreaking. Each rejection brought a new wave of self-doubt.
The writing part, as I always say, is the easiest. Pitching, querying, bracing for criticisms and rejections… and the endless rewrites … all these wore away my enthusiasm and made me want to give up and just walk away from all of it.
But I persisted, even when people told me that I should give up chasing traditional publishers. Stubbornness and a deep belief somewhere inside me that I can do this made me stay the course, and here I am!
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