This past weekend, I was on a panel at Busboys and Poets for their Author Next Door series. The theme of the panel, which happened to be on National Book Lovers Day, was “Booklovers and Book Lovers,” and I got to share the stage with three other incredible authors: Varun Gauri, Shanti Edwards, and Nikki Payne.

It was a full circle moment for me because the first time I ever went to Busboys, I was 18. There were a ton of moments that felt surreal but here were some of the highlights…

• Looking out into the audience and seeing some of my favorite people (including one of my oldest friends—who I actually went to Busboys with for the first time almost 20 years ago!)
• Getting to talk about Sahira’s story to a room full of people who hadn’t heard it yet
• An audience member asked all of us what got us initially into romance… listening to my fellow panelists talk about what got them into reading/writing romance was wonderful, especially since more than one of us was sucked in by Bollywood movies 🙂
• A reader who opened Instagram to follow me, only to realize… she was already following me!
• Getting to share the stage with three authors who became some of my new friends by the end of the night
• Talking to readers who picked up The River’s Daughter for the first time and wanted to know what happened next…

A huge thank you to Blaire, Madison, Ankhusmet and the entire Busboys and Poets Books team for putting together such a great event, and always, for creating a space where local authors and book lovers can find each other <3

And to everyone who came out, brought friends, bought books, and asked questions during the Q&A, thank you!

If you’re not already on my newsletter, sign up here. I’ll share any details about future events, behind the scenes peeks, and of course, details on the October rerelease of Brown Voices: South Asian American Experiences in Schools.

– Punita

PS — Signed copies of The River’s Daughter and The River Goddess are available, and you can preorder Brown Voices now.