Reasons to Be Cheerful: My Personal Gratitude List

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Have you heard about gratitude lists? Writing down what one is grateful for, every night, is said to benefit psychological health, sleep, and relations with others. I’ve been marking small bits of gratitude down in my trusty bullet journal of 2018, a dog-eared book that is entering into its last … Read more

Badri Narayan, the Story Artist

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. A couple of years ago, I spent a thrilling day shopping for art in galleries the Kala Ghoda district of Mumbai. The upshot is I came home with a gorgeous modern abstract painting found in a an old British Raj building on Rampart Row in Mumbai, very close … Read more

India Underfoot

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. It’s too easy to twist your ankle while walking through India. Streets and sidewalks have irregular surfaces, and there are many distractions, ranging from speeding cars and motorcyclists creating their own laws to horses and goats. So I only feel like my footing is truly firm indoors, and … Read more

The Kitab Tour in India

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Kitab is the Urdu/Hindi word for book and is pronounced just as it sounds. I find it a lovely word. So too was my recent book tour in India for A Murder on Malabar Hill, A Perveen Mistry Investigation. You might notice the similarity in title to The Widows of Malabar Hill, … Read more

Nuts to Christmas

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Mixed families often double their holidays. Which means the culinary options are rather excellent. Take Christmas. I grew up the daughter of a German mother who still makes hundreds of beautiful cookies each year. I have learned to bake some of these cookies, but I can’t hold a … Read more

The Secret Life of Maharanis

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. One of my favorite parts of a recent India trip was staying at the City Palace in Udaipur. This is the seat of the Mewar kingdom—a dynasty of Rajput kings who were never conquered by the Moghals or British. Mewar joined with other Rajput kingdoms in northern India … Read more

Indian Chutney for an American Summer

This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. In the height of summer, a heap of imperfectly gorgeous tomatoes rest on my kitchen island. They beseech me to touch them and make something great. The obvious thing would be to make a lush sauce—but it’s 90 degrees outside, and I’m not in the mood for cozy … Read more