Aparna Verma (updates only)
@Spirited_Gal
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Author of The Ravence Trilogy. THE BURNING QUEEN coming Fall 2025. @Stanford grad. Agent @LucienneDiver. Order my books below ⬇️
Joined August 2014
Writer: *spends 10 years, several therapy sessions, a dangerous amount of caffeine to write & publish a book*. Reader: Thanks, I read it in a day. 3 stars.
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Can we take a moment & talk about the haldi ceremony in Bridgerton S2?! Quick explanation for those who don’t know its significance 👇🏽
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What if I told you that there’s a gender-flipped Orpheus & Eurydice story in which a strong queen, who refuses to let her gentle husband go, tricks Death himself to win him back?.
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It’s crazy to me that very little people know about this iconic queer Indian heiress who subverted the Nazis and helped Jewish families escape using her wealth & influence. Her name is Princess Catharine Hilda Duleep Singh, and this is her story.
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I love how Bridgerton adds subtle references to Indian culture, like Kate’s Banarasi shawl, the little nicknames, the tel scene where Kate rubs lol in Edwina’s hair. My desi heart is glowing 💗.
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Petition to publishers to add drawings in adult fantasy books. I want pictures too!.
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The Hindu tale of Savitri and Satyavan is a story as old as time, but since Western media is so obsessed with European mythology, it’s barely mentioned/published/written in books/film. Allow me to tell you their tale, then.
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today, my mom found my book in the corner of the bookshop and held it for the first time. she made me her world, and now she gets to meet mine ❤️
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I urge you all to expand your horizons and read mythologies outside of your typical Western books. Bc chances are, you’ll find warrior wives & gentle husbands & other “unconventional” narratives. They’ve always existed, but we were ignorant to them.
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I self-published my book, then sold it and subsequent books in a six figure deal, and now Book 2 comes out next year. I also work a full time 9-5 job 😅
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Savitri gets so frustrated with the lackluster pool of bachelors that SHE goes out to find herself a husband. Read that again. A princess on a horse searching the realm for a suitable husband. Western media could never.
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So many South Asian practices have been commodified by white consumerism and/or dumbed down. What I love about the haldi ceremony in #bridgertonS2 is that the creators didn’t try to make it exotic — it simply existed without explanation.
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Savitri is a beautiful princess whose very name makes men go weak in the knees. Hundreds ask for her hand. She refuses them all bc her standards are HIGH & she’s not going to accept the bare minimum.
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What if I told you that one of the most fearsome goddesses of mythology is not really a creature of death and destruction. Rather, she has been grossly misinterpreted by the West. It's time we talk about Maa Kali, my friends 1/.
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Been off Twitter these days, but as an Indian, I want to speak up abt the Babel discourse: the west LOVES to tout peaceful revolutions as the “correct” way to gain independence. Think: the British defying Gandhi in modern history, while suppressing the Amritsar Massacre 1/.
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So Yama, the great god of Death, is humbled by a mere (yet clever) queen and returns her husband to her. All of Savitri’s wishes are granted, and she and her husband live happily ever after.
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Eventually she comes across a humble, soft-spoken man named Satyavan. Satyavan isn’t like the proud princes/kings who came for her hand. He is gentle, kind & puts others first, like his ailing parents. Savitri knows that he is the one for her and asks her father to bless them.
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So when Lord Yama (the Hindu god of death) comes to take Satyavan, Savitri follows him. For miles, through dangerous forests, blistering deserts, and landscapes we can’t even imagine.
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The 3rd wish is when she tricks Death himself. In a beautiful display of wit, Savitri asks for 100 sons. Yama grants her this, and he realizes the trick. Obviously, she can’t have kids w/o her husband. And she can’t have kids with a lover she hasn’t married.
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But then a sage warns her. “If you marry him, he will die at an early age.” Savitri is scared, but her love for Satyavan is stronger than her fear. After all, she just wanted to be loved. Do we blame her for being selfish, even if it meant dooming her beloved?.
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readers hate love triangles because it’s often about two guys fighting over a girl, when they should all be in love with each other and full of yearning like AN ACTUAL F*ING TRIANGLE. You can’t build a triangle with just two legs. MAKE THEM ALL KISS.
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I’m gonna paraphrase here since the thread is getting long but here is where Eastern mythology differs from the West. Yama warns Savitri to stop following them 3 times. Each time, she doesn’t listen. And surprised & bemused, Yama grants her 3 wishes.
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The couple marry and Savitri lives with Satayavan & his parents in a simple hut in the forest. Lo & behold, a year later, the sage’s omen comes true and Satyavan dies while chopping wood. Savitri is ruined. Heartbroken. And selfish. Bc she wants him back, so much that it hurts.
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The haldi ceremony is an important pre-wedding Hindu ritual in which family members + friends rub turmeric paste on the bride & groom.
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It makes me so damn happy to see more representation of South Asian culture on our screens bc I also wrote a haldi scene in THE BOY WITH FIRE. Finally, finally, South Asians are being seen AND celebrated!.
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I’ve gotten new followers so allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Aparna. I’m the author of THE PHOENIX KING, a kick-ass scifi fantasy about assassins, firebending queens & ruthless tyrants. I work a full 9-5 along with writing. And I look good in orange 🧡
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Didn’t expect this to go viral but if you wanna support an Indian author writing about unconventional, badass women inspired by Hindu mythology, preorder THE PHOENIX KING from Orbit! Links to drop soon 🥰
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It’s meant to beautify the wedding couple as well as ward off the evil eye! Diff South Asian cultures have similar ceremonies i.e. Manjha for Muslims.
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begging for a dark academia story with first generation, low income main characters bc lemme tell you, the academia experience for us is WILDLY different. better yet, I’ll just write it.
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this is me, shouting into the void, begging publishing + readers to support an Indian adult fantasy that doesn’t victimize & play to brown stereotypes, but celebrates us as flawed morally grey characters who love, betray & fight for the ones we hold dear.
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The haldi ceremony is colorful, messy, and SO MUCH FUN. Especially when you get to smear paste all over your relative 😏.
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been seeing a concerning amount of tiktoks saying how there r no more “good fantasy books” anymore & everything is a remix of acotar. Babe. THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT FANTASY BOOKS. WRITTEN BY BIPOC AUTHORS. AVAILABLE NOW. Pls, I beg, give us a chance 😭.
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if you’re into: . ✨ female rage.✨ fantasy worlds in non-Eurocentric settings .✨ firebending inspired by Hinduism & Indian mythology .✨ morally grey MCs . then lemme introduce you to your newest book obsession .
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So please keep supporting South Asian artists and writers! We deserve to see more of ourselves in our books and in our films/TV shows ❤️🔥.
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so I made a TikTok abt the history behind the Vishkanyas, the poisonous female assassins of Ancient India & ppl are commenting the similarities b/w these them & Western characters. and it makes me think how the West lifts from India and other Asian countries for "inspo"
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The first Indian ruler to fight and WIN against the British was not a king or prince. She was a Tamil queen named Velu Nachiyar — otherwise known as Veeramangai. Since it's the 1st day of Women's History Month, I think it's only fitting to tell her story . TW: suicide.
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Ladies and gentlemen, meet the cast of THE BOY WITH FIRE🔥 if you're into:. ✨ morally grey protagonists.✨ corruption & redemption arc.✨ Indian mythology .✨ DUNE meets THE POPPY WAR. then add:.GR: Netgalley:
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if you’re into:. ✨fantasy worlds in non-Eurocentric settings.✨firebending inspired by Hinduism & Indian mythology.✨enemies with a slow, slow burn.✨morally grey MCs. then lemme introduce you to your newest book obsession .
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since I have suddenly new followers, hi! I’m Aparna! I write SFF books & my debut THE PHOENIX KING is an Indian inspired scifi fantasy set in a futuristic desert kingdom full of firebending, assassins & vengeful goddesses. If you loved DUNE, GOT, or ATLA, you might enjoy it!
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And here she is, in all her burning glory. If you want a badass South Asian epic fantasy inspired by Hindu goddesses (like Maa Kali), or hunger for morally grey characters who fight, burn, and betray for power, this is the book for you. Preorder:
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Putting your characters into impossible situations is all fun & games until you realize that *YOU* must be the political and military genius who has to figure this shit out.
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Catharine and Lina moved to Germany together and honestly, lived a quiet, private life. It was just the two of them, and based on their letters, they were quite happy. Look at the two old birds ❤️ 5/
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There needs to be more in-book art in adult fantasy books. I want illustrations of the scenes goddammit.
we're cancelling each other over book takes today. post your cancellable book take.
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Catharine died on Nov 8, 1942. Half of her ashes were buried next to Lina’s coffin in Germany, the other half in Elveden churchyard. Even in death, Catharine lived within halves, between identities. And her legacy is still felt today by the families she rescued 10/10.
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the girl of fire, and the boy who burned ❤️🔥. if you’re looking for an adult fantasy with firebending, ruthless politics, and slow, slow enemies to lovers burn, preorder THE PHOENIX KING:
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She rescued many refugees, like the Hornstein and Meyerstein families, and opened her home in England to Jewish refugees. This is her with the Hornstein family 8/
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*ahem* for those who think Savitri is only the “dutiful wife” .
It’s come to my attention that some dislike the tale of Savitri bc it serves to be a “lesson” for Hindu women on how to be the perfect wife. I obviously disagree, so let me tell you the tale of Ruru & Priyamvada & the effect of colonization/patriarchy.
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when I mean feminine rage in fantasy books, I’m not talking about fist fights + screaming. I’m talking about WRATH. when her vengeance knows no bounds. when she forfeits her morals to feed her hunger. so I called her THE BURNING QUEEN
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The first Indian ruler to fight and WIN against the British was not a king or warrior. She was a Tamil queen named Velu Nachiyar. Otherwise known as the lionhearted queen or Veeramangai. This is her story (1/8). TW: suicide
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It’s come to my attention that some dislike the tale of Savitri bc it serves to be a “lesson” for Hindu women on how to be the perfect wife. I obviously disagree, so let me tell you the tale of Ruru & Priyamvada & the effect of colonization/patriarchy.
The Hindu tale of Savitri and Satyavan is a story as old as time, but since Western media is so obsessed with European mythology, it’s barely mentioned/published/written in books/film. Allow me to tell you their tale, then.
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Wow, thank you for all the love on this thread! If you're ever looking for a South Asian adult fantasy (that also has a haldi scene!) with kickass desi protagonists, please consider picking up my book THE BOY WITH FIRE 👇🏾❤️.
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Catharine was the daughter of Duleep Singh, the last maharaja of the once great Sikh empire. When the Brits took over his home, Duleep was forced to surrender the infamous Koh-i-noor diamond & basically exiled to England 1/.
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Ah, a few last notes: Catharine and her sister were also suffragettes & campaigned for women’s right to vote. Catharine studied at Oxford, but didn’t get a degree bc women couldn’t get degrees back then. And most importantly, Catharine remained close to her Indian heritage —.
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she visited several parts of India, like Kashmir, Lahore, Simla, & Amritsar. She also met the men who served with her grandfather, the last great king of the Sikh empire. Maybe it was her yearning and loss of her heritage that drove Catharine to so ardently save Jewish families.
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@afongwrites What’s also alarming is that the targeted audience is teenagers. Do teenagers know what NFTs are?! I’m 23 and I barely understand 🥴.
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The West remembers Gandhi’s Salt March, but not the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre or Udham Singh’s revenge. It loves to focus Gandhian politics, but fails to remember it was Subhas Chandra Bose’s INA army that made the Brits uneasy and think they could no longer hold India 2/.
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He married a German-Indian heiress and had 4 children, Catharine being one of them. Catharine grew up in English high society (Queen Victoria was her godmother) but had to navigate a complex diasporic identity, living with the same people who took away her father’s home 2/.
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Most of y’all don’t know about this badass woman so imma set the record straight: this is the iconic Indian princess turned British spy who spied on the Nazis until her love of blue brought her untimely death. Her name is Noor Inayat Khan, and this is her story.
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Even in her later years, Catharine was very private. She never asked for merits or awards for her activism. She never spoke about her lover or her loss, though the refugees who lived with her saw the same haunted look in her eyes that they wore. 9/.
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Being a queer brown woman, Catharine wasn’t safe in Nazi Germany. Her neighbors even said “The local Nazis disapproved of the old Indian lady.” so Catharine left for England, but she never stopped saving Jewish families 7/.
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This is not me touting or encouraging violence. This is me begging you all to ask yourself: WHOSE perspective are you looking through? Because the West like to leave out details. 3/.
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More 👏🏽 South 👏🏽 Asian 👏🏽 books 👏🏽 should 👏🏽 be 👏🏽 added 👏🏽 to 👏🏽 Asian 👏🏽 author 👏🏽 lists!!!.
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What if I told you the deadliest — and most clever — type of vampires are the ones you haven’t heard of? That these vampires inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula? Beware of the Indian vetala 🧵.
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Catharine met governess Miss Fraulein Lina Schäfer. Lina was 12 years older, but they grew close over the years. Now, there’s no official account that they were lesbians (not like it was safe to come out back then), but they were “intimate,” according to Catharine’s sister 4/.
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I bring this up is bc I believe Catharine knew what it meant to lose one’s home, to lose one’s country, which eventually led to her activism. After her father died, Catharine & her sisters were put under the care of Arthur Oliphant. This is when her love story starts 3/.
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*deep inhale* I'M AN ORBIT AUTHOR!!!. Whew, I can finally say it. The Boy with Fire has found a new home at @orbitbooks and will hit shelves as THE PHOENIX KING in Summer 2023!! Get ready to meet Elena, Leo, Yassen & all the lovely (and deadly) cast of characters ❤️🔥⚔️.
Acquisition announcement! Coming summer 2023, The Phoenix King by @Spirited_Gal is the first in a trilogy blazing with mystic fire, political intrigue, and forbidden romance. Learn more:
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But during the 1930s, as Nazis grew more powerful, the old couple began rescuing Jewish families until Lina’s death in Aug 1937 6/.
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if it isn't already obvious. this is a joke. Read and rate books however you want 😅❤️.
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You know a fantasy trope that doesn’t get enough attention? Religious villains. I don’t mean evil priests type. I mean a king who’s battling with his faith, trying to decide what is right & wrong in his own twisted way. For better and for worse. I eat it up every single time 👏🏽.
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Alright friends gather around and let me tell you the tale of a blind woman who tricked a powerful god — and got away with it.
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ahh thanks for the love on this thread! if you’d like to read an Indian fantasy of characters who fight for their homes and straddle identities (living in edges like Catharine) consider preordering THE PHOENIX KING .
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it’s almost 2024 and I’m still seeing book lists of “asian authors” with no South Asian or SE Asian books/authors mentioned. for the love of god, we deserve to be recognized too.
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All this discourse around Mindy Kaling shows we’re STARVED for South Asian stories. We are not a monolith & Mindy cannot tell all our stories. So we need MORE South Asian writers + filmmakers. Don’t come at Mindy. Go for the ppl in media who control which stories get picked up.
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given how these illustrations of Elena have me by the THROAT, I agree. more animated adaptations of SFF pls. the firebending, fight scenes, and cosmic dances in The Ravence Trilogy would hit so hard
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meanwhile, my book gets miscategorized as YA despite the characters being in their mid-twenties and one main character being in his 50s. the internal misogyny is loud 😶.
no bc tell me why I saw a YA with a 23 year old protagonist marketed as “crossover YA”.
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Elena Aadya Ravence as THE PHOENIX KING
something about female characters who are known as "king" >>>>>>>.
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In so many fairy tales & myths, there's a promise that's meant to be broken. "Don't look back to see your beloved," Hades told Orpheus. But perhaps one of the darkest & most heartbreaking stories is when a wife tells her husband: "Don't ask me why I'm killing the children.".
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I think we shy away from goddesses & female characters who refuse to be defined as "good" or "bad." We're intimidated by their rage, forgetting that sometimes, these women aren't monsters. They're guardians. And I will take a "morally grey" queen over a righteous king any day 15/.
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Maa Kali vanquishes ego. To those who are selfish, Maa Kali appears as a terrifying being. But if u relinquish ego, u see her as an affectionate mother with a deep, devotional love for her children. Because aren't mothers like that? Selfless? Who puts your needs before hers? 10/.
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"She was Elena Aadya Ravence above all else. No man could ever take her birthright away from her.". I had to sit down when I saw this fanart by OMG LOOK AT HER 🥵 Misha (zharasarts) captured the ruthless firebending princess perfectly. Preorder:
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She is not a war-monger but a protector. And the West's portrayal of Kali as a bloodthirsty goddess is such a lazy-ass, shallow interpretation. Which is why in THE PHOENIX KING, I sought to remain true to Maa Kali 12/.
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there's a long history of hijras/transfemme/3rd gender people being warriors and all-around badasses in South Asia before the Brits came in and villainized them. @rrvirdi you should do a thread.
you don’t understand. the people in this gif are hijras/transfemme/3rd gender people & they’re about to kick ass. MONKEY MAN is an incredible action film featuring INDIAN TRANS PEOPLE as a major part of the plot! I can’t stop screaming it from the rooftops! Dev Patel ilysm 😭🏳️⚧️
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History remembers the heroic kings, sometimes acknowledges valiant queens, and ignores the lower class. But Kuyili, the Dalit commander who helped to defeat the British 77yr before the First War of Independence, defies history. This is her story (1/10). TW: suicide
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one of my tiktoks went viral last night (sitting at 555K views rn), and now THE PHOENIX KING broke into the 100 books for Asian Myth & Legend on Amazon!. Hoping it breaks top 10 so please watch & send the good vibes 🤞🏽✨
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Just goes to show that Indians and South Asians deserve more than to be your awkward, nerdy sidekicks. We can be actions heroes, villains, powerful queens— we deserve the spotlight.
Dev Patel’s ‘MONKEY MAN’ is set to debut with $10.5M at the domestic box office.
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Rise and die a hero, yes? . Not her. 8.23.24
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"To be a woman is a burden. To be a woman of power is a balance. To be India’s only female emperor is a revolution.". CIRCE meets 17th century Mughal India in THE EMPRESS OF LIGHT. Coming whenever I finish TBWF Book 2 lol #wiplift
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For 15 days, Kali waged war against Mahishasura, and on the final day, she killed him with her spear and drank his blood so that he couldn't regenerate. And that is how the world balance was restored. With the vengeance and rage of a woman 8/.
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Maa Kali's rage is only one portion of her godhood. And it's an important one. Her actions saved the world. She was willing to do what the devas could not. She was willing to go to the "extreme" so that others could live in peace 11/.
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the girl of fire, and the boy who burned. this beautiful artwork of Elena & Yassen from THE PHOENIX KING is by Ngoc Nguyen and…. IT’S IN ALL PAPERBACK EDITIONS 😭❤️
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✨🔥 IT’S RELEASE DAY 🔥✨. This twisty, epic story about morally grey POC characters who fight, lie, and betray for the ones they love is finally out in the world. I hope you fall in love with THE PHOENIX KING and her unhinged characters as much as I have ❤️
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Nothing brings me more joy than the story of a queer Indian heiress who subverted the Nazis and helped Jewish families escape using her wealth & influence. Maybe I should do a story thread on her.
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The feminine urge of writing a heist story where a band of Indian thieves steal back the Kohinoor diamond & destroy the British crown…. … one day I’ll write it when I’m truly unhinged.
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bloggers, readers + reviewers, THE PHOENIX KING is finally available on NetGalley!! if you want . 🔥 morally grey cast .🔥 Indian mythology .🔥 firebending through dance .🔥 dagger to throat.🔥 enemies to lovers . then request TPK here:
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So a lot of readers have pointed out the similarities between THE BOY WITH FIRE and ATLA & that’s because both works borrow heavily from Hinduism. A thread on Hinduism influences in ATLA 👇🏼.
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The world as we knew it was in limbo. The balance had been disturbed. And Mahishasura was virtually immortal. So how could they defeat him? Well. Like in our world today, when the men f*ck up, a woman steps in to clean the mess 6/.
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Because we, in a patriarchal society, have always valued a woman dying for a man, but have never valued a man who dies for a woman. Women in Hindu myths have always asserted themselves, but for some reason, when they do, we see their actions through the lens of the patriarchy.
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I met Madeline as a junior at Stanford, and when I told her I wanted to be an author, she wrote me this. quite possibly one of my most prized possessions ❤️
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