Author Interview: Dinesh Thiru and My Killer Family Reunion and IWSG Post

Happy Wednesday, Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Dinesh Thiru here to share about his YA mystery My Killer Family Reunion. It’s a mystery and funny. I love mysteries and could use some funnies in life, so I’m excited to read it. 

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

 

Knives Out meets Never Have I Ever in this hilarious and twisty young adult mystery-comedy about an Indian American teen whose family reunion at a lavish manor falls into chaos after her grandma is attacked.

Nothings brings family together like attempted murder.

There are three things Jayshree Devi can count on happening at her annual family 1) her cousins will forget she exists, 2) her aunts will try to set her up, and 3) her uncles will get into a fight. What she doesn’t expect? An accident that lands her grandmother in a coma, throwing the family—and their matriarch’s sizeable fortune—into chaos.

When Jay discovers Grand Mom’s “accident” might not have been so accidental after all, she’ll have to dig through decades of secrets to find the truth. With the help of her (annoyingly perky) cousins and one of their (annoyingly hot) friends, Jay finds herself knee-deep in a mystery that’s even more tangled than her family tree.

But the closer Jay gets to answers, the closer she gets to finding her place amongst the relatives who once felt so distant. With Grand Mom’s life and fortune hanging in the balance, can Jay save her family and maybe hook up with a hottie while she’s at it?

 

Before I get to my interview with Dana, I have my post for the Insecure Writers Support Group. 

Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.  

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!  

The awesome co-hosts this month are:  Kate Larkinsdale, SE White, JS Pailly, Olga Godim, and me! 

Optional Question:  Do you have a favorite character archetype you tend to gravitate toward in your writing? 

First, Happy 15th Anniversary, IWSG! I'm so grateful for all the friendships I've made and support I've received over the years. Thanks to Alex for creating this group and keeping up going. And I love the idea of celebrating by purchasing five books from members of the group.

Yes. Since I’ve written middle grade and young adult, of course, my main character is a kid. I’ve only written two manuscripts. They have both been about adopted middle graders or teens. I also gravitate to writing about Chinese or Mexican-American adopted kids. I know all about Chinese adoptions, since my daughter is adopted from China. I’ve also been a part of a Mexican-American family for over forty years. 

Interview With Dinesh Thru 

Hi Dinesh! Thanks so much for joining us. 

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.

 

Hi, I'm Dinesh Thiru, father of three (2 humans, 1 dog); I enjoy reading, hiking, cooking, and my karaoke song is “Teenage Dirtbag.” I stumbled into writing several years ago while I was staying at home with our 2nd baby. During nap time, I would journal about life, work, and being a dad. That turned into a gag book that I wrote to roast my cousin for his 40th birthday. My family loved it, and I was having fun, so I kept going and wrote a novel.
 
Several novels later… I finally got published! 

2. Where did you get the idea for My Killer Family Reunion?

I'd read Dial A for Aunties and My Sister, the Serial Killer and I was confident that my family was just as unhinged as those families. I'd also watched Knives Out, and that reminded me of two family legends:

 

1. My Indian grandmother — Born rich, she survived decades in poverty, only passing at 103! As her grandson, I saw her as the ultimate matriarch. Strong and stubborn, feared and revered.
2. My Indian great-grandfather — One of the wealthiest men in Bangalore in the 1930s, he cut his entire family (12 kids!) out of his will, leaving all his money to charity. Personally, I think it's amazing, but obviously the family freaked. 

So a book about a highly dysfunctional Indian-American family where everyone has a plot to kill Grand Mom and steal her inheritance… that came together quite naturally! 

3. What a cool way to come up with a book idea. Your debut YA, Into The Sunken City, is a fantasy/dystopia story? What made you decide to write a contemporary mystery for your second novel?

My Killer Family Reunion just poured out of me. I wrote the first draft in six weeks! 

Into the Sunken City is the type of adventure story I've always loved—a book for teen Dinesh. My Killer Family Reunion is the book of my heart. The setting is my aunt's absurd house, complete with spa room and creepy basement. Multiple scenes are inspired directly from my childhood reunions—for example, why do we open with one of the cousins hooking up in a closet and getting busted by her aunty?? Because my cousin did that! Even the murder is inspired by… 

… just kidding, there were no murders at my family reunions. 

4. Six weeks! I wish I could write a first draft in six months. What was your plotting process for My Killer Family Reunion? Will you change the process at all from what you learned from writing this story?

 

Ah, plotting. As a thriller writer, I should probably be good at that. Truthfully, I'm between a plotter and a pantser. When I decide to write a first draft, I have a concept, a voice (b/c I've written a few pages), and I have some major scenes and (ideally) an ending in mind. But I can't plot in rich detail—at least not at first. Instead, I write a terrible first draft and revise (e.g., this book took 2 years of revision).

 

Will I change the process? Probably not. But all those revisions created more misdirection, bigger reveals, tighter pacing. I hope those learnings stay with me. 

5. I plot like that too. Your book is also described as hilarious. How did you figure out the balance between making your story funny and keeping up the tension of the mystery? What tips do you have for other writers about adding humor to their stories? 

Ooo, that's hard! Humor is so personal. For this book, a big part of why it works is that Grand Mom is such a loved character. When she has an "accident", you're immediately like, "Oh, heck no. We are NOT letting that happen." So one of my tips would be: Even in a humorous book, you need to have strong emotional hooks that get deep under a reader's skin. 

6. That’s a great tip. Share what you like about your character, Jay? Did anything about her surprise you as you wrote her story? 

Jay's a half-Indian, half-white, middle cousin like me. She's trying to understand her identity more. Why she needs her dad to say "I love you" even though she knows he loves her. Why she feels Indian, but not quite Indian enough. She's trying to find her voice in the family, which is different from me, I'm more of a loud mouth. What surprised me about Jay is how much confidence she gains when her older cousin, Prithi, starts to look out for her. No one's ever done that for Jay, and all the sudden, Jay starts finding her inner strength. Sometimes you just need one person to believe in you. 

7. Your agent is Claire Friedman. How did she become your agent? 

I cold queried Claire with Into the Sunken City! The query process is brutal at times—you get so much rejection—but it's also really cool because it's open to anyone. Claire's incredible: brilliant editorial insights, on top of a thousand details, fun and easy to work with. She also sells a lot of YA. Unagented writers, put Claire on your list! 

8. This is your sophomore book. How was getting a publishing contract and working with your editor different from your debut YA fantasy, The Sunken City? 

Much of the process was the same, but with Into the Sunken City, it was a rollercoaster as I had three different editors. My original acquiring editor was let go, and my second editor shifted publishing houses, and then my third editor took over. These things happen, but with My Killer Family Reunion, I've had a single editor the whole way, Kristie Choi, who has been amazing. 

9. You live in Barcelona. How are you planning to promote your book in the U.S.? Has your approach to marketing changed since you were a debut author?

 

I had a launch event at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina on August 11th. My parents live in Raleigh, the book's dedicated to them, and we had 20 family members come to town. It was really special.

 

As for marketing, I have a love-hate relationship with author marketing. My old career was in marketing, so I enjoy the intellectual challenge. But there's something about all the bragging and self-hype that doesn't sit well with me. Reading The Anxious Generation also made me realize how bad social media is for my health. So I do plenty (e.g., videos, influencer outreach, interviews, events), but I prefer writing. 

10. What are you working on now?

Pitch: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder meets Eurotrip in this summer-vacation romp about a group of cousins who road trip across Europe, staying with aunties and uncles, and investigating the mysterious death of their famous aunt. I hope it sells! 

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Dinesh. You can find Dinesh at www.dineshthiru.com and https://www.instagram.com/dineshthiruwrites/.

Giveaway Details

Dinesh's publisher  is generously offering a hardback of My Killer Family Reunion for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by September 12th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or follow Dinesh on his social media sites, mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is US-only.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops 

Monday, September 7th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Syrone Harvey and a query critique giveaway 

Monday, September 14th, I have an interview with M.K. England and a giveaway of her MG Riley Dare: Slightly Witchy Sleuth 

Wednesday, September 16th, I’m participating in the Falling Into Leaves Giveaway Hop 

Monday, September 21st, I have an agent spotlight interview with Tali Shammas and a query critique giveaway 

Monday, September 28th, I have an interview with Isaac Fitzsimmons and a giveaway of his MG Astra Fox and the Rise of the Wonderworkers 

I hope to see you on Monday!