gnnghhh... i keep thinking about this. there's a white woman with a south asian surname by marriage, who writes 'indian-themed fantasy,' and idk...write whatever you want, i guess, but.

people think they're buying a book written by someone with that heritage, but they're not???? https://twitter.com/ElleOnWords/status/1279157950943240192

i don't know how to feel about it. a little queasy, i guess.

i, a south asian person, don't feel comfortable fictionalizing the culture of my ancestors.

but a white woman is like 'HEY LET'S GOOOO' and people who only see her name (initials and surname) think 'ooh authentic!'

i'm sure her books are lovely! i haven't read them. but i can almost guarantee that she's definitely had a different publishing journey than i would have had if i had tried to write the same books.