Guest Post: Sathya Achia on In My Hands
Sathya Achia weaves the complexity of gods and demons and magic with the life of 16-year-old Chandra, who’s confronted with rising danger from a supernatural enemy that threatens everyone she loves. Achia’s cultural backdrop is particularly interesting because it’s very specific, drawn from the author’s own ancestral Kodava culture (related to a specific ethnolinguistic group of southern India).
“Selavu is not so much of a weapon as it is a shield. Same with those cuffs they are part of traditional Kodaguru warrior armor,” Gowramma says, forcing me to think, but I can’t because my head is throbbing, and my thoughts are foggy. “Learn to look deeper. Nothing is ever as it seems.”
In this fast-paced tale of curses and battles, but also of family and community and one girl’s struggle to meet her destiny, nothing is as it seems. I’m delighted to welcome Sathya Achia to tell us more about her novel, from Ravens & Roses.
The Power of Stories
by Sathya Achia
Photo credit: Bhavan Misra
My love affair with stories started early in life. As a kid, I couldn’t get enough—my parents would either find me with my nose in a book or with crayons in hand, vigorously scribbling out a story of my own. Nothing could compare to escaping the everyday and traveling into other worlds on a high-stakes adventure… fantasy… mystery, or thriller! I was all about character arcs that stirred my emotions, moody settings that took me to points unknown, and satisfying endings that brought the story full circle!
But as a young reader, I missed seeing the kids like me—the ones of two worlds and two cultures—who celebrated traditions and festivals of their parents’ homelands, but also just wanted to hang out with their friends at the local hotspots. When I did see South Asian kids in books or media, they were typically the side characters and often heavily stereotyped.
From that moment, my desire to flip through a book where a girl like me could set off on a magical quest, slay the beasts, and be her own HERO, grew and grew! So, I plotted and planned, and told myself that one day there would be a book where a girl from the West visits family in the East and surprises herself and everyone else with how fierce, yet vulnerable, she is in her mission to save the day and find her place in the world! And, this became my debut YA novel, IN MY HANDS—the story of my heart.
Inspired by the South Asian folktales told by my grandfathers with such splendid, theatrical gusto, IN MY HANDS is packed with magic and has the adventure of Tomb Raider and heart of Wonder Woman. My debut is the novel of my heart—the one I needed and wanted as a kid. I hope readers can see themselves in these pages and know that they can be their own heroes!
ABOUT THE BOOK: IN MY HANDS
Cover credit: Emily’s World of Design
After the mysterious death of her mother, sixteen-year-old Chandra S. Chengappa is forced to leave small-town Virginia for the jungles of India to find the mythical weapon of a goddess and face the demon hell-bent on destroying her ... or she risks losing everything—and everyone—she's ever loved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sathya Achia was born and raised in Ontario, Canada, where she grew up devouring books and playing along the pebbly shores of Lake Huron, before moving to the United States.
Sathya’s creative work is influenced by her South Indian Kodava culture. She grew up spending summers in the remote hills and enchanting jungles of the Western Ghats in India, where she learned the art of storytelling from her grandparents.
By day, Sathya is an award-winning communications professional who currently serves as a senior editor at one of the world's largest global advertising agencies. Previously, she's worked in public relations and as a health/medical writer and editor for both consumer and trade publications, pairing her curiosity for understanding what makes the world tick with a love for communicating across print and digital formats.
When not spinning stories, Sathya can be found trying a new yoga pose, exploring the great outdoors, traveling the world, or wrapped up in her greatest adventure of all: Motherhood.
