The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

If it weren’t for readers, there would be no writers. After the publication of The Henna Artist, I was incredibly moved by passionate readers around the world who wrote to tell me how and why the book resonated with them, or that it inspired them to change something in their lives. They fell in love with Lakshmi, whose character was inspired by my amazing mother, Sudha Latika Joshi, and with Malik, whom they wanted to know more about. This story, then, is for them.

My agent, Margaret Sutherland Brown at Folio Literary Management, always has my back. Even during the pandemic, she found ways to stay positive and imbue our conversations with light and hope. Kathy Sagan, my editor at MIRA Books, is such a joy to work with, turning good manuscripts into better ones; her suggestions are always spot-on! And where would I be without the support of the rest of the HarperCollins team who make sure everyone falls in love with my stories: Loriana Sacilotto, Margaret Marbury, Nicole Brebner, Heather Foy, Leo MacDonald, Amy Jones, Randy Chan, Ashley MacDonald, Linette Kim, Erin Craig, Karen Ma, Kaitlyn Vincent and Lindsey Reeder?

A big, bright message of gratitude also goes to Reese Witherspoon, whose Hello Sunshine Book Club promotes female authors writing stories about strong female characters. Thank you, Heather Connor, Laura Gianino, Roxanne Jones and Cindy Ma of the HarperCollins publicity team for helping to make this incredible connection.

My father, Dr. Ramesh Chandra Joshi, whose encyclopedic knowledge of India (and almost everything else!) comes in handy when I’m writing about India and her people, contributed to the engineering details of the Royal Jewel Cinema. Any misrepresentations thereof are down to me.

Ever supportive and encouraging, my brothers Madhup and Piyush Joshi read drafts of this story and provided helpful comments, as did friends Gratia Plante Trout, Lanny Udell, Christopher Ridenour, Ritika Kumar and David Armagnac.

For this book, I researched India’s gold industry and the myriad ways the metal is smuggled into the country. For Nimmi’s character, I read about various nomadic tribes of the Himalayas, some of whom herd buffaloes, others who shepherd goats and sheep—all of whom live hard lives. Their knowledge of herbal cures and remedies is essential to their survival in the mountains. A nomadic lifestyle makes it difficult for their children to get a formal education unless they move to town, which many have been forced to do because local laws make it difficult for them to get grazing permits.

I always save the best for last. Years ago, my husband, Bradley Jay Owens, saw something in me that led him to believe I could be a writer. And here I am. With both my profession and my partner in life, how did I get so lucky?