New Client Alert – Priya Kavina

Name: Priya Kavina
What you Write: Speculative Fiction
Agent: Naomi Davis 
Why BookEnds?

BookEnds is everything I could hope for in a literary agency. Their tight-knit relationships and collaborative support system makes the agency feel not only like a home, but a family. I appreciate each agent’s excitement and vibrancy for their query inbox, clients, and devotion to diverse stories—their dedication clearly shines through their online presence and involvement! 

And of course, I have an extra special appreciation for Naomi Davis. From the very first call, Naomi made me feel supported as an author, and her genuine enthusiasm and passion for my story, as well as her willingness to answer my 800 questions with a smile, makes me feel so fortunate to have her as a champion for my work. 

What genres do you write? Read?

I write Speculative Fiction, which I often blend with literary tones and/or psychological elements. Though I love envisioning various versions of the future, my preferred genre to read has to be psychological thrillers. I absolutely love those twisty narratives, unreliable narrators, and diverse voices! 

Plotter or pantster?

First I was one, now I’m the other.

I started off pantsing simply because I had never planned to write a book. At the time, I was learning how to lucid dream. One of the recommended techniques included writing down your dreams in as many details as possible, so that’s what I did. Though I never mastered lucid dreaming, I did manage to retain quite a bit of dreamy details – thirty pages of details to be precise! Bored at a desk job, I started adding to those chaotic threads of imagination until they coagulated into the mess of a novel I later spent years untangling. Safe to say I started my next book with a plan (which I mostly followed…kind of…well, I tried). Fine, I guess I’m still a pantser.

Synopses, love them or hate ‘em?

Please do not ask an author who writes 90k word books for a living to consolidate a story down to two pages. I am descriptive, I am dramatic, and I refuse to be contained by the shackles of synopses! 

Do you have a writing playlist or a vision board?  If so, what’s on them?

I typically only listen to music while writing if I need to get into a certain mood. Sometimes it helps, other times (like when I decided to listen to the soundtrack of The Haunting of Hill House on full volume) it makes me extremely grateful I do not live the lives of my characters. 

Drink of choice when writing? When not writing?

Instant coffee with a ton of coconut cream. 

Day or Night writer?

I love to write first thing in the morning while my mind is fresh and not yet distracted by the vortex of random questions I am prone to fall into (Examples include: Is my dog just philosophical or does he take staring at the wall as an extreme sport? What is the appropriate balance between periods and exclamation points in a professional email? If time travel was possible, would I rather go back to the prehistoric age, or so far in the future that the world is once again in a ‘prehistoric’ state?).

Twitter or Instagram? Or Facebook? Where can we find you?

Twitter: @KavaraStories

Instagram: author.priyakavina

If you could meet any author, living or dead, who would you want to meet and why?

I would love the chance to meet Ray Bradbury. His work, perseverance, and unorthodoxy has inspired me incredibly. A chance to meet a freethinking spirit as bold, definite, and creative as Bradbury would be an honor.