March, we meet again

It was around this time last year that the seedling for "Anika Patel and the Beastly Bakery" implanted in my head. It started with a dream.

My kids stood in front of a glass display case at their favorite local bakery. The counters were covered in pastel hued cupcakes and bold colored, many tiered cakes. In the case were jelabi, peda, ladoo, and every Indian dessert imaginable. The line went out the door but everyone waited patiently for the baker to twirl over to them and ask what they wanted.

And my kids exchanged a look. They could see their favorite bakery was run by a wicked witch. Her dress was perfect, not a hair was out of place, a bright smile always lifted her lips, but she was off. They had no idea what she wanted, but they knew they had to stop her.

That was the dream; APBB is the story that was revised through PitchWars and is now out in the world.

And while the possibility of that story floats in agent's inboxes, I'm trying to pivot to the next idea: my sapphic Desi adventure fantasy.

I've plotted the first quarter of the story but I can't choose the opening scene. There are 3 possibilities and my gut feeling is none of them is a strong enough jump off. If only I could find the right music for this! And the right aesthetic! Cause even though my original idea was to write this as a YA, I think I want to pivot this to be an MG.

Still [mostly] in India, still with a Gujarati Desi girl, this story is based on a headline I read a couple of years ago. I wasn't ready to write this before - and maybe I'm not now if my inability to pick a beginning is any indicator - but this is the one I want to try next.

So, 50k words, I'm coming for you!