42 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • OCTOBER 8, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
Flushing author pens sequel after pandemic experience
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
His thrilling novels capture the essence
of Queens and keep you guessing.
Local author Tejas Desai, who was
born and bred in Flushing, has lived
most of his life here in Queens — the
eye of the storm during the height of
the pandemic. Th e prolifi c writer’s fi rsthand
experiences during that time left
an indelible mark on his psyche but
also provided substance for his timely,
upcoming book.
QNS recently caught up with the successful
author, who has been busy working
on his newest project, to fi nd out
what he’s been up to.
“During the toughest months of the
COVID-19 pandemic in New York City,
I was privy to many of its harsh realities
since my mother is an essential worker at
Elmhurst Hospital Center, the worst hit
hospital in Queens,” he shared.
“Aft er fi nishing interviews and promotion
for ‘Th e Dance Towards Death,’
I’m going full steam into writing Volume
Two of my other series, ‘Th e Human
Tragedy,’ which is a series of short story
collections that seeks to create a panoramic
portrait of American society.”
Tentatively titled “Bad Americans,”
the anthology sequel has received great
reviews including being called ‘a solid
collection of rare caliber’ that ‘speaks
volumes about the human condition
and modern life in America’ by Kirkus
Reviews.
“While I don’t want to get too much
into the content yet, let’s just say the pandemic
will have a large infl uence on the
collection and that the structure will be
innovative,” Desai added.
“Good Americans” (2013) was an
Award Finalist in the 2020 Readers’
Favorite International Book Awards
Content in the Fiction-Urban category
and has experienced revived international
interest due to the current turbulence
in the U.S.
Th e novelist was interviewed for a
TimesLedger story in 2019, before anyone
knew about the “storm” that would
be hitting NYC and beyond just one
year later.
Since then his books have had tremendous
success. “Th e Brotherhood, Volume
One of Th e Brotherhood Chronicle,”
became a No. 1 Amazon Bestseller in
December 2019 and the third volume
of his international crime trilogy, “Th e
Brotherhood Chronicle, Th e Dance
Towards Death,” also became a No. 1
Amazon Bestseller last month, on its
publication day.
All three must-read books in the series
(“Th e Brotherhood,” “Th e Run and Hide,”
“Th e Dance Towards Death”) have continued
to garner great reviews, and “Th e
Brotherhood” won the Pencraft Award in
the Fiction-General category.
It’s no wonder that Desai’s novels have
been so popular: Back in March of 2019,
he told QNS, “In the essence of Queens,
I wanted to write a genuinely multicultural
crime trilogy that moves at a
breathtaking pace and that’s what ‘Th e
Brotherhood Chronicle’ is.”
“It takes on contemporary issues like
religious fundamentalism, political corruption,
the relationship between individual
and community as well as ethnic, cultural
and gender identity,” he explained.
“In ‘Th e Brotherhood Chronicle,’ the
characters are very ethnically, culturally
and socioeconomically diverse, and
the books teach the reader a lot about
Hinduism and Buddhism even as you’re
engaged in a riveting mystery thriller that
never stops entertaining.”
Desai continued, “Much of it is set
in Queens. And the other settings are
amazingly rich, too: the lush beaches of
Th ailand, the gritty streets of India, the
sleepy towns of the American South. It
features a fast-paced plot with action,
mysteries and surprises, entertaining dialogue
and fascinating characters.”
Th e author said his greatest education
has been on Queens’ streets and during
his frequent worldwide travels, where
he has “interacted with, listened to and
observed people of all types.” Th ose experiences
combined with a lot of research
and a robust imagination, led to the
inspiration and creation of his compelling
works.
Desai recounted his sheltering in place
experience, which in some ways, further
shaped him as a writer: “First, I got sick
myself in late January and had to cancel
my trip to Indonesia/Malaysia/Singapore,
since I was fl ying through mainland
China. At the time I thought COVID-
19 could spread here but was trying to
avoid a nightmare scenario while traveling,
since I had gotten sick on two successive
international trips,” he recalled.
“I ended up keeping my vacation for a
month, but I was sick the entire time and
stayed at home, and even for a week aft er,
and I was around no one but my family.
As soon as I got back to working my
day job at Cambria Heights Library, we
had to close in a week and the city mostly
shut down.”
Th e author said he was in the eye of the
hurricane, as he lived in Flushing, worked
in southeast Queens, and since his mother
was an essential worker at the hardesthit
hospital. He remembered driving her
to and from work during that time.
“I was defi nitely privy to death, social
reality and practice during the pandemic,”
Desai shared. “I knew people who
passed away from COVID-19, including
African-Americans, the most aff ected
racial group. I observed the period
where people were audaciously ignoring
the public health warnings. Th e NYPD
even took down the basketball hoops
near my house since 50 to 80 people were
playing every day without social distancing.
I knew people who were victims of
the most heinous prejudice, particularly
Asian-Americans, and not always from
who you would assume.”
He continued, “I was working from
home doing library work, including virtual
programming, but I was constantly
writing during that time and was able
to complete the fi nal edits of ‘Th e Dance
Towards Death.’ More importantly, knowing
that ‘Bad Americans’ would be my
next project, I started thinking early, even
when COVID was known to only be primarily
Photo courtesy of Tejas Desai
in Asia and Europe, about how I
could incorporate the pandemic into my
book.”
So, he started gathering material for the
fi ctional substance of the book.
And, once things started to loosen
up, Desai said that he traveled outside
Queens, including to places where the
more well-to-do were escaping, so he was
able to explore that angle, as well. And
throughout, the author was in touch with
many people via Zoom and kept up with
various news sources and social media.
“It always has been, and probably always
will be, my surroundings: the people I
meet and hear about, the anecdotes and
stories I’m told, the places I travel to and
read about, the food I eat. Also, the other
books I read, but these days that’s usually
secondary,” he told QNS.
Talking about his beloved mother and
her infl uence, he also shared: “My mom
has been my rock for a long time. She has
very good sense, so I oft en ask her advice
when I am making life decisions. I don’t
always take it, but I know most of the time
it’s sound. Otherwise, she taught me to be
tough but compassionate, she allowed me
a certain independence growing up. Both
my parents are great people, and I’m very
lucky to have been raised by them and still
have them in my life.”
Th e author said that he hopes readers
will check out “Th e Brotherhood
Chronicle” crime trilogy. “It’s a unique,
exotic, ceaselessly entertaining series.
You’ll be mesmerized, and you’ll learn a
lot,” he added.
“If you like gritty crime thrillers that
make you think, then this trilogy is up
your alley.”
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