Q&A With Nisha Sharma 

I recently read The Letters We Keep by Nisha Sharma which will be released on May 7th! I am so happy Megan Beatie connected me with Nisha to do this Q&A with her. Nisha is also the author of The Karma Map & Dating Dr. Dil. Nisha’s books have also appeared in the “Best of” lists such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue & Buzzfeed! 

Q: Nisha, in the Dear Reader section of The Letters We Keep, you mentioned that your grandmother’s old letters & your grandmother wrestling expectations vs her wants and needs were the inspiration for this novel. That being said, would you say the characters in this novel were loosely inspired by your grandmother?

A: Hi, thank you for having me! None of my characters are inspired by real people in my life, but more of an amalgamation of qualities of different individuals I’ve come across. My grandmother was a really complicated woman and I honestly don’t think she’s the heroine of a romance novel material. She would’ve probably laughed at that.

Q: How long does it take you to typically write a novel? 

A: It depends on the novel! Sometimes a few months, sometimes longer. With The Letters We Keep, I thought about it for a long time and then it burst out in a few weeks.

Q: After reading, The Letters We Keep, what lessons do you hope readers take away from the novel? 

A: I’m not really a “lessons” kind of person. I don’t think that fiction should be read like a textbook with the intention of teaching something. But I would love readers to think about the way we leave our stories behind.

Q: Are you currently writing your next novel? If it’s not too early, can you reveal any details?

A: I am always writing! But sadly, no details yet. My next published book comes out in August on the 27th. It’s an adult rom com called MARRIAGE AND MASTI and it’s inspired by Twelfth Night.

Q: If you were to write a sequel to The Letters We Keep, what would Jessie & Ravi be doing right now?

A: I think they’d be living a super chill life! They’d be walking hand in hand at night to get ice cream, or sitting in a coffee shop while Jessie studied and Ravi worked on his book. They’d go out to Indian food with friends and maybe stay in to watch movies while Jessie fell asleep on the couch.

Q: If Hollywood were to get the rights to your books, who would be the dream cast to play the characters you created?

A: I honestly don’t know but I feel like there are a ton of South Asian up and coming TikTok content creators that should definitely consider auditioning if this ever happens.