Vaishnavi Patel

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Nina Michiko Tam

A close-up of Vaishnavi Patel.

Vaishnavi Patel

The New York Times bestseller Kaikeyi proved Vaishnavi Patel is comfortable (and skilled) in rebuilding folklore; her latest, We Dance Upon Demons, brings the mysteries of antiquity to modern times. The fantasy novel introduces a reproductive health care worker in Chicago confronting abortion politics…and the sudden development of a mysterious personal power after a museum trip. Patel will discuss the novel with Celina Doria; RSVP encouraged at roomofonesown.com.

media release: A Room of One's Own is thrilled to welcome Vaishnavi Patel for an author event in celebration of her new release, We Dance Upon Demons. She will be joined in conversation with Dr. Celina Doria.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Kaikeyi, a galvanizing stand-alone contemporary fantasy following a burnt-out reproductive health care worker as she fights back against escalating attacks on her clinic and the malevolent forces in hot pursuit of her newly acquired power.

As a reproductive health care worker in Chicago, Nisha is barely staying afloat in the ocean of abortion bans, screaming protestors, and her own all-consuming depression.

When she escapes to the Indian art exhibit at her favorite museum for a brief respite, Nisha suddenly finds herself bleeding, disoriented, and collapsed on the ground. The last thing she remembers is the statue that beckoned her to touch it. In the days that follow, Nisha feels a strange power coursing within her, one that attracts a host of dangerous and enigmatic characters who covet it for themselves.

Facing threats both otherworldly and distinctly human, Nisha must navigate uncertain alliances to piece together the centuries-old mystery of her odd and terrifying abilities. And as danger closes in on her loved ones, community, and the clinic she’s determined to protect, Nisha must make a choice about the life she wants—and fight all the demons standing in her way to get it.

Vaishnavi Patel is a lawyer focusing on constitutional law and civil rights. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Kaikeyi, Goddess of the River, and Ten Incarnations of Rebellion.

Dr. Celina Doria (she/her) is a critical qualitative social work scholar whose work addresses questions at the intersection of reproductive justice, gender-based violence, and state violence. Her research centers the embodied experiences of marginalized women and pregnant people as they navigate, resist, and heal from intersecting inequalities and oppressions.