During my time in graduate school, I was fortunate to be surrounded – and mentored – by numerous strong, female scientists. It’s no wonder parts of who they are have snuck onto my pages.
Piyali stepped into A Trace of Copper already strong-willed and determined. A woman who doesn’t put up with any nonsense, a woman who Gets Things Done. All characteristics she shares with my friend. So one night over a glass of wine, I said, “I’ve this idea for a character… will you help?”
Meet Dr. Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay, one of my fellow graduate school inmates classmates. While we didn’t share a laboratory for more than a few weeks, we did share a number of coffee breaks over 5+ years of research while we waited for a gel to run, a transfer membrane to wash, her granite, graveyard slab to stabilize… It’s a long story. In a nutshell, Raj studied microtubules using Atomic Force Microscopy before fleeing the laboratory to become a science writer of the non-fiction variety.
Without further ado, I present an impromptu interview:
Audio only:
Click on an image below to learn more:
BONUS!
In which Raj’s husband, Gautam, recounts a story about his hunt for a very specific Bengali word.
Audio only:
A small Welsh village. An interrupted romance. A rogue frog on the loose threatening their future.
A TRACE OF COPPER
Book One of the Elemental Web Tales
New recruit to the Queen’s agents, Dr. Piyali Mukherji is given a simple first assignment. Travel to the small Welsh village of Aberwyn and solve the mystery of a young woman’s blue skin lesion. A challenging task, for the alarming infection is unlike anything she’s seen before—and it’s spreading.
Evan Tredegar, the town’s pharmacist and the only man to ever capture her heart, knows more than he’s telling. Despite his efforts to push her away, her touch reawakens old desires. As more villagers fall victim to the strange disease, he’ll have no choice but to reveal his secrets, even if it means sacrificing his freedom.
Together they must move past broken promises, capture a rogue frog, and stop the infection before it spreads out of control.
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