Suja Sukumar

Suja Sukumar loves hanging out in coffee shops and Indian restaurants, drawing inspiration from naan and malai kofta, masala chai and lassi. She is a senior staff physician at a health system in suburban Detroit, where she lives with her husband; two wonderful, beautiful kids; and an elderly cat.

When Mimi Went Missing is her debut novel.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

My title will give readers some idea of what the story is about since the plot revolves around the events leading up to and after Mimi's disappearance. Though, while it tells you that Mimi does disappear, you won't know (until you read the first chapter) that it actually centers around the fractured relationship between once close cousins Mimi and Tanvi. As you read further, you'll realize the depth of that fracture as Mimi vanishes and Tanvi becomes a suspect in the murder investigation.

What's in a name?

One of my characters goes by the nickname Mimi but her real name is Lakshmi. I wanted to show that she's Indian and Hindu but also have a name that's familiar to the audience here in the US.

No specific reason for choosing Tanvi for my main character except that I like that name a lot.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

My teenage self wouldn't be too surprised by the genre of my novel. I loved reading mysteries as a teen, and my favorite author was Agatha Christie. I was particularly drawn by the psychological intrigues in her novels and how the darkest secrets were hidden in the most tranquil appearing places. I wanted to set my novel in a small town for that very reason.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I found the ending a lot easier to write. I had an idea of what the ending would be like with the first draft itself, and this ending didn't change much during edits.

But the beginning was tricky. I wanted to show the main character interacting with her cousin so readers would catch onto their rocky relationship. I also wanted to introduce Tanvi's bully and the inciting event which initiated the entire cascade of events leading to Mimi's disappearance. And I also wanted to show Tanvi's state of mind--the backstory of her parents' murder-suicide and how this shaped who she was.

Needless to say, I had to do a ton of edits on my first pages to get the formula just right. Hooking the reader without boring them is critical in the first pages.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Representation was one element that inspired me. I wrote When Mimi Went Missing because I hadn't seen many YA suspense novels featuring main characters from the South Asian diaspora.

I also wanted to reflect intersectionality within the South Asian diaspora--socioeconomic disparity, mental health, and bullying faced by teen girls in school.

My next couple of works reflect environmentalism and the fight against patriarchy.

Visit Suja Sukumar's website.

--Marshal Zeringue