Shivani Jai has always had a thing for big feelings, bold characters, and stories that stay with you for days. A lifelong movie lover, Shivani was born in Toronto of Guyanese, South Asian, and Caribbean heritage and later raised in the United States where she followed her passion to Hollywood. She spent 13 years in film and TV publicity spinning stories behind the scenes but eventually realized she had stories of her own to tell.
Shivani lives in Los Angeles and has a master’s degree in communications and documentary production, which sounds very serious, but really just means she knows how to get to the emotional core of any story. She writes the kind of characters that live loud in your head—flawed, familiar, vibrant, and all too real.
What’s Coming to You plot summary
Mari never imagined she’d end up with someone as handsome and charming as Mason Goodridge. After six years of marriage, their relationship is far from perfect, but she refuses to give up on what they’ve built together. Little does she know, Mason’s got other plans, and in one horrific night of discovery, her world comes crashing fatally down.
Now that Mari’s gone, Mason is determined to reclaim his life on his terms, but something always gets in the way. He’s gone from hometown hero to the most hated man alive, plagued by
threatening phone calls and strange occurrences; his increasingly possessive mistress is off the rails; his mom is becoming dangerously suspicious; and even though Mari’s death was ruled an accident, the detective assigned to her case seems to believe otherwise.
No matter how hard Mason tries to control them, each woman is inching closer to a secret that, if discovered, would mean his total destruction. For one of them, that’s the goal.
The interview
Why do you write in the genres that you do?
I write in whatever genre feels like fun and suits the story I’m trying to tell, right now that’s thrillers and the occasional rom com, but who knows, maybe one day I’ll dabble in some fantasy!!
Do you keep a notebook of ideas?
Not a notebook, but that one file in my Notes app is on FIRE. My writing career will be over if something ever happens to my phone.
Do you have a muse?
Life is my muse.
Are you more of a fan of plot-driven stories or character-driven stories?
I’m a fan of a good, juicy story… sometimes that’s about a person or group of people, and sometimes that’s about a shared experience or journey they’re having.
Fill in the blank: “People will like your book if they like stories about…”
…revenge, or stories about modern relationships gone wrong, stories about unhinged people, stories about complex relational dynamics, or stories that have a cat in them!
What are your thoughts on typewriters?
Very cool machines, awesome vintage vibes, super satisfying clicky clicks, but probably too overstimulating and clunky for the way I like to “stream of consciousness” type on my laptop.
Would you rather own a bookstore or run a library?
Libraries are the backbone of society and can be incredible community hubs of humor and humanity. Library.
How do you name your characters? If you write nonfiction, do you ever change the names of your characters, and if so, how do you decide what names to change them to?
This might sound a little loopy, but my characters often show up fully formed with their personalities and names already in place. I just write them down.
What is your favorite website that you use to promote your writing?
Amazon because that’s where it’s for sale.
If Hollywood bought the rights to your book, would you want it to be turned into a movie or series?
Heck yes, I think that would be really fun. I’d love to see some of the horror scenes on film!
Who is your dream audiobook narrator?
Meryl Streep narrating What’s Coming to You would be pretty dope.
Do you try to hit a certain page or word count with each writing session?
So, I’m currently working on a non-fiction project, and it is very different from crafting fiction. It can be tough some days, so I try to commit to a minimum 1K words a day. With fiction, it’s slightly different because the story is unfolding in my head, so some days the goal is to do one scene, or one piece of dialogue, or a chapter opening/closing, etc.
Do you have any writing rituals?
Yes, but they are secret! … and they change slightly depending on what I’m writing.
What are your passions/obsessions outside of writing?
I have been pole dancing for 10 years, it’s a great hobby to help me get out of my head (where writing happens) and into my body and use my brain in a different way.
Have you made any public appearances to promote your book?
No, I’m afraid I’m not famous enough for that haha, BUT my friend and I started a writer’s group in Los Angeles called W.I.C.K.D and we will be hosting a booth for the first time at the LA Times Festival of Books this April!
What is the most unique way that an idea for a piece of writing has come to you.
I had a nightmare on the fourth of July and woke up thinking, “that would make a GREAT slasher story.” It’s in the works 😉
Are you a big reader? Do you own a large collection of books, or are you more of a borrower?
I don’t really have room for a big collection of books in my place, and I think books should be shared and circulated, so I keep a very curated library of my favorite favorites and the rest I read and drop in those little sidewalk libraries around town or give them away to people I think would enjoy them.
Have you ever gone away to work on a piece of writing? If not, where would you go if you could?
I never have but would love to try a writer’s retreat! Unfortunately, I’m too easily distracted so I’d probably spend too much time enjoying wherever I am and no time actually writing.
What is an annoying thing that a non-writer has assumed about writers or the act of writing?
That it’s chill??!? No, it is not. The life of a writer has zero chill. Every writer you know is completely neurotic and freaking out about writing all the time, and if they’re not writing, they’re freaking out about how much writing they’re not doing.
How do you measure the success of your writing career?
I can be easily bogged down by what’s not working, so I’ve learned to measure success in lots of ways! If one person says they liked my book? Success! If one person bought my book this week? WIN. If I can spend the majority of my time and energy writing more than anything else, then that is success and life is good.
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