You’ll Never Forget Me book cover, and Isha Raya’s headshot.
The Writing Owl: I wanted to talk a bit more about your book and the process of how this story came to be. Did this start with the character of Dimple, or did you have anything else in mind that then led to this story?
Isha Raya: I knew I wanted to write about a villain, so I did kind of start with the idea of Dimple. My first iteration was that I wanted to write about some kind of assassin character, and then I started thinking about some good day jobs for assassins. I thought acting was interesting because you have to be charming, you have to be good at lying, you have to be good at improvisation. As I started researching the acting aspect more, it took over the whole story, and I realized Hollywood is a really interesting place for betrayal and backstabbing. It gives you a lot of opportunity to give a character motivation. And I was really interested in what would potentially make someone so ambitious go to such extreme means to get what she wants. I found that a lot of my stories, in my first two books that I've been working on, are very much about ambition. I guess it shows where I am at this stage of life. So, it's very much about ambition. I thought acting was a really interesting way of exploring that.
The Writing Owl: I think it plays off so nicely because, like I was talking about in my review, you normally wouldn't be rooting for a character like Dimple, but you do root for her in the book. You want her to get away with everything. So, was that your goal: to get readers to like her?
Isha Raya: For sure. I was really interested in what could push the envelope of making her someone who is clearly doing wrong things, but making her at least interesting to read about. I feel like when someone is interesting to read about, and you can understand where they're coming from, you root for them. It was definitely my intention to make her very, very human. She's doing these very inhuman things, but making her very human in the story. So I'm glad that came across.
The Writing Owl: I feel like that part of her being very human, even though she's doing these things that “normal” people wouldn't be doing, I think that plays off. I think that's why her connection to Saffi really plays off throughout the book. Did you have that in mind when you started writing the story? Or did it develop as you were going?
Isha Raya: I think it developed as I was going. I had Dimple as this character I was developing; I realized she's so over the top and so off the page that she needs someone who can work off her, balance her out, and ground her. So that's how Saffi came about. They're so intertwined. They both are these ambitious women who have so many eyes on them. And they're so perceived, and they care so much about how they're perceived. They work as really cool foils for each other, and they fell together. So I thought it was perfect how they ended up working together.
The Writing Owl: From the moment they meet, as a reader, you want them to end up together. There's something between them. The chemistry between them, you feel it through the pages, so it's really good. You end up wanting them to be together and get away with everything that they've done. So that's definitely really fun to read.
Isha Raya: I really loved it. It was really fun because I was writing Dimple's chapter and I was in her mindset, so I wanted her to win. But then I would write Saffi's chapter, get into her mindset, and want her to win. I just naturally ended up having this cat-and-mouse, push-and-pull. So it was really fun to write.
The Writing Owl: Do you ever think about what happens next for them? Or would you want to write what happens next for them?
Isha Raya: I would. I would say, "Never say never," for sure. I have so many thoughts about what happens to them, and I love hearing what other people think happens afterward. I think that was one of my favorite things about the story. It's so open-ended, and people can decide if they keep killing or if they turn over a new leaf, start a new life, and run away together or something.
In my mind, I imagine they're both so ambitious that they keep going down this path, finding what they really want and making sure they get it. And I think it would be interesting to explore that in the future. I don't have any plans for it right now, but I do think about it.
The Writing Owl: I feel like the way it ends, it sort of plays itself to have that and to think about what's next for them. I wanted to ask: what do you think is fundamental to have when you write a story like this one, with crimes and different clues?
Isha Raya: I think something is definitely a lot of research. It's important to make sure the characters are grounded because the story is so over the top, and it's almost like something that would hopefully never happen in real life. That's why a lot of my research wasn't necessarily about the crime aspect. It was more about the Hollywood aspect. I read Jenna Fischer's book, The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide, trying to make sure that at least the acting aspects were realistic. Her [Dimple] ambitions and the way she got her roles felt realistic, so the crimes felt more grounded. Weirdly, I did less research about the crime aspect and more about the job and the acting.
The Writing Owl: That makes sense because it does feel very real, the Hollywood part of it, and you know why everything develops. I think it works. So your research definitely works in there as well. I also wanted to ask: what do you think up-and-coming queer authors should focus on? Any advice that you might give them?
Isha Raya: I think the main thing is that the world needs more queer stories, and so I would say your words are needed. Your story is needed. You're never gonna make everybody feel represented. But as long as you feel like it's an accurate representation of yourself, and it's a story that you enjoy reading, that's the most important thing.
I'd say don't be afraid of taking risks. There's no pathway exactly laid out for us, and so we have to make our own path. Publishers are looking for something new and something interesting. So, don't hold yourself back. We need your stories, so go all the way if you're going to go for it.
The Writing Owl: Another thing I wanted to ask you is, your book has a UK version, and the title changes, right? So what went into that process of changing the title? How did it work for you?
Isha Raya: It was actually really interesting. I was not aware that titles could change in different editions of books. But I actually sold my UK edition and my US edition separately. They're both with Penguin, but we sold the UK rights to Michael Joseph. It was more about trusting that the marketing people there understand the market better.
I heard it's more common with thrillers to have different titles. They thought it would sell better there, and the title would make more sense to the audience. It wasn't necessarily something that I pitched, but I could definitely see why they suggested it.
I think it's fun that I have two different editions. People do get confused; they think that I have two different books out already. I think it's kind of cool. I have two completely different covers and titles.
The Writing Owl: Does anything else change besides the title and the covers, or is that it?
Isha Raya: That's it. I looked inside too. I read both editions, and they're pretty much exactly the same.
The Writing Owl: What do you have upcoming? Any new books? Any other stories that we should be on the lookout for?
Isha Raya: Next year, in 2027, Summer 2027, I have my next book coming out. It is a heist book, and it's set in New York. And it is, of course, sapphic, still centering South Asian women. This one is somehow, I think, almost more unhinged than [You’ll Never Forget Me], even though it's not necessarily about murder. It's more about crime. It's really fun. I think it's kind of topical. It's about the wealthy class, exploitation, and also ambition, of course. And so I'm really excited for people to read it.