Formerly working as an attorney, Sejal Badani left the profession to pursue writing full-time, and what a great decision she made! With her new book The Storyteller's Secret on the horizon, we got Sejal to open up a little about herself, and share 7 things she'd like her readers to know about her.

Sejal Badani

Sejal Badani

  1. At the age of six I told my sister, who is also my best friend, that I wanted to be an author and win an Oscar. She nodded her head vigorously and told me I could do it and that she believed in me. Five seconds later she asked me what an Oscar was. She’s still my biggest fan and reads every draft of everything I write. Any wonder why she’s my best friend?
  2. From the age of seven to nine years old I had horrific chest pain. Every doctor my parents took me to dismissed my complaints with either “It’s growing pains” or “She’s looking for attention.” A nurse, who believed me, recommended I get an echocardiogram. The results showed a hole in my heart that is usually a silent killer – my pain never should have happened. I had major heart surgery at the age of nine. So when anyone asks if I believe in miracles I answer with a heartfelt (no pun intended) Yes! A miracle saved my life.
  3. I was an attorney prior to being an author but wasn’t very good at it. After the birth of our first child my husband recommended I take some time off to write full time. We still had hundreds of thousands in law school loans so it was a big leap of faith. It took over ten years for me to find success. To this day I am so grateful to him for his belief in me.
  4. I’m a HUGE fan of the Marvel movies. I’ve seen every one of them at least a dozen times but Captain America is my all-time favorite though Black Panther is a close second. I love the comedy mixed in with the intention to always do good.
  5. Anytime I walk into a new room I will automatically count the letters of any words on the wall – posters, signs, etc. If the letters don’t come out even I search for another source of words until they do. It’s a habit so ingrained and done so quickly that even my husband didn’t know about it until a few years ago.
  6. I’m a terrible cook so when my kids were young I ordered take-out regularly from a local eatery. I was sure I had my children fooled because I served it up in our dishes. During a dinner party we were talking about playdates and my daughter, who was five at the time, announced loudly that Mommy’s favorite playdate was the delivery guy because I had him over every single day. So much for trying to fool your children.
  7. I wrote The Storyteller’s Secret during a time my sister was going through multiple miscarriages. Feeling helpless while she was in pain gave me a new perspective and empathy for what so many women go through. Her struggles and grace during that time served as the inspiration for Jaya’s character.

The Storyteller's Secret is officially released on Saturday, September 1, 2018.