About

I’m an Indian-born author in Los Angeles. My middle name (pronounced AR-pana) is a Sanskrit word meaning she who is surrendered to God.

Since migrating to LA from Mumbai in 1999, I have edited numerous books and written four of my own. The latest, Gullible Travels, my debut novel, released on April 29, 2025, which marked the 20th anniversary of my becoming a US citizen.

My previous books include:
Pioneer Boulevard, a collection of stories set in LA’s immigrant community;
The Blessing of Melchizedek Devotional, an award-winning 100-day devotional; and
There Once Was a Man Who Suffered, a verse-by-verse translation of the Book of Job in limericks.
I have two feature-length screenplays to my name as well.

I hold MA’s in English (Pune, India) and Creative Writing (Keele, UK), and have also studied at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena. In the 1990s I took Bible-based courses at YWAM/University of the Nations campuses in India, the Philippines, and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Apart from editing, my career includes working as a proofreader at Warner Bros., Burbank. I was also employed at two churches, including Hope Chapel Hermosa, two publishing companies, including William Carey Library, and at a credit union.On a more personal note, I have been a follower of Jesus Christ since the age of six. My greatest passions are prayer, worship, Bible study, and exercising my spiritual gift of exhortation. I also enjoy dream interpretation.

After salvation, the most momentous experience of my spiritual journey was receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit in February 1991. In this video I describe how it happened and its seven benefits.

Despite my early commitment to Christ, I have lived with the consequences of a dysfunctional childhood. It created in me a deep yearning for unconditional love as well as a sense of purposelessness. I drifted through life for many years, unable to find vocational and relational fulfillment, and I was depressed as a result.

But the Lord is a great Redeemer! As Psalm 130:7 says, with Him is “full redemption.” Not only has He healed my heart, but He has also called me to help others move from barrenness into their God-appointed destiny of fruitfulness.

I have prayed for hundreds of people over the years, often also giving a word of knowledge that motivated them to take a step in the right direction. And although my long singleness has not been easy, I am grateful for the opportunities it has given me to serve, write, and even learn to love myself.

My blog posts can be read here, and these are some of my guest posts and interviews:

For more, please visit Facebook and Amazon.