iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 13/08/2026

So beyond excited to share the cover for BEFORE I BOW (the sequel to BURN THE SEA). This book will complete the anti-colonial historical fantasy duology which reimagines the life of Rani Abbakka Chowta and her fight against the colonizers attacking her shores.

Color of a book with the title "Before I Bow" by Mona Tewari. There is a woman in an orange sari in front of a sandy beach with waves crashing on shore. She is holding a sword in front of her and protecting her daughter who is half hidden behind her and wearing a pink lehenga choli

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 04/08/2026

I see your "bitch-eating-crackers" and raise you "bitch eating samosas"

screenshot of a Word document that says:

It bothered me that Parushi was acting so normal, when she was the one who had [blacked out words]. She shouldn’t have been able to eat that samosa with so little guilt.

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 03/06/2026

Now with a graphic! Everyone I've talked to has LOVED Soneela Nankani's narration, so definitely check it out!

Graphic with image of BURN THE SEA on e-reader that says:
Are you an immersion reader?
Good news!
You can immersion read BURN THE SEA for $10
$3.99 on Kindle
$5.60 Audiobook

The background is dark green with pale green stripes

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 15/05/2026

PINCH ME!! So grateful for this starred review from @shelf-awareness.com !! www.shelf-awareness.com/readers/2026...

Screenshot of a starred review of BURN THE SEA from shelf awareness featuring a picture of the cover of the book (which has an Indian woman sitting in a stepwell as she plays the tambura with a dagger leaning against her lehenga and a cobra made in smoke hovering above her)

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 06/04/2026

So ... somehow this is a think that happened Links in case you, like me, need proof: www.goodreads.com/blog/show/30... www.amazon.com/gp/browse.ht...

Graphic with a design that says "Burn the Sea" is a Goodreads Editors' April Book Pick and an Amazon Editors' Pick for Best SFF in April

Little popouts say "This is not a joke!" and "I triple checked."

There is also an image of the novel, Burn the Sea. Its cover features an Indian woman with long, curly black hair who is wearing a green lehenga choli and is playing a tambura. A dagger is propped against her leg.

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 20/11/2025

Please join me in SCREAMING about this incredible artwork from @musethe.bsky.social! I cannot thank Rosario enough for capturing Matanta & Abbakka in the opening scene of BURN THE SEA so perfectly. The dynamic between the 2 of them was so much fun to write, & Matanta is one of my favorite characters

Illustrated picture of a bright green lion with wings glowering from inside a cave at a little girl with curly hair who is wearing a blue lehenga choli at the entrance. Glowing green birds circle above.

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 07/10/2025

Well, thanks to Miller, people are learning about plenary authority...

A Google trends graph showing a spike in searches for the term "plenary authority" starting on October 7th

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 02/08/2025

BURN THE SEA, a historical fantasy based on the life of Indian monarch Abbakka Chowta, in which a fierce queen must defend her country against both the colonizing monsters attacking from the sea and the cowardly manipulations of a neighboring king ... who happens to be her husband (coming 4/21/26)

Publisher's Marketplace Deal Report:

Mona Tewari's BURN THE SEA, a historical fantasy based on the life of Indian monarch Abbakka Chowta, in which a fierce queen must defend her country against both the colonizing monsters attacking from the sea and the cowardly manipulations of a neighboring king ... who happens to be her husband, to Jananie K. Velu at Bindery Books, for publication in spring 2026 by Jennifer Azantian at Azantian Literary Agency (world English).
Translation: alba@mushens-entertainment.com

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 17/07/2025

I am so beyond thrilled to share the cover for BURN THE SEA, which will be published April 21, 2026 with Boundless Press at @binderybooks.bsky.social

Splotchy jungle green background with the mockup of a book in front. The book's title is BURN THE SEA, which is written in swoopy yellow font, and it is written by Mona Tewari. On the cover, there is a woman in a teal lehenga with gold trim who is playing a tambura in a stepwell. She has curly black hair and stares straight at the audience. Red blossoms are tucked into her hair. There is a dagger leaning against of of her legs, and her feet rest in the stepwell's water, which ripples around her. The tambura is decorated symmetrically with a rearing winged lion on the right and left. Small green birds fly above them with feathers drifting down to the lions.

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 14/07/2025

OMG it's almost time for my cover reveal! I can't wait to share!!

Light blue background with the image of a book that is covered in dark blue. On the cover, it says "BURN THE SEA cover reveal July 17." There is a ripped portion of the cover that shows an elaborately decorated dagger laying on the hem of a green skirt.

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 12/06/2025

I'm typical me fashion, I saw a picture of something and decided, "I can make that!" even though I've been dabbling in ceramics for < a year. Well, it took a couple of tries and a lot of redos but I'm really happy with how this guy is looking so far. Fingers crossed for kindness from the kiln gods!

A slab built clay vase with coral on the bottom and an octopus on top. The vase is not yet fired.

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 29/04/2025

I just finished CRY, VOIDBRINGER and ... Wow. I'll be thinking about this book for a while. The characters are complex & nuanced. They're often left with the choice between bad and worse - and more often than not, they end up doing worse than they'd planned - but you understand *why.* (1/2)

An ebook copy of the title page of "Cry, Voidbringer" shown on a tablet being held in front of a train window as greenery rushes by

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 11/03/2025

C'mon Netgalley ... help a girl out! I NEED THIS BOOK

Screenshot of Netgalley listing of "Cry, Voidbringer" by Elaine Ho with a request pending. There is a picture of the cover with the line, "In a broken system, do you save yourself or fight for the people you love?" below.

Bindery Books will publish CRY, VOIDBRINGER on October 28, 2025

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 24/01/2025

In my excitement, I totally failed to post the PM announcement! I still can't believe it! BURN THE SEA will be published by @binderybooks.bsky.social in Spring 2026!

Publishers marketplace deal announcement that reads: Mona Tewari's BURN THE SEA, A historical fantasy pitched as based on the life of Indian monarch Abbakka Chowta, in which a fierce Queen must offend her country against both the colonizing monsters attacking from the sea, the cowardly manipulations of a neighboring King... who happens to be her husband, to Jananie K. Velu at Bindery Books, for publication in Spring 2026, by Jennifer Azantian at Azantian Literary Agency (world English).
Translation: alba@mushens-entertainment.com
Film/TV: film@azantianlitagency.com

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 24/01/2025

10/10 recommend zen doodling! Is it perfect? No. Do I love it? Yes! Did my brain feel less "buzzy" when I was done? ABSOLUTELY YES

Zen doodle with eight sections in different colors. A zigzag goes up each section and flower shapes are drawn into the triangles

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 21/01/2025

Thank you for doing this!!

Receipt for $150 donation to Trans Lifeline

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 06/01/2025

Taking it easy today and feeling much better after anaphlaxis yesterday. In a perfect world, I'd be better at breathing than zen doodling, but you can't always get what you want.

Zen doodle was perpendicular zigzags. Each section is colored in one of six colors: crimson, magenta, goldenrod, deep blue, bright pink, or periwinkle. There are a few scattered sections with four white petals on a black background. Each section also has a shadowed lower right corner and white highlights.

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 29/12/2024

TIL that only female mallards quack. Local park signs FTW!

Sign this the following text:
8. Mallard
Feeds in shallow water by typing forward it picking from the surface; eats marsh and aquatic plant material along with aquatic insects; only the female quacks.

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 19/12/2024

For the night crowd: I've written a blog post about resilience. Would love it it you'd take a look! monatewari.com/2024/12/18/o...

Groo meme where he is standing in front of a board, shown in four panels:
1. have idea for a blog post
2. Write the blog post
3. get people to read the blog post
4. (groo is looking at the board in with sadness/concern) Get people to read the blog post

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 03/12/2024

Me: Hey Google, how much snow is expected tonight? Our Google home: There is no snow expected tonight in [town] Mother Nature:

A picture of a deck and backyard with 1.5 inches of snow on the table and tree branches

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 25/11/2024

Let's be serious for a minute, though. They're planning on publishing 8000 books/year, so ~22 books per day. I take about a year to write + edit a book. Even if I wrote a book in a few months, what would it mean to have it published in this way? To be one in a crop of 22 that day or 660 that month?

"A new publisher has claimed it aims to "disrupt" the books industry by publishing 8,000 books in 2025 alone using artificial intelligence (AI). Spines, founded in 2021 but which published its first titles this year, is a startup technology business which-for a fee-is offering the use of AI to proofread, produce, publish, and distribute books. The company charges up to $5,000 a book, but it can take just three weeks to go from a manuscript to a published title."

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 22/11/2024

Just a little BURN THE SEA update 👀👀

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 16/11/2024

The world is mad, but we keep on fighting. We keep on writing. We keep on.

"Get in loser" meme from mean girls with the caption, "Get in loser. We're disrupting systems of oppression"

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 15/11/2024

I'm making it a practice to zen doodle as I listen to podcasts (usually about writing). It's really starting to anchor my day.

Zen doodle in shades of pink and purple with brown accents and a circle motif

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 12/11/2024

The world has felt so wildly out of control in the last week that it's been hard to focus. I decided to start to zen doodle and it's amazing how much quieter my brain feels when I'm done. Just wanted to share in case it helps anyone else.

Zen doodle in rainbow colors with circles and feather patterns

Zen doodle with swirls and curls filled with feather patterns in purple, magenta, blue green and green

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 16/10/2023

I'm pretty sure the Venn Diagram of "people who own superyachts" & "people who sing 'I'm On A Boat' unironically" is a circle

Screenshot of a Twitter post that reads, " writers the contest is over: the sentence has been written and you'll never write a sentence this bad." Below is an image of a magazine that says, " today's super yacht owners are younger, and more in tune with the climate crisis around us"

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 01/10/2023

It's October first, which means it's time for Halloween crafts!

Homemade wreath with green tulle tied around the central ring and large googly eyes. The center of the ring is backed with purple and there are large yellow teeth

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 18/08/2023

Writers, show off your work spaces & pass it on ✍🏾

Wooden desk with white bookshelves, two monitors, keyboard, pen and paper, and water jug. Jug. Above is a framed artwork of a trio of people and another framed piece of art of a single woman.

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 17/08/2023

In honor of the Barbie movie's INSANE (and well deserved) success, I'm bringing back the poster I made with the MC of my novel BURN THE SEA. She's here, she's fierce, and she's ready to take down the colonizers. Right now, she's with my incredible agent, & I can't wait until we can share her story!

"Barbie" poster with overlaid image of an fierce Indian woman. She's wearing her curls loose and has a white sari with heavy gold jewelry (necklaces, earrings, nose ring, tikka). Text on the top says "This barbie is taking down the colonizers"

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 12/08/2023

Honestly, it's been a bit of *a week,* but I'm thankful for this lovely Friday evening (and I finally broke through the wall on my WIP!)

Wine glass with white wine in the foreground with musician, vineyard, and lake in the background

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 28/07/2023

Ryan Gosling in the Barbie movie: Once a Mouseketeer, forever a Mouseketeer

Ryan Gosling (dressed in all black) making a heart shape with his hands with dancers in the background. Scene from the Barbie movie.

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 27/07/2023

Made a disco jellyfish today and I kind of love him! I hadn't used much watercolor until recently and am having a blast with silly little projects. Definitely helps calm the brain on crazy days.

Watercolor painting of a jellyfish done in a rainbow of colors with gold accents.

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Mona Tewari @monatewari.com · 18/07/2023

Hi! I'm Mona! I've just sent my manuscript off to my agent, so obviously the logical thing to do was to sign up for a new media account and post about it. I put so much into this historical fantasy about a Rani who refused to bow to the colonizers, and I hope I've done her justice.

Collage with Indian spices, marigolds, traditional Indian jewelry, hands with henna and red bangles, Indian woman with sword and shield, tiger, diya (small candle), and waves with sunset

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