I grew up in Trinidad and Tobago, the youngest of four children.

My father was Indo-Trinidadian; my mother is Irish. They were both medical doctors, although my mother stopped practicing when we were kids.

Every three years, we spent the summer in Ireland, visiting my mother’s family in Loughine, Co. Cork.

Mirroring the story of Golden Child, my siblings and I each left Trinidad at
the age of 18, on academic scholarships to universities in North America.

I went to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where I majored in Physics, class of 1996. I really did like Physics! But I also liked many other subjects.

After Brown, I moved to Europe, and lived in Italy and Ireland for a few years before settling in the UK.

In the UK, I took an MA in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London, in 2011, where I started work on Golden Child.

My parents carried on living in Trinidad until they were in their 80s (and I was in my 40s), and during that time, I went back frequently to visit. These days, I visit less often - every couple of years. Most of my father’s extended family still live in Trinidad.

Nowadays, I live in south London with my husband and two children. I’m an Associate Lecturer (guest tutor) on the MA in Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London, and I mentor emerging writers through Faber Academy. I occasionally review fiction for The Guardian and The Irish Times.