Publication Date August 23rd 2022 by Rising Action Publishing Collectiveįind It On Goodreads The cover captures the essence of (Not) Your Basic Love Story, which also doubles as a love letter to Vancouver. Through the editing process and cover design, I’ve been included every step along the way to ensure our vision for the story matches and we end up with a novel we’re all proud of. My journey to publication began with a PitMad like, included a reunion via a critique partner match-up, and ended with me signing a contract with Alex at Rising Action Publishing Collective. I also learned that while there may be many differences in culture, religion, and language, there is a commonality between us all that transcends any differences we perceive - that love is what matters most. Through learning about another culture I had the opportunity to explore my own through a different lens.

These things are necessary for any relationship, not just those where the couple is from different cultures. After the novel was complete I had several rounds of sensitivity readers who loved the story and felt it represented them well.īecky and Dev’s story explores the ups and downs of learning about one another, figuring out what is most important in their relationships and their families, and finding a middle-ground where everyone could be happy and fulfilled. I read books by Indian Canadian and American women, read blog posts about cross-cultural relationships, and interviewed women who married into large Indian families. How would I have fared, joining a family who, on the outside, seemed so different from my own? That’s when I came up with the idea for (Not) Your Basic Love Story.

Multigenerational families made so much sense compared to the often counterproductive individualistic nature of my own culture, and Indian weddings looked gorgeous but sounded a tad overwhelming (coming from someone who was overwhelmed by her backyard wedding of eighty people).

I was lucky enough to meet a lovely Punjabi Sikh family through my husband’s work who introduced me to their culture. When I moved to British Columbia I was suddenly surrounded by a gorgeous tapestry of people from all over the world who spoke other languages, had varied religions, and had different customs than I was used to. I grew up in rural Canada, where it felt like everyone was the same - Same skin colour, same religion, same cultural background.

Not your basic love story lindsay maple