Author Entrepreneur Creative Explorer
About
Rukmini Thakore is a children’s book author who brings humor and heart to stories about emotional growth and identity. Her debut novel explores how young readers can turn setbacks into strengths and embrace their unique cultural identities, all while navigating life’s twists with a touch of magic and fun.
Rukmini holds a degree from the London School of Economics and honed her business acumen at Citigroup before founding two startups. Her first venture, Kakshaa, is a World Bank-awarded organization that provides educational videos to underserved Indian schools. She subsequently established Fitminis, a ready-to-eat snack food startup.
Currently, Rukmini works in Product Management at Harvard Business School and lives in Arlington, Massachusetts, with her husband. Outside of writing, she enjoys playing the guitar, meditating, and discovering new restaurants!
Mira Motto and the Silver Spiral
Twelve-year-old Mira can’t imagine life without her stepdad, Ed. He is the sunshine to her wildflowers, the one who made her a chess whiz after her appa left. So, when Ed faces arrest for a theft he didn’t commit, Mira’s world wilts. A phantom of sadness invades her dreams, turning her chess pieces gray and wrecking her game.
Realizing she could use the winnings from a local chess tournament to save Ed, Mira stands up to the phantom. When she awakens, she finds a pea-sized silver spiral etched on her palm. Her chess vision returns, but her doubts quickly turn the spiral white. The phantom strikes again. To revive the spiral’s silver, Mira travels through a magical newspaper and arrives in the enchanted Blue Mountains of India—a place that stirs difficult memories of her appa. With the help of her best friends and a fellow spiral-bearer, Mira must vanquish the phantom, risking everything she loves: chess, Ed, and her happiness.