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
Until a few days ago, twelve-year-old Mira Motto was a chess whiz. Now she fiddles with her bishop earrings and squints at a board gone entirely gray. The culprit is Asadilous, the Phantom of Sadness, who wants a permanent place in her heart. He’s been creeping into her dreams ever since her stepdad, Ed Motto, was framed for a theft he didn’t commit.
To Mira, the “step” in stepdad is silent. Ed taught her chess and mopped up the mess her runaway appa left behind. So she hatches a plan to save him: win the prize money at a chess tournament and replace what was stolen. She staves off Asadilous—and wakes up to a three-ringed spiral etched into her palm. The innermost ring shimmers silver, and a third of her chessboard turns black and white. Mira does the math. Awakening the spiral fully will give her back her game.
A photograph of a stranger with the same spiral whisks Mira into India, her appa’s homeland and personal no-go zone. In the ancient Nilgiri Mountains, she must team up with a 104-year-old spiral-bearer to defeat Asadilous and awaken the remaining two rings. If she fails, she doesn’t just lose chess. She loses the dad who actually chose to stay.