Continued, The Wedding Week
Dear Reader,
I grew up in South Florida, on the edge of the Everglades, where community gatherings were large, loud, joyful, and layered with complex dynamics. Weddings especially were epic affairs—days of dancing, shared meals, and of course, the inevitable whispers and gossip.
A few years ago, I returned to Florida for a family wedding.
Among the bhangra, and the dancing, my childhood memories came rushing back.
As I moved from event to event over the course of the multi-day wedding—reconnecting with relatives, witnessing old tensions resurface and new bonds form—I couldn’t stop thinking about how weddings are built-in settings for drama.
That tinderbox of heightened emotions, cultural expectations, family history, and sheer exhaustion from nonstop festivities can lead to unexpected—and sometimes explosive—moments.
While there was (thankfully) no murder at the wedding I attended, these thoughts stayed with me, and became the seed for The Wedding Week.
Within the pages of this novel, Hena navigates complicated family ties while being pulled into something far darker than she ever expected.
This book blends my love of big, messy family stories with my passion for suspense—the kind where every conversation feels loaded and every smile might hide something more.
I also drew deeply from my own upbringing: the closeness of extended family, the way secrets can linger beneath celebrations, and how cultural traditions can be both grounding and heavy.
This story is also, in its way, an ode to Florida, which is not only the land of gators and exotic pythons, but also where I’m from.
A place that is truly a character all its own.
I hope you enjoyed stepping into Hena’s world as much as I enjoyed creating it. Thank you for spending your time with these characters and their story—it truly means everything.
With love and gratitude,
Aisha