From fake marriages to forbidden romances, Ava Rani knows how to craft a steamy page-turner. Packed with juicy intrigue, her Biotech Billionaires series grants readers exclusive access into the inner circle of the young, rich, and powerful. These high-society romances feature headstrong women of color often forced to make difficult choices when their ambitions, obligations, and emotions collide. We caught up with Ava to discuss her characters, cultural influences, and the upcoming projects she has in store.
About the Author
Ava Rani is a contemporary romance author. As the daughter of two immigrants, her Indian-American roots peek out in different ways in all of her novels. She loves to write diverse love stories featuring flawed characters who have real problems, powerful friendships, and chosen families who support each other.
When she’s not writing, she’s probably traveling the world in search of new wines to stock her cellar and delicious food to satiate her latest craving. Stateside, she lives the city-girl life with her husband, adorable son, and loyal goldendoodle.
Thanks for joining us, Ava! Let’s get started.
For any readers unfamiliar with it, can you give an elevator pitch for your new release The Charmer or the Biotech Billionaires series as a whole?
When a charming billionaire and a reserved lawyer tie the knot to outsmart an inheritance scheme, sparks fly and unexpected love blossoms. With a Suits-style subplot and a Crazy Rich Asians backdrop, it’s a sizzling romance, high-stakes legal battle, and trip around the world all in one book.
You’ve previously mentioned having a career in STEM. What was it like transitioning from that career to being a writer?
Seamless, because I do both! I am a part-time writer and mostly write at night after my kiddo is asleep. I find my creative well is filled after a long day of left-brain control with a glass of wine (or sparkling water!).
You’ve described your Biotech Billionaires series as Gossip Girl meets Succession meets Scandal. Would you say any of your main characters match the personality traits of characters in those shows? How so?
All of the main characters embody the found family you’ll find in Gossip Girl, where we have a level of dysfunction but at the end of the day, they all rally around each other when they need to. Sloan from The Spare is my version of a “grown-up” mix of Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl) and Shiv Roy (Succession). She’s well-meaning but power-hungry, and learns to channel that into something productive.
While Henry Amari from The Heir is most certainly a cross between Chuck Bass (Gossip Girl) and Fitzgerald Grant (Scandal). A gentleman that is used to getting what he wants with more power than he can (sometimes) handle. His leading lady, Selena, is my version of the powerful fixer that is Olivia Pope (Scandal).
Penelope Chen-Astor from The Charmer was actually inspired by the character of Astrid Young of Crazy Rich Asians. Her story made me wonder what Astrid would have done if she’d been the one to leave home and stay abroad.
Are there any particular love stories, fictional or from your own life, that influenced your writing of this series?
All of the specific romantic stories came to be as I wrote the characters and their motivations influenced the romance. But some little parts of my own story are dropped into the plot (in The Spare, when they make paella together, it’s based off the first dinner my now-husband made for me).
You mentioned in a previous interview with What The Smut Are You Talking About that you’d like to write a friends-to-lovers romance. Did you ever consider pairing Sloan and Xander together, or did you know you wanted them to have their own stories (best friend’s brother and marriage of convenience, respectively)?
I always planned for them to be strictly friends, but so close that it often got misconstrued. Since this group is trauma bonded from an early age, I wanted both Sloan and Xander’s growth to include growing away from each other in a healthy way. While they aren’t romantically involved, they use each other as a way to avoid the parts of life that may scare them. So, each of their stories pushes them to evolve and mature their relationship with their best friend since they became each other’s emotional crutch for a while.
Random fact about them: Xander and Sloan’s relationship was based (loosely) after Lucas and Haley in One Tree Hill (if you couldn’t tell, I watch a lot of TV).
How did you incorporate your Indian-American background into these novels while mixing it with other cultures to create multicultural romances?
I think one of the most accessible ways for anyone to learn about another culture is through food. You can get right to the heart of a person by understanding the food traditions they grew up around. So, I often have the characters share those specific experiences. For me, that meant having Sloan and Henry open up to their respective partners through different foods their grandmother made with them (parathas, specifically). Additionally, I love to include holidays and other festive occasions. In The Spare, you see Holi. In The Heir, there is Diwali. And in The Charmer, we have an Indian wedding (Sloan’s)!
How did you ensure that your books maintain a sense of realism while creating a world of corporate takeovers and scandals typically seen on the screen?
I try to mix in very “regular” scenes and make these scenes the ones that are turning points for the character’s emotional journeys. In between opulent parties or tense boardrooms, I love to have a scene where they are doing something very normal. This usually centers around food.
All of your stories show strong, highly successful women of color who each battle different hardships affecting their journeys. What messages do you hope your readers walk away with?
Sloan, Selena, and Penelope all face different obstacles, but one thing they have in common is understanding that they need help. It comes at different times in all of their stories, but they understand and rely on their communities — in this case, their found families — to get through difficult situations. I want women reading this to walk away with the knowledge that life is a team sport. Our wins and losses are taken as a group. You don’t need to rely on a singular person (yourself or love interest) to save you. Care can come from so many places, and, oftentimes, it is your family (chosen or otherwise) that you can rely on.
Who would you cast to play the main characters in an adaptation of the Biotech Billionaires series?
The more I think about this the more options I have in my head. The only ones that haven’t changed are: Dev Patel for Henry Amari and Gemma Chan for Penelope Chen-Astor.
If you are at liberty to discuss, what’s next for you? Do you have another story in the works?
I do! It is still in the works, but a companion novel to this series is being edited now. It involves a highly independent surgeon from The Heir, and I can’t wait to share more!
Thanks again to Ava for speaking with us! To keep up with her work, find her at her website and follow her on Instagram. Be sure to check out the Biotech Billionaires series!
Want more South Asian voices to support? Check out our interview with children’s author Harshini Vankineni here.
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