Success Story Interview - Raveena Raju

An Interview with Raveena Raju (raveenaromance on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Allegra Martschenko of BookEnds, LLC.

06/16/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Raveena Raju:
We need stories that can shepherd us through the experience of growing up in a warming world, especially as the crises around us continue to get worse. Most authors respond to this with dystopia where, ultimately, hope prevails, but I resist the idea of dystopia as the primary function of future-focused storytelling. We need fun, lighthearted, solarpunk fiction, and that's why I'm writing the world's first solarpunk romcom.

If you’ve ever had an existential crisis about how your job is meaningless and the earth is on fire, but also you want to just have a good time inside a fluffy story, this is for you:

In BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN, two early-career workplace nemeses must overcome their clashing personalities to pitch their consulting company as the State of California’s technology partner for the state’s increasingly frequent and fatal wildfires. If Ahana cannot manage her increasing climate anxiety spirals, and if Sam cannot expand his rigid worldviews, the two of them risk losing the $11M contract to a shady competitor who would put millions of Californians’ lives at risk.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Raveena Raju:
For fun, probably since I was five years old. For work, since 2019, although that was fully non-fiction. My foray into fiction started in 2025.

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

Raveena Raju:
I began drafting it in March 2025.

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

Raveena Raju:
No, there wasn't. I'm writing a solarpunk romance novel because I believe dystopia needs to die. We're already overexposed to it. Dystopian fiction rules our ideas of what the future can be, and we desperately need an antidote. To me, solarpunk is that antidote. Because I'm doing this as my contribution to our group project to save the world, I never thought about giving up. That said, I thought about giving up querying once all my dream agents rejected my manuscript.

QT: Is this your first book?

Raveena Raju:
Yes.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Raveena Raju:
Not beyond two AP English classes in high school.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Raveena Raju:
No. I write in sprints, so I drafted this novel in about six weeks. Once that first sprint was done, I didn't think about writing for a while.

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

Raveena Raju:
Before finding an agent, I rewrote it fully once, and then I rewrote the third act when I still wasn't satisfied with it. I had around five drafts before querying.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Raveena Raju:
I did, and I couldn't have done this without them. Huge shoutouts to Kiara and Kelsey who spent a LOT of time with my drafts and full manuscripts. I also had a bunch of people (probably around twenty) read the opening 20 pages, since most agents request up to that amount. Sarah T. Dubb, author of HONEY BEE MINE and BIRDING WITH BENEFITS is someone I look up to, and she gave me some great feedback on the opening with some input on navigating the process of finding an agent.

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

Raveena Raju:
How I wish I was an outliner. Alas, I'm fully flying by the seat of my thrifted pants. In his craft book REFUSE TO BE DONE, Matt Bell outlines a three-draft format that works really well for me. I write a discovery draft with no real idea of where I'm going.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

Raveena Raju:
I sent my first query in August 2025 and began querying in earnest in September. It was my first book I wrote and queried. I got an agent offer in January.

QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

Raveena Raju:
64

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

Raveena Raju:
They should have a good grasp of commercial romance fiction. BookEnds Literary Agency was the perfect home for me for that reason; their agency has represented some of the most well-known authors including B.K. Borrison, Kennedy Ryan, Hannah Bonam-Young, and more. My agent, Allegra, has a wonderful grasp of speculative fiction that's silly and joyful. They represented a book, OF MONSTERS AND MAINFRAMES, that was one of my favorite reads of 2025.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

Raveena Raju:
I tailored the personalization and sometimes the comps.

Query Letter:

Dear [Fairygodagent],

[Personalization]

I’d love to introduce you to BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN (88k words), a dual-POV adult contemporary romcom where two workplace nemeses must team up to win a $11M wildfire technology contract against a shady competitor, set in a gently speculative version of San Francisco. In the city, solarpunk urban design illustrates pockets of hope in our warming world (like Wakanda from Black Panther). If you’re a fan of the delightfully calamitous protagonist in Talia Hibbert’s Act Your Age, Eve Brown or the way Yulin Kuang addresses heavy topics with levity in How to End a Love Story, my debut would be a good fit for your list.

After three years of being a corporate cog, Ahana Desari finally has her chance to matter: she’s selected to lead her company’s $11 million pitch to build California’s new life-saving wildfire notification system. The catch? She’s forced to team up with Samuel Sterling, the coworker who once dismissed her as “frivolous and destructive,” putting words to her greatest insecurities.

Socially awkward and introverted Sam never wanted this project. He joined a consulting company to save money for medical school, not to relive the trauma of losing his childhood home to wildfire. He’s dreading partnering with Ahana, the type of loud, reckless, sinfully irresistible woman his conservative upbringing warned him about.

To win the contract, Ahana and Sam must navigate their clashing personalities as they journey through Northern California on high-speed rail, metrocables, and electric rickshaws. When their boss botches the timeline, their month-long project becomes a one-week sprint, forcing Ahana to confront her spiraling climate anxiety, Sam to face his growing desire for her, and both to decide whether partnering with a shady competitor is worth the cost. Their careers, their hearts, and the safety of millions of Californians hang in the balance.

Much like Ahana, my struggle with climate anxiety has led me on a lifelong quest for purpose. I left Big Tech to build Soapbox Project, a nonprofit creating the world’s most joyful community spaces for climate action. My work as an AAPI immigrant founder examining power structures through narrative change has been profiled by the New York Times, the Washington Post, Grist, and more. I received an honorable mention for my romcom in NYC Midnight’s 2025 Flash Fiction Competition. You can find me in Seattle at the library, in a lake, or on my bike.

Please let me know if you’d like to meet Ahana and Sam via my full manuscript,

Raveena Raju (@raveenaromance)