EliteOne Stories: Dr. Priya, Every story begins with an idea or experience. What was the original inspiration behind the Cleopatra series, and how did it evolve?
Dr. Priya Rohan: I first read about Cleopatra at sixteen, and she never quite left my imagination. While others saw a beautiful seductress, I saw a teenage queen holding her ground among powerful men. Her intelligence, courage and independence fascinated me. Years later, my husband encouraged me to write. I couldn’t change everyone’s perception, but if my pen could become a sword against even a little prejudice, why shouldn’t I use it? When readers of the first book began asking what happened next, I decided to carry her story beyond ancient Egypt through reincarnation.
EliteOne Stories: Devi is a young girl with an extraordinary inner world. What makes her character personally meaningful to you as a writer?
Dr. Priya Rohan: Devi cannot be understood at first glance. Like a precious diamond, she conceals an entire universe beneath what others see. She moves within her own little orb, navigating love, dilemmas and contradictions, sometimes without fully understanding the larger world. She is calm and intelligent, but also angry, vulnerable and conflicted. At times she’s utterly human; at others, a goddess or warrior emerges. I wanted readers to discover those layers gradually, not judge her from one moment. What moves me most is that, despite her divinity, she chooses human life and respects the experience of inhabiting a human body.
EliteOne Stories: The title Reincarnation Begins suggests a journey beyond one lifetime. What does the idea of reincarnation represent within your story?
Dr. Priya Rohan: Years ago, when I was practising cosmetic dermatology, I read Dr. Brian Weiss’s Many Lives, Many Masters. I knew little about past-life regression then. My subsequent work in neurointegrative mental health, including regression practice and research, changed how I approached these questions. I’ve learned that knowledge should never become a closed door. The moment we think we know everything, we limit our curiosity about consciousness. Reincarnation continues to invite inquiry and different interpretations. In my fiction, it also serves a literary purpose: an invisible, powerful thread joining two different lives and two novels into one continuing journey.
EliteOne Stories: Your novel explores the fine line between love and obsession. What inspired you to examine these contrasting sides of human relationships?
Dr. Priya Rohan: Can we imagine human life without love and obsession? I find that difficult. I’m an Indian national, though my family and I have lived abroad for many years. Wherever I’ve travelled, I’ve noticed how people across cultures respond to love stories, especially Bollywood romances with their passion, longing and emotional intensity. Sometimes seeing someone in love brings an involuntary smile to our faces. Love is universal, and obsession can lie close beside it. Cleopatra herself had intense relationships; imagining her reincarnation without love, longing and obsession would have left something essential out of the story.
EliteOne Stories: Rural India forms an important part of the narrative. How does this setting contribute to the atmosphere and emotional depth of the story?
Dr. Priya Rohan: I wanted a drastic contrast: a queen from the wealth and grandeur of Alexandria beginning another life in rural India. Away from royalty and recognition, Devi’s unusual powers could emerge quietly. Villagers might notice something extraordinary about her without understanding what lay beneath it. In a city, those experiences might immediately attract scrutiny, investigations and explanations. A village allowed room for curiosity, innocence and mystery. It wasn’t simply a scenic backdrop. The setting let someone with an extraordinary identity experience an ordinary human life, which was precisely the contrast I wanted.
EliteOne Stories: Writing supernatural fiction requires imagination and emotional authenticity. How do you make extraordinary experiences relatable to your readers?
Dr. Priya Rohan: People across cultures have reported supernatural experiences for centuries. I don’t think every human experience fits neatly into a textbook category of what exists and what doesn’t. Experiences are personal, often layered, and a novel is built upon its characters’ experiences. Behind the extraordinary events in my story are emotions, circumstances and untold histories. Belief is personal, but disbelief alone doesn’t establish nonexistence. I didn’t introduce supernatural elements merely to decorate the plot with mystery. I allowed them to emerge through what the characters live and feel. That, I think, is what makes them relatable.
EliteOne Stories: Your professional life focuses on understanding the human mind. How does this knowledge influence the way you create fictional characters?
Dr. Priya Rohan: As a doctor, I observe human behaviour closely. When someone comes to me seeking support, I don’t see only the face they present to the world. Their emotions and contradictions unfold gradually, like peeling the layers of an onion. I bring that understanding to fiction. Without psychological depth, characters feel flat. Think of cinema: we don’t connect with a film merely because things happen, but because we feel what the characters feel. I wanted that same cinematic experience on the page. Psychology isn’t an ornament in my storytelling; it’s what gives the characters life.
EliteOne Stories: Stories about past lives and unfinished connections often fascinate readers. Why do you think these themes hold such emotional appeal?
Dr. Priya Rohan: Human beings have always been drawn to what they cannot fully explain. Consider space. Centuries ago, we understood very little about the universe; even now, after extraordinary discoveries, it still fills us with questions. Past lives and unfinished connections hold a similar fascination. They’ve been discussed across cultures for centuries and continue to invite research, debate and speculation. Perhaps we are drawn to the possibility that human existence holds more than we presently understand. Knowledge changes, but curiosity endures. As long as questions remain, I think these subjects will fascinate future generations.
EliteOne Stories: As the second installment of the series, what creative challenges and exciting discoveries did you experience while writing this book?
Dr. Priya Rohan: My first challenge was writer’s block, especially while developing Devi and choosing names for certain characters. Eventually, names and ideas came from conversations, people and my surroundings. Then the thriller began surprising me. I’d be writing in one direction, discover something in my reading, and suddenly see an entirely different path. I chose to follow those turns rather than force the story into a fixed plan. The novel took almost two years to complete. I’m grateful it’s now published, and seeing readers respond to its suspense and psychological complexity makes that long journey worthwhile.
EliteOne Stories: When readers finish Reincarnation Begins, what emotions or questions would you most like them to carry with them?
Dr. Priya Rohan: Surprise, perhaps. But more than that, I’d like readers to feel they’ve encountered something beyond mere imagination. I wanted the novel to act as a mirror: somewhere in Devi’s world, readers may recognise their own emotions and unanswered questions. They might ask, “What if? Could this exist? Could it have happened?” I don’t need everyone to reach the same conclusion; different interpretations interest me more. But if someone reads with genuine attention, curiosity and an open mind, I believe something will stay with them. Some stories end when we close the book. I hope this one continues in the reader’s consciousness.
