How my love for tigers—and frustration at their plight—led me to write a paranormal adventure with purpose
You might wonder what caused me, a writer of space opera, to diverge into the paranormal and write Black Tiger.
I’ve always been an animal lover. And like many of you, I’ve got a soft spot for the big cats—especially that magnificent, solitary hunter, the tiger.
Back in 2012 I was horrified to learn there were fewer than two thousand tigers left in the wild in India. Poaching, habitat loss, and sheer human pressure had driven them to the edge. How do you justify vast tracts of tiger territory in one of the most densely populated countries on Earth?
To its credit, India did something remarkable. It created reserves, moved villages, and built a thriving eco-tourism industry so people could earn a living by protecting tigers instead of killing them. And it’s worked. Since 2010, India’s wild tiger population has more than doubled—from about 1,700 to over 3,600. That’s a win worth celebrating. 🎉
But poaching still lurks in the shadows. Cubs are stolen for the pet trade, adults are slaughtered, their bones and organs sold for use in so-called traditional medicine. Let’s be honest—eating bits of tiger doesn’t make anyone stronger. It just makes the world poorer.
Tiger poaching in India remains one of the biggest threats to the survival of this magnificent predator. Despite strict laws and dedicated wildlife protection teams, organised poaching networks continue to operate, driven by a lucrative international black market. Every part of a tiger has a price — skin for trophies and status symbols, bones and organs for traditional medicine, claws and teeth for jewellery or charms. A single tiger can fetch thousands of dollars once butchered and trafficked, and that kind of money attracts well-armed, ruthless poachers.
Poachers use wire snares, poison, and high-powered rifles, often striking inside or just beyond the borders of protected reserves. The aftermath is heartbreaking — a lifeless tiger, stripped of dignity, and a shattered local ecosystem. Each death also erodes years of conservation effort. India’s Project Tiger and numerous NGOs have helped double the tiger population since 2010, but poaching continues to undermine that progress. Until demand for tiger parts disappears and rural communities are better supported to protect rather than profit from these animals, the battle to save India’s tigers will remain far from over.
That brutal truth became the spark for my novel Black Tiger—a paranormal adventure set across India, Hong Kong, and Australia. It’s my trademark mix of mystery, history, and legend… with claws.
Black Tiger isn’t your average shifter novel. There are no alpha growls, pack politics, or half-naked men flexing under the moonlight. This story is grounded in the real world — in the forests of India, where tigers fight for survival against poachers and shrinking habitats. My “shifters” aren’t romanticised superheroes. They’re guardians, bound by ancient magic to protect a species on the brink of extinction.
It’s a fast-paced adventure with teeth. There’s mystery, danger, and a thread of romance, but the beating heart of the story is conservation — the fight to keep tigers alive, wild, and free. So if you’re looking for a story that blends myth with reality, and fantasy with purpose, Black Tiger might surprise you.
And because stories deserve great covers, I’ve given Black Tiger a fresh one. It’s moody, eerie, and just a little bit dangerous—exactly like the book itself.
