Riya Lakhani is the pen name of a husband-and-wife writing team who both work in television, which was the backdrop for their own romance. One is a presenter, the other a producer. In the best courtship tradition, on their first date they were accompanied by a chaperone! They live in the heart of the U.K. with their two children, and they draw upon their own background of mixed cultures for their inspiration. They say writing romance is the perfect antidote to the doom and gloom of TV news because there's always a happy-ever-after.Sameena was born in Manchester, England but lived in Nigeria as a young girl when her father worked at one of the country's universities. Despite all her best intentions of training to be a doctor, she liked the sound of her own voice too much to ignore the lure of radio. After several years working at various stations she moved into television, first with the BBC and then with ITV. She is a busy working mum who loves to relax by cooking traditional Asian food for her family. She has a passion for clothes and music and enjoys designing her own outfits. If she has any time left over she can be found swimming, practising the piano or hosting glittering events as a much-in-demand compere.Kester comes from London and has always enjoyed eating Asian food, so when he met Sam they hit it off straightaway! He always wanted to be a television journalist, and much to his own surprise he landed a job in television straight from university. Not the glamorous main news anchor he sought, but as a dogsbody. He worked his way up and eventually joined the BBC, where he and Sam met. Always a keen writer, he took time off work to look after their children and began writing. So far he's completed an adventure book for young children and is working on other projects, including a diary for stay-at-home dads. Kester is also studying for a PhD.A Date With A Bollywood Star is their first romance and Sameena and Kester are delighted it's going to be published. They (and Riya) have begun work on their next book-not surprisingly, it's going to involve a female television reporter looking for love.
