arunpradhan

Twig and the Slightly Heroic League of Misfits

Exiled by the warrior father he longs to impress, fourteen-year-old Twig, a relentlessly curious, one-armed misfit, flees to Eon, a living city where the deadly Alliance Trials offer him one last shot at competing in Ikto’s Game. But as he's pulled into the lives of the city’s outcasts and exploited creatures, Twig questions the brutal ideals he once believed would make him worthy. When his father returns offering the belonging he has always yearned for, Twig must choose between becoming the hero his father demands or standing with the ones no hero ever bothered to save.

Currently querying.

About Arun

Above all else, I'm a curious and empathetic geek.

As a second-generation migrant to Australia, I've often found myself a misfit between two worlds. I love stories with laughter, danger, wonder, and characters who don’t quite fit. The kind of stories where curiosity is useful, courage is messy, and heroism means challenging the status quo to build something better.

I've been writing behind the scenes for a while. As far back as 2014, I won the Best Unpublished Manuscript award in the middle-grade category at the Children’s and Young Adult Writers and Illustrators Conference in Australia for a middle-grade historical-detective story. I’ve written several other manuscripts over the past fifteen years, though this is the first story I know is ready to release into the world.

My day job is in Leadership, Learning & Development. Whether professionally or creatively, I find myself returning to the same themes: hope, curiosity, and a deep sense of wonder.

MY DEBUT NOVEL COMING SOON: