The End of the Dark and Stormy Night is the first novel of Rajni Mala Khelawan and it takes place mostly in the nearby town of Elkford. Khelawan, who spent a couple of years in Elkford after moving from the Fiji Islands, now lives in Calgary and self-published the book in late 2008.

The author will be in Cranbrook on Saturday, Aug. 14 to do a book signing at the Coles bookstore in the Tamarack Mall. She will be at the store from noon until 4 p.m.

Khelawan describes her first novel as satirical.

“Everything is exaggerated in the book and faraway from reality,” she said. “I’m poking fun at al these things, so it’s exaggerated and it’s fictional.

“The theme is about blindness that everyone experiences in their life and what I mean by blindness is more of a spiritual term than a physical term. A lot of us don’t honestly see who we are or who other people are and that’s what it’s really about. On a larger scale it also takes a look at Hinduism and Christianity.”

She has been praised for her the characters she creates and the story features a multicultural cast that deals with issues of racism, sexuality and every day issues that come up in life.

Khelawan is currently working on her second novel called “A Suitable Mate,” which looks at gender biases in our culture. She has also been invited to be a guest author at the Bob Edwards awards show, which is honouring Lawrence Hill, the author of “Book of Negroes.” She is very honoured by her invite and is excited her book is finding success on several paths.