Karma in Action: How Deepak Chopra Appeared in My Book Trailer

The book trailer for The Karma Club launched only yesterday and already the question I've been asked several times over is: "How did you get Deepak Chopra to cameo in your book trailer?"

I had a feeling this question might come up. So I thought I'd do a quick blog about it.

I'll start by saying, I don't believe in accidents. Nor do I believe in coincidences. I believe the universe lines up exactly the way it's supposed to and this story is more proof of that than I'll ever need.

When I wrote The Karma Club a few years back, I created a character in the novel named Rajiv--a wise, kindhearted Indian man with a rich, melodic accent and a playful sense of humor. Rajiv's purpose was to offer guidance to my broken-hearted teen character and inherently influence her journey throughout the book. Of course, he was inspired by one of my favorite spiritual teachers, Deepak Chopra.

Two years later, I was on a flight from New York to LA, somewhere high above the middle of the country, on my laptop, checking Twitter (thanks to Virgin America's Wi-Fi enabled flights!) Deepak's latest tweet happened to be on my screen at the time and the man sitting next to me noticed, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "That's my dad."

It turned out I was sitting right next to Deepak Chopra's son! And if it hadn't been for GoGo's Inflight Internet service, I never would have known. Gotham Chopra (also a writer) and I started chatting, exchanged contact information and a few weeks later I asked him if he thought his dad would be interested in making a cameo appearance in my newest book trailer, playing the character that he inspired. He said, "Possibly," and the next thing I knew, I got a call from Deepak himself saying that he'd love to participate! It was, for lack of a better word, unbelievable.

So I, along with my lead actress and a small crew of five people, traveled down to the Chopra Center in Carlsbad, CA to shoot our big scene. Deepak was a pro. So generous with his time and just an overall joy to be around. We were in and out in a matter of a few hours and I think it's safe to say, we all left feeling just a little bit...well, inspired.

Now if that isn't a story of universal alignment, I don't know what is! Maybe I should just chalk it up to Karma. :)

To view the book trailer with Deepak's cameo, click here.