Ratna Rao Shekar has been a journalist in the mainstream media for over 30 years. She launched several magazines, including Housecalls, and was, until recently, editor of Wow! Hyderabad, which she helped launch 22 years ago. Her publications include a coffee table book, Journey Without a Map, a book on the eminent artist Laxma Goud, Laxma in Black and White, and an edited volume on Hyderabad entrepreneurs for Heal- A-Foundation. Purple Lotus and Other Stories (2011) is her book of short stories, and Listen to the House (2024), her first full-length novel. She is currently working on a book of essays.