Acclaimed Poet Rochelle Potkar Unveils Debut Novel ‘The D'Costa Family’

A darkly comedic family saga of betrayal, greed, and redemption set to captivate readers worldwide.

MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA, July 9, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Clever Cocoon Publishers announces the release of ‘The D'Costa Family’, from prize-winning poet and author Rochelle Potkar. This black comedy family caper marks Potkar's entry into long-form fiction, following her works in poetry and short fiction.

The novel follows the scheming matriarch Rita D'Costa as she plots to reclaim her family's power and riches from her elder son, Don Pedro. As madcap schemes unfold, betrayals simmer, and long-buried secrets come to light, loyalties shift faster than a loaded gun. With old enemies rising from the shadows, Rita must confront the ultimate question: how far is she willing to go for vengeance?

"From the very first page, the story keeps you hooked, filled with dark humor, warmth, and an undeniable charm," says filmmaker Priyanka Tanwar. Literary consultant Namrata of Keemiya Creatives adds, "Rochelle masterfully crafts each character with such rich detail that they leap off the page, making their world impossible to resist." Filmmaker Jesal Shah describes it as "A darkly comedic family caper filled with gangsters, gold, and Goan grit, The D'Costa Family is a madcap saga of greed, deception, and one last shot at legacy."

In The Saligão Balcão Edition 39, author, activist, reviewer Heta Pandit says, "As our story makes its meandering way from England to India, from Bombay to Callian, Rochelle’s words too slip by, like time. “But if time can slip by, so can history and legacy.” We know that Rochelle can laugh at others, at us and at herself and there are lines like these that are both funny and familiar: “There was so much in that room that it could have passed for a shop.” and, “they had waited outside the perimeter of the house with their eyes and ears sharp, watching for changes of lights in each room of their landlord’s bungalow, as if it were some Morse code of his last breaths.” If there’s anything that Rochelle is not, it is predictable. Her sense of humor is crazy, sinister, macabre even. Listen to this: “Had it been any other occasion, she would have nitpicked on how badly the priest invoked the Lord. But the more Theodore’s history was muddled up with, the better, she felt.” And, “not all in the church had come to grieve his death. Some had come to assure themselves he was gone.”

Potkar, based in Mumbai, is the author of ‘Four Degrees of Separation’ (poetry), ‘Paper Asylum’ (haibun) - shortlisted for the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2020, ‘Coins in Rivers’ (poetry published by Hachette India), and ‘Bombay Hangovers’ (short fiction) released in Hindi translations too by Dr. Divya Joshi.
An alumna of Iowa's International Writing Program (2015) and a Charles Wallace Writer's fellow at the University of Stirling (2017), Potkar was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Literature from Sanskriti University, Mathura by the former President of India Mr. Ram Nath Kovind.

‘The D'Costa Family’ will be available in eBook, paperback, and hardcover formats on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books.

Potkar's upcoming works include a novel - ‘The Fabric Goddesses’ and another book of short fiction.

Clever Cocoon - A small press based in Goa, dedicated to bringing unique literary voices to readers worldwide.

Milagrina Lynette
Clever Cocoon Publishers
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