My name is Aarti Patel and I’m a naturopathic doctor, writer, blogger, self-publisher of books, and mom who likes to explore what life has to offer and constantly seeks out new things to learn and experience. When I was a kid, family and friends started calling me R2D2 after that cute little robot who goes “bee boo” all the time on Star Wars. The nickname eventually branched off into different variants such as R2, D2, and Deets that both friends and family used more than my actual name. I may not be an avid Star Wars fan, but I do like R2D2 (who doesn’t?) and decided to name my small self-publishing imprint D2 Books as a tribute.

I’ve always enjoyed writing, but when I was younger I just assumed you first have to demonstrate a level of expertise or get advanced degrees in literature in order to write anything worthwhile. Then one day, a friend told me that I should try to write anyway just for fun and see how I liked it. I replied, “Me? I’m not a writer and anyways my English teachers had never been bowled over by what I turned in for essays. Plus, what would I even write about?” My friend insisted that I just do it anyway because who knows, I may have a good story to tell.

So I took his advice and tried it, and sure enough writing opened up a whole new world for me. I enjoyed the challenge of expressing things I didn’t even realize were in me until they appeared on paper. I found I could write health blogs or articles in my chosen field of naturopathic medicine, but I could also travel beyond my profession and write short stories or even work on a novel. Eventually, I learned about avenues for self-publishing and ventured off to take what I had written and open it up to the world.

My long term goal is to continue writing in both the health care field and in literature, but also to develop a platform where I can read other people’s works and use my experience with self-publishing to help them to promote their art to share with others.  I love seeing how every writer has a unique way of expressing themselves, and am honored and excited to help others bring their creations into the world.