Toviyah is originally from the state of Kerala in Southern India. He has called Edmonton home for over two decades. Toviyah was the mastermind behind the character of Anbu Mathew, lending his first-hand knowledge of life in Kerala and the trials and tribulations of immigration to a foreign country to Anbu's character.
Toviyah's training in criminal psychology, as well as in spirituality and metaphysics, lent a personal touch to the thoughts expressed in the novel and the afterword of A Course in Deception.