[Interview] Rachel Trezise

Rachel Trezise was born in the Rhondda Valley in south Wales in 1978.

She studied Journalism and English at Glamorgan University, and, Geography and History at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.

Her books have won two major awards and have been translated into Italian and Danish. Her autobigraphical novel, In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl (Parthian, 2000) won a place on the Orange Futures List in 2002. And her collection of short stories, Fresh Apples (Parthian Books, 2006) won the 2006 EDS Dylan Thomas Prize.

Trezise is also the author of a documentary about Welsh rock music, Dial M for Merthyr (Parthian, 2007), and a second novel, Sixteen Shades of Crazy, which is due out from HarperCollins in 2010.

In this interview, Rachel Trezise talks about her writing:

When did you start writing?

I started writing at the age of sixteen. I thought I wanted to be a music journalist so I started a fanzine called Smack Rupunzel, interviewing and writing about local bands. Soon afterwards, I started writing what became my first novel, In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl, an autobiographical account of a girl growing up poverty stricken and sexually abused in the south Wales valleys.

One day a friend of mine gave me an advertisement he’d found in a local paper from an independent publisher looking for submissions for a Welsh short story anthology. By then I was studying journalism and doing creative writing as a minor so I had a short story set in Wales. It was accepted and I met the publishing editor at the launch of the book. He asked me if I’d written anything else and I sent him the novel, not expecting much because it had already been rejected by most of the major London publishing houses. A week later he told me he wanted to publish it. It came out a few months before I graduated from university.

How would you describe your writing?

It’s what’s generally called ‘literary fiction.’ I like to call it life with the names changed. That’s how people who don’t read literary fiction understand it, but there’s more to it than that obviously.

Who is your target audience?

I’ve never had a target audience. I always write for myself, and if at the end of a piece of work, I enjoy it, I just hope others will too. I’ve never tried to write for a specific age or class and I suspect that puts a lot of pressure on writers.

Actually, I did write an Afternoon Play recently for [BBC] Radio 4. It was about teenage pregnancy and I found writing dialogue a huge challenge because I wasn’t allowed to use ‘bad language.’ But teenagers do use ‘bad language,’ and it seemed unrealistic to leave it out. I worked my way around it eventually but it took up a lot of time.

Which authors influenced you most?

My favourite authors are Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou, two African American women. I studied both for English Literature, A-Level, a time when I was seriously considering writing myself, and discovering the magic of other people’s literature. Some of my own experiences were similar to that of their characters and I identified with the themes of repression in their work.

More recently I’ve discovered Annie Proulx, another American woman who writes about rural areas and the lonely, downtrodden people who inhabit them, and her themes are also very close to the themes I explore.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

My first novel was autobiographical so my personal experiences influenced that book in a very obvious way.

My second book, a collection of short stories, is set in the Rhondda Valley where I grew up and still live, and the characters are amalgamations of the people I grew up with and the everyday struggles they faced -- unemployment, drugs, poverty, the social issues of the day. The stories were fiction though; scenarios I’d heard about second hand or read about in newspapers.

To write about something well, you have to care about the subject, and usually you care about it because it’s happened to you or someone very close to you.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

My main objective as a writer is to tell a social commentary.

I think people and place are tantamount to one another, and my concern is to tell a truth. Not necessarily a true story but a true human condition, to explain what being a human being is about. If you can do that well, then I think your work transcends nationality, like that of Toni Morrison or Annie Proulx.

I think a lot of social issues are brushed under the carpet by the media, and it’s important to document them as an artist.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

The biggest challenge I have at the moment is writing a completely fictional novel.

Those short stories I just mentioned were my fictional baby steps, as it were. For the first time ever, I’ve had to plot a fictional story over 200 pages. I’ve been working on it on and off for five years and am nearing the end now. I had to plan it in a very detailed way, making sure I left no room to lose my way.

It’s also a technically difficult piece of work because it’s told by three women who are very similar in age and background. It’s set in the south Wales valleys though, an area I’m very familiar with and my next challenge will be to set a novel in another country. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in America and I’m going to set my next book there which will be a terrific change.

Do you write everyday?

I write Monday to Friday and over the weekend if there’s a deadline approaching or I’m nearing the end of a project.

I start by re-reading and editing the previous day's work. After that I’m ready to proceed. I work to a strict word length, a 1,000 words a day and push to always hit it, even if what I’m writing isn’t of any quality. I can edit it later.

What is your latest book about?

The book I’m working on, and which I described briefly earlier, is about an English stranger who moves into a very small, close-knit south Wales village. He’s a drug-dealer who seduces three of the local women.

The story is about obsessive love, poverty and provincial attitudes to nationality, race and modern life. The three female characters have been effected at some time or another by different forms of abuse and so the story is also about how experiences of traumatic childhoods make people vulnerable in some ways but stronger in others.

For the first time, I’ve chosen a big London publisher. There are pros and cons to both independent and large publishing companies and my decision for going with a larger one this time is the marketing and distribution power a large house has. I want to reach as large and varied an audience as possible.

What will your next book be about?

I’ve got two new projects in mind. The first is a novel about a girl who’s sold into prostitution by her poverty stricken mother and who suffers throughout her twenties and thirties but eventually becomes a high class call girl and then in the autumn of her life finds love with an Orthodox Jewish man who leaves his religious fold to marry her. A rags to riches story set in West Virginia and Brooklyn, New York.

The other project is also loosely based around the theme of prostitution, a collection of short stories that’s half written at the moment. I’m not sure which’ll be first.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

In my relatively short time as a published writer -- it’s coming up to the 10 year anniversary, I’ve been lucky enough to win two literary prizes, The Orange Futures Prize for In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl and the Dylan Thomas Prize for Fresh Apples.

The second came with a £60,000 cheque and that’s enabled me to be able to write for the past two years without any financial worries, a rare situation for an author, so obviously that’s been a significant achievement and a great reward for all the time and energy I put into my work beforehand but I’m always thrilled when I see a manuscript turn into a book with a proper cover and blurb, perhaps even more so when it happens to be in a different language.

My first hard back book came out in Denmark last year, Ned i akvariet og op igen, a translation of In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl, and Fresh Apples comes out in Italy next year.

More on OhmyNews International.

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[Interview] Sandra Lester

Sandra Lester’s first poetry collection, Candy Cotton Kid and the Faustian Wolf (Q.Q. Press, 2001) was nominated for the Callum MacDonald Memorial Award for poetry in 2002.

Four more poetry collections followed: Tlazolteotl Poems and Illustrations (Q.Q. Press; 2004); Helkappe Poems (Q.Q. Press, 2005) and The Panjandrum of Quondam: The Epic Grenade (Samzidat Press, 2005). In addition to this, she recorded some of her poems and released them as Selected Poems CD (Samzidat Recordings, 2006).

She has also written and published, The Ripper Unmasked: Confessions from Sutcliffe to a Hypnotist (Samzidat Press, 2006), which presents an account of her relationship with Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper.

In a recent interview, Sandra Lester spoke about her writing and the direction it is taking.

Your most recent book, The Ripper Unmasked: Confessions from Sutcliffe to a Hypnotist has been described as a true-crime, historical document. How did the book come about?

I became involved in very intense correspondence with the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe in 1993. At the time, I had no idea that the relationship would develop into something deeply personal and emotionally all-consuming.

Naturally, the book includes Sutcliffe’s letters, poems and sketches to me. The more intimate, confessional side of Sutcliffe’s nature and his emotional responses to my hypnosis tapes definitely make the memoir quite different from anything published about Sutcliffe in the past. I also give a voice to his victims and discuss the death penalty.

My book is the uncut truth about the experiences I had daily, for over a year with Sutcliffe, Broadmoor hospital, the authorities and the press. It is also about how these experiences have shaped my life. I was about to become a nun before I wrote to Sutcliffe. My life took a very different turn thereafter.

How long did it take you to write The Ripper Unmasked?

I started physically writing the book Christmas 2005. I was writing over the Christmas period and over New Year, everyday, sixteen to eighteen hours a day, until I completed it in April 2006. I published it in May 2006 and launched it in June of that year. I have been marketing it ever since.

Initially, when I started writing the book, it was more about my integrity and the need to set the record straight and dispel the myths which surround me and also to give an insight into the British justice system and how it deals with the most dangerous criminals it incarcerates in special hospitals and prisons in the U.K.

I published the book on my Samizdat Press in late May 2006. Self-publishing did not harm Walt Whitman or William Blake and I am certain that it will be good for me. I like to be in control of my work in terms of publication.

Which aspects of the work that you put into the book did you find the most difficult?

The most difficult aspect of writing The Ripper Unmasked was re-living the experiences of the relationship I had with Sutcliffe and confronting how it affected me. The relationship derailed my existence. The negative, longer-term personal and professional consequences forced me to write about the experience in detail.

Writing the book was like a painful therapy session that lasted for three months. I found it cathartic. I had to shift certain areas of experience from my consciousness and my sub-conscious by sharing them in this memoir.

Were there any aspects of the work that you put into the book which you found particularly satisfying?

The most enjoyable part of writing The Ripper Unmasked was that it gave me a deeper understanding of my own experiences. It was also satisfying to know that I had seen it through to completion and that my story, in my own words, was ready to go to print. I had shifted a big burden and the truth had set me free.

It made me understood my own vulnerabilities and considerable strengths as a therapist, a writer, a poet and a woman. I enjoyed the fact that I felt I had written something of remarkable value and had made the lessons I had learned, available for the public to read and be able to draw their own conclusions. I leave the book very open-ended for that reason.

What sets The Ripper Unmasked apart from the other things you have written?

Although the book includes some of both Sutcliffe’s and my poetry, it is not a poetry collection. It is a true crime title. It is my first complete memoir on this particular period of my life.

My work is naturally complex, diverse and controversial. I guess another thing that sets The Ripper Unmasked apart from everything else is that it is three hundred pages strong and is accessible to all kinds of readers.

It is similar to the other things I have written in that it is confessional, radical, uncompromising. I see The Ripper Unmasked as personally empowering and unique. More importantly, it is as revealing as my poetry.

What will your next book be about?

My next book is my third major poetry collection. The collection is already written and ready for publication. It contains revolutionary and confessional work spanning from May 2005 to December 2006.

I have also written a poem "Job Description:The Confessional Poet". This is currently available to listen to on my blog, Lester Poetry and on my Selected Poems CD, along with "Hammer"; "The Pocket-Sized Wreath" and "The Frayed Piece of Guipure."

I change this selection every couple of months or so.

What compelled you to release these poems as recordings?

"Job Description" gives a deeper understanding of the plight of the confessional poet.

The Selected Poems CD was professionally recorded, with subtle sound effects, to enhance the general atmosphere for listeners. This CD is my first recording and I am hoping to do many more. I thoroughly enjoyed being in the studio and the CD is gaining strong critical acclaim at present.

I write and record my poetry in the hope that there will be poets in the future who will be motivated enough, by what I call my 'revolutionary chain', to keep that motivation alive for more generations to come. This is the greatest accomplishment for any poet because being a poet is tough.

All poets need inspiration and a strong will to survive the pitfalls and trappings of their vocation, which, on occasions, leads them through doors of greater perception, into a dark labyrinth of poetic madness. This goes with the territory. My pen is my bayonet or scythe. I use it to chop down the over-grown nettles of the past, in order to make way for and plant the new seeds for the future.

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Interview [1] _ John Eppel

In addition to writing short stories, John Eppel is also an award-winning poet and novelist.

His list of achievements is impressive. His first novel, D.G.G. Berry’s The Great North Road (1992), won the M-Net Prize in South Africa. His second novel, Hatchings (1993), was short-listed for the M-Net Prize and his third novel, The Giraffe Man (1994), has been translated into French.

His first poetry collection, Spoils of War (1989), won the Ingrid Jonker Prize. Other poems have been featured in anthologies that include The Heart in Exile South African Poetry in English 1990-1995 (1996) while his short stories have appeared in anthologies that include Writing Now: More Stories from Zimbabwe (2005).

In a recent email interview, John Eppel spoke about his writing.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

About age 12. Around that time I stopped believing in God, I became consciously aware of my mortality, I began to feel uneasy about my privileged status as a white boy, and I fell in love with a girl who barely noticed me. So even at that age, it was a sense of loss combined with a flair for rhyme, which made me want to become a writer. Perhaps because I’m left-handed, I think metaphorically, which is the way lyric poets apprehend the world.

Who would you say has influenced you the most?

British writers and, marginally, North American and European writers. In my formative years I had no access to literature in English which was coming out of Africa and other colonised parts of the world. Our teachers in primary school were expats from England, Wales and Scotland, and they were very patriotic about the homes they had abandoned. Our little heads were stuffed with characters like Robin Hood, King Arthur, and the Billy Goats Gruff.

Two writers who have had quite a strong influence on me are Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy (the poet, not the novelist); Dickens for his humour, his characterisation and his concern for the marginalised people of his world; Hardy for his exquisite sense of loss, not just personal loss but the loss that is felt by an entire people in times of dramatic socio-political change. I’ve also been influenced by the great satirist poets, in particular Chaucer and Pope.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

My main concern in my poetry is to find a voice, which merges British form (prosody) with African content (mostly nature) so that, if not in my life, in my art, I can find an identity which is not binary, not black/white, African/European colonizer/colonized. My main concern in my prose is to ridicule greed, cruelty, self-righteousness and related vices like racism, sexism, jingoism, and homophobia. Of course I am under no illusion that my satires will make the slightest bit of difference, but nobody, not even those who are ashamed of nothing, likes to be laughed at. I am also acutely aware that satirists are themselves prone to self-righteousness and I keep before me the words of Jesus: Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.

As a younger person, in the 70s and 80s I was quite preoccupied with guilt and self-loathing, a crisis of identity -- all the baggage of apartheid. But now, after a quarter of a century in independent Zimbabwe, things have balanced out a bit. In the last seven years especially, the now tiny settler community (the few filthy rich wheeler-dealers notwithstanding) seems to have paid (and continues to pay) its dues. The government controlled media, aping the ZANU PF hierarchy spews out virulent anti-white propaganda reminiscent of Rwanda just before the genocide. We are called scum, insects, Blair’s kith and kin. The once neutral Ndebele word for a white person, Makiwa, now has pejorative connotations equivalent to mabhunu (boer) or even kaffir.

I am beginning to see bad behaviour more in terms of class than race. Blacks with political connections, who have been catapulted into shocking wealth, the so-called middle class (in a country where 80% of the people live in abject poverty) behave just as badly as their white counterparts behave. They are Rhodies too; their desire for ostentation, parading their Pajeros (the women at 40 km per hour!) and their Mercedes Benzes, acquiring not one suburban home but a dozen; not one farm but a dozen; not one overseas trip per year but a dozen, makes me sick at heart.

Something else which deeply concerns me is the place, the “soil”, the people where I grew up and where I still live: Matabeleland. But here a dark cloud hovers above me. I grew up speaking, not Ndebele but fanakalo, a kind of 'lingua franca', which originated in the gold mines of South Africa where migrant workers speaking many different languages were employed. It is a language of oppression which I have not been able to unlearn and which interferes with my attempts to speak proper Ndebele. I am always afraid of accidentally saying something offensive; consequently I keep quiet or speak in English. Most Africans, even those with little formal education, speak several languages.

The spirit of Matabeleland is to be experienced most potently in the Matobo hills, which were inhabited thousands of years ago by the aboriginal people of this region. They left a legacy of awesome rock paintings. It is also the location of a sacred shrine (at Njelele) revered by Ndebele and Shona alike; it is a retreat for Christians, Moslems, Jews, Hindus and poets. It is epiphanic!

How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?

A lot, of course. I was four years old when my parents emigrated to Rhodesia from South Africa. My father was a miner; my mother was a housewife. They never owned one square inch of this land. When my parents left Zimbabwe shortly after Independence they took with them an old Volvo station-wagon stuffed with their worldly goods, and a meagre pension. So when I get lumped by the new colonisers, the NGOs (shortly to be replaced by the Chinese), with tobacco barons, safari operators, and mining magnates, it is a personal experience I resent, and it nourishes the satirist in me.

The experience of fatherhood, on the other hand, and being a school teacher, and, yes, a lover, have enriched me beyond words. That’s the bitter logic of lyric poetry: expressing the inexpressible.

When I was in my early twenties, the girl I was hoping to marry, was killed in a car accident. In my late twenties I spent two years in the Rhodesian army. I lived for several years in England working variously as a steam cleaner, picker, packer, furniture remover, nightwatchman, assistant on a cargo ship. As a Rhodesian I was labelled a fascist; as a Zimbabwean I was labelled (at least in the early years of Independence) as a Marxist-Leninist. These are all personal experiences, which have influenced my direction as a writer. Of course there are many others, not least being the ageing process, and the prospect of having to work until I drop dead.

What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?

The same challenges that most Zimbabweans face, linked to the economic collapse of the country: how to pay the bills, how to put food on the table; how to stay alive as long as possible because it’s too expensive to get sick and die. There is no social welfare left in this country, the extended family system has collapsed; pension funds and other savings have been looted by people with huge bellies and wallets of flesh on the backs of their necks. And then there is AIDS.

Zimbabwe is, de facto, a police state. It is routine now for people to be beaten up in prison, whether or not they have been charged. People live in fear as well as hunger and illness. People are depressed. Those who can’t get out, turn their faces to the wall. There is no culture of maintenance, there is no accountability, there will always be someone else to blame. Like the Jews in history, the whites, and to a lesser extent, the Indians, have become scapegoats. When these marginalized groups have gone, it will be the turn of the Ndebeles. Then, God help this country. You ask me why all this is happening. It’s simple. It’s because of a megalomaniac who refuses to relinquish power.

How do you deal with these challenges?

I write, I work hard, I cherish the company of my children and my few friends; I drink more than I should; I fall in love! In between I read and listen to the BBC World Service. I used to watch videos but my machine broke down and I can’t afford to have it repaired. The same goes for my washing machine, my music centre, my electric frying pan, my jaffle machine and my toaster. You see, I was once quite rich for a schoolteacher.

Maybe I should get more politically involved, but it’s difficult if you are white. You tend to become a liability to the party if it’s in opposition to this government.

How many books have you written so far?

About eleven. My first book of poems, Spoils of War, was published in 1989 by a small press in Cape Town called Carrefour (now defunct). It took me twelve years to get it published. Baobab Books in Harare rejected it. It won the Ingrid Jonker prize.

My first novel, D. G. G. Berry’s The Great North Road took me fifteen years to find a publisher. No Zimbabwean publisher, including Baobab Books, was interested in it. It won the M-Net prize. Only five hundred copies were printed. My second novel, Hatchings, was shortlisted for the M-net prize. In the same year I wrote a third novel, The Giraffe Man. Both were published in South Africa.

When my second book of poems, Sonata for Matabeleland, came out in in 1995, Baobab Books, for the first time, reluctantly put their logo on its cover. It was published by Snailpress in Cape Town, and Baobab’s commitment was to undertake to sell 100 of the 1000 copies printed. As it turned out I sold seventy of those at my launch in Bulawayo. Most of the remaining 30 were sold through the Bulawayo Art Gallery.

My next two novels, The Curse of the Ripe Tomato and The Holy Innocents, were provisionally accepted by Baobab Books, on the recommendation of Anthony Chennells. Nothing was done about them for several years and then Baobab Books collapsed. Then I and some friends created ‘amaBooks publishers for the initial purpose of getting those two novels into print. We got started thanks to a generous donation by an ex-pupil of mine called Ilan Elkaim. International donors like HIVOS and SIDA and the British Council will not support white Zimbabwean writers, no matter how poor they may be. These novels were published in 2001 and 20002. In 2004 ‘amaBooks brought out The Caruso of Colleen Bawn and other Short Writings and they may, finances permitting, bring out my most recent book, White Man Crawling and other Short Writings, next year.

Incidentally, I submitted the last named book to Kwela Books in South Africa. It was rejected on the basis of this reader’s report -- I quote the final paragraph: “While the author has a pleasant conversational writing style and some stories are fairly well written, it is doubtful whether this collection is publishable as it stands. Even if the African setting of some stories might have suited Kwela’s publishing philosophy, this is not a truly original African voice, let alone an original South African voice.”

In 2001 Childline published my Selected Poems 1965-1995, and in 2005, Weaver Press published eighty of my poems in a collection called Songs My Country Taught Me. Last year Hatchings, with an introduction by Dr K. M. Mangwanda was re-published by ‘amaBooks.

How much time do you spend on your writing?

Very little. Like most serious writers I earn almost nothing from my books. I teach full time at Christian Brothers College. In between I give private lessons, and I also teach Creative Writing modules (which I wrote) for UNISA. I am also a single parent so I have untold household chores to perform. I reserve school holidays to catch up on my reading and writing. That is why I now find very short stories an appropriate form.

Photo credit: Ben Williams, Books LIVE

Related articles:

• John Eppel [Interview_2], Conversations with Writers, September 7, 2011
• Discarded [Short Story], By John Eppel, The Warwick Review, Vol. 3 No. 2, June 2009
• Class, Not Race, War Grips Zimbabwe, By Tafi Murinzi, Inter Press Service News Agency, April 24, 2005

[Interview] Lynn Emery

Lynn Emery is the author of twelve African-American romance novels which include Good Woman Blues (2005); Kiss Lonely Goodbye (2003) and All I Want Is Forever (2002). One of her stories, “Tumbling Down”, has also been featured in The Lipstick Chronicles, a collection of four novellas from different authors.

Another of her novels, After All (1996) was produced as a made-for-television movie by Black Entertainment Television in 1999.

She has also won several awards for her writing. In 1995, she received the Excellence in Romance Fiction Award for her first novel, Night Music Magic (1995) and in 2000, she was nominated the Lifetime Achievement Award in Multicultural Romance Fiction from the Romantic Times Magazine.

In 2004, she went on to win three Emma Awards, including Author of the Year.

Her latest books include: Endless Passion (2006) — a collector’s edition of three earlier novels, Night Magic (1995); Tender Touch (1997) and Sweet Mystery (1998) — and Soulful Strut (2006), her latest romance novel.

Her first non-fiction book, Be Encouraged: Words of Sunlight For The Soul (BookSurge, 2007), is a collection of inspirational essays and poems.

In a recent interview, she spoke about her writing.

What is your latest book about?

Soulful Strut is about a woman who is finally released from prison after being wrongfully convicted and she has to learn a new way of living — that is, she must resist going back to the lifestyle that made her so easy to frame and she has to forgive herself for past mistakes.

The novel took about eight months to write. It was released in the U.S. in Dec. 2006.

Which aspects of the work that you put into the book did you find most difficult?

I always find the revision process the most painful (after I get notes from my editor). That’s because writing is such hard work that the thought of changing it literally makes my head and stomach hurt. I have to read the letter, recover, and then get over myself and tackle making the book better based on objective feedback.

Which did you enjoy most?

Coming up with the idea and writing snappy dialogue between characters.

What sets the book apart from the other things you have written? In what way is it similar?

I stayed in the main character’s viewpoint throughout the entire novel. In all of my previous novels I did multiple third person [point of view] P.O.V.

Soulful Strut was about finding yourself after making a lot of mistakes, similar to several books I’ve written (Good Woman Blues, Sweet Mystery).

What will your next book be about?

One is about people facing the truth and learning to go on despite knowing the worst. Another book is about a woman deciding who she really is and fighting a malevolent influence from her own family.

How much time do you spend on your writing?

I write everyday. I write on my novels 5 days a week, about 2 ½ hours a day.

In the writing that you are doing, who would you say has influenced you the most?

I decided to be a writer when I was a child, eleven years old to be exact. My ambition to write a novel came from my love of storytelling, oral and written. I am blessed to be from a family of colorful storytellers.

So far most of my novels have been romance or women’s fiction. I have always read and loved romance novels. I love to read these stories and about relationships. When I was in college I discovered stories about contemporary women and the issues they faced. I write both.

As a writer it’s hard to name one person. As I said my family has most influenced me because my relatives on both sides are wonderful at spinning stories. I loved listening to them. As a toddler I discovered the joy of books. I would have to say my family influenced first and foremost, next the people in my community.

Among the writers you read, who would you say has had the greatest influence on you?

Agatha Christie, Maya Angelou, Ernest Gaines and Langston Hughes.

How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?

I’ve always been very curious so watching the mini-dramas around me as a child fired my imagination. There is at least one event from my past that has inspired each one of my novels. Not that these were things that happened to me, but started the “What if” process in my writer’s brain. Watching how relationships are formed, change and sadly sometimes broken has had a great impact on the kind of stories I tell. I'm not just talking about male/female romantic relationships, but family ties, friends and even the ties between enemies.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

Getting it right. My biggest concern is to not just be accurate in research but to make a story and its characters come alive for readers.

Next comes my effort to let the world know about my stories and finding time to promote or market my writing. In this information age with so many information outlets competing for our attention, not to mention the sheer number of books available, it’s a tough job.

Publishing is a contact sport. Staying published is difficult because sales of books decrease while the number of books on sale increase. It is hard for authors to stay in the marketplace and keep sales up so that publishers keep buying. Authors have to face a lot from reviewers, editors and more. Tough business all the way around.

How do you deal with these challenges?

I tend to rely a lot on using the Internet, my websites. I also try to network as much as possible. Still I try to keep in mind that the writing must be served. That is I can’t get too distracted or exhausted to create the best books I can. To stay fresh I take time out to rest and regenerate.

This article is scheduled to appear on Blogcritics.org.

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[Interview] Allen Ashley

Allen Ashley has worked as a performance poet, a singer/songwriter, music critic, football journalist and book editor. In addition to this, he is the author of two non-fiction books: The Golden Void -- Hawkwind 1970-1975 (Hawkfrendz, 1991), a chapbook of music criticism, and The Days of the Dodo (Dodo London Press, 2006), a collection of cultural commentary articles that first appeared in The Third Alternative between 1999 and 2005.

His short stories have been published in over 40 literary magazines, among them Interzone, The Third Alternative, Postscripts and Prism. They have also been featured in around 10 anthologies that include Triquorum One (Pendragon Press, 2006); Poe’s Progeny (Gray Friar Press, 2005) and New Wave of Speculative Fiction (Crowswing Books, 2005).

His debut novel, The Planet Suite (TTA Press, 1997) was followed by two collections of short stories, Somnambulists (Elastic Press, 2004) and Urban Fantastic (Crowswing Books, 2006).

In a recent interview, Allen Ashley spoke about his writing.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

I would have to say receiving the 2006 British Fantasy Society “Best Anthology” Award for The Elastic Book Of Numbers (Elastic Press, 2005) is the best moment of my writing career so far. After 24 years as a published author, I felt I fully deserved this recognition … and I celebrated accordingly.

What is The Elastic Book of Numbers?

It’s an anthology of brand new stories all based around the theme of numbers. This concept, I believe, had never been done before.

Sitting in the editorial chair for The Elastic Book Of Numbers was obviously a somewhat different experience to writing one’s own collection. Editing can be very frustrating -- for quite a long time I was worried that the book wasn’t going to work because I wasn’t receiving enough material that fit the book’s parameters and was of the required quality. There’s so much more to editing than simply compiling and arranging.

I’m as proud of The Elastic Book Of Numbers as any of my other books because of the huge amount of work I put into its success.

What are your latest books about?

My two other recent books are both collections of short stories. Somnambulists (Elastic Press, 2004) collects 16 of my best stories which have been described as “borderline science fiction”, “Slipstream”, “urban fantasy”, “psychological horror”, “Twilight Zone”.

My very latest book is a second collection of my short stories -- Urban Fantastic (Crowswing Books, 2006). 21 stories this time, including my very first ever publication plus seven pieces brand new to the collection.

How long did it take you to write them?

I’d been touting a collection of short fiction for several years before Andrew Hook at Elastic published Somnambulists. The stories spanned about 14 years. The time span for Urban Fantastic, which took in my first success, “Dead To The World” from 1982, was even longer. Whereas the turn-around with my novel The Planet Suite from conception to publication was more like three years.

Which aspects of the work that you put into the books did you find most difficult? And which did you enjoy most?

Every aspect of writing and getting published involves several layers of difficulty. Having consistent concerns or over-riding themes and yet not repeating oneself is a major challenge in the actual writing. Making the slightly fantastic or unusual convincing is another big concern. Maintaining a story’s internal logic is hugely important to me -- speaking as an editor, I feel it’s where a lot of novice authors fall down. If you contradict the premise of your piece, you’ve lost your reader’s suspension of disbelief and you’ve totally blown it.

As for the business of getting published: that can often be more tiresome and troublesome than creating your story in the first place. Every author of any longevity has plenty of shaggy dog tales about magazines going bust just before your opus was about to see print, books being accepted and never published, editors never replying even after 24 months, and so on. The advice I would offer is to persevere and to research your markets properly. This latter means buying magazines you want to be published in and books from publishers you want to be published by. And read their guidelines thoroughly. You’d be amazed how many people send poetry collections to publishers whose output is strictly novels.

I enjoy every aspect of writing and editing, dealing with editors, publishers, readers, other authors, artists, agents, etc. I love meeting and talking with people at conventions and writers’ gatherings; writing to and emailing people; reading new work and so on. It really annoys me when I read interviews with professional writers who complain about their lot or who claim to hate the business of writing. Yes, of course, on many levels it’s work, tough work at that, but if you don’t like the profession, pal, then push off out of the way and let the real writers through.

What are the biggest challenges that you face? And, how do you deal with these?

Every new story is a challenge. Seriously. There’s the story as it nebulously exists inside my head and there’s the best version of a compromise that eventually appears on paper or screen.

Then once that’s done, placing the story and getting it published is all part of the process. You have to learn to sell yourself and your work, even shamelessly sometimes.

However, I always caution aspiring writers that very few authors make an actual proper living solely from writing. I certainly don’t. Unless you’re J. K. Rowling or Dan Brown, you might do well and sell a short story for GBP 100 and a novel for an advance of, say, GBP 3000 to GBP 10,000. That’s all a great and just reward, of course, but -- well, a hundred quid will pay your gas bill for the quarter. Three grand? Three months rent or five months mortgage. Ten thousand? Britain is an expensive place to live and unless you’re holed up in a beach hut and not registered for council tax, at that rate, you’d have to write and sell two or three books every year to feed, clothe and shelter yourself. It ain’t gonna happen. Most writers -- i.e. those who are not household names -- have to supplement their income by teaching, lecturing, journalism, reviewing, temporary jobs … whatever comes along.

In a moment of self-realisation -- if that's doesn't sound too poncey -- I asked myself the question Kurt Vonnegut posed, which is, "Who are you writing for?" I eventually decided that I was actually writing to impress my 14-year-old self, writing the sort of exciting, innovative New Wave influenced work that I simply lapped up when I had the time and energy to read 150 books a year!

Going back to my earlier point about finances, I also made the compromise many years ago that I would “keep up the day job”. The beauty of this is that because I’m not relying on selling any given story for a four or five figure sum, I can experiment and write what I would like to read, not what a certain publisher demands … and not the same old tired Tolkien copy or Stephen King rip-off that Johnny Hack is churning out.

This is not to in any way suggest a lack of ambition on my part. I want to gather as many readers as possible. But I must stay true to my internal voice. Kafka did so. Enough said.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

On the technical side -- developing and maintaining an individual voice. I don’t want to sound like anybody other than Allen Ashley. All the great writers are recognisable even without their name on the page; that’s the height I’m aiming for, too.

Thematically -- The individual and his/her struggles to survive in an increasingly homogenised society. Identity/loss of. Lack of control over one’s own destiny. Notions of reality/fantasy/dream/alternate worlds. Conjectures on the formation of the universe, evolution, creation, prehistory, and archetypes. Myths, fairy tales, urban myths. Love and death. I hope that covers it.

In the writing that you are doing, who would you say has influenced you the most?

People see certain influences in my work -- Jorge Luis Borges, William Burroughs, Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Moorcock, Philip K. Dick, the “space poet” Robert Calvert -- but if I had to name just one author, it would be J. G. Ballard. Ballard has cast a spell on a whole generation of British writers such as Will Self … and my self!

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

It’s the old cliché, but I’ve always written, even as a primary school child. Writing is what I always intended to do.

How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?

Oh God, there’s a lot of my own life in what I write. For example, I was unemployed and seriously poor for a few years and that never leaves me -- so, often my lead characters are coping with suddenly losing things that they and other people mostly take for granted.

On the other hand, in a story such “There is nothing left to write” from my collection Urban Fantastic (Crowswing Books, 2006) even though I actually appear as a character right near the end, the main protagonist “Jessica Stone” was completely made up. However, some reviewers and readers have totally believed in her as a “real” person. That’s quite flattering. The fabulous Welsh author Rhys Hughes once wrote, “Ashley is a master of character”. I’d certainly like to live up to such praise.

What will your next book be about?

I’ve got several books on the horizon. There’s Slow Motion Wars, under consideration by Screaming Dreams Press for publication later this year, which is a collection of collaborative stories written with Andrew Hook. There’s an updated version of my novel The Planet Suite, also due this year. I’m negotiating with a publisher regarding another novel and a couple of novellas. I will also be undertaking another editorial project for Elastic Press. This is “an open secret”, details of which will be confirmed around about June -- so don't send me anything yet! That book is likely to see print in 2008.

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This article has also been featured on OhmyNews International

[Interview] Caridad Pineiro

Lawyer and award-winning author, Caridad Pineiro Scordato was born in Havana, Cuba before moving and settling in the New York Metropolitan area in the 1960s. She attended Villanova University on a Presidential Scholarship and graduated Magna cum laude. She subsequently earned her Juris Doctor from St. John's University and became the first female and Latino partner of Abelman, Frayne & Schwab, an Intellectual Property firm in Midtown Manhattan.

Caridad Pineiro made her debut as an author in 1999 with the publication of Now and Always by Kensington's Latina romance imprint, Encanto. Her fifteenth novel, Blood Calls, was released in May 2007 by Silhouette Nocturne.

In a recent interview, she spoke about her writing.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

I have two concerns as a writer. The first is to entertain my readers by writing a really good book. The second is to make them think about something they might not have considered before.

For example, in Devotion Calls, there is a subplot about a terminally ill mother. The heroine has exhausted all the established medical practices that were available before turning to a Santero (he’s actually a psychic healer, but the heroine doesn’t know that at first). I wanted people to consider that there might be alternative ways of treating illness, but also understand how a daughter might feel when confronted with her mother’s illness.

My personal experiences have definitely influenced my writing. The subplot in Devotion Calls came about as a result of my own issues dealing with my mom’s death from cancer. In earlier books I’ve dealt with issues such as discrimination and women dealing with careers that are in predominantly male fields. All of these come from my life experiences.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I had always had stories running through my head as a child, but in the fifth grade a teacher assigned a writing project. Everyone in the class had to write a book for inclusion in a class lending library. I went home and started writing and by the end of the year, had 120 typed pages. I knew then that I wanted to be a writer.

Most of my work is in the romance genre, although the romantic element varies from book to book. For example, with my Chicas books, the romantic element is generally secondary to the relationships of the four friends who are the main characters of the books. I say "generally" because in the next book, South Beach Chicas Catch Their Man, the romantic element is a more prominent part of the story [because] this Chicas book is about a mother and daughter who must reconcile their feelings about the men in their lives in order to find true happiness.

I have a very broad target audience because I am a multi-genre writer. My paranormal works draw in both male and female readers and the age range is anywhere from 14 to 80. The romantic suspense and Chicas books tend to pull in more female readers, but again, the age range is large. I think the moral of the story is that a good book appeals to readers of all kinds and ages.

What motivated you to start writing romance novels?

There’s an old adage that you should write what you know. I knew romances because I discovered that what I liked to read was mostly romances. In fact, that first book back in the fifth grade was a romance.

All of my books feature empowered heroines and I think that is a direct result of the kinds of books I like to read and the television that I watch (I am a media junkie). Embracing this empowered heroine has allowed me to write books that appeal to all kinds of readers and also, show that women can be in positions of power.

What are the biggest challenges that you face? And, how do you deal with them?

My biggest challenge is finding enough time to write and also, trying to always push the envelope to offer readers a fresh new story.

The first is difficult since I have a full time job. I juggle motherhood, being a lawyer as well as a writer. That takes efficient time management and not much goofing around (although I have been taking a break to recharge the past two weeks). As for the second, I try to envision stories that are different and characters that are larger than life rather. I start by not making the characters perfect and by having them deal with those imperfections during the course of the story.

For example, in Blood Calls, the hero was once a selfish and unfaithful man. That resulted in his being imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition and eventually losing his life. When he is given a second chance by becoming a vampire, he vows to be a better man. When the time comes for him to prove he is a better man, he is conflicted between taking what he wants -- the heroine -- and his vow to not be selfish. That leads to a lot of pain of both a physical and mental kind. Readers have embraced the hero, understanding all that he does because he is punishing himself for what he wants but should not have.

Do you write everyday?

I write every day on the train ride to and from work. I also spend about three or four hours on each weekend day. If I have a deadline, I may also write at night after dinner, but I try to avoid this as I need time with my family and time to unwind. During a typical week, I’ll spend approximately 15 to 20 hours writing.

How many books have you published so far?

Blood Calls (May 2007) is my fifteenth book and the sixth book in The Calling series from Silhouette Nocturne. The Calling originally started in Silhouette Intimate Moments in March 2004 with Darkness Calls. The other novels in the series are: Danger Calls (June 2005); Temptation Calls (October 2005); Death Calls (December 2006) and Devotion Calls (January 2007). The series continues with Holiday with a Vampire in December 2007 and three other books in 2008/9.

My romantic suspense titles are More Than a Mission (August 2006, Silhouette Intimate Moments) and Secret Agent Reunion (August 2007, Silhouette Romantic Suspense). [And] finally, my latest Chicas books are: Friday Night Chicas (September 2005, St. Martin’s Griffin ); Sex and the South Beach Chicas (Downtown Press, September 2006) and South Beach Chicas Catch Their Man (September 2007, Downtown Press).

How long did it take you to write Blood Calls?

Blood Calls is out as one of the May ’07 Nocturne books. I wrote the proposal for this book in about three weeks, but then was asked to finish the rest of the book in under a month. It was tough and I had to write every day in every free moment I had, but it was worthwhile as I loved how the story developed.

The hardest part was the research into art fraud and how it occurs and then developing a believable story as to how Ramona became involved in such a fraud. I enjoyed the passion between Ramona and Diego. Their desire for one another had been simmering there for some time, but this book lets it all come out and sometimes in unexpected ways.

What sets the Blood Calls apart from the other things you've written?

Although all of my vamp books are dark and sensual, there’s something about the hero in this book that reaches a new level. I think the reason for it is Diego’s tortured past and how he is running away from all that he wants. That leads him to be less than heroic sometimes and you are always wondering whether he will embrace the goodness within himself and his love for Ramona in order to be the better man he vowed to become.

It is similar [to the other books] in that all the action is occurring in the Manhattan vampire underworld that is a part of The Calling mythology and which allows the reader to revisit with familiar characters, if they’ve read the other books in the series. If they haven’t read the other books, [they shouldn't worry] -- each story stands alone.

What will your next book be about?

My next book is a romantic suspense -- Secret Agent Reunion. The story is about two spies who are reunited after three years apart. They must work together to find out who is trying to destroy the investigative agency for whom they now work. There’s a lot of angst between the two agents due to the history between them. They have to battle all those old wounds in order to not only accomplish their mission, but possibly rekindle the relationship they once shared.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

I think my most significant achievement as a writer is to keep on writing books that are good enough to get published. I recently sold my 25th book and I think that speaks to my abilities to not only write an entertaining story, but to get the word out there about the books.

I strongly believe that with as many books as are published today, you need to promote yourself to readers and booksellers. The promotion part has been wonderful as I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many nice and interesting people while doing so. That’s the rewarding part of writing -- meeting and talking with the readers.

I’ve [also] discovered that publishing is not for the faint of heart and that you need to keep on writing and growing as a writer in order to keep on selling books.

This article was first published by OhmyNews International.

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Related articles:

• Interview with romance author Caridad Pineiro, We Really Dig Romance Novels, January 2007.
• Caridad Pineiro-Scordato Interview, Vampire Romance Books, February 1, 2007.
• Caridad Pineiro Interview Part 1, Bright Cove Romance Novel TV, February 27,2007.
  
  

[Interview] M. J. Pearson

M.J. Pearson is the author of two highly commended gay historical romance novels.

Her debut novel, The Price of Temptation, came out in 2005 and was a finalist in the Romance category of the Lambda Literary Awards.

Discreet Young Gentleman, her second novel, was declared a winner in the Published category of the Great Beginnings contest that is sponsored by the Utah chapter of the Romance Writers of America.

In an interview which took place on November 12, M. J. Pearson spoke about her concerns as a writer.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I've wanted to be a writer my entire life. For years I just thought I didn't have anything important to say -- at the same time, I always told myself stories to get to sleep at night -- serials that might run for months before they either hit a logical ending, or just faded away. Finally, as I approached my forties, it occurred to me that the stories that entertained me might entertain other people, so I started writing them down.

[My main influence] as a person [is] my mother, who tried to bring us up to care about other people and to look at life with an open mind. As a writer [it’s] Barbara Mertz, who writes romantic suspense and mystery under the names Barbara Michaels and Elizabeth Peters. Her books are consistently smart, funny and romantic -- if someone could make the same claim about me once I have a body of work out there, I'd die happy.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

My main concern is telling a good story, and reaching as many people as I can with it. If I can open some minds along the way, even better.

How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?

I was maybe six or seven years old when my older cousin came out as a lesbian, so gay people have always been a normal part of my life, and as time went on included family members, teachers, co-workers, friends. That, and a certain flexibility in my own sexuality, makes writing gay romance as "normal" as writing anything else.

What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?

There's still a bit of an acceptance issue. When I first joined the Romance Writers of America, for instance, it was just as certain people began lobbying to exclude same-sex couples from the definition of "romance." That battle should have been won when the RWA Board of Directors made it clear that, in their words, "any definition of romance should be broad and inclusive." Unfortunately, there are members who won't give up the fight.

But acceptance goes both ways. My publisher asked me to use my initials instead of my first name, since he thought there would be gay men who would be unwilling to read a gay romance written by a woman. So far, I've yet to see any of that in person -- I've had great comments and fan mail from gay guys.

How do you deal with these?

I'm a bit of a fighter -- when the RWA sent out the infamous survey asking the membership if they wanted to restrict "romance" to relationships between one man and one woman, I emailed all the members of the Board of Directors, and just last month had a letter to the editor published in the October Romance Writers Report (RWA's magazine) in response to a woman who still insists the definition should exclude same-sex relationships. Fortunately, there were a whole bunch of letters objecting to this woman's views, including many of the greats in the genre (Nora Roberts, Jenny Crusie). Maybe this time, the issue has been put to rest for good.

As to acceptance from the gay community -- like I said, I've yet to have a direct problem. I hope it's because my books speak for themselves.

How many books have you written so far?

So far, I've had two books published, The Price of Temptation and Discreet Young Gentleman, and have three others written in draft form (meaning they still need some work). And I'm working on a sixth right now.

Do you write everyday?

Since last winter, I've been writing full time. I try to write every day, Monday through Friday, and leave the weekend for other things. Most of my productive time is in the morning, while in the afternoon I try to catch up on research and email. Right now, I'm doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, where the goal is to produce 50,000 words during the month of November), which has skewed this a bit -- I find myself writing evenings and weekends to try to make my goal.

What is your latest novel about?

In my latest book, Discreet Young Gentleman, Dean Smith is set up by someone to be found with a male prostitute, which destroys his engagement to a wealthy heiress. He teams up with the prostitute, Rob, to travel to Bath and try to find out who was behind it -- only to fall in love along the way.

How long did it take you to write it?

I wrote the bulk of it last winter, between January and the end of March. I sent the draft to my agent, who suggested some changes, and worked on the revisions for a month or so. Then, once it was sold to Seventh Window, Ken Harrison of SW had additional suggestions. So figure three months writing, and another two or three on revisions, for five or six months total.

When and where was it published?

My publisher is Seventh Window Publications, a gay press in Rhode Island.

The official release date was October 31, 2006, but it takes some time after that to make its way to the distributors, and from there to bookstores.

Which aspects of the work that you put into the novel did you find most difficult?

The challenge of writing any romance is to introduce two people you know are perfect for each other, then keeping them apart until the end, without seeming too contrived. Pacing was at times difficult when I was writing Discreet Young Gentleman -- is it too early for Dean to realize he's attracted to Rob? Is there too much tension between them? Not enough? When should it be clear that they're becoming friends, and then falling in love? Hard to nail.

Which did you enjoy most?

I'm a lifelong history buff, so the research is always a lot of fun for me. In this one, I incorporated several real-life ghost stories from the places Dean and Rob visit (as well as making up one or two to fit particular circumstances), and tried to use them to reflect the way the two men were feeling at the point in the story where they hear about the ghosts. I hope it makes it a more interesting read for people who pick up on what I'm doing, and I really love weaving stuff like that into my books.

What sets the novel apart from the others that you have written?

I'm more confident with my writing now, so in addition to telling a story, I can try to say more beneath the surface, if that makes sense. One example is what I mentioned above about using the ghost stories to reflect the main characters' feelings.

Another is that there's a subtext concerning the creation of identity: it's perhaps most obvious with Rob, who deliberately chose his first name to honor a very romantic story someone once told him, and in doing so makes it clear that love is very important to him. Later, it turns out that Dean is also choosing to use a particular variation of his own name, and once readers understand Dean's family history, they should be able to puzzle out why.

There's a little more to it, but I don't want to give any more away.

In what way is it similar to the others?

I hope Discreet Young Gentleman is as romantic as The Price of Temptation was, and that I was able to inject enough humor for the occasional laugh. The two books are set in the same era (the English Regency), although Discreet Young Gentleman actually takes place a year before the action in The Price of Temptation.

What will your next book be about?

The one I'm working on for NaNoWriMo is about an English soldier who falls -- hard -- for a Frenchman who is (supposedly) working with the English army during the Napoleonic Wars. Then the Frenchman steals some important documents and flees to the other side... It's got war. Intrigue. Betrayal. A little cross-dressing. And despite the circumstances, I promise -- there will be a happy ending.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

It was a big day for me when I learned I'd made the finals in the romance category of the Lambda Literary Awards -- and for my first book. That was a "Wow!" moment I'll never forget.

How did you get there?

I learned to write first and foremost by being an avid reader for my entire life. Then I worked hard at creating the best book I could, and after that I credit my agent, Sharene Martin, and my publisher, Ken Harrison at Seventh Window, for believing in me and giving me a chance to get published. I couldn't have done it without them.

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Interview _ Haroon Moghul

Haroon Moghul graduated from New York University with a degree in Middle Eastern Studies and Philosophy and is currently pursuing a Ph.D at Columbia University.

He sits on the editorial board of Islamica Magazine and is a regular contributor to Eteraz.org.

In 2004, his blog, Avari-Nameh won the Brass Crescent Awards for Best Writing, Best Post and Best Overall Blog. The blog is concerned with issues of Muslim identity, politics and society. Moghul went on to receive the Brass Crescent Award for Best Thinker in 2005, for his contribution to the discourse on Islam.

In addition to writing essays, short stories and poems, Haroon Moghul is the author of two novels: My First Police State (2003), a self-published travelogue; and The Order of Light (Penguin India, 2005).

In a recent interview, he spoke about his writing and his concerns as a writer.

What is your latest novel, The Order of Light about? What sets it apart from the other things you have written?

The book is about what happens when you take a look at the Muslim world, and what happens when extremism follows itself to its most extreme conclusions.

What happens when a young, impressionable, spoiled, naive Muslim kid goes to Egypt, to learn about Islam, with all the money and resources his privileged Western upbringing provides him, but finds that religion, as he understands it, doesn't fill the gap he feels? Who should he blame, himself or society? And what happens if he finds a group of people whose answer to that question includes violence? What happens when his own logic leads him to very dark places of the human heart, and human history, and contemporary affairs?

Most of the time, I write short essays, political commentary, satire or history. "The Order of Light" blends a lot of those genres into itself, but ultimately, "The Order of Light" is a work of fiction, a snapshot of a very troubled young man at a very impressionable age, and that makes it different. I haven't tried that before. I don't know if I'll do it again, but I do know that it was worth it.

How long did it take you to write the novel?

Several years, on and off. I started in the summer of 2001, while actually in Cairo, and continued to write it for some time afterwards.

I get obsessed with revising and rethinking and actually found it hard to say, "You know what? I'm done. No more."

It was published in the fall of 2005, by Penguin India. On August 30, 2006, Penguin Global released the work for North American and European markets. In the spring of 2007, Cherche Midi will publish a French translation.

Which aspects of the work that you put into the book did you find most difficult?

Trying to create a story that blends a very intense look inside a person's mind with a rather off-beat, curious science fiction that relies on legends in late classical Muslim history, combining the inner and the outer in a way that satisfies my expectations of the work, and makes itself provocative to Muslims and non-Muslims, Americans and Europeans and Indians and Pakistanis and so on.

Everyone these days, it seems, can't go five steps without bumping into Islam. But it's one thing to confront Islam. Another to try to understand it, or, in my case, make others understand Islam.

Which did you enjoy most?

Describing Cairo, and remaking it for an imaginary time-line. It's a lot of fun. It's a lovely city, magical even.... and writing it was like reliving it.

Not to mention the deep history of the place. Being from America, we are often missing out on that kind of antiquity. It's a special thing, and deserves to be celebrated and recalled.

What will your next book be about?

If only I could find the time to write!

Let's just say I'm working on it, and it's nothing like my previous book. It deals with a lot of deep ideas... Love. Belonging. Community. Loneliness. Madness. Ambition. Inheritance. Two choices when both are bad. But it's not about Islam, or the Islamic world, or even the modern world.

I want to write something for an English audience that wants a damn good story, something they'll put down and think, I was entertained, fascinated and troubled and intrigued and I feel like there was more than a little bit of me in it.

What would you say are your main concerns as a writer?

We are made of many perspectives. Morally, it is up to us to bring them into harmony -- in Indian Islam, that's called tatbiq -- but moral harmony doesn't mean denying diversity. On the contrary. That becomes very limiting, very stifling, very stale. I want to get beyond that.

It is very important that what we write have a positive effect, on ourselves and on others. That means that, as a Muslim, as a student, as an American, I want to have a clarifying impact on myself and on others, to preserve knowledge, to improve, to assist, and a writer should be careful not to write for the sake of baser impulses, because that can cause personal and social harm.

I don't believe in a simplistic art for art's sake -- I am an adult, and that requires maturity, sensitivity, and a respect for one's dignity and humanity. But don't think this means dry summarization and transmission. Oftentimes imaginary scenarios and fantasy allow us to see ourselves, and our capabilities, our weaknesses, our potentials and our hopes, from very fascinating perspectives.

In the writing that you are doing, who has influenced you the most?

I remember, years ago, when I was still in grade school, loving stories, loving reading and enjoying writing. For a while I was enthralled by poetry, but as I entered college, I began to realize how much more I enjoyed prose. So as my interest in poetry waned, my interest in prose accelerated. Even now, I don't feel right if I don't write, preferably every day, if even something small, something trite.

It's almost a compulsion. But it is a very wonderful compulsion.

I read a lot. As a student, planning to go into academia, and as someone who enjoys wide varieties of writing, I can't really narrow this list down very successfully. Some fiction names would include Pamuk, Kafka, Philip Roth, Arthur Philips, Updike, Orwell, Huxley, Milan Kundera.

I love non-fiction, especially essays, whether journalistic -- I'm thinking what goes into The New Yorker, or work by people like Geneive Abdo, Amy Waldman, Anthony Shadid -- and collections of essays, too. Not to mention that television and film have been profound influences. I think the visual medium has succeeded in telling great stories, and I don't see why writing can't be seen as influenced by, and influencing, good visual media. In that regard I enjoy everything from Iranian films to science fiction.

Speaking of Iran, the classical Muslim tradition has been a powerful force too, from the lessons of the Qur'an to Urdu, Persian and Arabic poetry and philosophy and aesthetics. There are some astonishingly beautiful works of art in that cultural universe, which are sadly passed over by people more interested in Islam as little more than sacred terror.

Have your own personal experiences influenced your writing?

I don't see how one can be influenced by anything but a personal influence. What other kind of influence is there, really?

How much time do you spend on writing?

Sometimes I read about novelists so dedicated to their task, their craft, they set aside time to write everyday, and do so religiously. I could only aspire to be so dedicated. I used to write more than I do now, not only for myself, but blogging; these days, however, I have decided to concentrate more on my studies. I very much want to be a professor, and feel that, armed with a Ph.D., I could expand the range, scope and effectiveness of my writing. Till then, though, I should be doing more reading and more research. More to learn. Much, much more.

What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?

Of course, like so many other young Americans, I worry about finding a job, a good standard of living, politics, the environment, paying for health care, so on and so forth.

Like any person raised in a religious tradition, I worry a lot about salvation. Am I doing the right thing with my life? If I die tomorrow, what will become of me? Because, in a worldly sense, I have so much to be thankful for. I am at a great school, studying what I love. I have wonderful friends and family, and, being recently married, can confidently say I have decided to spend the rest of my life with an astonishingly perfect woman.

How do you deal with these challenges?

Prayer. And lots of worrying, too. It's important to relax, and I do that through writing, of course, [and through] reading, socializing, watching movies, taking walks [and] listening to music.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer? And, how did you get there?

Getting published.

By the grace of God, with hard work, and most of all, the support of family, friends and great advisors, editors and total strangers. The library in my old hometown, Somers, Connecticut -- that staff was so helpful, so kind, so encouraging, so resourceful!

Writing might seem like a lonely task. But it takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, and depends upon the kindness, concern and assistance of a lot of other people. I am so grateful that I had this chance and I hope I never lose that sense of gratitude.