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In the 'Author's Corner' series we shine the spotlight on promising first-time female novelists. Hope you enjoy reading some fun facts about them!
In the ‘Author’s Corner’ series we shine the spotlight on promising first-time female authors. Hope you enjoy reading some fun facts about them!
Meet Ameera Al Hakawati, author of Desperate In Dubai; a book that started off as a blog initially but ended up as a much-talked about novel based on the life and times of four women in glitzy and glamorous Dubai.
If you had not become a writer, what would you have been?
An actress! It’s another form of storytelling and expressing oneself and I (like to) think I’d be good at it.
What is the best thing about being a published author?
Knowing that I’ve fulfilled my childhood dream. Not many people get to say that they’ve done that – especially if their dreams were things like becoming a tooth fairy or a superhero!
What is the hardest thing about writing a book?
Letting others read it. It’s like wearing your heart on your sleeve and putting yourself out there on a huge scale. Writing is so personal and now suddenly thousands of people have had the chance to peek into my mind and my soul – as corny as it sounds!
If you were a man, would there be anything different about your book?
My protagonists would probably be all male and it would have been called Dudes in Dubai. Now that’s a thought!
Who was the first to read your book? What was their first reaction?
The first person who read the whole thing was my editor – and she loved every page.
One book you would love to have written?
Room by Emma Donoghue. I think it’s a modern masterpiece.
Future literary plans?
I’ve started researching my second book so hopefully that will see the light. Would love to be able to write books for a living and never have to endure an office job again!
Thanks Ameera! All the best for your wishes to come true!
Previous Interviews in Author’s Corner:
Judy Balan
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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