The Literature Times: Welcome to Criticspace Journals, author. Congratulations on the release of your book. What responses are you getting from your readers? Please share your experience with this book.
Shamna Bint Ashraf: Thank you very much to each and every person out there who have been immensely supporting me and my book. I feel so honoured to be called a published writer, this book has given me so much that I can not even express. It taught me a lot and as my first book, this experience will always be remarkable to me. My readers are such a blessing to me and they have been giving me great reviews and compliments for me to keep going and to even publish this book.
The Literature Times: What encourages you to become an Author?
Shamna Bint Ashraf: To be honest, there is so much that has motivated me and inspired me to write including my avid readers and parents who have always been there to hold my back. Writing has always been my hobby and something which I love since childhood, I love writing because it makes me imagine without any limitations, and also it feel so good to voice out my imagination, and if I’m not writing then I don’t know what I would do.
The Literature Times: What are your favorite topics of writing? Please tell us something about your interest areas in the literature.
Shamna Bint Ashraf: I find myself always writing about suspenseful stories which have tragical romance in them. It’s just something that I’m fond of and truly love. I love describing my characters and their feelings, their tragedy and themselves as a whole. You might find in my stories that my characters are not perfect and have flaws and that’s exactly what I want to express. So yes, and as to my interest in literature, I love reading about religions and my favourite genre is Romance and Suspense.
The Literature Times: We were hoping you could tell us about some of those writers who had inspired you and whom you follow!
Shamna Bint Ashraf: I look up to a lot of writers, but currently, I’ve been in love with Sarah Mehmood and her lovely book. I’m in love with the way she represents and describes every single thing and makes us feel as if we actually are there. Her writing is so unique and beautiful, I look forward to learning more from her.
The Literature Times: The titles seem different and catchy; how you decided it? Please let us know the story behind it.
Shamna Bint Ashraf: As I already mentioned that I love writing unique plots, I wanted my female lead to be very strong and powerful. In our changing society, women are still put down and aren’t given enough rights and so I wanted my female lead to have enough power and strength, I want to prove that women aren’t fragile. The way a man protects his woman, I wanted the woman to protect the man in my book and it’s a roller coaster ride which you will get to read.
The Literature Times: What are your achievements so far? Tell us something about your writing career.
Shamna Bint Ashraf: As a budding successful author, I have written five books so far in wattpad and they are still being loved by my readers and I am Alhamdulillah very proud of it.
The Literature Times: What is your current goal in writing a career? How do you see your future in writing?
Shamna Bint Ashraf: Being a published author has always been my dream and after my dream finally coming true, I’m planning on writing more books which I hope to get published and for now I’m working on two plots that are gonna be published on Wattpad soon.
The Literature Times: Are there any other books being worked by you? Please let us know about your future projects.
Shamna Bint Ashraf: Yes, I am currently working on new plots for Wattpad and hopefully, I will publish them soon, Thanks.
The Literature Times: How you see Indian writing in the 21st century? What changes do you see in the modern way of writing? Do you feel it has been changed by the time?
Shamna Bint Ashraf: That’s a good question, Thank you. Change is inevitable and yes, I have noticed changes in writing from the past centuries in India. If I name all of them, then it’s gonna take us a lot of time, haha but here’s the main thing which I have noticed that hasn’t really changed much. I feel that the empowerment of women in books hasn’t changed and is still being used because we still require it.
The Literature Times: How easy/ difficult it was for you to publish your book? What message would you like to give to budding authors?
Shamna Bint Ashraf: As it was my first time publishing my book, it’s surely was difficult but nevertheless, all the effort and time which was put in was worth it. I wouldn’t change a single thing if I could, and to all the budding authors, it’s always gonna be hard, nothing is easy. Never give up on your passion and keep moving forward, there will be hard times but ease will surely follow. Keep rocking! Thank you very much for all these amazing questions, it was a pleasure to answer them.
