This month we're excited to feature SamreenAhsan! She's an award winning author and a Wattpad Ambassador.
Q: Of the stories you’ve written, which one is your favorite?
A: It will always be A SILENT PRAYER as I consider it as my baby and you know one is always inclined towards their firstborn :)
Q: What was your inspiration for it?
A: In Islamic culture, supernatural creatures like angels and demons play a very important role in our beliefs and lives. The concept of Jinn (the unseen) has always intrigued me since childhood and not just one of the characters from Arabian Nights. But the story is inspired by Arabian Nights and some parts from the Holy Quran where Jinn are mentioned.
Q: How do you plan out your stories?
A: For my first story, it wasn't planned at all. I had the story in my head for a few years and one day I decided to write it and couldn't stop. The next series, [Stolen] Series, I actually created a storyboard since it's based on five books.
Q: What genre do you feel is your best genre?
A: Romance. Magical Realism.
Q: Do you have a favorite author on Wattpad? If so, who? What story is your favorite?
A: Robert Thier. Just loved all his books from the Storm & Silence Series. It's my favourite on Wattpad. And I started them through Wattpad but ended up reading on my Kindle.
Q: What do you hope your readers will like best about your stories?
A: Expect the unexpected. I always like when readers comment -- oh, I didn't see that coming. Or that their hearts are torn with emotions (I know I sound cruel) but when your readers are emotionally attached with your characters like they feel they are inside the story - that's what writing is all worth about.
Q: Do you have a message for your readers?
A: Be kind.
About the Author
Q: What inspires you to write?
A: Mostly travel. Sometimes a place I visit, a painting I see or music I hear somewhere but it's mostly inspired by travel.
Q: Any advice to aspiring writers?
A: Read. Read as much as you want. Read in the genre you write. And never give up.
Q: What makes you think is called a 'good' story?
A: A gripping plot, well-developed characters and a hook that grabs readers' attention.
Q: If you have to pick any one fictional character to spend a day with, who would you choose?
A: I'd choose Professor Robert Langdon from Dan Brown's books. From his personality, it seems like Professor Langdon would be an excellent fit to talk, discuss any topic - be it art, religion or history and Langdon would not shy away from that :)
Q: What is your favourite genre in reading?
A: WWII fiction. Literary Fiction. Historical Fiction and sometimes Romance.
About the Story
A retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast, Once Upon a [Stolen] Time is about Myra Farrow and Edward Hue, bound to each other even though their lives are separated by 600 years.
Q: What do you like most about Myra Farrow and Edward Hue?
A: Their connection long before they actually met face to face. They were destined to meet despite the distance of six hundred years between them.
Q: Are any of the characters based off of people you know?
A: Myra Farrow is part me. Like her, I'm a travel geek and history buff. Like her, I love visiting castles and palaces and admire art.
Q: What inspired you to write about a romance across time?
A: Believe it or not, I envisioned the story in my dream. How Myra Farrow found the mysterious, magical book in an ancient library was all part of my dream. And when I started writing the first in the series, I was on vacation, wondering how to connect the past with the present. I visited Doge's Palace in Venice and saw a giant Venetian mirror with a beautiful golden frame and wondered if I touched the mirror (which is obviously not allowed in a museum), would it take me back in time to the late 14th century, when the palace was at its full glory? So I decided that I can't touch the museum artefact but my character sure can. :) I will make my character do all the stuff I want to do.
Q: Why did you choose a retelling of Beauty and the Beast?
A: I was obsessed with Beauty and the Beast since childhood. I had watched the animated Disney version a zillionth time and even now, I still remember it dialogue by dialogue. So you can see it's the childhood love that inspired me to write.
Q: What is your favorite scene? Why?
A: Favourite scene is yet to come in the 4th book of the series :)
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