Sometimes life has a tendency to spill into my writing.
My recent release, A Tale of Two Djinns is a sexy paranormal
Romeo & Juliet story with genies, feminists, kickass action& adult fun.
It started out as a novella with a simple premise – a one-night stand with
complications and a HEA ending. Then things got complicated.
While I was working on the story, I went through a hard,
hard time. My dad died. The writing stalled. I panicked because whenever I face
a difficult situation, I write my way to a solution.
When I managed to start writing again, the story twisted and
changed. I poured in everything I had ever wanted to share with my father.
Without mincing words, without saving anything for later. And that was hard because
I had to be honest with myself. It was like ripping myself open and holding my
exposed heart in my hands.
My computer is right next to a large window and I found
solace in the changing world outside. Spring is my favorite season because you
can see Mother Nature at work. Living in West Texas, I find the transformation
amazing – naked, leafless trees preen in bright new foliage, the ground covered
in stubbles of brown grass sports a soft, green carpet, and the dusty
wind-blown landscape now boasts wildflowers of many colors and styles. The
season is an important bridge between the chilly emptiness of winter and the
punishing heat of summer...a chance for the soul to breathe a sigh of relief
and replenish itself. It offers hope.
Genre guidelines and word count went by the wayside. The
hero and heroine don’t have a “Cute Meet” (they meet in the middle of a battle
instead). The story is now about life and death, expectations and duties placed
on an individual, the role of women in society, hope and renewal, and, of
course, true love…the kind my parents had.
Once finished, I decided to
self-publish A Tale of Two Djinns and donate 50% of the proceeds from the sales
to UNICEF’s Schools for Asia initiative to honor my parents. If you’d like to
know more about why this cause is close to my heart, please check out my Karma
blog post.
Paying it forward is much larger
than one person. In fact, the more people who join the effort, the greater the
good. So thank you Gemma for inviting me to Killer Fiction (a blog I have loved
forever as a reader) and letting me share my story.
Now here’s my question for
anyone who’s reading: Where and how do you find your solace and your solution?
A TALE OF TWO DJINNS BLURB:
Akshay,
warrior prince of the earth djinns, earns the title of Crown Prince at a high
cost when he loses his best friend in a battle against ancient enemies, the
water djinns. Heartsick, he escapes to Earth to mourn.
Nothing
gets the biological clock ticking (and elders lecturing) like almost dying in
battle, so Maya, princess of the water djinns, travels to Earth for some
no-strings-attached sex to fulfill her duty and produce an heir. But the
beautiful and tough warrior gets more than she bargained for when she meets
Shay.
Their not-so-simple one-night
stand is interrupted by assassins and the world, as they know it, is changed
forever. As Maya and Shay pull together to survive, both are determined to have
their happily-ever-after and bring peace to their worlds — warring families,
shadow assassins, and nosy busybodies be damned.
Author Bio:
Mina Khan is a Texas-based writer and food enthusiast. She
daydreams of hunky paranormal heroes, magic, mayhem and mischief and writes
them down as stories. Between stories, she teaches culinary classes and writes
for her local newspaper. Other than that, she's raising a family of two
children, two cats, two dogs and a husband.
She grew up in Bangladesh on stories of djinns, ghosts and
monsters. These childhood fancies now color her fiction. Her debut novella, THE
DJINN’S DILEMMA was published November 2011. A second novella, A TALE OF TWO
DJINNS, came out March 2012.
You can find her at:
Facebook
Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/Mina.Khan.Author
Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5234352.Mina_Khan
Blog:http://minakhan.blogspot.com/
P.S. Gemma here... doesn't that book sound fab?! I love the title, too. While you're heading over to Amazon.com to pick up your copy, check out a FREE book by a friend of mine and a fabulous author, Brenda Novak. Her regency novel Of Noble Birth is now totally FREE for a limited time. Some great weekend reading!
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6 comments:
Awesome post, Mina. It takes a lot of courage to open yourself up and pour everything on the page. I'm sure your dad would be very proud of you and this book.
Good question about finding solace. Personally, a nice, long walk by myself where there are few distractions from nature.
Best wishes for continued success. :)
Thanks for visiting Joya! I totally agree, alone time is an important part of the process, as is nature.
Thank you for your kind words.
Thanks so much for coming to hang out with us today, Mina!
Thanks so much for inviting me Gemma :) Now if Christie Craig stops by...I might have to take a moment! *grin*
I agree with Joya, Mina. Awesome post. It takes a lot of courage to write when you're grieving, and you've created an excellent story from the myriad of emotions you must have experienced.
I love this book. And I love that you're honoring your parents by donating part of the proceeds.
For solace I walk. I'm always thrilled and feel very fortunate when I can walk on a a beach, but usually I'm limited to our neighborhood. It makes me appreciate beach days all the more.
L. j.
So good to see you L.J.! And yes, I was able spend sometime at the Pensacola beach and it was lovely.
TY for your kind words :) And I love that you love A Tale of Two Djinns :)
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