Friday, May 04, 2012

Guest Author Mina Khan

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.

Available at Amazon,B&N,Smashwords & Kobo.



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!



6 comments:

Joya said...

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. :)

Rashda Khan said...

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.

Gemma Halliday said...

Thanks so much for coming to hang out with us today, Mina!

Rashda Khan said...

Thanks so much for inviting me Gemma :) Now if Christie Craig stops by...I might have to take a moment! *grin*

L. j. Charles said...

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.

Rashda Khan said...

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 :)