Saz Vora's Blog

True Love Again Book Launch

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to support me on the day of my book launch—it truly meant the world, especially as we braved that unexpected scorcher of a day together! I’m so excited to finally share True Love Again with you. Writing this feel-good romance, filled with warmth, hope, and a cast of loveable characters, has been a real joy. At its heart, the story is about second chances—at life, at love, and at happiness. If you or someone you know enjoys heartwarming stories with emotional depth, I promise this one won’t disappoint.

Behind the romance, there’s also a sensitive backstory involving struggles with fertility, pregnancy, and IVF—something that many go through silently. In honour of that, I’m supporting Sands, a UK charity that works to save babies’ lives and support families through the heartbreak of baby and pregnancy loss.

As a proud member of the South Asian Roundtable at Sands, I volunteer to raise awareness within our communities, speak to healthcare professionals, and help create meaningful change in maternity care. Much of our work focuses on supporting women from South Asian backgrounds who often suffer in silence due to cultural stigma around pregnancy loss.

To support this cause, I’m offering a limited number of signed print copies of True Love Again at a special price, with a minimum £5 donation to Sands going directly to my Memory Box Fundraiser. These memory boxes provide a small but deeply meaningful comfort to families navigating unimaginable grief.

And if you’ve already read and enjoyed the book—thank you! Your 5-star reviews are already coming in, and as a self-published author, each one helps push True Love Again higher in the ratings and reach more readers who want to escape in a feel good book right now.

If you want copy of my signed book, available only in UK, fill in my contact form or why don’t you give directly to my fundraiser on Just Giving Page. Even a small donation can make a big impact. Thank you for being part of this journey—with your support, stories like mine can help others feel seen, understood, and never alone.

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This month marks a significant milestone for me—five years since the publication of My Heart Sings Your Song, the first book in the Reena & Nikesh University series. It’s hard to believe that in January 2020, I took the first step of my journey to telling my story, the story of the birth of our profoundly disabled son. A story that changed my life in so many ways. Later in March, the second book Where Have We Come, the story of baby loss and grief followed, solidifying my place as an author and allowing me to connect with more women like me from the South Asian community and readers. 

As I reflect on these five years, I find myself revisiting not only the joy and pride that came with my achievements, but also the pain and challenges that have shaped me along the way. The past year has been especially transformative, bringing a mix of heartache and happiness, both of which have left a profound impact on my mental health. Since writing emotive women’s fiction is a way to process my feelings, the lack of mental capacity has made it harder to focus on these stories. Instead, I’ve spent more time exploring standalone romances and plotting new romantic suspense series ideas.

This month, I celebrate three special birthdays—all of my sons were born within days of each other. It’s a bittersweet time, filled with the weight of loss, the joy of life, and the enduring hope for brighter days ahead. These emotions remind me why I write: to channel the complex, raw, and beautiful experiences of life into stories that resonate with others.

As I step into 2025, I am throwing my hopes and dreams into the universe, asking for the courage and strength to finish the second duets in my Sonali & Deepak University series and to publish at least two books this year. It’s a not too lofty goal, I have them ready to share with the world and I am determined to pursue my publishing goal with all my heart.

Advice for New Authors

For those just starting out on their writing journey, here are some lessons I’ve learned along the way:

Celebrate Every Milestone, whether it’s finishing your first draft, receiving feedback from your first reader, or publishing your first book, take time to acknowledge each accomplishment. Every step forward is a victory.

Write Through the Pain, writing can be cathartic, it is for me, even when it feels impossible. Don’t shy away from putting your emotions into your work—it’s often in the hardest moments that the most powerful stories are born.

Adapt to Your Creative Energy, my creativity ebbs and flows and so will yours. If you find yourself stuck, try taking a break, experimenting with a different genre, or baking cake. Whatever helps you out of your slump, sometimes a  break can reignite your passion for writing.

Surround Yourself with Support, find your tribe, whether it’s a community of writers, loyal readers, or friends and family who believe in your vision. This is something that has taken me the longest. My writing course was a long time ago and I’m useless at going back to chats and forums I’ve joined. I am currently trying to be more visible, whether it's a writers group virtual meet up or in person one.

Dream Big, But Stay Consistent, goal setting is important, but consistency is what brings dreams to life. Set realistic goals and work steadily toward them, even if progress feels slow.

To my fellow writers, whether you’re seasoned or just beginning, I hope you find inspiration in your own journey this year. Writing is a path filled with twists and turns, but every word you write brings you closer to sharing your story with the world.

Here’s to a year of courage, strength, and creativity. May we all find the resolve to bring our dreams to life and if you want to find out how to publish a book from scratch on KDP come and join me on Instagram.

What are your writing goals for 2025? Share them below—I’d love to hear about your journey!

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Photograph: Gulab Chagger

It’s the fifth year of South Asian Heritage Month in the United Kingdom and this post was going to be a joyous celebration of how far we’ve come. The East African Asian who came to settle in Britain as we elected a new government and said goodbye to Rishi Sunak, who proudly declared that he was the grandson of East African Asian migrants who came to England after the East African countries sought independence from Britain. But the race riots have left a sour taste in my mouth. Once again I am targeted for being the other, the migrant who came to this country. I had hoped that the racial threats and violence I witnessed and experienced as I grew up would not be an experience that my own children would ever have to endure. 

Enoch Powell’s infamous “Rivers of Blood” speech in 1968 was a pivotal moment in British history, particularly in immigration and race relations. Delivered when Britain was grappling with significant social changes and an influx of immigrants from Commonwealth countries, Powell’s speech both reflected and fuelled widespread anxieties about the future of British society. Decades later, with the likes of Nigel Farage and Brexit, the rhetoric and themes of Powell’s speech continue to influence British society. 

Then, the impact of Powell’s speech was explosive. Within days, party leader Edward Heath, who condemned the speech as “racialist dismissed from the Conservative shadow cabinet him.” Ethnic minority communities experienced race riots, when groups of white men took to the streets to threaten and intimidate the migrant communities.

Powell delivered a calculated speech at Birmingham's Midland Hotel. He knew that the Midlands, where I come from, housed pockets of Afro-Caribbean (Windrush) and South Asian (Indian/Pakistani) communities. Visible signs that eventually these towns might become where only immigrants and migrants’ descendants would live. His speech included numbers, too. Once he planted the seed that this fair land would overflow with immigrants from the Commonwealth, there was no turning back. The government implemented laws that prevented the massive migration of South Asians from Africa, creating difficulties for brown people to come to Britain. Few of us had ancestors or parents who were born in the United Kingdom. In his speech, he introduced the word re-emigration, which led to the emergence of phrases like “send them back,” “go back home,” or “send them back” in Rotherham, where the refugee hotel was. However, this was not just about asylum seekers, it was about the Muslims, people who have lived peacefully in this community. It was hate crime aimed at a single group because of their religious beliefs.

Many, like me, felt fearful. Groups circulated lists of further targeted attacks on migrant lawyers, not just in the north of England but everywhere, including London. Councils sent out letters to the residents and business owners to board up their windows. Then something wonderful happened. People of all races and religions came out chanting “refugees welcome here” came out in numbers to protest. My belief that my country’s British Values; Democracy, The rule of law, Individual liberty, Mutual respect, and Tolerance for different faiths and beliefs, is still important and despite the hateful words coming out of our politicians’ mouths. Despite decades of the narrative that this country’s economic ills are because of foreigners who come to live and work here. The same group that the politicians blame for NHS waiting lists, lack of housing, and lack of services. When it was the policy of the Conservative Government’s Right to Buy Schemes of the 1980s, and the cutback to services in the 2000s that has led this country to where it is now. The worst aspect of what happened on 30th July is that all the politicians, from the last government who called the weekly protests against the conflict in Palestine, hate criminals, disappeared off the airwaves. The popular Tory led press called them unrest and protest and didn’t label them as race riots. There was even mention of David Cameron’s actions as a comparison to Sir Keir Stammers. During my time at a specific news channel, we immediately classified the Tottenham riots as racially motivated, prompting much discussion. How was it immediately apparent that it was a race riot? Was it because they started because of a shooting of a Black man and the rioters were in an area that is predominately full of Black working-class families? So when a group of white men came to spew hatred, damage property and attack the police, shouldn’t they have the same label?

I'm certain that when a populist prime minister leads a country and uses words like "letterbox" to describe women in a burka, and allows the populist press to describe asylum seekers in derogatory terms, we as a nation become emboldened to pick on one group for all our ills. We’ve listened for too long to the criminalisation of brown people and allowed the voices of the far right misogynist on our airwaves in the name of free speech. We’ve even allowed the same people to have a seat in parliament. 

Come on, the people of Britain smell the coffee. British colonial legacy is the reason we are here. The richness of our combined history, encompassing Black, White, and South Asian communities, is what has led to our multiculturalism. 

This is the time to open our doors and our hearts to migrants.

We need people to build the houses, to pay the taxes, to provide the services we all desperately need. Without immigrants and people like me, we don’t have the skills or wherewithal to make Britain better.

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Image created on Canva

‘Spice Up Your Life’

Spice Girls, Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard

A recent comment by a visiting nephew got me thinking. He implied my books were erotica, and he wasn’t sure he’d want to recommend them as I was his aunty. I told him sex is normal and that I’d like him to recommend my emotive women’s fiction if my romance made him uncomfortable.

Later I received a review on Amazon India for My Heart Sings Your Song, that implied that it was all too racy in the bedroom.

‘ A steamy, comforting, curated culinary, cultural cliff-hanger’

‘I’m not normally into steamy romance-type novels (this might be the first I’ve picked up!). The scenes certainly take a non-fiction reader out of her comfort zone! But I also found myself proud (!!) to read these words from such an unconventional source.’

Read the rest of the review by clicking the title

Emotive Women’s Fiction

Meet my inspiration. He is the reason I wrote my debut novels, My Heart Sings Your Song and Where Have We Come. A tale of a British Asian couple who straddle both cultures, their Gujarati Indian heritage and their British upbringing and deal with the stresses and strain a profoundly disabled child places on their family, friends and their marriage.

When he was born, he was placed briefly on my stomach, and then all hell broke loose. Doctors, nurses, medical equipment brought into the room. I lay in shock, unable to comprehend how a straightforward, no drugs, no stress labour turned into a full medical intervention.

The photograph is of us on day three, the day they took this photograph was the day we held our son for the first time in Hammersmith Neonatal Unit, over 30 years ago. You can see the apprehension of a new mother and the pride and love of a new father on our faces.

When I published Where Have We Come, I knew my book sat on the same shelf as books by Jojo Moyes, Cecelia Ahern and Colleen Hoover are a few, and Emma - Claire Wilson’s debut is worth a read.

They write commercial women’s fiction on emotional themes that may trigger readers, grief, loss, abuse, PTSD and mental health. My books are emotional reads, depicting conflict and prejudices in the South Asian community. They aren’t just for South Asian readers, although my aim is to raise awareness and show how and why the South Asian community deal with the topics. I write about women who can deal with trauma and who spiral out of control. I too write of hope after loss as I strongly believe that our son came to us to help us grow to be the people who we are now.

I’m always looking for new authors who tell stories that are a depiction of realist lives and emotions and Emma-Claire Wilson’s debut novel, This Child of Mine, will be on my must read author list.

Image created on Canva, click to read the full Goodreads review

Book Review

Book Blurb

When Stephanie is told she’s pregnant and that she is sick on the same day, she faces an impossible choice…

After trying for a baby for so long, finding out I was pregnant was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. But in the same breath as the news I had been waiting years to hear, the doctor told me I was seriously ill.

This Child of Mine Review - Goodreads

‘Wilson depicts the turmoil of Steph’s choice beautifully, and the story sends you on an emotional journey and just when you believe things can’t get any harder, the story takes a turn for the worst.’  

Read the rest by clicking on the graphic above.

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Image: Unsplash

TV adaptations

A very different blog post. I’ve been reading and watching book adaptations. Not Great Expectations, BBC One, but other books.

Because of the pandemic, many of us switched to the streaming services provided by Amazon Prime and Netflix. You’ve probably watched many mini series and didn’t even know that they were a book adaptation.

Here’s a list of some of my favourite books and recent TV adaptations.

Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng

This is Going to Hurt - Adam Kay

Anatomy of a Scandal - Sarah Vaughan

Persuasion - Jane Austen

And if you like fantasy dramas, my favourite is The Witcher - Andrzej Sapkowski. For historical fantasy adventure set in 1700 Scotland its Outlander - Diana Gabaldon and finally for a fix of Regency dramas, Bridgerton - Julia Quinn.

So when I heard that Daisy Jones and The Six was screening on Prime Video, I rushed to read the book before watching the series. 

Image created on Canva, click to read the full Goodreads Review

Book Reviews

Book Blurb

For a while, Daisy Jones & The Six were everywhere. Their albums were on every turntable, they sold out arenas from coast to coast, their sound defined an era. And then, on 12 July 1979, they split.

Nobody ever knew why. Until now.

Daisy Jones & The Six Book Review - Goodreads

‘Jenkins Reid has a knack for immersing you into an era, and this brought back memories of being a teenager, the burning need to find out fresh revelations from your favourite band, it had a bit of Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks history behind it.’

Read the rest by clicking on the graphic above.

Here’s my comparison with the TV adaptation, firstly the casting was excellent, just as I imagined the characters, excellent choice of actors, including Teddy Price. 

The TV series explored a bigger theme of parental neglect and drug dependence. It examined Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) and Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin) and how this formed their adult life. And adding those scenes and the additional scenes really helped to understand why Daisy and Billy sought each other out for comfort and reassurance. Personally, this adaptation felt far superior to the book, because it felt like there was a collaboration with the author, Taylor Jenkins Reid and the screenwriter. I loved both Daisy and Camila in this, although it felt less like the love affair Billy had for his wife from the book. The ending felt so much better to me. The book did not convince me of Camila’s influence on Daisy's decision to leave. This ending was much better and adding Billy and Daisy reunion was the best way to create a HFN. Hopefully, another series will come from this and we explore the double act of Daisy and Billy or even a reunion tour. I loved the whole ‘70s rock band vibe and the chemistry between Riley and Sam really catapulted the series into a must watch forbidden love trope. I’m even listening to the playlist, another favourite in my Spotify account.

Image: Unsplash

Why films are an important part of my life.

As the 25th anniversary of the UK Asian Film Festival approaches I thought I’d explain why films have been an important aspect of my life. Ever since I can remember, I’ve gone to the cinema to watch not only Saturday morning kids' club films at the Odeon but also Saturday evening/Sunday matinee watching of Indian Cinema, with songs that told of emotions but also entertained. There is a magic that draws me to the moving picture, to songs and dance numbers. Perhaps it’s because we had a black-and-white TV in our living room, when most people didn’t. Perhaps it was the Hollywood musical that filled up so much of the TV schedule. Perhaps there is an undeniable link in my DNA for music. 

Recently I’ve been researching and reading about early Indian cinema for a book I’m planning, so when someone in the UK Asian Film Festival’s Film Wallah group recommended Jubilee, Prime Video. I thought I’d watch, and it did not disappoint.

Jubilee - Prime Video

If you watched Sardar Udham (Shoojit Sircar, 2021) and Gangubai Kathiawadi (Sanjay Leela Bansali, 2022), you’ll recognise the set.

This is a story of the beginning of the Indian film industry, focusing on Roy Talkies, a film studio looking for the next hot superstar to compete against Dilip Kumar, there are plenty of mention of film-makers and as for the story, there are shady dealings, love, ambition and a partition story.  

The writing is excellent, each episodic break leaving the viewer wanting more. The story has multiple layers, revealing the conflict displacement with refugees in Mumbai and Jay Khanna. There’s the impact of the cold war with Russia and the USA on the Indian Film Industry. We see meticulous details, the lifestyle of the film stars, the affairs, the piracy, the evolution of technology and the politics of the money men and their scheming. The writing draws you into the lives of the characters. Rooting for Jay to find a place in new India, grieving with Sumitra as she searches for the whereabouts of her lover, Jamshed, hoping that Binod succeeds as Madan Kumar, watching Srikanth Roy as he continues to stay at the top with Roy Talkies, and Niloufer’s transition from a courtesan to a film star. All five actors who take up screen time provide a stellar performance expected on a big screen.

What I found most interesting was the mention of historical events that influenced the development of what we now classify as Bollywood. If you know anything about filmmaking in the early years. The cameras were enormously loud contraptions and made a lot of noise and in early talkies, the dialogue was dubbed in a sound booth.

Watch the Jazz Singer (Alan Crosland, 1927) to truly understand the constraint. I loved how they showed the introduction of playback singers in the ‘50s. Before that, many of the actors in Indian cinema sang as well, stars like Madhubala, Noor Jehan, Vyjayanthimala, Meena Kumari, and Kishore Kumar, who switched to playback singing. A lot of that was because of the travelling plays from Hindu scriptures that told stories in verse.

As for cinematography, it is more suited to the big screen than watching on a device, all of it artistically outstanding. Often, historical cinema in Bollywood falls short on research with costumes and setting, but Jubilee has surpassed expectations. The production aesthetic is in keeping with the ‘40s era, with the sets, costumes, and dialogue sticking closely to the era. Even the soundtrack composed by Amit Trivedi is hauntingly reminiscent of Sahir Ludhianvi/SD Burman and Shakeel Badayuni/Nausadh partnership. Evergreen songs that are still listened to for their musicality and their poetic excellence in the lyrics today.For this one I would urge you to watch it on as big a TV as you can to get the full benefit of the gem from Vikramaditya Motwane.

Image: Unsplash

Want to read a short story about partition based on a true event?

My father was in Karachi in the 1940s when news of riots and killing spread and was told to come home to Kathiawad. My mother waited for his return and news arrived in the form of a telegram that he’d gone missing and they declared her a widow for twelve days.

Excerpt Twelve Day Widow

The postman pulled out a telegram and handed it to her. Dhiruba pushed her son to Gulabbai as the postman took out a pad. Her violet thumb stilled, poised to sign.

‘Gargi,’ she screeched, ‘taar.’ The soft silk slipped to reveal her slick black oiled head. She glared with contempt and sneered as she turned and saw Gargi already in the courtyard. ‘Why are you out of your bedchamber?’

Gargi ignored her mother-in law’s outburst and reached for the envelope.

‘Let me read it, Ba?’ Kanak, Gargi’s young diyar, tried to snatch the message.

‘No.’ Dhiruba shooed him away. ‘You are late for school. Go. Go.’

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Saz Vora - My Heart Sings Your Song and Where Have We Come with Sneha Purohit - Brit:in

I haven’t published a blog as regularly as I did last year and the reasons are twofold.

2022 has been a tough year for me and has left me vulnerable in too many ways.

It was a big anniversary year. Thirty years is a long time, but there are days when it only seems like yesterday that we lost our son. I’ve felt sadder than usual this year and I wonder if it’s because I’ve actually told people how I feel about losing him. How that child, who on a molecular level, is still with me or is it because as I get older I’m reflecting on my life more.

I’m in an anxiety loop and this is what it looks like. 

I push beyond my well-being and can’t say no to additional work. When I mean work I don’t mean the paid sort, but just stuff that gets piled onto my to-do pile.

As the list gets longer and longer everything crashes down on me and I don’t do any of the things on my list.

Instead of making inroads into ticking off items on my long list, I start something else.

This year it was a free short story to give away to my loyal newsletter subscribers, in monthly instalments not quarterly.

Last year I published Made in Heaven, Red Ribbon Winner, WSBA. A contemporary romance set in France and England, a retelling of Jane Eyre. These writing divergences don’t bother me, at least I’m honing my craft and ideas are ideas. I’m adding plot outlines and character voices in my future novel pile.

Then I try to fit in too many things into my day, and finish nothing and then wham, I’m angry, I’m frustrated, I’m useless.

I join courses on how to final edit, market, understand SEO, and understand keywords on Amazon. Nothing really helps with the anxiety and the panic. Negative words bounce constantly in my waking and my sleeping. 

Somehow I keep editing and throwing out scenes from my current work in progress and then I’m stuck.

This year I thought I would join NaNoWrMo. You might have heard of it if you're a writer. Every November writers join a community for accountability and help to finish that novel. But, I knew that committing to writing a designated amount of words per day throughout November in my state of mind wouldn’t help. So using my Cognitive Behaviour Therapy prompts.

I joined Inside Story with Marian Keyes with Curtis Brown Creatives.

I read chapters that didn’t work; I wrote assignments from writing prompts. The best part of this weekly course was I got feedback from fellow writers. And it felt so good, an honest criticism from people who are knowledgeable.

Discover books by Sapna Bhog, Sonali Dev, Kevin Kwan, Meera Syal and Helen Hoang - Link on image

Just before the course started, I got confirmation of a book recommendations piece I wrote on Shepherd, a new book recommendation site that isn’t owned by the dreaded Amazon. Hop across to read my recommendation and many others link in the image above.

I’m back to my final editing of the fifth book, rewriting my sixth book and there’s a story that keeps coming into my head. The characters are forming into solid beings with tics, and words. A standalone that I want to write and publish. 

The anxiety loop is diminishing, it will never leave me. I know how to recognise it. I’m grateful that I’ve learnt this, it’s taken me half a century, but better late than never. Thank you to my family and friends. I am thankful that I am without the worry of fuel poverty, food poverty and wage poverty. I am blessed that I’m safe. People around the world aren't as lucky.

I’ve learnt to ROAR

“I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice”

— Songwriters: Bonnie Leigh McKee / Henry Walter / Katy Perry / Lukasz Gottwald / Max Martin

It’s that time of the year again, so here’s what I’ve taken part in if you missed it.

Raise awareness of child loss, which meant joining a panel discussion for Sands.

Raise awareness of East African Asians in Britain with South Asian Heritage Month. Sneha Purohit and I attended a discussion at Kingsbury Library on why she wrote Brit:In – British Indian Journeys of Migration and Integration, which is coming out in the new year. And why I write stories of East African Asian families. Listen to an extract from her book and other East African South Asian Writers. on my home page.

Collecting oral histories from people of East African origin in the South Asian Community. More in the new year on this.

Raise awareness and support for emerging voices in film making.

Raise awareness of representation in advertising. A short transcript of what I said at a diverse panel discussion with the Diversity Standards Collective for the advertising and marketing industry. They are all about amplifying under represented voices. Link to Instagram for my contribution.

“We don’t all fit in one box.
If you’re trying to represent a South Asian woman in her 50s, please do not put her in a saree, please do not put a bindi on her head.
Please do not make her meek and mild. We roar a lot.”

— Saz Vora - Diversity Standards Collective

Recently, to support one of those emerging voices in the South Asian community, I went to the Criterion Theatre to watch Shai Hussain’s Settling. There I met with a fellow author, someone who is from South East Asia, an even smaller minority than South Asian in British publishing and she told me of her experience at a Book Trust event. Read Eva Wong Nava’s blog.

Which brings me to what has happened recently regarding a certain palace aide in the British Royal family.

Ngozi Fulani experience is not unique, it’s happened to all of us who are visibly different. Some people argue about her age and say we should give her some respect. 

People like me have been here for hundreds of years. What about respecting me? I am an individual. Don’t touch my hair, don’t infantile me, or eroticise me.

Many people came out to condemn Ngozi, including people of colour.

The question wasn’t a simple, ‘I’m curious why do you have your hair like that.’

‘Where does the fabulous dress you’re wearing come from?’

It was a series of questions for her to understand how she fit in her perception of who Ngozi was. 

The worst part was that it happened during 16 days of Activism, in a space where the women invited by the Queen Consort, should have been protected from all forms of violence including verbal abuse. 

I’m not saying I don’t hold an unconscious bias, we all do it, especially if you’re anything like me. Categories and labels are my thing. The palace aide must have said the same thing before. It’s only Ngozi’s roaring, instead of sitting in silence politely.

Now is the time for public facing organisations to educate themselves in diversity sensitivity, don’t tick your boxes and add a diversity statement in all your publicity. Walk the walk and learn.

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What’s in a name?

Not what I’m called, not my first name, Saz (a nickname) or my surname, Vora, but what people want to classify me as.

I’m often asked where I came from?

You’d think that was simple to answer, but it’s complicated. My parents are from Gujarat, India, and when you look at their passports, both were born in what is now known as India, before partition. However, after partition 75 years ago my father and his parents migrated to Tanzania, East Africa. To provide ancillary services, shop owners, tailors, cobblers, barbers, and everything else needed for families to settle in another country.

I was born there when Tanzania was called Tanganyika, part of the British East Africa Protectorate, and there are many Indian origin people whose families settled in East Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. 

And we're back to what’s in a name.

I’ve identified as a British Asian - used for a long time to put anyone from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, China, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia & Korea. Our families didn’t originate from the Afro-Caribbean or African communities, we didn’t have the racial features, at least we weren’t called coloured.

The British government classification BAME was introduced in 1991 and comprises all Mixed, Asian, Black and Other (non white) ethnicities. There are so many reasons why this should never ever be used. Non-White, would we classify White people as Non-Black and the word Black has too much of connotation to racial classification. How many Black people do you know who are actually blacked skinned?

Recently the word South Asian, East Asian, and South East Asians has emerged from across the pond. In the USA South Asians are people whose families came from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. East Asians came from China, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia & Korea. South East Asians is anyone who came from the east of China and Japan from Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei.

So should I call myself East African Asian, or should I call myself East African South Asian?

Then there’s the South Asian Diaspora, the word used for displaced people, which is why I write about my experience, as someone whose family are from India and have links, but didn’t go back regularly to visit parents, every summer.

This month is South Asian Heritage Month in the UK, a series of events, exhibitions to celebrate the life of South Asians in the United Kingdom and there is a unique Uganda 50 strand that looks at people like me, who came from the diaspora to make the United Kingdom their home.

Writing Life

A word after a word after a word is power.

Margaret Atwood

This year has been a tough one for me, and I won't dwell on the frustrations I expressed in my last newsletter.

Writing is hard, very very hard.Writing is frustrating.Writing is exhilarating.

Writing is hard

I am a plotter. I often wake up with an idea for a story to create an outline, knowing how I want to begin my story and how my story should end. And the next university series has had many rewrites to get to where I am with it. Still editing, still chopping and changing. The idea for the three sets of duet came when I was writing my debut duet. My Heart Sings Your Song and Where Have We Come. I’m still confident that the story needs to be told, that Sonali and Deepak need to be heard, only I’ve  been ruthless with it, chopped scenes, rewritten opening paragraphs. I think I might be slightly mad to want to delete, delete, delete until the screen is white and not get one word that I’m happy to include in the book. Writing isn’t supposed to be easy.

Writing is frustrating.

I set myself unrealistic expectations, the frustration gnaws like a dog gnawing on a bone, except this particular bone is attached to your body and it's painful.

Frustration festers and then you don’t spend as much time writing stories and more time procrastinating and avoiding the inevitable. 

Writing is exhilarating

We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect. Anaïs Nin

I came across this and often as a writer you do taste life when an overheard conversation, an article, something shared on social media leads you to an idea that becomes a full blown short story with characters, dialogues and scenes. Your character starts talking to you. I did say writer’s are slightly mad, and you have to finish it and share it with your cheerleading team, who get to see my work before anyone else does.

True Love Again - serialisation, a short novella one chapter at a time.

I was inspired by Lady Whistledown, from Bridgerton, to create a novella in parts. Did you know that many of the early Victorian writers, most famously Charles Dickens, serialised their novels? Specially targeted to middle class readers to read in installments. So dear reader, this new standalone is by subscription to my newsletter, every month you’ll get unique access to the next chapter of the story via a special password. Very Whistledown indeed.

My inspiration, my creative memoir

My Inspiration, my son. It all started with him thirty years ago this week. Our son came into our lives, turned it upside down and then left us exactly eight weeks later. When it happened, I believe we were in shock and went back to normal. If you call being childless normal, the worst part of it was pretending everything was all right, pretending that your heart wasn’t shattered into tattered rags, some so thin that no matter how much you tried to stitch it together there just wasn’t enough of the cloth left to sew into. So you let them go and they swish around in the cavity that holds your heart. That rag analogy came to me as I write the second draft of my next Bollywood inspired University series duet, Sonali & Deepak. It's a scene when Sonali eventually tells Deepak of her feelings after a shocking revelation.

Grief incomes in many forms, it waits in the depths of your heart, swimming between the dark spaces of happy memories, and floats up occasionally at the most inappropriate times or it sits like a cat curled up around your heart, constant weight smothering, never comforting. 

I watched Disney’s Inside Out (2015) again and there’s a scene where Sadness touches Joy’s, stacks and stacks of golden orbs filled with happy memories and the orbs turn blue. 

So I’m using that to explain my emotions. January is a time of reflection and 2022 has begun with a bout of ill health, not the dreaded COVID, but something else, hence the lateness of my blog post.

Last year my motto was it will happen, and it did. I have made new connections and talked more about why I wrote my books. I’m less anxious about standing in front of people and more adventurous in meeting new people. 

This year has begun with sadness and reflections. Big anniversary years tend to do that to everyone and I am looking at what has happened in my grief and writing journey. Two years ago this week I sent my story, the story of love, grief, child loss, family to first come out as ebooks and then as paperbacks. It has helped me heal. 

The writing of it, which was a process I started in 2006, twelve years after his death. We have never denied that he existed, I’ve sent sweets to school with the children when they were younger on his birthday, and we have a gravestone, a spot in the children’s cemetery and visited with his brothers on his birthday and his death anniversary.

Now, I talk more about how we coped, how we remember him and the grief and how his existence has made me who I am. This more than any thing has helped me grieve.

At an event just before the festive holiday, someone came up to me and asked about publishing through Simon and Schuster. She had a memoir, an amazing story she wanted to share with the world, a story to seek justice for wrongdoing. I tried to explain my writing journey about the rejections from agents and how directly contacting publishing houses is not the way. I could tell she was passionate about her story, how she wanted to publish it, how she hoped to have a film made of it and but she fell into the trap I fell into so many years ago. Not every story gets told, not every publisher wants to sell your story, not every agent wants to represent you. My goal was and still is to tell stories of people like me who straddle two cultures or more. It wasn’t about making money or fame or awards. I aim to change the life of that one person through a tale that resonates with them, whether they discover a new culture, find solace, enjoy the songs, the foods. But mostly for my creative memoir Where Have We Come, it is for the women who have been through something similar. If one of these women feels motivated to speak up, acknowledge their pain, then what I’m doing is worth all the work I’ve had to do to get my story to the wide world. 

Filmy Fiesta for UK Asian Film Wallah with Santosh Bhanot, Mandeep Rai and Pushpinder Chowdhry

Call out for budding filmmakers

I am an advocate for storytelling from all backgrounds and want to tell you of the UK Asian Film Festival call out for your film submission. The theme this year is Dare to Dream. 2022 marks the 75th Anniversary of India and Pakistan Independence, the 50th Anniversary of the expulsion of East African Indians. So if you or anyone you know is a filmmaker, please submit. We are looking for documentaries, feature films and short films from people from South Asia and the South Asian Diaspora.

Did you know?

My Filmy Fiesta event for UK Film Wallah was a celebration of my books and a trip down memory lane for those of us who grew up in the UK. Despite the new strain Omichron running rampant in the UK, we had a socially distant event featuring a reading from my books and a singalong. Did you know all my books so far, get their titles from lyrics of an Indian film song. So here is the mockup of the covers to Reena and Nikesh, University Series, should an agent or publisher wish to translate them into Hindi. I have a playlist on Spotify too of the songs featured in the books, go to my book’s page for a quick link or just search in your Spotify app and scan the barcode.

[image error]

My Heart Sings Your Song - Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas

My Heart Sings Your Song

[Saz] has a unique style of blending striking themes with her favourite songs, giving the readers a gentle feel of life and laughter.  

This is a beautiful love story bursting with real life. The descriptions are so vivid that you feel you’re living the story.

Plenty of melodrama in this ultimate girl meets boy tale. Set in the UK, the main characters and their families are of Indian origin so many interesting references to culture, especially food

A good-looking boy with brains, a beautiful smile and a love of Bollywood. Nikesh Raja has all the qualities of my dream man.

A beautiful book where every Indian girl who experienced growing up in England in the 80s can relate to.

This heart-warming tale is set in UK… a light and quick read.

[the] details...Indian food and culture feels so comforting.

The concept of the “star-crossed” lovers really interested me and had me hooked from the very beginning...entertaining read with a colorful cast of characters, and a story that will have you hooked from the beginning.

A sweet coming of age story of two gujrati (sic) youngsters who fall in love, a spoilt rich boy and a middle class girl, reminiscent of 70s Bollywood flick.

If you fancy a beautifully written, modern real life love story of Asian origin, I thoroughly recommend a read of this book.

Saz writes in a heartfelt, evocative manner that touches so many layers… I really liked the feeling of getting to know how it feels like for an Indian to grow up in a different country and yet follow our culture.

Where Have We Come - Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum

Where Have We Come - Finalist Wishing Shelf Book Award 2020

Reena and Nik’s love for their son Amar is deep and strong... moments that added an extra layer of sadness.

… not only soul stirring but also heartbreakingly tragic. A gut wrenching story of a mother's struggle to put herself together despite the sorrow and tragedies surrounding her.

… story is written beautifully, and truly reflects the collided cultures of the characters. With the inclusion of a glossary of phrases, and recipes...emotional, romantic, yet convincingly heart-breaking ride.

A great book that shows the struggle of new parents to cope with an unexpected situation… if you are looking for a realistic story with real-life situations you will love this story. 

Teeming with Gujarati culture and steeped in tradition… Reena and Nik begin the story so filled with love and joy that it feels like a fairytale. Then comes the sharply felt and poignantly written heartbreak and loss.

This story made me laugh, cry and seethe with anger at the injustices. The difficult times faced by our favourite couple are beautifully portrayed.

'... a deep dive into the struggles of new parents forging their way through unexpected situations and learning how to balance cultural customs and tradition.

Where Have We Come … an amazing heartfelt story that had me gripped from start to finish, and has left a lasting impression.

My inspiration, my creative memoir

My Inspiration, my son. It all started with him thirty years ago this week. Our son came into our lives, turned it upside down and then left us exactly eight weeks later. When it happened, I believe we were in shock and went back to normal. If you call being childless normal, the worst part of it was pretending everything was all right, pretending that your heart wasn’t shattered into tattered rags, some so thin that no matter how much you tried to stitch it together there just wasn’t enough of the cloth left to sew into. So you let them go and they swish around in the cavity that holds your heart. That rag analogy came to me as I write the second draft of my next Bollywood inspired University series duet, Sonali & Deepak. It's a scene when Sonali eventually tells Deepak of her feelings after a shocking revelation.

Grief comes in many forms, it waits in the depths of your heart, swimming between the dark spaces of happy memories, and floats up occasionally at the most inappropriate times or it sits like a cat curled up around your heart, constant weight smothering, never comforting. 

I watched Disney’s Inside Out (2015) again and there’s a scene where Sadness touches Joy’s, stacks and stacks of golden orbs filled with happy memories and the orbs turn blue. 

So I’m using that to explain my emotions. January is a time of reflection and 2022 has begun with a bout of ill health, not the dreaded COVID, but something else, hence the lateness of my blog post.

Last year my motto was it will happen, and it did. I have made new connections and talked more about why I wrote my books. I’m less anxious about standing in front of people and more adventurous in meeting new people. 

This year has begun with sadness and reflections. Big anniversary years tend to do that to everyone and I am looking at what has happened in my grief and writing journey. Two years ago this week I sent my story, the story of love, grief, child loss, family to first come out as ebooks and then as paperbacks. It has helped me heal. 

The writing of it, which was a process I started in 2006, twelve years after his death. We have never denied that he existed, I’ve sent sweets to school with the children when they were younger on his birthday, and we have a gravestone, a spot in the children’s cemetery and visited with his brothers on his birthday and his death anniversary.

Now, I talk more about how we coped, how we remember him and the grief and how his existence has made me who I am. This more than any thing has helped me grieve.

At an event just before the festive holiday, someone came up to me and asked about publishing through Simon and Schuster. She had a memoir, an amazing story she wanted to share with the world, a story to seek justice for wrongdoing. I tried to explain my writing journey about the rejections from agents and how directly contacting publishing houses is not the way. I could tell she was passionate about her story, how she wanted to publish it, how she hoped to have a film made of it and but she fell into the trap I fell into so many years ago. Not every story gets told, not every publisher wants to sell your story, not every agent wants to represent you. My goal was and still is to tell stories of people like me who straddle two cultures or more. It wasn’t about making money or fame or awards. I aim to change the life of that one person through a tale that resonates with them, whether they discover a new culture, find solace, enjoy the songs, the foods. But mostly for my creative memoir Where Have We Come, it is for the women who have been through something similar. If one of these women feels motivated to speak up, acknowledge their pain, then what I’m doing is worth all the work I’ve had to do to get my story to the wide world. 

Filmy Fiesta for UK Asian Film Wallah with Santosh Bhanot, Mandeep Rai and Pushpinder Chowdhry

Call out for budding filmmakers

I am an advocate for storytelling from all backgrounds and want to tell you of the UK Asian Film Festival call out for your film submission. The theme this year is Dare to Dream. 2022 marks the 75th Anniversary of India and Pakistan Independence, the 50th Anniversary of the expulsion of East African Indians from Uganda. So if you or anyone you know is a filmmaker, please submit. We are looking for documentaries, feature films and short films from people from South Asia and the South Asian Diaspora.

Did you know?

My Filmy Fiesta event for UK Film Wallah was a celebration of my books and a trip down memory lane for those of us who grew up in the UK. Despite the new strain Omichron running rampant in the UK, we had a socially distant event featuring a reading from my books and a singalong. Did you know all my books so far, get their titles from lyrics of an Indian film song. So here is the mockup of the covers to Reena and Nikesh, University Series, should an agent or publisher wish to translate them into Hindi. I have a playlist on Spotify too of the songs featured in the books, go to my book’s page for a quick link or just search in your Spotify app and scan the barcode.

[image error]

My Heart Sings Your Song - Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas

My Heart Sings Your Song

[Saz] has a unique style of blending striking themes with her favourite songs, giving the readers a gentle feel of life and laughter.  

This is a beautiful love story bursting with real life. The descriptions are so vivid that you feel you’re living the story.

Plenty of melodrama in this ultimate girl meets boy tale. Set in the UK, the main characters and their families are of Indian origin so many interesting references to culture, especially food

A good-looking boy with brains, a beautiful smile and a love of Bollywood. Nikesh Raja has all the qualities of my dream man.

A beautiful book where every Indian girl who experienced growing up in England in the 80s can relate to.

This heart-warming tale is set in UK… a light and quick read.

[the] details...Indian food and culture feels so comforting.

The concept of the “star-crossed” lovers really interested me and had me hooked from the very beginning...entertaining read with a colorful cast of characters, and a story that will have you hooked from the beginning.

A sweet coming of age story of two gujrati (sic) youngsters who fall in love, a spoilt rich boy and a middle class girl, reminiscent of 70s Bollywood flick.

If you fancy a beautifully written, modern real life love story of Asian origin, I thoroughly recommend a read of this book.

Saz writes in a heartfelt, evocative manner that touches so many layers… I really liked the feeling of getting to know how it feels like for an Indian to grow up in a different country and yet follow our culture.

Where Have We Come - Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum

Where Have We Come - Finalist Wishing Shelf Book Award 2020

Reena and Nik’s love for their son Amar is deep and strong... moments that added an extra layer of sadness.

… not only soul stirring but also heartbreakingly tragic. A gut wrenching story of a mother's struggle to put herself together despite the sorrow and tragedies surrounding her.

… story is written beautifully, and truly reflects the collided cultures of the characters. With the inclusion of a glossary of phrases, and recipes...emotional, romantic, yet convincingly heart-breaking ride.

A great book that shows the struggle of new parents to cope with an unexpected situation… if you are looking for a realistic story with real-life situations you will love this story. 

Teeming with Gujarati culture and steeped in tradition… Reena and Nik begin the story so filled with love and joy that it feels like a fairytale. Then comes the sharply felt and poignantly written heartbreak and loss.

This story made me laugh, cry and seethe with anger at the injustices. The difficult times faced by our favourite couple are beautifully portrayed.

'... a deep dive into the struggles of new parents forging their way through unexpected situations and learning how to balance cultural customs and tradition.

Where Have We Come … an amazing heartfelt story that had me gripped from start to finish, and has left a lasting impression.

Permalink

Sisters celebrating Diwali.

Diwali, Deepawali, Divali is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhists. It is an ancient festival mentioned in early scriptures as far back as the 1st millennium CE.

For someone like me who grew up in England, Diwali often coincides with Bonfire Night, 5th November. A burning of the effigy of Guy Fawkes who plotted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. 

This year, the two events coincide again, and we will have fireworks in abundance across the land. 

Every year since I moved to London, my older sister's house was the place to go on Diwali day. I would take the day off if my BBC News shift ran into the night and sometimes I would go dressed in a saree to work if I could get away early. When the children were little, we could only do Diwali at Masi’s house. Because they have the best fireworks there, not always in her back garden, but the neighbours would have amazing displays of rockets. Southall, or Little Indian, has one of the largest diaspora from India, mostly Sikhs from the Punjab. The proximity to Heathrow and the abundance of jobs at local factories resulted in it being called this. Punjabi people really know how to celebrate. The food is in abundance, the fireworks stupendous and they have the spirit of celebrating Diwali without inhibitions.

This year my little sister surprised us and turned up from the Midlands. It was lovely to have everyone there. Missed my sons though, they had work.

What is Diwali

Diwali is a five-day festival starting from 2nd November until 6th November.

Nov 2nd  - DhanterasNove 3rd - Kali Chaudas and Hanuman PujaNov 4th - Diwali and Lakshmi PujaNov 5th - Govardhan Puja and Gujarati New Year)Nov 6th - Bhai Dooj or Bhai Beej

The festivities start with Dhanteras, Dhan - wealth, teras - thirteenth, as it marks the thirteenth night of the dark fortnight of Kartik. It is the day for cleaning houses, painting rangoli in entrances and doorways. In the evening, families shop for utensils, household goods, jewellery and fireworks and light the first diya. To welcome Laxmi into the house. We used to go to Leicester, to Belgrave Road, now known as the Golden Mile, and my parents would purchase a piece of gold.

The second day is Hanuman Puja and Kali Chaudas. In my family, Kali Chaudas is the night when spirits roam free, and Hanuman, who is strong and powerful, is worshipped to seek protection from the spirits. It is the day we make bhajia, clear the house of rubbish, and either me or my younger sister would take bhajia, rice, sindoor and a glass of water to a crossroads. According to my father, spirits hung out at crossroads and if we gave them food and offered our prayers, they wouldn’t come into our homes. It's also the day we made mithai to eat and distribute to friends and family.

Day three is the height of the festival. Many businesses perform Laxmi puja in the evening and then use the diya from the puja to light the remaining diya that line all the windows and doorways of the houses. As the evening approaches, everyone dresses in new clothes or their best clothes, bejewelled in their finest gold and families gather for Laxmi pujan and blessings from the elders. Afterwards everyone gathers to light fireworks and share a family feast, with various vegetables, rice, breads, mithai and farsan. It is on this day that the path back to Ayodhya was lit for Rama and Sita to return after their fourteen years of exile and their defeat of the Demonic Ravana, King of Lanka. The triumph of good over evil, the return of hope over despair and the welcoming of enlightenment.

The day after Diwali is the first day of the bright fortnight in the lunar calendar and is also the Gujarati New Year. It is the day of Govardhan pujan, the celebration of the legend of Krishna, who sheltered the cowherd and farming communities from rains and floods triggered by Indra's anger. By using Govardhan the mountain as an enormous umbrella. In Gujarat, Annukat is celebrated with one hundred dishes offered as prasad in the mandir; the offerings are then share with all in the community. Many Gujarati families visit relatives and friends, wishing them Nutan Varsh Abhinandan - Happy New Year.

The last day of the festival is known as Bhai Dhooj, - literal translation brother’s day. In Gujarat it is Bhai Beej, A day to celebrate the bond between brothers and sisters. Unlike Raksha Bandhan, the brother travels to meet the sister who greets him with a tilak and feeds him with her own hands, therefore making their bond even stronger. In ancient times, the brother would travel to his sister’s with a bountiful harvest, thus providing her with sustenance for the coming months.

Where Have We Come - Book Two, Reena & Nikesh University Series

Writing Life

I always write something about Hindu festivals in my books. The ceremonies and festivities from my Indian Heritage ground me to my cultural background. Read the extract from Where Have We Come, Book Two of Reena and Nikesh, University Series. A finalist Wishing Shelf Book Award.

Diwali dinner at my house is a lengthy affair; we have starters, main course, dessert, mithai, tea or coffee. Then the fireworks display starts. Usually, it’s Amit who lights the fireworks while we watch, but tonight, Nik has taken on the task, rushing back to the French doors to wait patiently as the twins argue amongst themselves for the next one. I’m enclosed in my brother’s arms, watching as the rockets and fireworks light up the night sky.

My father has a protective arm around Smita Bhabhi and Divya Ba, and we observe the twins’ faces light up as they ooh and aah at the colourful swirls and magnificent flowers in the sky. My husband’s eyes sparkle just as much as the fireworks. He is relaxed with the children; at times like this he becomes the carefree man I used to know. His dazzling smile and his easy laughter permeate through my soul and I fall in love with him even more.