Aminah Iman's Blog - Posts Tagged "kindle"
An interview with a Queen of Horror... Or something like that.
Hello Loves, back in May I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the amazing David Ellis. I was re-reading it today and thought you all might enjoy it as much as I did.
Here we go:
TooFullToWrite / May 17, 2017
Hey there everyone.
My very good friend and author Aminah Iman has released a new book in her “The Chronicles of Sari” series.
I originally did an Author Interview with Aminah at the end of last year, which you can find here that covers all of her other previous releases:-
Author Interview – Aminah Iman – The Vamperial Series, The 30 Pieces of Silver Series, Were: Chronicles of Sari X and Black Magick – The 3 Trilogy
I therefore thought this would be an excellent opportunity to ask her some detailed questions specifically about her new release “In Between – The Chronicles of Sari” and Aminah has kindly given us another interview to savour below, so here we go 🙂
Hi there Aminah, fantastic to have you back here with us again to chat about your latest book release in your Supernatural “Sari” series.
Hello David, thanks for having me.
Where does this book sit chronologically, in relation to your previous “Chronicles of Sari” novels “Were” and “Reaper”?
In Between: The Chronicles of Sari comes right after The Chronicles of The Three which is a crossover book of The Chronicles of Sari and The Three Trilogy. All of the Chronicles of Sari books will be written in chronological order.
Why is your latest book in the series called “In Between”, what is the relevance to the story/series itself?
Well, Sari is going up against a Djinn. A Djinn is a supernatural creature, that once it touches its victim, has the ability to put them in a fantasy dream-like state while it sucks the life right out of him/her. Since the victim is in a state between reality and fantasy I thought the title “In Between” would be most fitting.
Who are the key players/lead protagonists and antagonists that pop up alongside Sari and Dominic in this particular adventure?
Aside from Sari and Dominic, they have Lillian (Sari’s mother), Nick (Sari’s Were-panther beta), Manny and Selene (who are also members of Sari’s Were-panther pack). The most surprising protagonist to show up is Alaric, who is Sari’s dad that died before she was born. The biggest antagonist is the Djinn of course, but once Sari is in the ‘In Between’ she also has to fight a few villains in there as well.
What is the story about regarding the conflict that needs to be resolved by the characters and what are the stakes for them this time round?
The biggest conflict is for Sari to fight her way out of the fantasy while her team is on the outside trying to get her out. The problem, however, is that Sari has everything she’s ever wanted in this perfect fantasy world. She finally gets to be with her father, there are no monsters, and she still has the people that mean the most to her right there, so why leave. If she doesn’t fight to get out, if she chooses to stay there, she dies and she doesn’t have a lot of time to make her decision.
How did the idea for this tale take shape? Is it a natural progression from the previous books in the series or are you taking the series down another different path entirely?
I got the idea to write this book from a conversation Omega and I had. We were discussing our biggest fears and mine is losing my mind and/or my grip on reality. I just can’t imagine not being in control of my thoughts, how my life went, etc. I am also the type of person who likes to face my fears and seeing as out of all my characters, Sari is the most like me, I had to write a book where she was not in total control of her surroundings. This book follows the series natural progression in the sense that Sari has to defeat a supernatural being that is killing innocent people. It does veer off a bit because this time Sari is the main victim, it’s her life she must save. So, it is a challenge for her.
Did you do any specific research for this novel that differed from your previous ones in the series or the other novels that you have written?
Not so much in how I did the research, which I love by the way. I did have to do extensive research on the djinn. There are several different lores’s from around the world on djinns so I had to gather as much as I could before deciding which avenue to take.
When you have done research for your books, is there anything that has surprised you or completely changed your world view after doing so?
Just the knowledge that is out there. There is so much more than what you would assume, so many different etymologies from all over the world about the same subject. If you are willing to do the leg work, the knowledge is endless.
What aspects of your characters in this book would you say that you relate to on a personal level?
Great question! I would have to say Sari’s reaction to finally realizing that she was in a fantasy world. She has these flashes throughout the book that constantly confuse her and make her a bit angry, but when she finally acknowledges that she shouldn’t be there, that she has to let it go… I could relate to her on so many levels at that point.
What were the hardest parts of this book to write? And what were the easiest?
The book, as a whole, was pretty hard because as I stated before, I had to face some fears of my own while writing it. It was hard to write such a strong character doubting herself and feeling vulnerable. I had to put her in a role that was so uncomfortable for her. The easiest part to write was the ending, seeing her core group fight to get her out, knowing that they would stop at nothing until she was free.
Finally, regarding your subsequent projects, will you be writing another sequel to the “Sari” series or do you have other plans in the pipeline?
The Chronicles of Sari will be an ongoing series for me, I don’t see her ending for a very long time, but my next book, due out in August, is not a Sari project. It’s called “Catch Me” and it is about a female assassin who works for, what she assumed was, a secret government agency. She later discovers that they are in fact the bad guys and she goes after them after they kill her husband and son. I am really excited about this one!
And once again, that’s a wrap! Thank you for being here Aminah, your series keeps moving for strength to strength, we can’t wait to see more of it 🙂
Thank you so much David. I had a great time!
I had such a great time during this interview. If you all want to read more interviews by David or to check out his other works, go to http://toofulltowrite.com
Here we go:
TooFullToWrite / May 17, 2017
Hey there everyone.
My very good friend and author Aminah Iman has released a new book in her “The Chronicles of Sari” series.
I originally did an Author Interview with Aminah at the end of last year, which you can find here that covers all of her other previous releases:-
Author Interview – Aminah Iman – The Vamperial Series, The 30 Pieces of Silver Series, Were: Chronicles of Sari X and Black Magick – The 3 Trilogy
I therefore thought this would be an excellent opportunity to ask her some detailed questions specifically about her new release “In Between – The Chronicles of Sari” and Aminah has kindly given us another interview to savour below, so here we go 🙂
Hi there Aminah, fantastic to have you back here with us again to chat about your latest book release in your Supernatural “Sari” series.
Hello David, thanks for having me.
Where does this book sit chronologically, in relation to your previous “Chronicles of Sari” novels “Were” and “Reaper”?
In Between: The Chronicles of Sari comes right after The Chronicles of The Three which is a crossover book of The Chronicles of Sari and The Three Trilogy. All of the Chronicles of Sari books will be written in chronological order.
Why is your latest book in the series called “In Between”, what is the relevance to the story/series itself?
Well, Sari is going up against a Djinn. A Djinn is a supernatural creature, that once it touches its victim, has the ability to put them in a fantasy dream-like state while it sucks the life right out of him/her. Since the victim is in a state between reality and fantasy I thought the title “In Between” would be most fitting.
Who are the key players/lead protagonists and antagonists that pop up alongside Sari and Dominic in this particular adventure?
Aside from Sari and Dominic, they have Lillian (Sari’s mother), Nick (Sari’s Were-panther beta), Manny and Selene (who are also members of Sari’s Were-panther pack). The most surprising protagonist to show up is Alaric, who is Sari’s dad that died before she was born. The biggest antagonist is the Djinn of course, but once Sari is in the ‘In Between’ she also has to fight a few villains in there as well.
What is the story about regarding the conflict that needs to be resolved by the characters and what are the stakes for them this time round?
The biggest conflict is for Sari to fight her way out of the fantasy while her team is on the outside trying to get her out. The problem, however, is that Sari has everything she’s ever wanted in this perfect fantasy world. She finally gets to be with her father, there are no monsters, and she still has the people that mean the most to her right there, so why leave. If she doesn’t fight to get out, if she chooses to stay there, she dies and she doesn’t have a lot of time to make her decision.
How did the idea for this tale take shape? Is it a natural progression from the previous books in the series or are you taking the series down another different path entirely?
I got the idea to write this book from a conversation Omega and I had. We were discussing our biggest fears and mine is losing my mind and/or my grip on reality. I just can’t imagine not being in control of my thoughts, how my life went, etc. I am also the type of person who likes to face my fears and seeing as out of all my characters, Sari is the most like me, I had to write a book where she was not in total control of her surroundings. This book follows the series natural progression in the sense that Sari has to defeat a supernatural being that is killing innocent people. It does veer off a bit because this time Sari is the main victim, it’s her life she must save. So, it is a challenge for her.
Did you do any specific research for this novel that differed from your previous ones in the series or the other novels that you have written?
Not so much in how I did the research, which I love by the way. I did have to do extensive research on the djinn. There are several different lores’s from around the world on djinns so I had to gather as much as I could before deciding which avenue to take.
When you have done research for your books, is there anything that has surprised you or completely changed your world view after doing so?
Just the knowledge that is out there. There is so much more than what you would assume, so many different etymologies from all over the world about the same subject. If you are willing to do the leg work, the knowledge is endless.
What aspects of your characters in this book would you say that you relate to on a personal level?
Great question! I would have to say Sari’s reaction to finally realizing that she was in a fantasy world. She has these flashes throughout the book that constantly confuse her and make her a bit angry, but when she finally acknowledges that she shouldn’t be there, that she has to let it go… I could relate to her on so many levels at that point.
What were the hardest parts of this book to write? And what were the easiest?
The book, as a whole, was pretty hard because as I stated before, I had to face some fears of my own while writing it. It was hard to write such a strong character doubting herself and feeling vulnerable. I had to put her in a role that was so uncomfortable for her. The easiest part to write was the ending, seeing her core group fight to get her out, knowing that they would stop at nothing until she was free.
Finally, regarding your subsequent projects, will you be writing another sequel to the “Sari” series or do you have other plans in the pipeline?
The Chronicles of Sari will be an ongoing series for me, I don’t see her ending for a very long time, but my next book, due out in August, is not a Sari project. It’s called “Catch Me” and it is about a female assassin who works for, what she assumed was, a secret government agency. She later discovers that they are in fact the bad guys and she goes after them after they kill her husband and son. I am really excited about this one!
And once again, that’s a wrap! Thank you for being here Aminah, your series keeps moving for strength to strength, we can’t wait to see more of it 🙂
Thank you so much David. I had a great time!
I had such a great time during this interview. If you all want to read more interviews by David or to check out his other works, go to http://toofulltowrite.com
