Jazz Singh and Zeenat Mahal first appeared on the literary scene in 2013 under the South Asian flagship Indireads. Two years down the line, the prolific duo publishes its first omnibus Twice Upon A Time with Amazon.
Read their free-wheeling chat with Andy Paula and soak in their experiences. 
1. Tell us about your journey with this book. Whose idea was it to self-publish? 
Jazz : We thought we’d try self publishing and see where it takes us. Zeenat’s actually. She’s been the brain behind this venture and the driving force. Wish us luck. Zeenat : Haha, thanks Jazz! Well frankly we were both scared of self publishing because it seemed like such a big step. So we thought we would try it together and we did. It wasn't as scary as we thought it might be. It was a fun experiment. 
2. Were there challenges coordinating with each other across the border? Creative differences, hurling of words across the miles? ;)
Jazz : This collaboration was the result of a chit chat. Zeenat said, 'Let’s publish together'. Et voila! Here we are with Twice upon a Time. No creative differences. Sorry to disappoint. We both had novellas ready to publish and put them together in one book. Zeenat : Yeah, thankfully there weren't any differences Andy, or we might never have made it! Jazz and I are very different as writers but because these are two different novellas in one book and not a collaborative novel, we had no issues. 
3. Tell us a little about your respective novellas. Just a sneak-peak that’ll tempt the reader to click the Buy Now button.
Jazz: Sunshine Girl is about an orphan. Fending for herself has made her wise beyond her years in some ways, and left her totally innocent in others. She’d the eternal optimist and Gaurav can’t believe that her little truisms are for real. It’s another matter that he pursues her because she has something he wants desperately. Before he knows what hit him, he wants something entirely else. Zeenat : Yours Truly is about growing up, falling in love and changing perspectives. Sheru and Zoya are from the Pathan culture and as Pathans their language and culture comes through. 
 4. Jazz, this is your third published novella; Zeenat, this is your sixth book including stories in anthologies. What inspires you as writers? Where do you get your story ideas from? (Yes, I know this is a done-to-death question but remember how much our leading ladies smile & pose for the media? This is the written equivalent of the being-famous torture :) So bring it on, Ladies!) 
Jazz : Famous torture :) – I love that. It means I’m really well known. But alas! So far inspiration has not been a problem. The ideas come from anywhere. To begin with, there are all the love stories of people in my acquaintance. Not that they’d recognize themselves or the stories as theirs. But they work well as ideas and are a great way to get started.  Zeenat : I don't know why she is sad about it, eh Andy? Haha. Anyway, masha' Allah it is the same with me. I have many ideas and many stories teeming inside my head. I wish I could be more disciplined and write them more quickly. I read a lot and maybe that helps? I don't know, but I think ideas tend to find writers. 
5. What is your writing regimen like? Many aspiring (also read lazy) writers would like to know this and emulate you. 
Jazz : May I tell you, you’re good for the ego. I continue to aspire – to success, to popularity, to writing unputdownable books, to write that one book that will be everyone’s favourite. I wish I had the wisdom and the reach implied in your question. The simple truth is that I write when I get home from work. Zeenat : Sigh! Jazz's answer is so beautiful. What can I say after this? I agree with Jazz. I'm afraid I don't have a regimen either. 
6. Do you believe, like many today, that conventional publication/paperback/hard covers are passé? That digital books are the future? If yes, does this knowledge affect your creative sensibilities? Make you nostalgic? Or pragmatic about times to come? 
Jazz : Technology always remains new to each generation of ‘modern.’ When something has outlived its time it becomes obsolete automatically. Reading is important. As long as I have something to read it doesn't matter what the medium is. We listen to music whichever we get it, travel in the most convenient way, cooking changed from wood, fire to gas tops, to ovens to microwaves. From stele to clay tablets to papyrus to paper and now digital, it’s only the medium that keeps changing; who knows what it’s going to be next. Zeenat : No I don't think print books will ever be replaced. New things come and make their own place. They don't necessarily replace. 
7. Self-publication is a difficult task. You need to do all that a publisher takes care of (or ought to!) apart from your writing. Was that a satisfying experience – looking after the end-to-end process from creation to publication? Or, would you rather ‘just write’ and let experts take care of the cover design, marketing and a hazaar other things publishing entails? 
Jazz : It’s an annoying process, if you ask me. Left to myself I would have dithered forever, Zeenat took care of all that – to my eternal gratitude. Of course, I would just rather write. Zeenat : Same here. I had much rather leave it to publishers and do the writing. 
8. You have been writing as published authors for the last two years. Do you face the infamous writers’ block? How do you overcome it and proceed with your craft? 
Jazz : I think it’s best to just let it be for a while. In any case when you are in the middle of a story you are constantly thinking about your characters. So eventually you will think up a scenario or some piece of dialogue and it will all come back. It’s when you feel the pressure to write that you get blocked. What also works well is talking to a fellow writer who is familiar with you or your work. Discussing your story and characters and why they are behaving in a certain way can help because when you are explaining their situation the conversation itself helps to unblock the block. Zeenat : For me, it's not so much writers' block as not getting enough time to do the writing. Or procrastinating. Those are my evils. 
9. What is cooking next? Will the readers see you come together anytime soon? 
Jazz : There’s constantly something in the pot. When it will see the light of day is anybody’s guess. Sure. Why not. We are open to the idea, certainly.But we haven’t thought that far ahead. We were so focused on getting this one out there we didn't plan on anything beyond this one.  Zeenat : Yes I am working on something. Let's see when it will see light of day. I would love to publish again with Jazz:) 
10. How are your books different from others in the genre?
Jazz : I don’t know about different, but they are all very desi with more characters than are required. This comes from the typical Indian way with friends and family who want to know everything and who need to be avoided when on the path to love. Zeenat : Mine are sweet romances with ingredients from Lahore. My stories are heavily anchored in place and culture I think, because my characters are. I write what I would like to read myself. My romance must have humour, and relationships other than the main love story. In western romances that is not considered a strength of the writer. The secondary characters are not supposed to have too much dialogue or back stories and hero/ heroine must meet by page 5. I don't write romance like that because for me it's a story with a strong romantic detail--Not a formula. 
Wishing you two success with Twice Upon A Time and many more books to come, Jazz and Zeenat! Thank you so much for your time.

Other books by Jazz Singh:
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Other books by Zeenat Mahal:
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Zeenat Mahal (Author)
http://www.zeenatmahal.com/http://www.amazon.com/Zeenat-Mahal/e/B00H57AIGW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1/180-7715239-6346258https://www.facebook.com/zeenatmahal.author?ref=hlhttps://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=58812403&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profilehttp://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7153244.Zeenat_Mahalhttps://twitter.com/zeemahal