Hello there! I’m back and very excited to share with you another author Q&A post! This time around, I have Miss Amal Nadiah Ghazali with me. She’s a Malaysian author with 2 published books, Dumped and Tuesday. My reviews on her books are available below, just click the photo of the books. 😉
So, without further ado, let’s get into the interview!
Q: How do you feel now that you have two books that have been published and being read by tons of readers?
A: It feels surreal! It’s such an exciting and nerve-wrecking thing to know that people are reading my work, but at the same time, very rewarding to know that the book(s) may have given readers joy or might have helped others in any small way.
Q: Who’s your biggest inspiration when it comes to writing?
A: Real people. I’ve always found real people leading real lives with real stories absolutely inspiring. In my writing methods, any character whether fiction or non-fiction are always based on real people. As for writers who inspire me, at the moment I find Haruki Murakami very fascinating. He has a specific style of story telling, it’s very exclusive to him and he sticks to it. Sometimes I’m reading about him explaining how he makes his toast and I find myself totally absorbed!
Q: For your second book, Tuesday, what is the source of inspiration for the story line and issues raised?
A: I took some time off and went to France in early 2018, and I was in Paris alone. I loved the experience so much that I wanted to write about it, but I knew there should be an anchor story for the travel logs to revolve around. As for its theme, it was sparked by a thought I had about how wonderful life would be if we are able to make peace with the things that have happened in our lives.
Q: You seem to touch on relationships frequently in your books, how is your experience reflected in your books?
A: Here’s what I’ve observed so far – no matter who you are in this world, you would have, one way or the other, experienced a relationship. Relationships have a way of affecting everything we do in our lives, be it our beliefs, lifestyles, patriotism, politics, goals and even sense of purpose. It’s amazing. It’s a subject that people discuss for generations, yet no one seems to have it completely figured out. I guess that’s why I write about it a lot. It’s a process for me to understand its themes.
Q: How do you decide on your writing style for both Dumped and Tuesday?
A: In Dumped, the book was written to take place within almost ten years of the protagonist’s life. For Tuesday, I wanted to challenge myself to do something completely the opposite – a story of just a single day. In terms of style, humor is always important to me, no matter how dark or sad the story might be. Just little reminders that there are always little joys and reasons to smile with any life challenge!
Q: In both books, the main characters are somehow anonymous, why did you decide to write them that way?
A: Because it doesn’t matter who she is, whether she’s real, fictional or a representation of the writer (I get asked about this a LOT hahaha). What matters is that she is just like a lot of other women in this world. She’s imperfect, she does the wrong things or says the incorrect words sometimes, but I love writing about a character that learns with her every experience. A lot of readers say they can relate to the characters, but of course! We are all human, and in the end we all look for the same things in our lives.
Q: If you are given 3 words to describe Tuesday, what would they be?
A: Travel, Food, Forgiveness.
Q: Do you mind to share with us a little bit about your upcoming book?
A: It will be even more traveling to more exciting places and a lot of stories of very, very interesting people. To be honest, I never quite know how a story would turn out or end until I’m actually done writing it.
Q: What is your message to everyone who has read and not yet read your books?
A: I am so thankful for everyone who has read it! It’s local readers and book bloggers that help support local writers, and without you there wouldn’t be a platform for local writers to share their work. I am also so happy to get all the emails and dms on the books – I love that the books have made it possible to communicate with so many others, and to hear their stories or experiences. If you haven’t read them, please do!
That’s it for this interview! It has been a privilege to meet Miss Amal Nadiah and have this chance to interview her. Will see you in the next author interview!
About the author
Amal Nadiah Ghazali is a geoscientist, columnist, blogger and the bestselling author of Dumped released in 2017. She has a column in the New Straits Times called “Amal Muses” and blogs at bootsoverbooks.com. She’s an avid traveller, loves to cook and enjoys reading on rainy days.
Source: MPH Online
To get her books, click the titles below:
Endless Chapters 
Fantastic interview! I’m really intrigued about Tuesday and the writing style used – will have to check out your reviews as well.
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Thank you! I hope you’ll love the book/s if you ever pick them up 🙂
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