Please welcome my new guest, Shah Husain, a writer
of myth’s, legends, and fun stories from India, Africa, and other Ancient
worlds. Her books are quite a few to list, but they are full of insight,
intrigue, and information about a time in our history almost all but forgotten
in this modern age. And, since my series touches on the Genie, or Djinni lore,
I was fascinated about her work. I first became attracted to her books when I
saw the one about the history of the Goddess—the oldest known religion to the human
race. It is 25,000 years old. Right now, Shah is not promoting a new book, but
instead is working on a new pilot series in the UK where she lives, one that I
would love to know more about. I hope that all of you enjoy the interview and
don’t forget to leave her questions and comments.
Thank you Shah for letting me interview you for my
blog. I am looking forward to
getting to know you better.
Tell
us a little about yourself and back ground: Well,
thank you very much for inviting me on to your site, Lisa. I’m pleased to be here. My first memories are of London, UK, where my father was completing his studies to
practice at the Bar. Then we returned to
Pakistan. It was a very educated,
literary household, so we breathed books, stories, writing and reading, along
with the oxygen. It was an idyllic
childhood in many ways. We were
surrounded with gardens, greenery, hills and an amazing verve and vigour. Pakistan was not even 10 years old when we
returned to live there. It was country
full of hope – everyone had a purpose and a place and it was a brave new world,
specially for women. Who would have
thought we’d look ahead 30 years to such catastrophe. But as I grew up the sheer vitality and
optimism of people around infected me.
My mother worked hard to rehabilitate refugees and her general attitude
was, yes, some things are not so good YET, but we’ll fix’em. That attitude didn’t really allow the
self-doubt writers feel - I’m afraid
I’m going to repeat that writers’ cliché about writing since I learned to hold
a pencil. I never doubted even at 5 that one day my scribbling would be in a
story book. I started freelancing, interviewing and writing short stories for
magazines when I was in my teens – wrote for children’s pages when I was much
younger. I did radio programmes from
interviewing to weekly diaries– and then finally, started to write books. My first book was published in the early 80s.
I write for children and for
adults. Fiction is my passion though
I’ve written a fair amount of non-fiction too and I enjoy writing
screenplays.
I
would love to know about your pilot series, what’s that about?:
These are two TV series: one’s an adapatation from ancient
Indian myth and the other is a contemporary story centering on the paranormal. A high profile director approached me for a
collaboration about the first and as we worked on that I mentioned the second
idea and she was very taken with that too, so she took my proposal to the
network’s drama department and they went crazy for it. Both proposals are in
the early stages of development. We have
a fantastic broadcaster backing them.
But these things take time and there’s many a slip in the world of film
and TV – I’ve been around long enough to know these things can disappear into
thin air at any stage. I’m still
confident about these, though. So far everything seems to be progressing well.
There are actually signatures on dotted lines and all submissions have been
approved to date.
Your
writing takes us into a time long since passed, what has been your motivation?:

…. interview
Do
you have any ideas for a new book in your future?:
I am always exploding with ideas, Lisa. It sounds ungrateful but I kind of wish
they’d pause a while and allow me to write what’s already churning around in my
head. I’ve got a novel coming out next
year, set against sectarian violence in India and am two-thirds of the way
through a modern reinterpretation of an ancient Indian myth. It looks at Multiple
Personality Syndrome. I’m really
enjoying it.
I
am writing a fantasy fiction series and based my world on the Djinn. Not the
Djinn in a bottle, but a race of beings in another dimension. I named the world
Djenrye and the people are the Djen, (different spelling) but I wanted them to
be a people, not a typical trickster with wishes. What kind of lore can you
tell us about the Djinn?:
You’re on to something there, Lisa. In Middle Eastern tradition Jinns there are
races of Jinns distributed into tribes much like humans, with their own
motivations and activities. Interestingly, I’ve been thinking about Jinns
recently in connection with an episode for my TV project but I have been
fascinated with them since I can remember.
I grew up in a world where people freely believe in Jinns and speak as
casually about them as people in the west may speak about astrology or
psychics. They take them for granted and
take appropriate precautions as a matter of course. When I visit Bangladesh
people regularly refer to some precious object being found through the aid of a
‘controller’ of Jinns, in India they speak of Jinns inhabiting mosques and wild
places. In Pakistan, too. Apparently they love sweet-meats, shift shape
and sometimes live in mosques or in trees, love flowers fall in love with human
women, specially those with long hair and beautiful voices. When they do, they become very possessive and
prevent them marrying or having romantic relationships even if this means
making them mentally or physically ill.
They can be cast out, of course – but it’s hard because they are
apparently religious beings and so prayer is not an antidote. Of course the Arabian Nights stories – the
real ones, not the sanitized western versions for kids – reveal much of this
lore. I had a great uncle who spoke of
seeing them in the late 19th/early 20th century when he
travelled far and wide in India as a District superintendent. There are loads of tales about them
transforming into snakes - in oral tales and the Nights, so in a country like
India at that time, where there were lots of snakes, there was always the worry
that one of them might be a Jinn!! The
Quran describes them as beings of ‘smokeless fire’. It tells of many races of
Jinns, good and bad, and names some of their significant leaders. They are not immortal but they seem to be
somewhat invincible. I remember
fairytales in which they would hide their heart inside a bee, inside a fruit,
inside a parrot.
I really look forward to reading your book, Lisa. Best of luck with its progress.
Thank you so much for answering my questions. I
would love to sit with you and talk about these stories. First I love history,
and second, I love fables. If you would like, please leave us with your
thoughts and anything you wish to promote about your pilot, or your books.
Also, don’t forget to leave your links so everyone can check out your work.
Thanks again Shah, you’ve been wonderful and I appreciate you and your books!
You can find Shah's works on Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes and Noble sites, or go to her website-http://www.Shahrukhhusain.com You can also reach her on FB and Twitter.
Thanks for joining in my wonderful blog followers and leave Shah a comment or question. she will be checking in periodically to answer. Until Thursday, have a great week!
Love, Lisa
Fascinating! I am excited to pick up a few of your books. I've sent the blog to my daughter, but unfortunately, she will not likely read it until later this afternoon (She is a teacher and is at school). I'm also interested in picking up the original Arabian Nights. Is there an English version you would recommend?
ReplyDeleteKeep up the amazing work and good luck on all your endeavors!
Hello Toni, thanks for your kind comments. (I write under the name Shahrukh Husain - Shah is the short form).
DeleteMy favourtie translation of the Nights remains the children's retelling by Andrew Lang. Also, Michael Foreman's lavishly illustrated and lyrical version. I was surprised to discover that the 'orignals' are narrated in a very robust and lively way and I've never found one in English that has the same voice. But there are some good ones around.
Thanks for your good wishes,
Shah
Hello Shah,
ReplyDeleteWhat a diverse and rich culture you grew up in. It sounds so full. My parents encouraged my reading, but I don't think they understood my imagination.
I would love to hear more about your series pilots. I'm very curious about them and best wishes for both.
My daughter is in the UK doing her masters in theatre design (she is a lighting designer). She was recently introduced to a gentleman who works on BBC and HBO projects as a production designer and he's involved with one being filmed in Cardiff where she attends school. She is interested in diversifying into the world of TV/film as well as theatre and hopes to shadow him at some point.
I can only imagine the worlds and creatures that abound in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. So much history and myth that we can only read about in the US. I envy your wealth of knowledge. Congratulations on the Chautauquan honor! I am looking forward to reading your work.
I so understand the issue with ideas. I'm just trying to get through revisions on my first novel and other ideas keep popping up to distract me. Other than discipline and saying no, do you have any tricks to keeping them at bay? Some of my characters are rather insistent at times, lol!
Lisa's saga is amazing. As her critique partner, I've seen a lot of this first book, but I'm looking forward to seeing it in print and reading it cover-to-cover. I believe she's done the Jinn proud and I applaud her for the spin she's put on it, the different spelling (Djen) and building a rich, parallel world to our own.
Thank you for guesting on Lisa's blog. If you have any words of wisdom for those of us hoping to publish our first works, I'd love to hear them.
Robin
RG Calkins
http://rgcalkins-author.com
https://twitter.com/RGCalkinswrites
http://www.facebook.com/RGCalkins.Author
Hi Robin, I was very fortunate to have so many influences around me. I took it for granted at the time but every time I think about it now, I appreciate what bounty I had.
DeleteLighting design is such an essential part of thetarical production. I was commissioned to write a play for the Unicorn Theatre for children about Shehrazade and her telling of the stories. I had a scene in which shehrezade's younger sister goes to find the ancient storyteller to get more stories for her sister. She steps through a curtain into a desert - the lighting designer on the sets created the most spectacular effect with dazzling sunshine and the shadows falling in such a way that the rolling dunes of the desert were right there on stage with us and the scene seemed to extend far beyond the limits of the theatre. It was spectacular. so, good luck to your daughter - I hope she gets the chance to shadow this professional and gain contacts in the film and TV world. They're always in need of top level technical and creatuve help.
As far as ideas are concerned, the only way I manage to keep them quiet is by jotting notes down and putting them away. and I, too, have characters standing at my elbow asking when I'm going to write about them. Same trick - write down the ideas and tell yourself you'll get round to the project in time. I currently have 18 in my development file.
My only words of wisdom, Robin are keep writing - past the hard moments and the painful decisions and the endless distractions of life and don't give up until you've produced the best you are capable of. Get expert help where you can in terms of editing, advice and critiques and never let anyone tread on your dreams.
Keep writing and may the Muse be with you, skittish as she can be!
Shah
Thank you, Shah, for the reply. And yes, I write down my ideas as they come. You have me beat though. I only have 5 or 6 novel ideas and a couple of short stories at present.
DeleteThank you for your words of encouragement. It is such an effort to get past those moments, decisions, and the people who would pass my dream off as a flight of fancy. I'm so blessed to have people like Lisa who are supportive and will give me honest feedback. She, and the web of writing friends and acquaintances that I've made, are helping me keep my dream on track.
Thank you again,
Robin
I look forward to hearing more about your progress, Robin. Are you on Writania?
DeleteYou're very welcome,
Shah
How interesting. I can see that upbringing has a great influence on this writer. Because I am interested in folklore, I plan to look for Shah's books. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHello, bbb - I love to hear people are interested in folklore and other kinds of traditional tales. I hope you enjoy the books. You'll find me under Shahrukh Husain - Shah's a short form.
DeleteHappy reading.
Shah
Your books sound very interesting! Congratulations on the beginnings of your books into television! How every exciting. I have enjoyed my moms (Lisa) story so far and think that your writing is in the same fantasy realm as hers. I look forward to reading some of your work
ReplyDeleteHello Brandie, so good to hear from you. I feel Lisa and I are already friends even though we've never met. Do your write, too?
DeleteBe well and happy,
Shah
Thank you again for coming on my site Shah! It's been wonderful having you and I appreciate you taking the time to answer the comments! I hope you have a wonderful holiday and keep in touch!
ReplyDeleteLinda now that I can sign in and have tested it, I look forward to reading the above article it sounds really interesting. Thanks,
ReplyDelete