Shaila Abdullah

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Blog Tour Stop 15: The Book Connection and Paperback Writer

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Today is a busy day for online publicity. Cheryl Malandrinos of the famous book blog, The Book Connection, posted this fantastic review of Saffron Dreams:

“If ever there was a book more eloquently written than Saffron Dreams, I would like to see it. The words simply fly off the page and float into your consciousness; their power touching you in a way like no other book might ever touch you again. The struggles of being a 9/11 widow and a Muslim, come together in a moving story that will find you filled with every emotion ever experienced by a human being. Abdullah’s masterful storytelling draws you in from the very first moment and does not release you until you’ve turned the very last page. Anyone who has ever loved and lost will be touched by this heartrending, yet triumphant story of one woman’s difficult journey to pick up the pieces of her shattered life in a country that has suddenly put her and an entire race under a microscope in order to make sense of a monumental tragedy. The descriptions and details put you right alongside Arissa so that you are totally captivated by her world, her dreams, her struggles, and her triumphs.”
Read the complete review online

Rebecca Camarena of Paperback Writer interviewed me and we discussed the making of Saffron Dreams and the message behind the novel. Here is an excerpt:

What do you want readers to remember and carry with them after reading your novel?
SA: I want the readers to discover that the best way to avert discrimination is to look it straight in the eye and do something about it. Remember to take the outstretched hand of those who want to help when life throws you off balance. Only then will you find your equilibrium. Know that certain choices we make in our lives are driven by our own individual circumstances; therefore, there is no point in defending them to the rest of the world. Don’t rush to condemn a community because of the acts of a few misguided souls. Last, but not the least, know that happiness comes in unexpected forms, sometimes not packaged to our specification but ultimately containing the perfect ingredients to make life worth living.
Read the entire interview online

Blog Tour Stop 13: The Writer’s Life

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Read my in-depth interview with The Writer’s Life. We talked about my new novel Saffron Dreams, the joys and perils of publishing, writing habits, etc.

Remember, at every blog tour stop there are prizes. For those with comments and questions, I can be reached at shailaabdullah@gmail.com. If you mention The Writers Life interview, you will receive a free e-book called A Taste of Saffron, containing recipes of dishes mentioned in Saffron Dreams.

Blog Tour Stop 11: Literary Safari

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An interview and a heart-warming review by Sandhya Nankani of Literary Safari. An excerpt is below with a link to the full posting:

“We have read numerous stories in the mainstream media about the widows of 9/11. Not so many about the Muslim victims. In her novel Saffron Dreams, Austin-based Pakistani-American author Shaila Abdullah fills a void in that literature by providing the perspective of a pregnant Pakistani woman, Arissa, who loses her husband–a writer with a masters in literature who worked as a waiter in the Windows on the World restaurant–on September 11.

I read this novel just after I’d wrapped my writing of a curriculum guide for an oral history of Muslim youth in New York City, This Is Where I Need To Be, which was published by Teachers College’s Student Press Initiative. It would make a wonderful read for both a young adult and adult audience interested in further exploring the ways in which America’s Muslim population experienced 9/11. Intertwined with flashbacks to Arissa’s childhood in Pakistan, this novel provides a valuable insight into secular, upper middle class Pakistani society. A much-needed perspective in the void of the American Muslim experience, it is an unflinching and moving look at the societal pressures of widowhood, the role that art can play in the healing process, and the impact of media bias and stereotyping on the Muslim American community in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks.”
Read the full review and the interview