Author Interview
I had the pleasure of meeting this lovely author on Twitter and was introduced to her book. I did a book review a while ago and I just bought the rest of her books which are now waiting for me to read in my Amazon Kindle. Her first book was moving and amazing that I knew I had to get into her head, learning all that I can about her as a person and an author. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this author interview.
1. What sparked your interest in writing?
I’ve always wanted to write. I had unfinished drafts sitting in my inbox. Actually, COVID-19 made me pick up my laptop and write. I was working fewer hours than and I had a lot of free time. I started with one book but ended up writing another.
2. Has anyone in your life inspired you to write?
My mother and siblings always motivate me, but no one has really inspired me.
3. When did you decide to publish?
May 2020.
4. Are you an Indie Author or Traditional Author? Why did you choose the path you did?
My writing is different from other romance novels. Not better, but different. I tend to use the third perspective more and my writing is more literary. I do a mix of contemporary and literary now, but when I began writing, it was straight literary romance fiction which is a limited niche. Most readers don’t search for “literary romance.” They would prefer contemporary. It’s not something many publishers and agents preferred either so I researched indie publishing. I was very inspired by Colleen Hoover and Amanda Hocking’s journey, then I self-published. I do like that I have more control over my work now. In the beginning, it was tough because I didn’t have any indie writer friends. Now, I have a team that I can count on. I have more writer friends now who support my work. #WritingCommunity on Twitter is amazing and the Bookstagram Reading Community on Instagram is great. I have beta readers, ARC readers, a book cover artist, book editor(s), and a book formatter. I’m more aware of advertising and marketing now too.
5. What is your first published book?
The Name of Red
6. Are you happy with how your books are coming out? Would you change anything?
I do like my books overall. I wouldn’t change anything, but with my first book, I wish I could have developed it more in terms of pacing. It’s still my favorite work, but I wish I could apply the things I know now.
7. Will you continue to publish books for many years to come?
That’s the plan 🙂 Maybe 30 books before I turn 30? I’m 27 now and I have 6 down this year. Next year, my book schedule runs at 6-7 books. I feel like I write faster than people could finish reading. That’s something my ARC readers tell me 😀
8. What genres inspire you to write?
Literary fiction, romance, and women’s fiction.
9. What is your favorite genre to write? What is your least favorite genre to write?
IÂ prefer literary. I don’t have a least favorite yet, I like them all.
10. What challenges have you faced publishing?
Perhaps, meeting deadlines.
11. What challenges have you faced in writing?
Writer block 😀 I hate those. Sometimes, I can’t write more than 200 words, but the next day I’ll write 12k. My highest record is 15k in one day. Someday, I would like it to be 30k, write a novella in one day.
12. Where do your ideas for your books come from? Where do you keep those ideas?
I keep a journal and I dot it down. If I’m outside and I don’t have my journal, I write it down on a Google Docs spreadsheet on my phone. The ideas are just 2-3 lines. My books tend to be very cultural, and my South Asian background helps with it. I like to explore tradition, religion, values, and norms in books. It helps raise awareness. I like to explore different cultures such as Pakistani, Indian, Iranian, Arab, etc. Not just culture only and I like to focus on things that don’t have much awareness. In my upcoming book, The Whispers of Rifts, I had an albino character and I focused on homelessness.
13. Are you also a bookworm and does reading other works help inspire your own writing?
Yes! If I’m writing a different genre, I tend to check out similar books in that genre.
14. Do you have a website where we can follow you?
15. What is the link for your books so others may look and possibly purchase them from?
I hope that you enjoyed reading about this amazing author, Beena Khan, and I truly hope that you will go through the links above and learn more about her through her website as well as buy her books to read. I can’t wait to continue to read her series and I hope you will jump in and join me with reading her books.