New Interview with Author Imran Omer

New Interview with Author  Imran Omer

Q1. Tell me about yourself what are your favorite books to read? 

A. I was born in Karachi and studied in Chicago. I have a bachelors in Art Education from the University of Illinois and M. Ed from American College of Education. I teach Art and English as a Second Language (ESL). I have taught in the United States, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. I love teaching but my passion lies in writing. The info about my books, blog, and artwork can be seen at www.imranomer.com 

My favorite books are Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood), Elizabeth Costello (J.M Coetzee) and The Poisonwood Bible(Barbara Kingsolver)

Q2.when did you decide you were going to write a book? 

A. As far as I remember, I always had a desire to write and see a published book of my own.

The thought of writing Entangled Lives appeared when on every news report about terrorists, a question appeared in my mind: How have the societies they lived in contributed to the outcome we have seen on the world stage? I didn't have to go very far to see the facets of society in general, and the politics, both domestic and international that have contributed to the violence they were committing. This trend of thought led me to research the madrassah culture, and make my protagonist a student of such a madrassah.

Q3. How did you come up with the name of your books? 

A. In Entangled Lives, there are certain points in which the two main characters are looking at the same incident from their own point of view. These points of views are colored by the cultural impressions they are bringing to that incident.   These characters, despite being so different, are forced to breathe in the same environment to find their way out. This happens in life as much as in fiction. We don't like one or another person in the space we live or work in, but like entangled particles, we are tied to find a way to survive.   

The Broken Promise depicts an awakening in the first half of the twentieth century. It is also about the partition of the Indian sub-continent, which for many groups in the region was a broken promise. They strived for independence but instead got division and genocide. 

Q4. What are you working on for 2019? 

A. I am working on The Broken Promise. It depicts an awakening in the first half of the twentieth century, an awakening that is still encompassing our lives. The change in the East was in political thought and philosophy of life, whereas the West was at the threshold of new avenues of freedom. The dawn of the new era reinvents the characters of The Broken Promise, destroying the old paths. It is the story of characters that appear from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds in Britain, the United States, and colonial India, and interact in the framework of the variables of life to depict a view of that era through their desires, deeds, and dilemmas.

Q5. How long have you been writing? 

A. I have been writing for the last ten years. 

Q6. What advice would you give other authors? 

A. Be authentic. Write what you know about and if you don't know about what you are writing then research, research, research.

Q7.where can people find you online? 

A. www.imranomer.com and www.imranomer.blog

And on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes&Noble

Q8. Do you plan on making more books in the future? 

A. Yes, I am working on The Broken Promise. I want to get back to the Trilogy of Love (working title) after finishing BP. I started it a year back but could not continue to work on it, as I needed to do some more research to do justice to its characters. 

Trilogy of Love (working title) is about three women who came of age in entirely different cultures but were connected with each other through the men in their lives and who came to somewhat the same conclusion about the freedom offered to them by religion and society. It starts in a small village of Eritrea, Africa, depicts Saudi Arabia and its women, and evaluates the freedom women experience in the West through English society. 

Q9. How many books have you written? 

A. Three books were published in my native language, Urdu, before Entangled Lives. I hope to see The Broken Promise in the bookshops next year.

Q10 did you go to college to be a writer? 

A. I have not studied Creative Writing, but I have researched extensively to learn the tools of the trade.