Arabian Dreams Kickstarter Diary Day 1

Today is a big day. I’ve just finished shooting and editing my Kickstarter project video and have uploaded it to the page that I have created for my Arabian Dreams Kickstarter. The aim of this diary is to make notes and share my experience of running a Kickstarter with my readers. It took me a […]

Covers Revealed

The last time I released a book was 14th June 2014. Since then I’ve been absent from the fiction market. A lot has changed. I changed careers, went back to uni to retrain as a teacher/lecturer and completed a Doctorate in Education. Now, 12 years later I’m finally looking to release not one, but two […]

FAith Beyond the Surface

Writing Belief That Breathes What does it mean to truly believe something – and how should that shape a character’s every breath? Recently, I interviewed Arthur C. Clarke and Hugo Award winning author, Adrian Tchaikovsky in which we discussed his recent book Bee Speaker and the Dogs of War series. During the conversation the matter […]

Religion and fantasy

Introduction Tales of the fantastic have always been intertwined with faith religion. No doubt the genesis story in the Bible and the origins of the universe in mythologies of ancient times have inspired many a writer to come up with belief systems for the peoples of their world(s). Early fantasy writers such as Tolkien and […]

On Characters

On Characters (including a Deep Dive on my characters) Coming up with new characters for a story is one of the most fun and also daunting tasks for any author. Sometimes it comes easily, with a main character already cast in your mind with your initial idea. Other times its like trying to squeeze out […]

New Interview and a Guide for Muslim Writers

Substack writer Heba Hallak interviewed me recently as part of her article The Muslim Guide to Writing Fiction. Have a read and give her a like: https://open.substack.com/pub/humanitiesnotebook/p/the-muslims-guide-to-writing-fiction?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=3q8q1u

Fantasy and Faith

I launched a podcast today titled … Fantasy and Faith. The first episode was just an intro episode looking at some of my history and the challenges I’ve faced as a writer. Its available on Substack and also on YouTube Podcasts. I would really appreciate your support on either channels. I’ve also published a collaborative […]

Tolkien Reading Day

The original lyrics of Misty Mountains, from The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien Far over the misty mountains coldTo dungeons deep and caverns oldWe must away ere break of dayTo seek the pale enchanted gold. The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,While hammers fell like ringing bellsIn places deep, where dark things sleep,In hollow […]

Alauddin Update

Work has started on this rewrite of something I wrote in my teen years. Initially, it was meant to be a padding out of the original with some more character work and plot. However, as these things go, it’s kind of become a full rewrite. The original was good for a teen project. I was […]

Magic, Faith and Fiction

Introduction Fantasy fiction has long been linked to the mystical, the unknown, and the extraordinary. This genre contains a unique strand of storytelling. It draws from rich cultural and spiritual traditions. This is known as Muslim fantasy fiction. Combining elements of magic, faith, and folklore, these stories explore new dimensions of the fantastical through a […]