Natasha Ahmed is the kind of woman whose words
are as unabashed as her personality. Trapped in a morass of social prejudices
and restrictions, she has tried to breathe free by unleashing her pen and
wielding a story where the protagonist is a woman with a rebellious streak (much
like the author herself).
The 40-plus author from Pakistan shatters
established norms, pens a story under a pseudonym to conceal her identity and
publishes a controversial work at the risk of getting a Fatwa on her head.
Here is how she introduces her work:
My book, Butterfly Season, was
launched on March 20, 2014, on Amazon and on my publisher's site, Indireads. The story
is basically a romance, but it's about a Pakistani woman who falls for a guy
and contemplates sleeping with him – something most Pakistanis/Muslims will
identify with as 'No Sex Before Marriage' has been drummed into our heads since
childhood. My protagonist, Rumi, has to make a choice between love and culture.
A deeper probe into her mind helped me extract a
few more words out of her:
Q1) Dear
Natasha, congratulations for your debut novel. A lot of authors are already a
few novels old by the time they hit 30. Do you have regrets you didn’t pick the
pen earlier?
Natasha: The last time I tried writing a book
was when I was 16. A friend and I got together and tried to collaborate on a
mystery that went nowhere. Around that same time, we got a new art teacher, a
young dynamic woman who inspired me so much, I dropped the idea of writing in
favor of art. I went to art school because of her and now I’m a graphic
designer, have been for 20 years. I draw, I paint, I create websites, I design
logos and campaigns, and I have loved it. So no, I don’t regret it.
Lately, however, my design work has become
mostly corporate, which is very stale and repetitive and I’m ready to give that
up. On the other hand, I fully intend to continue drawing; in fact, I hope to
get more time to do so if good book sales mean I can give up corporate design.
Maybe I’ll even write a graphic novel!
Q2) Your book slams social prejudices and even
goes on to advocate adultery. So why a title like ‘Butterfly Season’ and why
not something more rebellious, something more barbed, more direct?
Natasha: At the end of the day, my book is
popular fiction – it’s a romance, not literary fiction. The social aspect of
the book is secondary to the fact that it’s pure entertainment. All the
classics we read in school—Austen, Shakespeare, Shaw, Hardy—they wrote for the
masses, not for the select few. That’s how nations change. Voltaire’s Candide
was one of the catalysts for the French Revolution. Harriet Beecher Stowe
sparked the American Civil War with Uncle Tom’s Cabin, shining a light on the
blight of slavery.
I want people to read my book for the
entertainment and come away with ideas for social change. I would rather be a
popular fiction writer read widely than bring out a book that may win awards
but will be read by a tiny fraction of the world’s population. So my title
reflects the lighter side of the book.
Just to be clear, I don’t advocate adultery. I
advocate an individual’s right to make his or her own decisions (especially
decisions that don’t harm anyone else) without censure. We’re not here to judge
other people, because none of us have clean hands, no matter how pure we think
we are.
Q3) Rumi is the protagonist in your book. Can
you tell a bit more about her? How much of Rumi is Natasha and how much of
Natasha is Rumi?
Natasha: Rumi’s words are all mine. Her ideas
and her views on life are also mine. I gave her different circumstances in
life—she’s an architect, her parents have both passed away, and it’s just her
and one sister—and gave her different choices, some of which I never had. But I
think Rumi is far braver than I was. She took the risks and the leap of faith
in herself that I haven’t. After all, look how long it took me to write my
first book!
Q4) Okay, now a question about writing technique
that I always toss at an author- How many days did you take to write this
novel? Were there mental hurdles (writer’s block, procrastination, etc) that
you had to overcome?
Natasha: Writing the first draft was easy. It
took me 3 weeks. Doing the rewrites after the beta reader and editor feedback
took me 9 months. I write at night because I’m still working, still have
commitments to clients that I can’t delegate just yet, so I had less time to
put into the rewrites than I would have liked. Fortunately, my publisher was
patient enough to wait for me.
I started off with a whole stack of worksheets on
character sketches, plot sketches, dialogue, scenes, and a myriad other details
that I had downloaded from Guardian Books (How to Write a Novel in 30 Days). I
think I filled out about 3 of the worksheets. Then I got bored and just started
writing. I’d write a brief outline of what each scene needed to achieve (in
terms of moving the plot forward) and then I would just write out the chapters.
With my next book, however, I don’t want the
characters to be clones of Butterfly Season, so it’s a lot harder. I’m paying
more attention to how my characters speak, what their motivation would be to do
something, and it is really tough.
There’s a temptation to bring pieces of Rumi or Ahad (from Butterfly
Season) into this new set of characters, which is hard to resist.
Q5) Currently, the book is available in the
e-format. But there are a lot of people who prefer the hard copy version of a
book. How do you wish to convince them to read your work?
Natasha: I’m hoping my readers will do that! I
ran a competition on March 8 and gave away 10 copies of the book. With the
exception of one reader who wasn’t very impressed (she gave me 2 stars on
Goodreads, but when I checked her profile, she’d given Reluctant Fundamentalist
one star, so I’m basking in the glory of beating out Mohsin Hamid!), everyone
else has not only given me glowing reviews, they’ve recommended it onwards. And
that’s just gold. There’s no better way to market than word-of-mouth. Almost
all of them follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads, and all of them
continue to push out any promotional material I release. I trust them to
convince their friends and acquaintances that the book is good enough to
overlook technological preferences.
But the book will be available as
print-on-demand via Pothi in a few months. And if it does well, if any of
Indireads’ books do well, they’ll start printing their books.
Q6) Can we have a few words about your publisher
IndiReads? Take us through the experience
Natasha: Indireads is small press. They’re new,
barely a year old. Right now, the atmosphere is like a family. They have two
senior editors, both with very different approaches and tastes, which works
very well in balancing out our stories. One is very blunt, one is very kind. No
prizes for guessing who everyone’s favorite is! But they’re very supportive. They’ve
taken on a number of first-time writers and provided all the support a new
author needs to actually write a good book.
The only thing they really need is a good
marketing network. I’ve heard a few nightmares about publishers who won’t
market for you unless you’re a big ticket item, but I haven’t seen that with
Indireads. They’re still working out many of the kinks in their system, but
they are extremely proactive and aren’t afraid to try out new things.
One of the best things I like about them is
that, while they’re publishing popular fiction from South Asia, they don’t have
a formula for any of their books. The stories are fairly unique, and they are
now branching out from romance to crime, which should be great! I’m really
looking forward to that. Mind even try my hand at it.
Q7) Will it be too early to talk about your next
project? Do you have something going in your fertile mind? Readers will be glad
if I can extort a few snippets out of your next.
Natasha: Absolutely not too early! I have
already started my next book. I am still working out the intricacies of the
conflict in this book, so I’m not revealing that as yet. I will tell you this
much: my heroine is, at first glance, an elitist bitch. My hero, also at first
glance, is bitter, unlikeable and struggling financially. Both of these are
popular stereotypes here and I’d like to change that mindset. My goal is to
make my readers love them both by the time they put the book down.
Here’s a small snippet, though be aware that
this might be ruthlessly edited by the time it comes out!
“Now?” One of the porters
yelled to the driver behind the wheel of the jeep.
“Nope! Nothing!” The driver
yelled back. Samir couldn’t understand why they were yelling. The desert was
deathly silent, a vast sea of salt plains without sounds of life for miles
around. The pale moon hung low in the sky, a bright light source that bounced
off the salt marsh and rendered their lamps and torches irrelevant.
[Read the full snippet at the end]
Q8) Arrange them in order of your preference:
Arthur Conan Doyle, Sidney Sheldon, JK Rowling, Salman Rushdie, DH Lawrence
Natasha: D. H. Lawrence, Sidney Sheldon, Salman
Rushdie, Arthur Conan Doyle and J. K. Rowling
Q9) A final question- Is it true that a cat is a
writer’s best friend?
Natasha: It’s true that my cats are my keyboard’s best friends. They love to
drape themselves over it, especially when I’m writing. If I switch to pen and paper,
they think the pen is a toy and keep swatting at it. If they weren’t so
adorable…
Snippet (continues):
The
whine of the engine cut across the plain as the driver tried yet again to start
up the jeep. What a fucking disaster,
Samir thought. Their convoy of two jeeps and a Prado was stuck in the middle of
nowhere. There was no cell coverage so they couldn’t call anyone, and while one
jeep had stalled and refused to start up, the other one had a flat tire and no
spare. The Prado was fine, but they were a group of fourteen people and they
couldn’t all fit in one SUV, no matter how luxurious it was. He’d have to send
someone back to Mithi and have them bring back a spare tire and a mechanic.
Samir surveyed the group of
people scattered around the Prado. He should probably send a few of the
‘guests’ along as well. As many as will fit in the Prado, he realized. But who
goes? Older guests first, then the goras,
have to keep them happy. Zulqarnain needs their money. That’s seven people
right there. Seven plus the driver—they could squeeze in, he thought. It was a
three-hour drive back to Mithi but the seats in the Prado were fantastic, the
shock absorbers as phenomenal.
Behind him, the porter and
the driver were still at it. He marveled at their patience. He’d have given up
on the damn jeep thirty minutes ago. His gaze swept over the remaining three
guests—a young college kid, interning with their organization for the summer,
and two women. Zulqarnain’s friends along for the thrill of being able to tell
their high society cronies that they were doing ‘charity’ work.
He’d met them all for the
first time less than six hours ago. They’d arrived in Mithi the night before
and it was his job to ensure they got to Nagarparkar without incident. He
didn’t remember their names, nor was he interested in learning about them,
except for her.
She definitely did not
belong in the desert. She was elegant, casual and the epitome of an elitist
bitch. She barely looked at him, or at any of the staff working in Mithi, but
everyone had taken a second glance at her, including him, albeit reluctantly.
Her hair was shiny, her skin smooth. Her hands were perfectly manicured, and it
looked like she’d just stepped out of a beauty parlor. What the fuck was she doing in the middle of nowhere?
Yeah, she’s definitely
staying, thought Samir. A night in the desert without a hairdresser or
manicurist would take her down a peg or two.
“Listen up.” Samir raised
his voice as he strode towards the stragglers. “I’m sending a few of you back
to Mithi along with Nasir Jan here. He’s going to bring back a mechanic and
some supplies for us.” There was an immediate clamor from the group.
“Some of us?”
“Go back???”
“Why not all of us?” Donald
was a stuffy older man, prim in appearance, fastidious in his actions. He had
regretted coming on this trip the moment he had left Hyderabad. He’d envisioned
a smooth highway to Mithi, a comfortable trip with a view of the desert on
either side. Nothing, so far, had gone as expected. One day into the expedition
and he was ready to go home. He was sure he wouldn’t be included in the convoy
back to Mithi. Surely this he-man would be sending the women back first?
“Because I can’t fit twelve
of you into the Prado. I’m good, but not that good.” Samir’s voice was dry.
“So, who gets to go back?”
That was… Samir couldn’t remember her name. She was the Australian, full of
enthusiasm and energy. Dressed in shalwarkameez,
she was the most relaxed of the three foreign women. But she was over fifty and
shouldn’t have to camp out in the desert. With precise movements, Samir pointed
out the seven people he’d picked to return to Mithi. Donald breathed a huge
sigh of relief and made a beeline for the Prado. The others picked up their
bags hastily before Samir changed his mind and followed. The remaining three
looked at each other in dismay.
“Shouldn’t you send the
women home?” One of Zulqarnain’s friends stepped forward. She was the
bottle-blonde who had decided to wear jeans to the desert. As a result, she had
been sweating profusely since they’d started out. She’d progressively taken off
several layers of shirts until she was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt that clung
to her non-existent curves.
Samir looked at her. “I’m
sending back the older members of this excursion.” He raised his eyebrows in a
mock query. “Would that include you?” She shut up.
You can check out/buy the book here
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