Contemporary Fiction/ Drama Author

SPOTLIGHT ON:

Minaal Maan

CONNECT WITH MINAAL MAAN

All About Minaal

Minaal Maan is a young freelance writer and author who has just published her debut novel, “Our Tainted Souls”, available in paperback and e-book form. The book currently has a 4.8 rating on Goodreads. Her work has appeared in publications such as The Daily Times, The Fiction Project, and The Desi Collective. She has also recently launched “The Pakistan Chronicle” an online magazine that aims to highlight emerging voices focusing on inclusivity, and it can be found on Instagram as @thepakistanchronicle.

Minaal enjoys writing about strong female leads as well as the transgender community and is drawn to the contemporary fiction genre. Her Instagram handle is @minaalmaan

Our Tainted Souls

Release Date:

May 5, 2020

Publisher:

Minaal Maan

Cover Design:

Minaal Maan

Welcome Minaal to Jeny's TattleTales

What actors would you like in the main roles if your book were made into a movie?

I would love Feroze Khan to play Ahmed and Saba Qamar to play Seher. I know it’s a long shot but I just love imagining it!

What genre have you never written that you’d like to write? Why?

I really want to write a crime thriller set in Pakistan, but I haven’t because I feel like I need to do more research in order to do it research. But boy do I want to write it someday! I personally love reading crime thrillers and psychological thrillers and authors like David Baldacci and James Patterson are among my favorite honestly so if I can be half as good as them that would be like a dream!

What was the hardest, most unusual, or interesting part of the story to research?

I found the crops grown in the village kind of hard to research since there is a particular season for the sowing and harvest of each crop and it also depends on the region they are grown in. Since Seher’s village was an important location in the story, I really needed to get that right.

How do you choose the names and physical characteristics of your characters? Do you base them on real people?

I base certain characteristics on real people that I have come across and remembered and the names are usually picked up from strangers. Basically, if a name sounds right and matches that character, I go for it. 🙂

What are two (or more) of your all-time favorite books in any genre?

The Great Gatsby or anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

What’s your favorite part of the writing life?

I’d say seeing readers actually connecting to the book and telling you that they understood the message you were trying to convey. I love it when people tell me something they noticed in the book and it’s the exact thing that I wanted them to notice.

What do you do for fun, besides writing?

This is literally the most basic of hobbies but I love binge-watching a good TV show with a whole lot of junk food!

What would you most like to say to your readers?

I’d just like to tell them that since there is not a lot of money in writing unless you are like really, really famous, the only thing that keeps a writer going, or at least something that really helps, would be reviews. Reading one good review literally makes my day and just seeing people posting about my book makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!

Our Tainted Souls Blurb & Excerpts

Ahmed- a privileged young man born into a world of exquisite dinner parties at the large estates on the outskirts of Lahore, bound to a political legacy that he wants nothing to do with. In a city where status is everything and social stability is craved by many and achieved by few, he simply wanders, his motorcycle and Marlboro being the only constants in his life. Ahmed’s life is plagued by demons that are as real as the grey, ever-present clouds of smog that blanket the city, obscuring the sins of its people.

Seher- a modern-day Cinderella who is decreed to marry a man she could never love, smothered by the norms and values of her cramped house in the cramped village of Zaleemabad, a few miles away from the city that is home to the rich upper-class, a class that represents greed, hypocrisy and the lust for power. After losing her faith in the opposite gender, Seher is determined never to let herself depend on anyone.

The two meet under the most unlikely circumstances, and what unfolds is a story of love, hate and everything in between. The tragic events that follow their meeting make you wonder. Does everyone really want to be saved?

Excerpt 1

The girl shuddered and he could feel his heart sink as their eyes met across the empty road. Hers held nothing but despair and hopelessness, and in a way he could relate to that feeling as well. But then she blinked, and he was surprised to see a glint of steel in them. She had just been through hell, but she looked at him with grim determination, as if daring him to drive past. He envied her for her courage at that moment.

Excerpt 2

I’ll vote for him,” she joked, and he grinned.
“I wouldn’t.” She rolled her eyes.
“I wouldn’t have either. I just thought it was the polite thing to say.” They were laughing when the gate opened, and he drove down the familiar path towards the back of the house.

PURCHASE OUR TAINTED SOULS> HERE:

Jeny's TattleTales

Dogs or Cats? Haha neither. I love horses though.

Number of books you’ve written? I am currently working on my second book.

Name three things you see when you look right.
1. My journal
2. My bookshelves
3. A can of coke haha

What’s the best swag item you’ve ever seen? Practically everything sold at the Harry Potter shop at Kings Cross, London.

Who do you think is the most irritating celebrity? I would say Kourtney Kardashian but mainly just because I sometimes get annoyed by her. Sometimes.

What is your most attractive feature? I’m told my smile but I don’t know?

Cook, baker, or next question? Haha, next question.

Place you’d like to visit: Greece

If a movie was made about your life, who would you want to play you? Emma Roberts or Lucy Hale.

What song best sums you up? I tried to think of one but I couldn’t

Describe yourself in three words:
1. Optimistic
2. Kind
3. Annoying

If we were here when the earth began would you be a hunter or a gatherer? Gatherer because I would not be able to hurt animals haha.

Coffee or tea? Coffee

Spring, Summer, Fall Winter? Winter

Mac or PC? PC

What is your favorite thing to learn about in your free time? Space

You have a time travel machine. Where and when? London, Victorian era.

Are you earth, wind, fire or water? Water

Contemporary Fiction/ Drama Author

SPOTLIGHT ON:

Minaal Maan

CONNECT WITH MINAAL MAAN

All About Minaal

Our Tainted Souls

Release Date:

Publisher:

Cover Design:

Welcome Minaal to Jeny's TattleTales

What actors would you like in the main roles if your book were made into a movie?

What genre have you never written that you’d like to write? Why?

What was the hardest, most unusual, or interesting part of the story to research?

How do you choose the names and physical characteristics of your characters? Do you base them on real people?

What are two (or more) of your all-time favorite books in any genre?

What’s your favorite part of the writing life?

What do you do for fun, besides writing?

What would you most like to say to your readers?

Our Tainted Souls Blurb & Excerpts

Excerpt 1

Excerpt 2

PURCHASE OUR TAINTED SOULS> HERE:

Jeny's TattleTales

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