Aminah Iman's Blog - Posts Tagged "aminah-iman"
Embodying the Queen
While doing research for my book, "The Changing", I ran into a few brick walls. For one, this particular queen did not have a lot of information available online or in books for that matter, about her, for two she was a very mysterious person. Now I absolutely Love research, the digging in deep of learning something new and exciting, the hours of reading and cross referencing, everything. Research is my best friend, but when you don't have a lot to go on it can be frustrating, especially for someone like me, but I persevered.
The wonderful part of Historical-fiction is the fictional part, the part you get to embellish on, and believe me when I tell you it was my saving grace! I loved all of the information I found out about this character, but the part I seriously sunk my teeth into was where I got to create for her. How she grew up, the conversations she had, the people she met, etc.. I enjoyed having her meet Lillith and the bond they formed. How Lillith molded her throughout her mortal life and was her one constant.
If you enjoyed Lillith:My Genesis and The Queen you'll enjoy this as well seeing as it runs in the same vein. Every one of Lilliths "ladies in arms" will get their own novella so don't worry, this one just spoke to me as the story that needed to be told at this time. Its scheduled to be released in June and I can't wait for you to read it!
Until next time Loves, I wish you all Happy Reading!
The wonderful part of Historical-fiction is the fictional part, the part you get to embellish on, and believe me when I tell you it was my saving grace! I loved all of the information I found out about this character, but the part I seriously sunk my teeth into was where I got to create for her. How she grew up, the conversations she had, the people she met, etc.. I enjoyed having her meet Lillith and the bond they formed. How Lillith molded her throughout her mortal life and was her one constant.
If you enjoyed Lillith:My Genesis and The Queen you'll enjoy this as well seeing as it runs in the same vein. Every one of Lilliths "ladies in arms" will get their own novella so don't worry, this one just spoke to me as the story that needed to be told at this time. Its scheduled to be released in June and I can't wait for you to read it!
Until next time Loves, I wish you all Happy Reading!
My obsession with research
When I start a new project, one of the first things I do is research. It doesn't matter if it is a historical fiction book or a book on the supernatural, I look up any and everything I can on the subject. The funny thing is, I enjoy the research as much as I do the actually writing. To learn about the subject that I'm about to spend months of my life with is important to me. To learn of different cultures or myths and legends is wonderful, to read the different ways a single subject can be written about is amazing.
When I was researching Lillith I found everything from religious references to witches and cults. I found so much information it took months to cultivate through it all, to decide on what to use. I knew what angle I wanted to go in, I knew that I was going to go with Lillith being the first wife of Adam and that after she was banished from the Garden of Eden she was changed. Once I was clear on the path I wanted her to take I did more research. It wasn't enough to learn about Lillith, I then had to research vampires. I had to research how they came about, the etymology, the myths and legends. I didn't want to learn only about the "new age" vampire, I wanted to know about the first. I wanted to learn why some say silver will kill them, why others think garlic won't work. It all had to fit into my story, my path for Lillith.
I do the same for each and every book I write, I usually take the road less traveled, the myth that is used the least because I like the challenge of creating their world myself. I like finding an old piece of writing that's been discarded or forgotten about and breathing new life into it, creating the fiction from the facts.
I hope this gives you a little insight on why I love research so much, why I think it is imperative that in writing a book you must do whatever is necessary to create the best story you possibly can. Have a great week and as always, I wish you Happy Reading!
When I was researching Lillith I found everything from religious references to witches and cults. I found so much information it took months to cultivate through it all, to decide on what to use. I knew what angle I wanted to go in, I knew that I was going to go with Lillith being the first wife of Adam and that after she was banished from the Garden of Eden she was changed. Once I was clear on the path I wanted her to take I did more research. It wasn't enough to learn about Lillith, I then had to research vampires. I had to research how they came about, the etymology, the myths and legends. I didn't want to learn only about the "new age" vampire, I wanted to know about the first. I wanted to learn why some say silver will kill them, why others think garlic won't work. It all had to fit into my story, my path for Lillith.
I do the same for each and every book I write, I usually take the road less traveled, the myth that is used the least because I like the challenge of creating their world myself. I like finding an old piece of writing that's been discarded or forgotten about and breathing new life into it, creating the fiction from the facts.
I hope this gives you a little insight on why I love research so much, why I think it is imperative that in writing a book you must do whatever is necessary to create the best story you possibly can. Have a great week and as always, I wish you Happy Reading!
The wonderful world of research
I’m sure it is no secret that I love research. I am quite addicted to it if I’m being honest. I love picking a subject, a person, and immersing myself in all the information I can find out about it or them. I look on the internet, I go to bookstores, I make phone calls, any way there is to get knowledge on that subject, I use. Once I pick the subject, my mind homes in on it and I can’t seem to let it go until I have exhausted all of my resources and even then, I look for more. I’m almost positive that I drive the people around me crazy. I’m not above calling Omega at two in the morning and asking her if she’s heard of this or that, if she could bring so and so to the office in the morning so I can look into it further (I am surprised and elated that she hasn’t stopped answering late night phone calls).
Before I started The Chronicles of Sari series I knew that I wanted to write a book about a strong female supernatural hunter. I wanted her to go up against a different creature in every book and I didn’t want to stick with only werewolves and vampires. So, I went on a hunt (pun intended) for different types of supernatural creatures. I made a list of the most interesting five, making sure that they would pose a big enough threat. Once my list was compiled I started doing research on the first one, which was a hybrid. I decided to mix vampires with weres- but not just wolves. I kept asking myself, why is it always werewolves, why can’t it be were-panthers or were-leopards? My answer… It doesn’t have to stop at wolves. That led to another branch in the research, the animals. I looked up how they moved, what their habits were, if they worked well in a pack, etc. I looked online, checked out books, called the zoo, I was relentless. When I settled on three or four different animals, I looked into a scientific way to merge the two. I didn’t want them to use the typical bite method so I had to come up with another way. Of course, that led to more research, I was in heaven!
I had my series idea, my first villain, and how I was going to make said villain, the next step was my heroine. I had watched enough movies and television shows on hunters to fill a small country, but I wanted more. Back on the hunt I went. Internet, bookstores, libraries, repeat. Finally, I had the bones of the first Sari chronicle, the only thing left was the writing and honestly she was screaming in my head through the entire research process, that writing her was quite easy.
The one piece of advice I can give you on research is dig deep, don’t just stop at the surface. There is so much information out there on just about anything you can think of. Get on the internet, get physical copies of books, call experts, Dig! Even if you do not love the process, the knowledge you find will be worth the tediousness.
You can read this, my other blogs and blogs by my fellow RedInk Pub ladies at http://redinkpub.ga/
Before I started The Chronicles of Sari series I knew that I wanted to write a book about a strong female supernatural hunter. I wanted her to go up against a different creature in every book and I didn’t want to stick with only werewolves and vampires. So, I went on a hunt (pun intended) for different types of supernatural creatures. I made a list of the most interesting five, making sure that they would pose a big enough threat. Once my list was compiled I started doing research on the first one, which was a hybrid. I decided to mix vampires with weres- but not just wolves. I kept asking myself, why is it always werewolves, why can’t it be were-panthers or were-leopards? My answer… It doesn’t have to stop at wolves. That led to another branch in the research, the animals. I looked up how they moved, what their habits were, if they worked well in a pack, etc. I looked online, checked out books, called the zoo, I was relentless. When I settled on three or four different animals, I looked into a scientific way to merge the two. I didn’t want them to use the typical bite method so I had to come up with another way. Of course, that led to more research, I was in heaven!
I had my series idea, my first villain, and how I was going to make said villain, the next step was my heroine. I had watched enough movies and television shows on hunters to fill a small country, but I wanted more. Back on the hunt I went. Internet, bookstores, libraries, repeat. Finally, I had the bones of the first Sari chronicle, the only thing left was the writing and honestly she was screaming in my head through the entire research process, that writing her was quite easy.
The one piece of advice I can give you on research is dig deep, don’t just stop at the surface. There is so much information out there on just about anything you can think of. Get on the internet, get physical copies of books, call experts, Dig! Even if you do not love the process, the knowledge you find will be worth the tediousness.
You can read this, my other blogs and blogs by my fellow RedInk Pub ladies at http://redinkpub.ga/
Writing together works... Or something like that.
Hello Loves, welcome to this week’s Inside the Nations blog. As most of you know we at RedInk Pub are all coming together to write a book, Order From Chaos. This wonderful compilation has several heroes and villains from the RedInk universe and we are so excited to share it with you. Believe it or not, that isn’t what this blog is about. It’s about working with other authors on the same project. There are a lot of pros and cons to doing a project with other great writers that you love and respect and I will try to hit the ones nearest and dearest to me.
Let’s list the pros first shall we. One of my favorite things about working with my fellow ‘Queens of Horror’ is coming up with the concept of the book. When Omega first came to me with the idea I thought she was insane. We all have different writing styles, our characters are so different, etc. But after I stopped shooting it down long enough for her to actually tell me about it, I realized she was right. The concept was amazing! Once we ran it past the other girls, everyone agreed. We talked about it, tweaked it, and came up with something truly epic.
The other awesome thing about writing a compilation book is having other writers on the ready to bounce things off of. If you are in a rut and don’t know quite where to go, the others can pitch in and help out. This particular project has a lot of character change where I may have to write for Jaqueline’s character or Neffi may have to write for Omega’s, but we are always ready to lend a hand or a voice.
My most favorite part of working on this project with my girls is reading what they write immediately after it is written. You can’t get much better than that. To read some of your favorite authors work while they are writing it is an amazing thing!
Now, the cons… Not that there are many, but there are a few. One of my least fav things is waiting for another person to finish their respective chapter. I may have an idea for Micha or Sari, but Liam’s chapter isn’t finished yet and I can’t move on until it is. This doesn’t happen much in our case, but when it does you can literally see the flames coming out of my ears.
On the flip side of that, say you are chugging along with your chapter and another author calls and asks if you’re done yet. ‘Have I sent it to you…’ is the response I want to say, but you can’t because they are simply asking if it’s their turn yet. Patience is definitely a virtue.
Another con is agreeing on how a chapter should go. Everyone has their own ideas and styles of writing so you may not see eye to eye. I may want a battle scene in chapter five, but Neffi thinks it’s a bad idea… Who’s right?
The point is, if you decide to write a book with other authors there will be ups and downs, but if you want it to work you will take the good with the bad. It boils down to compromising and doing what is best for the book. I hope this helped and as always, I wish you Happy Reading!
Let’s list the pros first shall we. One of my favorite things about working with my fellow ‘Queens of Horror’ is coming up with the concept of the book. When Omega first came to me with the idea I thought she was insane. We all have different writing styles, our characters are so different, etc. But after I stopped shooting it down long enough for her to actually tell me about it, I realized she was right. The concept was amazing! Once we ran it past the other girls, everyone agreed. We talked about it, tweaked it, and came up with something truly epic.
The other awesome thing about writing a compilation book is having other writers on the ready to bounce things off of. If you are in a rut and don’t know quite where to go, the others can pitch in and help out. This particular project has a lot of character change where I may have to write for Jaqueline’s character or Neffi may have to write for Omega’s, but we are always ready to lend a hand or a voice.
My most favorite part of working on this project with my girls is reading what they write immediately after it is written. You can’t get much better than that. To read some of your favorite authors work while they are writing it is an amazing thing!
Now, the cons… Not that there are many, but there are a few. One of my least fav things is waiting for another person to finish their respective chapter. I may have an idea for Micha or Sari, but Liam’s chapter isn’t finished yet and I can’t move on until it is. This doesn’t happen much in our case, but when it does you can literally see the flames coming out of my ears.
On the flip side of that, say you are chugging along with your chapter and another author calls and asks if you’re done yet. ‘Have I sent it to you…’ is the response I want to say, but you can’t because they are simply asking if it’s their turn yet. Patience is definitely a virtue.
Another con is agreeing on how a chapter should go. Everyone has their own ideas and styles of writing so you may not see eye to eye. I may want a battle scene in chapter five, but Neffi thinks it’s a bad idea… Who’s right?
The point is, if you decide to write a book with other authors there will be ups and downs, but if you want it to work you will take the good with the bad. It boils down to compromising and doing what is best for the book. I hope this helped and as always, I wish you Happy Reading!
An interview with a Queen of Horror... Or something like that.
Hello Loves, back in May I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the amazing David Ellis. I was re-reading it today and thought you all might enjoy it as much as I did.
Here we go:
TooFullToWrite / May 17, 2017
Hey there everyone.
My very good friend and author Aminah Iman has released a new book in her “The Chronicles of Sari” series.
I originally did an Author Interview with Aminah at the end of last year, which you can find here that covers all of her other previous releases:-
Author Interview – Aminah Iman – The Vamperial Series, The 30 Pieces of Silver Series, Were: Chronicles of Sari X and Black Magick – The 3 Trilogy
I therefore thought this would be an excellent opportunity to ask her some detailed questions specifically about her new release “In Between – The Chronicles of Sari” and Aminah has kindly given us another interview to savour below, so here we go 🙂
Hi there Aminah, fantastic to have you back here with us again to chat about your latest book release in your Supernatural “Sari” series.
Hello David, thanks for having me.
Where does this book sit chronologically, in relation to your previous “Chronicles of Sari” novels “Were” and “Reaper”?
In Between: The Chronicles of Sari comes right after The Chronicles of The Three which is a crossover book of The Chronicles of Sari and The Three Trilogy. All of the Chronicles of Sari books will be written in chronological order.
Why is your latest book in the series called “In Between”, what is the relevance to the story/series itself?
Well, Sari is going up against a Djinn. A Djinn is a supernatural creature, that once it touches its victim, has the ability to put them in a fantasy dream-like state while it sucks the life right out of him/her. Since the victim is in a state between reality and fantasy I thought the title “In Between” would be most fitting.
Who are the key players/lead protagonists and antagonists that pop up alongside Sari and Dominic in this particular adventure?
Aside from Sari and Dominic, they have Lillian (Sari’s mother), Nick (Sari’s Were-panther beta), Manny and Selene (who are also members of Sari’s Were-panther pack). The most surprising protagonist to show up is Alaric, who is Sari’s dad that died before she was born. The biggest antagonist is the Djinn of course, but once Sari is in the ‘In Between’ she also has to fight a few villains in there as well.
What is the story about regarding the conflict that needs to be resolved by the characters and what are the stakes for them this time round?
The biggest conflict is for Sari to fight her way out of the fantasy while her team is on the outside trying to get her out. The problem, however, is that Sari has everything she’s ever wanted in this perfect fantasy world. She finally gets to be with her father, there are no monsters, and she still has the people that mean the most to her right there, so why leave. If she doesn’t fight to get out, if she chooses to stay there, she dies and she doesn’t have a lot of time to make her decision.
How did the idea for this tale take shape? Is it a natural progression from the previous books in the series or are you taking the series down another different path entirely?
I got the idea to write this book from a conversation Omega and I had. We were discussing our biggest fears and mine is losing my mind and/or my grip on reality. I just can’t imagine not being in control of my thoughts, how my life went, etc. I am also the type of person who likes to face my fears and seeing as out of all my characters, Sari is the most like me, I had to write a book where she was not in total control of her surroundings. This book follows the series natural progression in the sense that Sari has to defeat a supernatural being that is killing innocent people. It does veer off a bit because this time Sari is the main victim, it’s her life she must save. So, it is a challenge for her.
Did you do any specific research for this novel that differed from your previous ones in the series or the other novels that you have written?
Not so much in how I did the research, which I love by the way. I did have to do extensive research on the djinn. There are several different lores’s from around the world on djinns so I had to gather as much as I could before deciding which avenue to take.
When you have done research for your books, is there anything that has surprised you or completely changed your world view after doing so?
Just the knowledge that is out there. There is so much more than what you would assume, so many different etymologies from all over the world about the same subject. If you are willing to do the leg work, the knowledge is endless.
What aspects of your characters in this book would you say that you relate to on a personal level?
Great question! I would have to say Sari’s reaction to finally realizing that she was in a fantasy world. She has these flashes throughout the book that constantly confuse her and make her a bit angry, but when she finally acknowledges that she shouldn’t be there, that she has to let it go… I could relate to her on so many levels at that point.
What were the hardest parts of this book to write? And what were the easiest?
The book, as a whole, was pretty hard because as I stated before, I had to face some fears of my own while writing it. It was hard to write such a strong character doubting herself and feeling vulnerable. I had to put her in a role that was so uncomfortable for her. The easiest part to write was the ending, seeing her core group fight to get her out, knowing that they would stop at nothing until she was free.
Finally, regarding your subsequent projects, will you be writing another sequel to the “Sari” series or do you have other plans in the pipeline?
The Chronicles of Sari will be an ongoing series for me, I don’t see her ending for a very long time, but my next book, due out in August, is not a Sari project. It’s called “Catch Me” and it is about a female assassin who works for, what she assumed was, a secret government agency. She later discovers that they are in fact the bad guys and she goes after them after they kill her husband and son. I am really excited about this one!
And once again, that’s a wrap! Thank you for being here Aminah, your series keeps moving for strength to strength, we can’t wait to see more of it 🙂
Thank you so much David. I had a great time!
I had such a great time during this interview. If you all want to read more interviews by David or to check out his other works, go to http://toofulltowrite.com
Here we go:
TooFullToWrite / May 17, 2017
Hey there everyone.
My very good friend and author Aminah Iman has released a new book in her “The Chronicles of Sari” series.
I originally did an Author Interview with Aminah at the end of last year, which you can find here that covers all of her other previous releases:-
Author Interview – Aminah Iman – The Vamperial Series, The 30 Pieces of Silver Series, Were: Chronicles of Sari X and Black Magick – The 3 Trilogy
I therefore thought this would be an excellent opportunity to ask her some detailed questions specifically about her new release “In Between – The Chronicles of Sari” and Aminah has kindly given us another interview to savour below, so here we go 🙂
Hi there Aminah, fantastic to have you back here with us again to chat about your latest book release in your Supernatural “Sari” series.
Hello David, thanks for having me.
Where does this book sit chronologically, in relation to your previous “Chronicles of Sari” novels “Were” and “Reaper”?
In Between: The Chronicles of Sari comes right after The Chronicles of The Three which is a crossover book of The Chronicles of Sari and The Three Trilogy. All of the Chronicles of Sari books will be written in chronological order.
Why is your latest book in the series called “In Between”, what is the relevance to the story/series itself?
Well, Sari is going up against a Djinn. A Djinn is a supernatural creature, that once it touches its victim, has the ability to put them in a fantasy dream-like state while it sucks the life right out of him/her. Since the victim is in a state between reality and fantasy I thought the title “In Between” would be most fitting.
Who are the key players/lead protagonists and antagonists that pop up alongside Sari and Dominic in this particular adventure?
Aside from Sari and Dominic, they have Lillian (Sari’s mother), Nick (Sari’s Were-panther beta), Manny and Selene (who are also members of Sari’s Were-panther pack). The most surprising protagonist to show up is Alaric, who is Sari’s dad that died before she was born. The biggest antagonist is the Djinn of course, but once Sari is in the ‘In Between’ she also has to fight a few villains in there as well.
What is the story about regarding the conflict that needs to be resolved by the characters and what are the stakes for them this time round?
The biggest conflict is for Sari to fight her way out of the fantasy while her team is on the outside trying to get her out. The problem, however, is that Sari has everything she’s ever wanted in this perfect fantasy world. She finally gets to be with her father, there are no monsters, and she still has the people that mean the most to her right there, so why leave. If she doesn’t fight to get out, if she chooses to stay there, she dies and she doesn’t have a lot of time to make her decision.
How did the idea for this tale take shape? Is it a natural progression from the previous books in the series or are you taking the series down another different path entirely?
I got the idea to write this book from a conversation Omega and I had. We were discussing our biggest fears and mine is losing my mind and/or my grip on reality. I just can’t imagine not being in control of my thoughts, how my life went, etc. I am also the type of person who likes to face my fears and seeing as out of all my characters, Sari is the most like me, I had to write a book where she was not in total control of her surroundings. This book follows the series natural progression in the sense that Sari has to defeat a supernatural being that is killing innocent people. It does veer off a bit because this time Sari is the main victim, it’s her life she must save. So, it is a challenge for her.
Did you do any specific research for this novel that differed from your previous ones in the series or the other novels that you have written?
Not so much in how I did the research, which I love by the way. I did have to do extensive research on the djinn. There are several different lores’s from around the world on djinns so I had to gather as much as I could before deciding which avenue to take.
When you have done research for your books, is there anything that has surprised you or completely changed your world view after doing so?
Just the knowledge that is out there. There is so much more than what you would assume, so many different etymologies from all over the world about the same subject. If you are willing to do the leg work, the knowledge is endless.
What aspects of your characters in this book would you say that you relate to on a personal level?
Great question! I would have to say Sari’s reaction to finally realizing that she was in a fantasy world. She has these flashes throughout the book that constantly confuse her and make her a bit angry, but when she finally acknowledges that she shouldn’t be there, that she has to let it go… I could relate to her on so many levels at that point.
What were the hardest parts of this book to write? And what were the easiest?
The book, as a whole, was pretty hard because as I stated before, I had to face some fears of my own while writing it. It was hard to write such a strong character doubting herself and feeling vulnerable. I had to put her in a role that was so uncomfortable for her. The easiest part to write was the ending, seeing her core group fight to get her out, knowing that they would stop at nothing until she was free.
Finally, regarding your subsequent projects, will you be writing another sequel to the “Sari” series or do you have other plans in the pipeline?
The Chronicles of Sari will be an ongoing series for me, I don’t see her ending for a very long time, but my next book, due out in August, is not a Sari project. It’s called “Catch Me” and it is about a female assassin who works for, what she assumed was, a secret government agency. She later discovers that they are in fact the bad guys and she goes after them after they kill her husband and son. I am really excited about this one!
And once again, that’s a wrap! Thank you for being here Aminah, your series keeps moving for strength to strength, we can’t wait to see more of it 🙂
Thank you so much David. I had a great time!
I had such a great time during this interview. If you all want to read more interviews by David or to check out his other works, go to http://toofulltowrite.com
Sometimes you simply must breathe.
Hello Loves, and welcome to another episode of Inside the Nation.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I took a little break after me and my fellow pub-mates released our 8 series crossover book, Order From Chaos.
It was hard for me to walk away from writing and social media, but I needed a break. The year before I put out 4 novellas and 2 books, then last year I put out 3 books and a compilation, I was starting to feel overwhelmed and a bit pushed. As much as I love what I do and as much as my characters talk to me, I had to gather myself and regroup. As an author, sometimes we feel bad when we can't deliver the workload we have become accustomed to or what our fans have become used to, but we need to take a break every once in awhile. We need to sit back and say "Am I simply putting out books, or am I putting out good work". Don't get me wrong, I am extremely proud of the work I have put out. I am not ashamed of a single book I released, but I made myself take a step back and reflect.
After I binged watched a bunch of shows, snacked unhealthy mind you, and sat around in my pajamas I came up with a list of great books to release this year. I cleared my mind, stopped pushing myself so hard, and gave myself a chance to just be. Now I have a roster that not only I can be proud of, but that my fans will love. What I'm trying to say is, sometimes when you take a step back, it will propel you to take 3 steps forward. Take the time you need to get your juices flowing, I promise you, the world will keep on spinning.
I hope this helps and as always, I wish you Happy Reading!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I took a little break after me and my fellow pub-mates released our 8 series crossover book, Order From Chaos.
It was hard for me to walk away from writing and social media, but I needed a break. The year before I put out 4 novellas and 2 books, then last year I put out 3 books and a compilation, I was starting to feel overwhelmed and a bit pushed. As much as I love what I do and as much as my characters talk to me, I had to gather myself and regroup. As an author, sometimes we feel bad when we can't deliver the workload we have become accustomed to or what our fans have become used to, but we need to take a break every once in awhile. We need to sit back and say "Am I simply putting out books, or am I putting out good work". Don't get me wrong, I am extremely proud of the work I have put out. I am not ashamed of a single book I released, but I made myself take a step back and reflect.
After I binged watched a bunch of shows, snacked unhealthy mind you, and sat around in my pajamas I came up with a list of great books to release this year. I cleared my mind, stopped pushing myself so hard, and gave myself a chance to just be. Now I have a roster that not only I can be proud of, but that my fans will love. What I'm trying to say is, sometimes when you take a step back, it will propel you to take 3 steps forward. Take the time you need to get your juices flowing, I promise you, the world will keep on spinning.
I hope this helps and as always, I wish you Happy Reading!
