Salwa Michel Saad interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Writing is my voice, and after years of silence, I used my silence to carve a career in writing from nothing, literally. Perhaps, my own ordeals have shaped the writer I have become, yet I know that all I possess are twenty-six letters, a soul full of pain and empathy, and a dear friend without whom I would never have written those first few lines. From there, there was no turning back, pity for my laptop, though for I go banging until I need a new one faster than I buy a new coat!

The Window Peep – is the journey of a girl trapped in cultural boundaries, her fight to escape or just get a breath of life. Hiding behind attires and physical limitations but living in her mind. Until she almost loses her life and breaks free. As seen through the prism of subjugation, the unpromising life creates an explosive persona beneath the wraps and the calm exterior. A catch me if you can attitude designed to make her subjugator throw her out – fate changes the plan. "It's a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable," by Mark Twain - the theme of the novel that I am bringing forward to your attention. The book tackles the mindset of a woman who seems to be following instructions and is the epitome of what is expected of her – but is she?

The second book – Rhea – is the voice of a girl kidnapped by an organ theft mob, but she is not used for that; she was used for other tasks that the fate of every kidnapped girl. And Rhea is at the mercy of the hands of a sadist and pedophile. What kept her alive was the goal to go back home only to find that her own mum sees that her presence will tarnish her other children until she beats Rhea with a fire poker and throws her out. The revulsion from her own mother was the fire that drove her to create a life for herself, but forgiveness for her mother is not on the table.

The third book – Kira – a memoir, is the story of a woman who has been unaccepted and hated by family, sisters, and the husband was the icing on the cake! He enjoyed seeing her pain and adding his measure for spices – a life story, but the ending is left to fate…

Presently, I am working on two more books - one of them is a real-life story of a woman who was repudiated in her own country just for the love of yoga; decades later, she is searching for a sojourn. And the other is a sequel to one of the completed books and discusses how low a person could go to hold on to someone just because they think they are their only source of love.