Omar Abedin was born in Karachi, and spent 5 formative years in Qatar. He has lived and worked in Karachi, Dubai, Jeddah, Montreal and Mississauga. He currently lives with his family in Sharjah, in the Middle East. Omar’s writing is influenced by the deep cultural roots and belief/faith systems of the Middle East.
Q: Where did you receive your education? What is your main line of profession? A: I went to school in Karachi, at the IBA. I’m a marketing MBA – since I graduated in 1991, I have had the privilege of working in many different countries, on many brands, but… the most fun I’ve ever had is working on ice cream, my current assignment in Sharjah J
Q: Have you always had an interest in literature? A: Yes. I grew up an avid reader – I would read two or three books in a day. Starting with Enid Blyton, I moved on to Louis L’Amour and then the modern day thriller with Robert Ludlum. At the same time, thanks to an absolutely brilliant teacher I had in my O levels at St. Patrick’s in Karachi, Mrs. Henderson, I was inspired to more than read Shakespeare – I fell in love with it.
Q. When and why did you decide to become a writer?
A. I didn’t really ‘decide’… I had always had an itch to write, and I used to update a blog (www.wwmdcanada.blogspot.com) infrequently, but had never really written anything of any length. I would tell my kids stories about Erikk the Giant just so that they would sit still long enough for me to brush their teeth… The stories were getting more complicated, until one day my daughter asked me why I didn’t just write a book? That was it – I was forced to think about it… and then to plan it… and then to do it…
Q. How did the idea for Erik the Giant come about? A. He popped into my head one evening, fully formed… I was struggling to entertain both kids while getting them ready for bed… they were hooked immediately! Made teeth-brushing a lot more pleasant from then on…
Q: What kind of reaction are you expecting from the readers?
A. Curiosity, I guess… I would like them to come back and demand to know what happens next… I would like them to identify with Erikk and his friends, and believe in good triumphing over evil…
Q: Are you planning on continuing down the writing path? What is it that makes you write?
A. Definitely. The second book is already in the works, and I have envisioned this is a 5-part series, so… But ultimately, it’s about my kids, and all the kids out there, who might enjoy the lives and times of Erikk and friends. In my view, there are many measures of success, but one of the most important to me is how my kids introduce me to their friends… it’s amazing.
Q. How did you find the process of writing itself? What challenges/obstacles did you encounter?
A. Initially, it was a daunting task. I wrote out the plot for 5 books, sketched out the characters, and then just started with chapter 1. It was tough – I was writing mostly at night, or on weekends, and in the first few months I got maybe three or four chapters down. Some days I would struggle to write a word, other nights I would spend deleting everything I had written the previous day… and then there would be glorious moments when I could write two chapters without raising my head… A few months into it, though, the gates opened, and I was able to finish the entire first draft in a total of eight or nine months… I felt like I had given birth, although my wife begs to differ… with child birth, the sleepless nights come after the delivery, not before as when writing a book…
Q: Can you please tell us a little bit about the book itself? A. Erikk is about good versus evil… it draws on Islamic and Middle Eastern mythos to set up an atmosphere and environment that is quite different from other novels in the genre… In a nutshell, Erikk is asked to take on a quest to save an Elvish princess who has been kidnapped. But he soon discovers that nothing is as it seems, and he and his friends, are up against something unseen that is manipulating events. They are in the fight of their lives to survive…
Q. How do you think your writing is different from other writers of the Pakistani diaspora?
A. I don’t think there are any Pakistani writers in this genre, at least none that I have come across. But more than that, I bring a unique perspective to the table – a Pakistani / Canadian / Islamic / Middle Eastern view that provides a different context to my writing… a pleasant one I hope!
Q: Which writers do you admire the most?
A. J.K. Rowling of course, Tolkien, are giants in this genre… but a young writer named Chris Paolini has done a tremendous job recently. From my childhood and youth, Enid Blyton, Louis L’amour… there are so many amazing writers that if I were to give you anything close to a complete list, it would be many pages long…
Q: What is your next project?
A. Currently I am working on Part 2 of the series, but also working on a movie for the current book. I have had a screenplay professionally done, and am now pitching it to some production companies around the region. Let’s see how it goes…
Q: What advice can you give aspiring children’s book writers? A. Go for it. Dare to dream, and then follow your dreams. Start writing. Don’t listen to criticism. Get your thoughts on paper. It empowers you… I am also offering to comment on anything if someone wants to get some unvarnished feedback. But never, ever, give up…
Thank you Omar for taking the time to talk to us. We wish you the very best of luck for all your endeavors.
Till next time,
Khuda Hafiz,
Aaliya Naqvi-Hai