Today’s WIP Wednesday guest is author Lilas Taha. Welcome Lilas! Tell us something most people don’t know about you.
LT: I like horror movies.
MJ: What’s the top book on your TBR pile?
LT: The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Alsanousi, winner of the 2014 Booker Prize for Arabic Literature.
MJ: If you didn’t write, what would be your creative outlet?
LT: Sketch with charcoal.
MJ: If you had a theme song, what would it be?
LT: “Broken Wings” by Mr. Mister
MJ: What do you normally eat for breakfast, or do you skip it and get straight to work?
LT: Home made fruit and vegetable smoothie. Whatever is there in the fridge.
MJ: Describe your ideal/dream writing space.
LT: Under an umbrella by the sea shore on a breezy early fall day.
MJ: Name one writing-related website you use a lot.
LT: Thesaurus is my companion.
MJ: What book do you wish you could have written?
LT: Wuthering Heights.
MJ: Do you listen to music when you write? Explain.
LT: Sometimes. Soft Jazz or classical music. Sometimes Opera, and most often Arabic classical songs.
MJ: Do you collage your story before writing? Explain.
LT: I don’t. I just start writing and once I have the characters down the way I want them, they take me through the story. It’s not the most effective way of writing a book, but that’s how I’ve managed so far. The method, if you can call it such, works well with the way I plot my stories.
MJ: What do you love most about your WIP hero?
LT: His strive to be a better man.
MJ: What do you least like about your WIP heroine?
LT: Her struggle to find her inner peace.
MJ: How did you come up with your hero and heroine’s names?
LT: In Shadows of Damascus: I chose “Adam” to represent his humanity with all its shortcomings and beauty. I chose “Yasmeen” to represent the flower of Damascus, which translates to “Jasmine”.
MJ: Do you ever base characters on people you know?
LT: Yes, but not entirely. I may use character traits from different people in one character.
MJ: Okay, now it’s time for the lightning round. Addams Family or The Munsters?
LT: Addams Family
MJ: Last movie you saw in a theater?
LT: Begin Again
MJ: Favorite TV show?
LT: Law and Order SVU
MJ: Coke or Pepsi?
LT: Pepsi
MJ: Introvert or extrovert?
LT: I think I’m somewhere in between
MJ: Favorite ethnic food?
LT: Indian
MJ: And now for the main event: will you share the first few sentences of your current work in progress with us?
LT: This is from the work tentatively titled The Sand Storm.
Sami Amara planted his feet on the hot ground and gripped the top of the Mercedes to maintain his balance. The asphalt under the soles of his shoes felt viscous. His glasses fogged, and he took them off to check he wasn’t sinking into the molten street. He used his tie to clean his glasses, adding smudges with the damp silk. This was a mistake. He shouldn’t be here. Even the environment rejected his intrusion.
MJ: Great hook! And I understand you have a current release. Where can readers purchase it?
LT: Shadows of Damascus is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
MJ: And how can readers stay in touch with you?
LT: Many ways–my website and my blog, my Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ or Goodreads.
MJ: Thanks again for stopping by, and good luck with your books!
