This is officially the Year of Reading, and in the spirit of celebrating readers, publishers, and authors we bring you S. Raiyyan , a new author who has just launched her second book! Raiyann’s new book “Noor and The Prized Pennies” is an inspirational medley of stories for children. Here she tells Tempo how it came about…
TEMPO: Tell us about “Noor and The Prized Pennies”.
Raiyyan: This is my second book and it consists of two stories: Noor, and also The Prized Pennies, which take place in different parts of the world. Noor was inspired by the deserts of the Middle East… I’ve always loved the name and couldn’t think of a better suited name for the “shero” of my book.
The Prized Pennies is about the rewards of kindness. I have a soft spot for genuine acts of kindness no matter how little. The story is about a poor little boy growing up with his mother in a mystical land where wizards and faeries exist. An act of kindness to a total stranger changes their lives for the better.
My first book was “Betsy Gets her Wings” and it was about a caterpillar who takes a long time to become a butterfly. She’s left behind when all her friends grow wings and leave home to explore the world but finds solace in a friendship with an older butterfly called Cindy whose wings are too weak to fly. By helping a strange butterfly who is hurt in the woods, betsy and Cindy are repaid for their kindness and finally grow the most beautiful wings ever seen in the Butterfly Kingdom.
TEMPO: How would you describe the person behind your nom de plume “S Raiyyan”?
Raiyyan: I’m still trying to figure that out myself. All I can say is that it has been a long road of self-discovery. As one who’s always up for a great adventure I’m learning from the circumstances and people that I encounter every day. However, I can say for sure that I’m an eternal optimist with a load of fine crazy ideas, and a dreamer who believes that there is still good out there.
TEMPO: How did you discover your love for writing?
Raiyyan: Both my grade school teacher and my aunt were great story tellers, I loved listening to them. I’ve always been a reader and never actually thought about writing until my junior year in college. I submitted a paper based on Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture” which was about living one’s own dreams. My professor who was then taking me for physical chemistry called me into her office. I thought I’d done something wrong, because believe me I was known back then for my mischief. She handed me my paper with a large A in red, asked what I was doing in her class, and told me that I should be focused on writing. She saw in me something I’d never seen in myself. I had never actually studied writing, it’s always been a hobby – and still is. I’ve been writing since Junior High or Elementary School. They were mostly short and uncompleted [laughs] stories that I would begin but never end.
TEMPO: Which writers inspire you?
Raiyyan: I’d say Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi, Charles Dickens, Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton, J.R.R. Tolkien, Paulo Coelho, J.K. Rowling and most recently, Khalid Al Ameri who is a local blogger from the UAE.
TEMPO: And what are your next plans?
Raiyyan: To have an animation made based out of one of my works. That’s one of my dreams. But I’m always working on one thing or the other, so be prepared to be surprised.
TEMPO: Do you have any advice to new writers?
Raiyyan: There’s a story in everyone that’s just begging to be told. Tell it.
