What’s everyone reading this bank holiday weekend? I usually read lighter books during the holidays, but I received Brotherless Night in my goodie bag at The Diverse Bookshelf Pod event and I’d been desperate to get stuck in. So while it’s not my typical August bank holiday read, I’ve not been able to put it down after the most epic opening line: I recently sent a letter to a terrorist I know.

Brotherless Night is a haunting exploration of the Sri Lankan Civil War through the eyes of Sashi, a young Tamil woman who dreams of becoming a doctor in 1980s Jaffna. It brilliantly weaves personal and political turmoil, shedding light on the devastating impacts of a conflict that lasted nearly 26 years. Which, I’m ashamed to admit that I knew very little about before. 

It’s not just a story of war though, but a powerful testament to the endurance of hope amidst unimaginable darkness. Sashi’s journey, marked by loss and resilience, embodies the struggle of a generation caught in the crossfire of history as they are forced to make choices that will change them forever. 

I’ve always struggled with writing short stories and I have the utmost respect for writers who are able to write them. It takes so much skill, being able to condense an entire story into a few hundred words! If you’ve followed my journey for a while, you’ll know that #FindingMrPerfectlyFinewas about 50k words over the limit and I had to butcher and hack those 50k words off during my first round of edits with my agent 😆🙊 it was by far the toughest edit I’ve ever done!

So yeah. I struggle with keeping things concise 🙊

But the other day, my editor asked me if I’d be up for writing a short story for #TheDailyExpress Sunday magazine, Love Sunday People.

I love a challenge… so yeah. I did it. I wrote a short story called Speed Dating at the Mosque and I did it in less than 900 words!!!

That’s one writing challenge off my bucket list, alhamdulillah!