Samreen Ahsan's Blog

I'm very pleased to announce that my new book Once Upon A Fallen Time is now live on Amazon

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia
Amazon India
It's a sequel to award-winning Once Upon A Stolen Time

I am very pleased to announce that my new book Once Upon A Stolen Time is now available on Amazon.

Check out what ARC bloggers have to say about the book...


Ebook is available on Amazon:

Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Amazon UK
Amazon Australia
Amazon India

Check out the synopsis


This teaser is the soul of the book

“Love is a necessary evil that traps you in illusory gossamer.”
“Love is a camouflage of beauty. You feel free in love, but in truth, you’re trapped.”

There were only two people in this time. Just me and him, as the world spun into a timeless abyss.

In his eyes, I was the only woman who had the power to hold him, kiss him and unravel his tangled life.

His touch was chancy—it could steal my world away from me—yet I’d take any risk to hold on to this addiction.

Time had split me into two. I had fallen in love with a man, who desired me six hundred years ago.

I,
Edward Hue,
the eighth monarch of the
Hue royal bloodline
had fallen in love with a woman,
who had never ceased
to haunt me.

I had the relationship with her
that sleep has with eyes.
I'd only get her if I shut out the
world around me and just
escaped into my dreams.

I am very pleased to announce the release date of my new book Once Upon A Stolen Time



Ebook is available for Pre-Order on:

Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Amazon UK
Amazon Australia
Amazon India

Ebook will be available on Dec01, 2015. Check out the synopsis


This teaser is the soul of the book

“Love is a necessary evil that traps you in illusory gossamer.”
“Love is a camouflage of beauty. You feel free in love, but in truth, you’re trapped.”

There were only two people in this time. Just me and him, as the world spun into a timeless abyss.

In his eyes, I was the only woman who had the power to hold him, kiss him and unravel his tangled life.

His touch was chancy—it could steal my world away from me—yet I’d take any risk to hold on to this addiction.

Time had split me into two. I had fallen in love with a man, who desired me six hundred years ago.

I,
Edward Hue,
the eighth monarch of the
Hue royal bloodline
had fallen in love with a woman,
who had never ceased
to haunt me.

I had the relationship with her
that sleep has with eyes.
I'd only get her if I shut out the
world around me and just
escaped into my dreams.

I'm honoured and pleased to announce that A Silent Prayer: A Prayer Series I has been entitled as Readers' Favorite 2014 International Book Awards Winner -- 2014 Honorable Mention, General Fiction. That's a huge achievement for me -- this is my first book and it has won so many recognitions.



Review by Readers Favorite

I think A Silent Prayer by Samreen Ahsan is destined to become a classic in the romance genre. I rarely read pure romance novels. I like my romance blended into an action or adventure story, otherwise it gets a little boring for me. This story is pure romance. It is all about the relationship between Rania, a Canadian woman of Lebanese descent, and Adam, a powerful and influential construction magnate in Toronto. Both of these characters are emotionally damaged. Neither has really loved before and, until they meet each other, are sure they will never love. This is nothing new or fresh in the annals of romance. What is new is that Samreen Ahsan chooses to tell the story from both characters' point of view. One chapter from the man's perspective and one chapter from the woman's.

There are a lot of good male writers who just can't capture the essence of a female character and there are a lot of good women writers who can't quite get the male voice right. To be honest, I don't know if Samreen is a male name or a female name. I really don't care and it really doesn't matter because the writing is great. Both the male and female perspective sound and feel genuinely authentic. This is what makes the story work for me. This is why I give it five stars. The writing is great and I cared about the characters. You could even say that I prayed for a successful conclusion to their romantic journey.

A Silent Prayer: A Prayer Series I is now on SALE at Amazon for ONLY 99c. Grab your copy now. The offer is for limited time only.

"An intense, joltingly modern love story." —KIRKUS
Set in the beautiful city of Toronto, this captivating and thrilling romance takes you to a romantic journey with Adam Gibson—a young and powerful businessman of Toronto—gifted by God with an altruistic soul but atheist by belief, who falls in love with a cursed soul and finds God—not through a miracle but the presence of demons around him.

"I think A Silent Prayer by Samreen Ahsan is destined to become a classic in the romance genre." —Readers' Favorite
It is an emotionally charged story of a young woman—Rania Ahmed, endowed with hypnotic beauty—a strong believer in God, who has lost hope she will ever find her soul mate but finds her safe harbor in an atheist.
It's available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D2YEDPO/

"A Silent Prayer" is book 1 of "A Prayer Series", and also the winner of Best Romance in 2014 Los Angeles Book Festival, winner of Best Romance in 2014 Paris Book Festival, winner of 2014 Hollywood Book Festival, Honorable Mention—2014 New York Book Festival, Global eBook Awards Nominee—and Readers' Favorite Book Award FINALIST.

I'm so pleased to announce that my book A Silent Prayer: A Prayer Series I is selected as FINALIST in 2014 Readers' Favorite


The review provided by Readers Favorite was awesome with FIVE stars:
https://readersfavorite.com/book-revi...

On Monday June 23rd 2014, I had a chance to watch the movie, “Honor Diaries” with the great freelance journalist and public speaker, Raheel Raza. I feel very honored that she invited me personally to SUN News Network for her movie screening. The program was hosted by Ezra Levant of SUN News Network and as the movie started, it started with one line … “Culture has no excuse for abuse.” The movie is almost an hour long and at the end, I felt like I held my breath the entire time because I was unable to feel the blood flowing in me.

I was born and raised in Pakistan—the country that always remains in a controversy. Either it’s Malala’s case or honor killing issues—Pakistan has always been in the limelight on the name of religion—my religion, Islam. I try not to involve myself in a political, or a religious debate but after watching ‘Honor Diaries’ I couldn’t stop myself writing about it.

Despite (Pakistani society) being called as stone aged or oppressive when it comes to women’s rights—I still feel I was born and raised as a princess comparing to what I saw in the movie. I grew up in a very liberal and educated family—spending my entire childhood, reading fantasy books and fairy tales, just like any other girl in Western Society does. I studied with boys and my parents had never shown any opposition against me hanging out with my male friends. They showed their trust in me that helped me be an empowered woman I am now. I had worked in Karachi’s corporate environment, got married to the guy of my choice and now living a life of happily-ever-after as we say in our books.

After watching ‘Honor Diaries’ I realized that this was not the world I was living in. Maybe my parents had kept me in their cocoon and protected me from the society’s fanaticism and the rut where the rest of the society is in right now. I'd never imagine my parents killing me if I held a loving gazing toward a man (whom I wasn’t married). I’d never even imagine that they would disown me for their honor. And here, I’m not talking about my Pakistani society. I dug up YouTube and found out that honor killing is rotting not only South East Asian society but also Middle Eastern countries. It’s not only Talibans who oppress women in the name of religion—there are Hindu, Sikh and Arab women who are being killed or abused in the name of honor.

What is honor anyway? A sense of pride the parents have on their daughter—that she will keep their family’s name and dignity intact despite being abused or harassed by the new family in which she is bound to live and suffer for the rest of her life? Or, is it the sense of satisfaction for the poor parents who enforce their young girl to get married at the age of seven so that they will no longer feed her?

There were numerous issues raised in ‘Honor Diaries’—a woman being stoned to death on the act of immorality; a girl being pushed to an enforced marriage at a young age (before her puberty); a girl setting herself on fire after being so much abused by her husband that she thought it was better to kill herself than killing her parent’s honor by going back to them; a girl being killed by her own father only because she looked toward a guy; a woman being accused by several men only because she raised a voice on her right of driving a car; and the worse being female genital mutilation where a girl’s clitoris is cut and vagina is stitched so that she would never think of any sexual pleasure from any man, not even from her husband—seriously, in what age are we living in? It is worse than the stone age because in that era, we could think and contend that since there wasn’t much knowledge in the society and people were not educated—one can think that a human could be very close to living like an animal. But now, when Science has progressed so much, where humans are capable of transferring a piece of information within seconds (through Internet), it’s hard to believe that there are some societies who are living in poverty, illiteracy and ignorance. A man would kill in the name of religion (blasphemy) though he wouldn’t know anything about his own religion just because he was raised in that society and had always seen that tradition being followed. I believe NO religion promotes killing in any form—there’s NO excuse for abusing and killing an innocent. “… If anyone slew a person unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land it would be as if he slew the whole humanity: and if anyone saved a life it would be as if he saved the life of the whole humanity.” (Al-Qur'an 5:32)

Across the globe people have the misconception that sexual abuse, honor killing and extremism are only elements of Islam. Islam forbids any such acts that encourage these crimes—yet it is very sad that due to some people in the Muslim world, the entire religion is being blamed. It is ‘people’ who should be blamed and not the religion—it is the ‘culture’ that should be blamed and not the religion. All religions promote peace so that we all live in harmony and tolerance. I’m a proud Muslim myself and I don’t complain that my religion suppresses me for anything. I have a right to live, right to breathe, right to marry, right to write—and I know if I were born in some African tribe, this had not been possible, regardless if I were born as a Muslim or a Christian. And it doesn’t make us believe that it only happens in Muslim world. No—it happens in Western world as well. You can’t be oblivious and close your eyes saying that Western world is more cultured and civilized—a woman suffers domestic violence here as well, a teenage girl gets pregnant by consensual sex and we blame Eastern culture for enforced marriage. Wouldn’t you call it double standard? It was okay for an early Chinese emperor to have fifty wives and three hundred children but it’s NOT okay for Prophet Muhammad having multiple wives (mostly were widowed). It’s okay to get laid in high school by your will (and get pregnant) but it’s NOT okay when a fourteen-year-old girl is pushed to marriage. Why? In any case, a young girl’s body would react in the same way. Yes, I agree, getting married under the age of ten is completely inhuman and ridiculous but it has nothing to do with the religion—that’s the cultural problem. This happens in Africa, India, Nepal, and not only in Muslim countries. And who is overpowering this entire act? Their culture or their religion? Most of these countries are not even Islamic states.

After watching ‘Honor Diaries’, I truly believe that despite being born and raised in the same society, following the same religion, I had totally different culture. Girls are treated as princesses in my family because that’s what the teachings of Prophet Muhammad are. He treated his four daughters as his princesses, and always told his followers that a daughter is a door to heaven. If you give her your love, provide her education and be a good parent, she will be the door to Heaven. I don’t know what religion in Eastern society is being followed—treating girls as animals. This is not my religion—this is not Islam. At the early times in Arab, newborn girls were destined to bury alive and Prophet Muhammad strictly forbade all these cruel acts. There are still some tribes in India who drown a newborn girl praying she'd come back as a boy next time. What religion are we following now? A girl has a right to marry by her choice—that’s the choice Islam gives and in Eastern society a girl is pushed to marry a man she doesn’t want to live with. I think its equivalent to the rape, and none other, than her parents, conduct this rape.

My daughter visited Pakistan last October when she was seven and still after eight months, she claims it’s still the best place she had ever visited. She keeps telling me that she wishes to be a born Pakistani than being a born Canadian—that’s because she saw the best of that place where people like me are born and raised in a fantasyland. If this is the ‘real’ world that ‘Honor Diaries’ has shown then I’m better living in my fantasy world. Call me insensitive, heartless or uncaring but this is the NOT the world I’d want my daughters to be raised. I’d try my best to give them the same cocoon full of fairy tales in which I was raised and loved because I know no matter how hard I try, I cannot change the world it is now. It is deshaped in its ugliest form, full of senseless and cruel people. I’d never want my daughters to see and meet those people and I could only wish that this wouldn’t happen because I know they will grow up someday and find their own ways. I wish they both find the right men of their choices and live in the same fantasyland in which I’m living in. I believe any religion in any true form is not being followed at all. We all have disparate views of our own cultures, traditions and beliefs. Within a religion, we think, act and follow differently.

But that doesn’t mean it is allowed for Western culture to blame Islam is any form. I don’t think it is allowed in Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism or Sikhism to have sex before marriage then why it is so that only Islam is being blamed for imprisoning women’s rights and not other religions? Hindu girls get married under the age of ten then why only Islam has to be blamed? Christian nuns covered their heads then why only hijab is accused in Islam? Aren’t these accusations bigoted? I’ve no right to taunt or accuse any other culture or tradition when I know my own culture is burrowed in filth. Likewise, I don’t think any non-Muslim has the right to blame Islam for any cultural or traditional oppression as immoral acts are penetrated in his/her own society too. So I request everyone not to accuse any religion when you don't have knowledge about it.

It tears my heart apart, just by thinking about it that there are still some girls on the other side of the world who are abused, molested and harassed on the daily basis. What the women in ‘Honor Diaries’ are doing—helping other women, raising their voices against cultural abuse and their sufferings—they all truly deserve a standing ovation. I wish them all the best and would love to help them in any form in creating awareness in our society.

Some people may not like my opinion but that doesn’t stop me to write. All I would like to say is that honor killing, sexual abuse, child marriage, female genital mutilation are NOT part of any religion—it’s the cultural disease that has infected our literate and illiterate society—and I totally hold the responsibility to the country’s government for all these inhuman acts. This is the plead to all the rulers of the countries in which this is all happening—please open your eyes and see what is happening in your country. Don’t just rely on United Nations to come to your country and provide aid to those people.

In our entire life, we try and act to be good Muslims, Christians, Jews or Hindus in order to please God—in order to have a key to Heaven and prevent ourselves from Hell. Yet, we forget that He asks us to be good humans first. We don’t need to die and wait for our souls to burn in Hell. Hell is not far away—just open your eyes, read the World’s news everyday and watch movies like ‘Honor Diaries’—Hell is just a blink away.

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” ― Louis L'Amour

After I published my first novel, A Silent Prayer: A Prayer Series I, many people around me asked what truly inspired me for writing or more precisely—what made me write?

I never knew I was a writer until now. Those who have known me a long time also asked me if I was a born writer. I believe a person is always born with a talent—be it an artist or a musician. I don’t think there’s such thing as an inborn writing talent. Each individual in this world has a story to tell—everyone has a past, present and a future tied with emotions that make the person think, laugh, cry or contend. For writing, the basic talent you need in yourself is reading and of course, reading is an inborn talent. You cannot force anyone to be a good reader.

“Indeed, learning to write may be part of learning to read. For all I know, writing comes out of a superior devotion to reading.” ― Eudora Welty, On Writing

If you’re not a good reader, then you can never be a writer. Reading gives you inspiration, a whole new world from a writer’s perspective. You dive into that world, sometimes you drown yourself, sometimes you just float over it—it depends how deeply the story is being written.

I believe there’s always an inspiration for a writer. It could be a person, his surroundings, a song, his own life or a minor incident. You just need one end of the rope and then you keep on pulling it, until you hold another end. That one end which you held first is your inspiration.

Likewise, you can’t wait for an inspiration to write something—it comes to you. It’s just how you see it and how you perceive it.

So back to the question I was asked after my first book—what made me write? Honestly I was never a writer (I don’t even write much blogs) but I guess my passion of reading and imagining fearlessly has driven me this way. Being a Muslim, I’ve a complete faith on my Holy book—what it has to say about the things we see and the things we don’t see. That inspired me to write about Jinn. We have read countless Jinn stories through Arabian folktales and all the readers have always found them purely fictitious. To me, it is not fiction. I wanted to create a believable fiction story. I know vampires and zombies don’t exist but I truly believe that the Jinn exist, just like angels—the only thing is they’re hidden from us—and that’s what Jinn means. So I started researching on this strange creature and for a few months (during my writing), there was only one activity in my life (besides writing)—read, read and read.

It’s a very common myth among Muslims that the more you try to dig about the Jinn, the more they try to approach you. To some, it was hard for them to believe that I picked a topic out of the word of God and crafted a romantic story from of an Islamic concept—a religion which has always been a part of controversy and extremism. Some even asked me if I’ve actually encountered anyone of them. Really, it makes me laugh sometimes. I wrote because I didn’t fear anyone. I wanted my imagination to take a flight and see where it lands. I’ve been hearing this myth since my childhood. If I had feared and believed in that myth, I wouldn’t have written anything at all. Reading made me fearless.

One thing that I’ve learned in my journey of writing is—avoid self-doubt on your story. Always think it is unique and it would hopefully grab a reader. If you doubt on your own fantasy, others won’t appreciate it either. Self-trust and self-confidence is the prime step. Once you start writing, don’t stop yourself fearing if your idea is sellable or not, if others would like it or not. There are always risks in everything so take the risk and let your imagination fly out of your mind.

Your imagination should not have any strings pulling it back. It should take a flight like a bird, not like a kite. The worst chances are obviously the failure but that should never stop you from writing. It is not necessary that if one person doesn't like your idea, others won’t. Every brain works differently. Some people find white not to be a color, but some find happiness in white.

If you write something just because you want to make money out of it, trust me, it would always lack passion as the fear of failure would come through your words.

So always write when you are fearless!

For Canadian Readers: WIN a Paperback of Award-winning via BestSelling Reads
"A SILENT PRAYER" http://www.bestsellingreads.com/win-b...

"Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true." --E.Y. Harburg


I started writing this book in December 2012 and finished the entire series (two books) around September 2013. I never planned to publish it, even an e-book. It’s something I wrote for my wellbeing because the story was haunting me like a ghost. And I’m sure lots of writers would agree on how it feels when you have an untold story in your mind.

One fine day, my husband read the manuscript and pushed me to publish both the books. I found a good editor and a convenient publisher and when my first book of the series was about to publish, my publisher suggested me to submit my book into Los Angeles Book Festival. They thought the story is fresh and romance readers are tired of reading a-guy-meets-girl, a-guy-gets-girl kinda romance. A Silent Prayer: A Prayer Series I was published in February 2014 (in paperback & hardcover) and at the same time, I submitted my entry into Los Angeles Book Festival taking publisher’s advice and assuming it as an unseen dream (which would never come true). I checked my mail one day and they announced all the winners. When I saw my book’s title as a winner in romance category, I was shocked for a moment, my heart actually stopped beating for a while. It was unbelievable for me, going to LA and receiving a prestigious recognition for my book. I still don’t claim to be a writer as it’s something I never thought or dreamt. I am an avid reader just like most of the women of my age, who likes to read cheesy romance and enjoy it.

Attending the ceremony made me realize that I am nothing compared to all (experienced, established) writers who attended the ceremony as the winners in their own genre. Yet, I felt proud at the same time, because I was also selected as a winner, just like them. There were old writers (like really old) who had spent their entire lives writing. It gave me a sense of achievement being there, as there were hardly any young writers. When I was called to receive the award, I was completely blank at that time, wondering there’s something called ‘speech’ too. I’m quite sure I sucked big time, stammering at intervals as it felt like I was some celebrity, almost hundred pair of eyes watching me. I don’t know how actual celebrities take it? Especially when you lack confidence addressing so many people.

Not even a week was passed when my book went live into online bookstores and I submitted my entry. I’ve hardly ten reviews on amazon and getting recognition at such a primary stage…it’s something that I cannot express through words.

People ask me…how was it? For me, it was extraordinary and completely exciting event, which I would enjoy for the rest of my life.
Samreen Ahsan