It's time for another author interview for our weekly author spotlight feature! This week we had the pleasure of interviewing the talented Mahdi Afarideh, today we spoke about advice, dreams and of course... books!
Any advice you would like to give to your younger self?
You can achieve what you want by working hard on your goal. Success is met when you believe in yourself, so never say never. Remember your world is created first in your mind, so try to shape it as beautiful as possible. When you are disappointed, it is good idea to recall your future memories.
Any advice you would like to give to aspiring writers?
Studying a lot is the key, but more important than that is taking perseverance to overcome the problems ahead. And in the end never get disappointed.
What did you want to become when you were a kid?
I had the dream of becoming a physicist. I used to watch documentaries about physics to become one day somebody like Newton.
Do you recall the first ever book/novel you read?
Yes, I do recall. It was a book named “Tell me why” that explained natural phenomenon as well as mankind inventions like Cars…
Which book inspired you to begin writing?
When I went to English class, my first teacher lent me short story books in return for writing a summary of the lent book. It was a trigger to become a writer in the future.
Did you ever think you would be unable to finish your first book?
Honestly yes. Writing is difficult let alone writing in another language. Before writing my first book, I had two stories to write. The first story was a long novel that would take years to finish. The second story was a shorter novel which would definitely take fewer years. Therefore, as my first book I chose the latter one and wrote Dependence Day.
Do you read any of your own work?
Truth be told no, I don’t read my own works. I have a full-time job plus I am a college student and above all I need to allocate time for doing research into history, politics, psychology and of course working on my next book.
Tell us about your writing style, how is it different from other writers?
I like to raise a question or series of questions in the beginning and then little by little I answer the questions but not all of them. I want some questions to remain unanswered because the book might be continued in the future which in this case Dependence day will continue but not in shape of book, I hope.
Does your book carry a message?
Yes it does. Born in Iran, but originally from Afghanistan I am from a country with decades of war, bloodshed, injustice and pain. I want no war, no bloodshed, no pain and no injustice for no one on Earth. Our planet is big enough to have room for everyone to live in peace and happiness. I tried to carry this message in my book.
If you could review Olympia publishers in a few words, what would they be?
When I emailed Olympia publishers, I never thought they would answer it. I was sending emails for months to dozens of publishers and magazines and newspapers. I even sent email to Elon Musk!! but received no reply except one other than Olympia Publishers. I cannot remember the name, but they replied after 6 months! And of course they could not accept my work. Olympia publishers was my last shot because if they had not replied my email, I would have probably quitted writing! They gave me this opportunity to be seen and read, and have this wonderful experience, so I owe them a lot. They are everything to me. Thank you.
Get your copy of Dependence Day, here!
