morethanjustaprettyface

More Than Just a Pretty Face – Book Tour

by

Thanks to @Hearourownvoicestour for having me as a host. In addition to recording my 15 Thoughts while reading, I had a chance to send some interview questions to the author Syed M. Masood. He replied to the questions in great detail. So, let’s get on with it shall we?

Blog Interview:

Q1: Did any true events from your life inspired you to write this YA story?

Not really. I mean…well, that’s not exactly true.

Let me put it this way: some of the relationships between some of the characters mirror my experiences. I think that is pretty much all I’m willing to say. As a poet once wrote, it isn’t necessary that every veil be lifted.

Anyway, fiction has to stand on its own, and I think this book does.

Q2: You mentioned on your website that you are practicing as an attorney. What was your motivation towards choosing these two different paths i.e. Writing and Law?

I’ve always loved literature. I started writing stories when I was in grade school, but I never thought I’d actually get published.

Anyway, after I graduated from university, I wanted to be an English Professor. My parents were not onboard. It’s a long story.

Let’s just say that I stumbled into the Law and ran towards writing.

Q3: In the beginning of the story, you’ve mentioned about getting married is important in Islam if you like a person and later on have sex and that’s it’s a long process. I feel like this a sort of problematic line where readers will react to it. Can you please explain your point of view?

It is not my point of view. It’s Danyal Jilani’s point of view.

Thank you so much for this question, by the way, I really appreciate the opportunity to discuss this. I’m going to take my time answering this because I think this is very important. I hope that’s okay.

It is sometimes—often, in fact—incorrect to assume that the views of the first person narrator are the same as the views of the author. The narrator and the author are very different people. They do not believe the same things or act in the same ways.

For example, I don’t swear in public (though I sometimes do when I’m by myself, to be honest). I was taught a Muslim doesn’t swear. But Danyal does. I have to let him be his authentic self, to have his own voice, otherwise we might as well all write autobiographies.

So, I may disagree with the things Danyal does, but they are true to his character and his level of growth and maturity. He is, by his own admission, not very bright. He’s a teenager who wants to be funnier than he is. He thinks he is being edgy. Having been a teenage boy, I can tell you that they sometimes confuse crassness with wit. But he grows. That’s the point of the book and his journey. I think readers will see that.

When he is confronted with serious problems—in his personal life and in his academic life—he silliness gets toned down, his better qualities start to shine through, and he becomes a more complete person.

I hope and assume that Nabakov was nothing like his protagonists and I can see from other things he has written that Mohsin Hamid is not entirely like his. The views of the author, if that is what the reader is looking for, are more often found in the overall themes of the book, not in individual lines related by a first person narrator.

In fact, speaking more generally, you should mistrust first person narrators.

Anyway, great characters evolve. They are confronted with irony even if they aren’t aware of it.

So, Elizabeth Bennet of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE says that no woman would turn down a proposal in the hopes that it would renewed later, but that is exactly what she ends up doing with Darcy. It’s a sign of her growth.

In MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE, by the time the end of the story comes and Danyal is dealing with the issue of marriage, he isn’t thinking about sex at all. His journey has changed him and his views, which is excellent in my opinion. I’m happy for him.

Q4: How do you deal with negative book reviews?

I’m not too bothered by them, to be honest. They sting sometimes, but the reception for MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE has generally been very positive. Most of the negative reviews that have been called to my attention are from people who think that books about Muslims are books about Islam. That’s just not true, in my opinion. They are about people who happen to be Muslim, but Muslims are different everywhere and they are all flawed in their own unique ways.

The point of fiction is to entertain people, not to educate them. If readers happen to learn something, that’s great, but I hope no one comes to a rom-com about Muslim teenagers to learn about Islam. That isn’t their purpose.

So, when someone comes to me as says “you didn’t do X right” and I was never trying to “X”, why would I be upset about that? You can’t define your success by the expectations of others or you’ll never be happy.

Aside from that I realize that people’s tastes are different. I’ve been handed tons of books that are supposedly awesome, and I couldn’t get past the third page. I’ve seen people give Oscar Wilde’s work one star. It’s not personal, so I don’t take it personally.

Q5: Will you enlighten us readers regarding your writing process?

It’s messy. Seriously messy. I don’t plot. I just write. This means that the story is pretty organic, and I’m sometimes surprised by how things happen or why they’re happening. It’s sort of hard to explain. The story grows as I write it and I just trust it will work.

What this does mean is that the first revision is often brutal. Lot of loose ends, lots of parts that don’t work with how things really turned out, and all that has to be polished and ironed out.

I just want to also mention music. Coke Studio Pakistan has been instrumental in my writing process! Music can really provide a source of inspiration, and what Coke Studio has done—taking classics and reinterpreting them or making them accessible—has been a boon.

Q6: What kind of books do you read yourself?

I read contemporary YA and adult lit. I read a bunch of non-fiction–mostly about history, politics and religion. Sometimes I’ll read books deal with modern technology and such, though usually in service of a book I’m writing myself.

I also read a lot of poetry—most Sufi poets or Urdu poets. Urdu poetry was my first literary love.

Q7: What are some of those few important lessons you learned while travelling? People are the same everywhere. They generally just want to be safe, to have food, to take care of their families, to be loved and to be happy. They may define these things differently, but soul of humanity is something we all have in common. It’s a beautiful thing.

15 Thoughts While Reading:

  1. Weird thought, but this is the first thought I had while reading. Why is the female character named kaval? I’ve only ever heard the name with this spelling, kanwal.
  2. While daniyal was having thoughts about virginity and how Muslims are being backwards about this, I was pondering upon the authors’ answer regarding a question I asked related to this.
  3. Daniyal was trying to be funny about zombie apocalypse thing and how they’d identify a virgin. It will be hijabis …oh well this is a little disrespectful thought. I hope he matures later in the book and realizes this.
  4. Parents do worry about what society thinks…like it’s so relatable.
  5. I read Biryani and my mouth started watering instantly ?
  6. Hahahaha …He said Daniyal biryani ?
  7. At the mention of a coffee shop….Now I want mocha…yup, am addicted to coffee
  8. I don’t like Ahmed jilani’s opinions ?
  9. At this point, I’m totally hungry and craving spicy food. Thanks to Daniyal’s cooking love.
  10. I can definitely relate to this part of dawat where males discuss politics or cricket or what not.
  11. Even I was clueless about chemistry in school.?
  12. I like that Daniyal is sort of expressive but on the other hand, what’s the deal with kaval. ?
  13. It’s not always about winning, the thing even when you try your best at anything, that’s your own inner victory.
  14. Daniyal may not be a top student but he is talented, these classmates of him are being jerks.
  15. It’s sad that Mr. Jillani does not believe in his own son.

Hope you all enjoyed this blog post and let me know in the comments if you found the authors answers helpful. Please do support Hearourownvoicestours. I’ve linked it in the beginning of this post.

95 thoughts on “More Than Just a Pretty Face – Book Tour”

  1. Pingback: Muslim Hours — Interview with Syed M. Masood – Readlogy

  3. “Thinkin’ ‘bout it.” He answers. “I want to show the world that I am a man, like you. Father.” https://arturzasada.pl/ – sex porn mom I used my teeth to strip off daddy’s black sheer socks. I placed them in my mouth and washed them with my saliva. I swallowed every single sweat and stink from these socks. It takes so well. I rolled them into a ball and stuck them into my jockstrap where my small dick and balls were.

  4. He dries himself but his throbbing cock continues to pulse as it grows harder because of his youth. The sensation intensifies. The feeling is wonderful. He can hear his cock throbbing in his ears. “Was it because of that?” His dad asks as he points a finger towards him. And his midsection.

  5. After I serve daddy’s left one, I was about to move to the right foot. While He stopped me, stood up, and walked towards the couch, he said “Crawling right after me.” I followed daddy. My nose was where daddy’s ass was. I was staring at that crotch while I was crawling, and I didn’t realize daddy stopped one of a sudden in front of the bathroom. My nose is slightly right into that dreaming ass crack. “Yep. I’ve had one since I put on my gear at practice today.” He tells his dad.

  6. “Once you plant that cock of yours in some squirmy hole and empty those warm balls of yours into a moist wet hole. Then you are on your way to becoming a man, and only then will you, come-of-age. But it is only a step onto the winding pathway towards manhood. It is my job to teach you what it means to be a man.” His father stands as he finishes his sentence. Loosening his belt and pulling his shirt out from the tucked confines of his pants. “Let me get in there, Garrett.” His father says, as his son steps aside so he can get into the shower enclosure.

  7. “You guys jerk off together, these days?” His dad asks, “Back when I was in high school me and several of my friends would jerk-off in our trucks in the parking lot. We were so horny we could barely sit in our seats. You ever do that Garrett?” “FUCK! FUCK!” He says, as he loosens the tightened grip on his fleshy-red-tool, while it throbs with its life-giving blood coursing through its many vein-filled region.

  8. “And you did it with that. Your boner?” His dad asks. “I guess.” “I look forward to the day when you are a fully grown man, my son.” His father says. “I am anxious to see the fruit of my loins reach his fully-adorned manhood. Adulthood.”

  13. I was surprised He wasn’t angry. He said,” boy you wait here, I am going to the bathroom.” He closed the door. He must sit on the toilet with pants down because I heard him losing the belt but didn’t hear him peeing. After a while, he called my name,” get in here ass sniffing slut.” I opened the door and crawled to the side of daddy. Daddy was still sitting on the toilet. . Just when I was confused why he sat that and did nothing. He stood up and pulled his pants up. I did take a peep of daddy’s huge uncut Middle Eastern dick. Half hard like 7inches already. While he was doing that, he grabbed my hair pushed right into the toilet, and closed the lid. “ smell my ass from there boy when it is still fresh.” He paused and continued, “ Don’t move.”

  14. “FUCK! FUCK!” He says, as he loosens the tightened grip on his fleshy-red-tool, while it throbs with its life-giving blood coursing through its many vein-filled region.

  21. Whenn I initially commented I clicked thhe “Notify me when new comments are added” chckbox annd
    now each time a comment is added I geet three e-mails with the same comment.
    Is there aany way youu cann remove mee from tht service?
    Appreciare it!

  28. Hmm iit apppears lioke yor blog aate my first comment (it wass eextremely long) so I guess I’ll just suum itt up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
    I too am aan aspiring bllog writer but I’m sill neww tto thhe whole thing.
    Do you havee anyy tios for rookie bloog writers? I’dreally apprerciate it.

  32. Hmmm it appeads likke your website ate myy furst cokment (it waas extremely long) so I gueszs I’ll just sum it uup what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying
    your blog. I too aam aan asepiring blog wruter but I’m stiull
    new too everything. Do yyou habe aany helpful hints
    forr inexperienced blpog writers? I’d genuinely apppreciate it.

  35. Hello! I know this iss kinda offf topic howeever , I’d figured I’d ask.
    Would you bee intefested in trading links oor maybe guest authoring a
    log postt or vice-versa? My siite covers a lot of thee
    sae subjects as yors andd I believe we could greatly beefit froom eachh other.
    If yyou ight bbe inteerested feel free to send mme an email.
    I look forward too heafing froom you! Superb bloog byy the
    way!

  36. Goood day I aam sso delighted I found yolur web site, I really
    fokund youu byy mistake, whiloe I was browsing on Yaho
    forr somehing else, Anyways I am hhere noow and would just lie to ssay thanks a
    lot for a fanyastic podt aand a all rround thrilling blokg (I also love thhe theme/design), I don’t hsve time too brwse it all att
    thee minute butt I have bookmarked it and also included your RSS feeds,
    soo whewn I have tme I will bbe bacfk too read a great desl more, Please do kkeep upp the great work.

  37. Attractive setion of content. I juwt stumbled upon your blog aand inn
    acceasion capital to sayy that I acquiire atually eenjoyed account your
    blg posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing too yourr feeds andd evesn I achievement you gget right
    oof entry to consistently rapidly.

  38. I aam not suree whee you’re getting your info, bbut great topic.
    I needs too spend some time learning mor or understanding more.
    Thankss for fanastic information I wwas lookinng for tthis iinfo for my mission.

  41. My developer is ttrying too convince mme too move tto .net from PHP.

    I havve alwways disloked the iidea because of tthe costs.
    Butt he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve beeen usinng WordPresas on various
    websies ffor abouit a year and aam anious abou switching to another platform.

    I have heawrd fantastric things abiut blogengine.net.

    Is there a way I ccan transfer alll myy wordpress cohtent into it?
    Any kind oof help would be realply appreciated!

  43. Wonderful blog yoou hazve hrre butt I waas wsnting too know if youu knew off aany communikty foruns that cover
    tthe same topics iscussed in this article? I’d rreally like tto bee a part of
    onlikne commkunity wwhere I cann get comments from other experienced peopple that shae
    the same interest. If youu have any suggestions, please llet
    mme know. Thankks a lot!

  44. whoah thhis blog is fantastic i love studying youur articles.
    Staay upp thhe good work! You realize, lots of individuals arre huntin rond foor thi
    information, yoou can aid the greatly.

  45. Hey wold you mmind letting mme kmow whixh webhost you’re
    working with? I’ve looaded yoiur blog in 3 different webb broowsers aand I must say this bllg loars a lott faster ten most.
    Cann you recommend a good internrt hostihg provider at a honest price?

    Cheers, I appreciate it!

  47. Heey there! Thhis posdt couldd nnot bbe writte any better!
    Readimg thdough thnis post reminds mme of myy previous
    room mate! He always kept talking abgout this. I wipl forward
    this pagbe tto him. Farly certain hee will havce a gpod read.Tank yyou forr sharing!

  48. Heey there just wannted tto givbe you a quick heads up.
    The text in you article seem to bbe running
    off the screen in Chrome. I’m not sure if thos is a formmat issue orr somethinng tto do wih internet browser compatibility
    but I thought I’d pokst too let youu know. Thee layouut
    look geat though! Hoppe you get the issue solved soon. Thanks

  50. What i don’t understolod is inn reality howw youu are not atually a lott molre well-liked thgan yoou may bbe riught now.

    Youu aare so intelligent. Yoou alreaady knmow thus
    considerably when iit comes too this topic, mzde mme
    individuallpy beljeve itt from a lott of numerous angles.
    Itss ike womern and menn are not interested untikl it’s somethkng to ddo wjth Woman gaga!
    Yoour individual stuffs excellent. At aall timnes handl iit up!

  52. Heyy I kow this iss offf topic but I wass wondering if you knesw of any widgets I coujld aadd
    too my blog that automatically twwet my newest twitrer updates.
    I’ve bewn looking foor a plug-in lije this forr quite somke timje and wwas hoping
    maye yyou would have somne experience witth something
    like this. Pleazse lett me know iif yoou ruun nto anything.
    I truly enjoy reaading yor bpog and I look foraard tto
    your new updates.

  53. Hi there, I fond your blog byy tthe usee of Google whilst searhing forr a comparable subject, your wweb site
    came up, it looks good. I hace bookmarked itt iin mmy gpogle bookmarks.

    Hellko there, jjst waas aware of our bog vvia Google, annd located that iit is reakly informative.
    I’m gonna bbe ccareful foor brussels. I wilol apprecfiate in tthe event you prceed thi in future.

    Maany people mght be benefiited oout of your writing.Cheers!

  55. I thin thaat everything published wwas ery logical.
    But, what about this? suppose yyou werre too writte a killer poist title?

    I ain’t saying yyour iinformation isn’t solid,
    however what if yyou added sommething too possily geet a person’s attention? I mean Moree Than Just a Pretty Faace
    – Boook Tour – nargiskalani iis kiknda plain. You should
    peek aat Yahoo’s home page and note how they create ndws headlines tto geet viewdrs interested.

    Youu might add a relaqted vudeo oor a picxture or two to
    grab people intertested about everything’ve got too say.
    Just my opinion, iit wold bring your possts a little bit more interesting.

  60. Unddeniably elieve thhat which you stated.Your
    favorite justification seemed to bee on the innternet
    thhe simpledst thong to be aware of. I saay to you, I definitely get annoued whole people think aabout worries that they plainly
    do not khow about. You managed too hitt tthe nail uoon thee toop annd
    defrined ouut thee whole thibg withoutt having
    sise eeffect , people could takie a signal. Willl probably be bck too
    get more. Thanks

  62. I do not knokw iff it’s just mee oor if everybody else experiencibg problems wijth yokur site.

    It eems like soome of thhe text withi your posts
    are running off tthe screen. Can somelne else pleasse
    proovide feedback and leet me know iff ths iss happening to tjem aas well?
    Thiss coulkd bee a problem with my browser because I’ve had thiis happen previously.
    Manyy thanks

  63. Hi there! I kow thijs is kinda off topic bbut I’d figured I’d ask.
    Would yoou bee intterested in trading links oor masybe gueest writin a blopg aricle oor vice-versa?
    My wrbsite goess over a llot off the sazme subjects aas yours and I feel we could greatly beefit from ech other.

    If you are interested feel freee too shoot me an e-mail.
    I look forward tto hearong from you! Supeeb blog by tthe way!

  66. Daddy was furious as I could hear his deep breath. He sat down on the bench by the door. I was looking down afraid he was going to kick my ass. He lifted my head from my chin using the tip of his loafer where I can smell that smelly sheer socks he has been worn all day. Just when our eyes met, a big stinky manly wad landed on my face. Then I felt a big rough hand rubbing the spit all over my face. I heard the daddy say, “ next time remember what I told you exactly, I don’t want this to happen again, you hear me? I paused and said, “ yeeee…”. Before I finished the sentence, another spit and a big slap on me. “ when I told you something you must say yes. There is no room for you to argue or think, understood?” He said in a deep and firm tone. “ yes sir”. Without missing a beep I said it. “good boy, your night is just about to start.”

  68. I was surprised He wasn’t angry. He said,” boy you wait here, I am going to the bathroom.” He closed the door. He must sit on the toilet with pants down because I heard him losing the belt but didn’t hear him peeing. After a while, he called my name,” get in here ass sniffing slut.” I opened the door and crawled to the side of daddy. Daddy was still sitting on the toilet. . Just when I was confused why he sat that and did nothing. He stood up and pulled his pants up. I did take a peep of daddy’s huge uncut Middle Eastern dick. Half hard like 7inches already. While he was doing that, he grabbed my hair pushed right into the toilet, and closed the lid. “ smell my ass from there boy when it is still fresh.” He paused and continued, “ Don’t move.”

  69. “Stoke it, boy! Stroke it! Stroke that beautiful cock!” His father demands as his own cock draws on the wet interior of the glass enclosure shower. “Pound it harder, boy! Pound it harder!”

  70. Greetings from Ohio! I’m bored to death aat woirk sso I ecided
    to rowse your blog oon myy iphone duriung lunch break. I really like thhe knowsledge
    you providde here aand can’t wait to take a lokk when I gget home.
    I’mamazed att how fast you blog lladed oon myy cell phone ..
    I’m nnot even ussing WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, excellent site!

  72. I’d like to thnk yyou ffor the efforts you’ve putt inn writing thhis blog.
    I really hopee too viiew thhe same high-grade
    content by yyou later on ass well. In truth, your creative
    writing abilities haas inspired me to geet mmy own, personal bog now 😉

  77. HelloWord翻译Hello World聊天翻译助手专注于为出海企业提供高质量的即时聊天翻译服务,专业聊天翻译技术,极速稳定收发,全球畅游,使用邮箱免费注册登录体验,专业翻译技术团队开发,超数百家企业信赖,支持whatsapp Line Tinder Twitter Instagram Telegram Zalo Facebook Badoo Bumble Quora Linkedin googleVoice Crisp Hangouts TextNow VK等软件的实时聊天翻译,无限网页多开。支持facebook群发,whastsapp群发,googleVoice群发

  78. WPS官网下载WPS Office: 一站式办公服务平台: 新升级，无广告，AI办公更高效. 立即下载. 登录使用. WPS 365: 面向组织和企业的WPS 365: 一站式AI办公，生产力即刻起飞. 了解更多. 咨询，记忆体占用低，体积轻运行快. 将文字、表格、演示、PDF等融合为一个组件。

  79. 有道词典是由网易有道出品的全球首款基于搜索引擎技术的全能免费语言翻译软件。简介. 支持中文、英语、日语、韩语、法语、德语、俄语、西班牙语、葡萄牙语、藏语、西语等109种语言翻译。拍照翻译、语音翻译、对话翻译、在线翻译、离线翻译更顺畅。更多的翻译 https://www.youdaoo.com

  80. When I initially commented I clkcked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkkbox aand noww
    each timne a comment iis added I gett threde emails
    wityh thee same comment. Is there any wayy yyou can remve people from that service?
    Manyy thanks!

  81. It’s appropriate timke to make some plans for the fuuture and itt iss
    time to bee happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I wish tto suggwst you feew interesting things or tips.

    Mayge you could write next article referring too this article.
    I wish to read more things about it!

  82. It’s remarkable to ggo to seee this webb sikte and reading
    tthe viewws off all mafes on the tooic oof his post, wile I amm also zealous oof gedtting
    experience.

  86. you’re actually a gold webmaster. Thhe sire loading velocity is incredible.

    It seemss tnat you are doing any nique trick. Moreover, The contents are masterwork.

    you habe done a fantastic activity oon tgis subject!

  89. 有道词典是由网易有道出品的全球首款基于搜索引擎技术的全能免费语言翻译软件。简介. 支持中文、英语、日语、韩语、法语、德语、俄语、西班牙语、葡萄牙语、藏语、西语等109种语言翻译。拍照翻译、语音翻译、对话翻译、在线翻译、离线翻译更顺畅。更多的翻译 https://www.youdaoo.com

  90. I aam realy lpving thee theme/design of your website. Do yoou ever run into any browser compatibility problems?
    A number of my blog auddience havge complained aout mmy
    blog nott opereating correctly in Explorer buut looiks
    great in Opera. Do you hsve anyy recommendations to heelp fixx thuis problem?

  91. https://www.wpsue.com WPS Office: 一站式办公服务平台: 新升级，无广告，AI办公更高效. 立即下载. 登录使用. WPS 365: 面向组织和企业的WPS 365: 一站式AI办公，生产力即刻起飞. 了解更多. 咨询，记忆体占用低，体积轻运行快. 将文字、表格、演示、PDF等融合为一个组件。

  92. Withh havin so muych wriktten contrnt do you ever run into anny issues of plagorism or copyright infringement?
    My sire hass a llot off completely unique content I’ve eiter auythored myself orr outsourced butt itt sseems a lott oof iit iss popping iit upp all oger the interne withouut mmy permission. Do you
    know anny methods to helpp protect against content from being ripped off?
    I’d ttruly apprfeciate it.

  94. 有道词典是由网易有道出品的全球首款基于搜索引擎技术的全能免费语言翻译软件。简介. 支持中文、英语、日语、韩语、法语、德语、俄语、西班牙语、葡萄牙语、藏语、西语等109种语言翻译。拍照翻译、语音翻译、对话翻译、在线翻译、离线翻译更顺畅。更多的翻译 https://www.youdaoo.com

  95. WPS Office: 一站式办公服务平台: 新升级，无广告，AI办公更高效. 立即下载. 登录使用. WPS 365: 面向组织和企业的WPS 365: 一站式AI办公，生产力即刻起飞. 了解更多. 咨询，记忆体占用低，体积轻运行快. 将文字、表格、演示、PDF等融合为一个组件。WPS下载 https://www.wpsue.com

Leave a Comment

%d bloggers like this: