Join us as we peek behind the scenes of our new anthology, ON TIME. Learn more about Shaheer Amir in his featured interview.
ABOUT THE STORY
What inspired your story?
My inspiration came from Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and all the other mind eating diseases that reap on our thoughts.
Can you tell us a little bit about your protagonist?
The main character is the personification of time itself experiencing internal struggle externally because I love that sort of non-Euclidean plotline.
What is the most interesting thing about the world you’ve created?
I like to think of my setting as a character. I think that’s pretty interesting.
What genre or mix of genres does your story fit into?
The story’s a little weird. The best genre I could fit into was speculative fiction.
How have your personal experiences influenced this story?
With the influence of age-related diseases, you might think there were some personal experiences involved. However, the only thing personal about this story is that it came from the cavern in my mind.
What would you like readers to take away from your story?
I want people to see the fight inside everyone’s heads and know that behind the mask, their heads are fighting a losing battle. I mostly want to say that every memory is important and deserves to be, well, remembered.
What was your favorite part of the story to write and why?
There really isn’t any part that I liked writing more. All of it was fun to write and hopefully fun to read.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
When did you write your first story, how old were you, and what was it about?
I started my first story at fourteen, and it still is a work in progress. When I started, I went big; I wrote a whole novel filled with every trope in the book. I can most certainly say; it was not good. It was very…teen angst. I haven’t given up though. One day, I’ll finish it.
What is your writing survival checklist? (Aka, what helps your write the best: music, snacks, coffee, complete silence, a stress ball, a cat, or an outline, etc.)
My survival checklist is always changing. I’m always testing news things to see if there’s anything better for me. The methods that I’ve found best so far are different if I’m working on a computer or if I’m going with pen and paper. I need to stand if I’m working on a computer. So much so that I built a shabby standing desk into my closet to write better. If I’m writing on paper, it needs to be in a notebook. My preference of setting is in my room at night before I sleep. Give me that, and everything else comes naturally.
What has influenced you most as a writer?
My stress and anger. Writing has always been therapeutic to me to I find the words flow better when I feel stressed or angry. By putting those words down, I can then refine and learn from them.
What font do you prefer to write in?
Garamond.
Do you have any writing blogs/vlogs/podcasts, etc. that you would recommend?
I really don’t. I used to spend a considerably large amount of my writing time looking at other people’s advice. I found that the lessons they tried to teach me never got to me until I actually experienced them myself. Kind of like how your parents always reprimand you as a child, but we just don’t get it as a kid. Then, we grow up and go: Oh, I’m an idiot. At least, I did that, and it was honestly what every writing site was like. So I say: Go, learn it yourself.
What is your favorite and least favorite word, and why?
I don’t have a least favorite word. I’m not one of those people who has a hatred towards specific words like, brace yourselves, moist. Same goes for favorite words. They’re all pretty cool. Maybe the word, brain. The fact that it’s the only thing to name itself gives it a slight edge over its competitors.
Shaheer Amir is a university student who is heading into a new world of engineering. He was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when he was only four. This was back in Pakistan, where medicine wasn’t as advanced. At eight he immigrated to Toronto, Canada with his family. There, he could get better treatment for his disease. There, he could discover the wonders of writing.
ON TIME is out now. Get your copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or the exclusive hardback at transmundanepress.com.
Transmundane Press 