Interview with multi-genre novelist Pavarti K. Tyler

Pavarti K. Tyler joins us today to talk about her Muslim superhero literary fiction novel Shadow on the Wall.

She has a giveaway for a lucky commentor. Details follow the interview.

Bio:

Pavarti K Tyler is an artist, wife, mother and number cruncher. She graduated Smith College in 1999 with a degree in Theatre. After graduation, she moved to New York, where she worked as a Dramaturge, Assistant Director and Production Manager on productions both on and off Broadway.


Later, Pavarti went to work in the finance industry as a freelance accountant for several international law firms. She now operates her own accounting firm in the Washington, DC area, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and two terrible dogs. When not preparing taxes, she is busy penning her next novel.


Author of many short stories, Pavarti spans genres from horror and erotica all the way to fantasy.

Her blog is all ages. Her tumblr is 18+ only. Her Fan Page needs your likes. 
Her Twitter likes friends. Her Google+ is random.  

Welcome to Reviews and Interviews, Pavarti. Please tell us about your current release.

Recai Osman: Muslim, philosopher, billionaire and Superhero?

Controversial and daring, Shadow on the Wall details the transformation of Recai Osman from complicated man to Superhero. Forced to witness the cruelty of the Morality Police in his home city of Elih, Turkey, Recai is called upon by the power of the desert to be the vehicle of change. Does he have the strength to answer Allah's call or will his dark past and self doubt stand in his way?

Pulling on his faith in Allah, the friendship of a Jewish father-figure and a deeply held belief that his people deserve better, Recai Osman must become The SandStorm.

In the tradition of books by Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie, Shadow on the Wall tackles issues of religion, gender, corruption and the basic human condition. Beautiful and challenging, this is not a book to miss.

What inspired you to write this book?
Our civilization is at a breaking point. People are taking sides and oppression is closing in on all of us. From religion to politics to the general cultural climate it seems everyone is on high alert. In my experience though, people – average, everyday people – are not so different from each other. Perhaps writing such a dark story is my call to action; this is the nightmare waiting for us at the end of the tunnel. What will it take for each of us to stand up for what we believe in? Recai has a calling, a mission. He is given his path. We are not. When faced with a choice between oppression and freedom, between standing up for someone else or sitting back and watching the sky fall, what will you do? Will you choose to live like Maryam, seeing the good in people and finding a way to make the world better? I hope so.

Excerpt from Shadow on the Wall: 
Recai walked for what seemed like miles, resisting the instinct to second-guess his direction. The sand moved between his toes but soon he found his footing, and his body responded to the landscape as if from some genetic memory. He remembered his father’s words from a trip he took to the Oman desert as a child: Never take your shoes off; the sand will eat away at your feet. Recai had done it anyway, then and now, feeling more in control with that connection to the ground, its movements speaking to his flesh directly.

His father had always been full of surprises: one moment the strict disciplinarian, the next, he would wake Recai in the middle of the night to see a falling star. Recai had never had the chance to get to know him as an adult. Instead, he lived with the enigmatic memory of a great man lost.

Recai stood in the middle of the desert—every direction would eventually lead to Elih or one of the smaller villages scattered around the city. But who would take in a stranger? A stranger with a Hugo Boss turban and a bruised and bloodied face? In’shallah, he would be delivered to safety.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I have a few new projects coming up.  In June Two Moons of Sera Volume Three will be realeased.  Volumes 1 and 2 have done very well and I've been very excited to have so many readers following along for the adventure.  After that, I have two projects I'm toying with.  DEVOUR is a zombie tome and Heaven's Vault will be a supernatural romance… kind of… At least one of them should be realeased in 2012.  After I've exorcised those I'm planning on working on Prisoner's of the Wind, Book 2 in The SandStorm Chronicles.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
In 4th grade I won a writing contest for a short story I wrote about vampires. I think my fate was sealed then, although I never really thought of it that way.  In high school, I wrote some, but mostly just because the fantastic fella I was dating did. His stories were always so much better than mine but I enjoyed writing and always stayed with it. In college, I studied theatre and instead of writing my own work, I advised playwrights and worked with actors. About two years ago, I re-found writing and put together some projects I really enjoyed. Now that I am in the process of publishing it's exciting and fun. I never really imagined myself a publisher, but now I'm finding it natural to take the story from conception all the way to birth.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I write every day to some degree or another. I'm a tax accountant so my crazy season is just winding down.  During the rest of the year I do freelance financial consulting and work at Novel Publicity as the Director of Marketing. Spliced in I also substitute at my daughters' school, teach creative writing, blog, raise 2 girls, have a child on the autism spectrum and sometimes pretend to clean the house.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I write in layers, I pound out the basics and then go over it at least 6 times before I consider it a first draft. 

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
The president. :)  I know better now!

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Shadow on the Wall is set in Elih Turkey. It is a real place, although it's nothing like the fictional city I created. When I set out to write a story set in the Middle East I looked at maps and wanted somewhere ripe with history and culture but not in the current crosshairs. Turkey is positioned between Europe and the Middle East, populated by Muslims, Jews and Christians and has a historical conflict between the Turks, Arabs and Kurds living there. It was the ideal location.

While Shadow touches on issues relevant in the world today, I didn’t want to write another post 9-11 story about the Taliban or al-Qaeda. Turkey was a good solution because it is rich in culture, plus Elih is the Kurdish name for the real city of Batman, Turkey. And when writing a superhero story, how could I resist setting it in Batman!

Great stuff, Pavarti! Thanks for being here and sharing a bit about yourself and your writing.

Readers, one randomly drawn commentor will win a $15 Amazon gift card at the end of Pavarti's virtual book tour. So comment below and visit her other stops - it's a short tour, so don't miss out! The more you comment, the more chances you have of winning!