Ask my friends and they’ll tell you I’m a storyteller by nature.

Every once in a while, I meet someone amazing and the same thought pops into my head each and every time.

“I’m going to write their story.”

It doesn’t always happen like that though. Sometimes I’m hit by a good old classic plot. [And imaginary voices begin to fill my head]. I can still vividly remember the first time I was hit by one. It was wondrous and uplifting and filled me with a bubbly fizz of excitement [sort of like when you’re about to scare the life out of someone]. I imagined all the scenarios play out in my head, like it was happening in real life. I felt the strong, emotive feelings of the characters as if they were a part of me, as if I had known them for a lifetime. I laughed with them, I cried with them [It’s really not as creepy as it sounds]. I saw them crack jokes and tease one another, always able to put a secret smile on my face [not ideal when you’re in a public gathering]; a smirk all too knowing of the workings of their relationships.

I felt dizzy with excitement. These people, these ‘characters’ lived in my mind constantly. [Okay, so maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration]. But as the plot thickened and as thoughts flooded my mind, I knew I had to share these stories. How amazing it would be to step into the life of another, on the other end of the planet, and experience their emotions, their circumstance and their perspective.

I believe books are life-changing. I believe books have the power to stimulate minds and touch hearts, to introduce new perceptions and ways of thinking, to challenge preconceived notions and ideals, and sometimes, every once in a while, to utterly and completely change one’s outlook on life.

This is what I want to achieve.

I write because I want to make a change. I want to inspire a monumental difference in the world. I want to touch the hearts of those whom I may or may never meet. I want to share the phenomenal stories of those heroes who have touched my heart. I want to give hope to those who are lost. And above all else, I want to share Islam with people of every age range, of every belief system and in every sphere of life.