Saniya Saheer is a seventeen-year-old budding writer from Kochi, Kerala. She is currently a student of class twelve at Assisi Vidyaniketan Public School, Chembumukku, Kochi. She loves occasionally slipping into her mind to create fantastical worlds for herself. Her first novel, Before the Eighth, is the result of such an escapade.

I chat with her about her book Before the Eighth, how the book came to be, book recommendations, and much more.

Hello, Saniya! Tell us a bit about yourself!

Hi! I am Saniya Saheer. I am 17 years old and I am currently in class twelfth at Assisi Vidyaniketan Public School, Kochi. I am the second daughter of my parents and reside along with them in Kerala.

To start with, I have never been able to describe myself. I believe that I am layers of everything that I have learned and heard, read and wrote. I am a person who believes that words have a satisfying power, a power that once conquered me, and a power which, I hope, I can conquer myself someday. So to sum it up, I am more of everything unsaid than said.

If you could only describe your book 'Before the Eighth' in five words, what would they be?

Let’s begin with ‘fantasy’. The story is a complete work of fiction with the exceptions of certain things that I derived from reality. Another word I would use is ‘fast-paced’. I have always been captivated by stories that moved quickly and I have tried to implement this in my story as well. ‘Bonds’ is another word that could be used to describe the book. I have tried as much as I can to portray the beauty in different human bonds that form between the characters throughout my novel. ‘Mythical’ and ‘thrilling’ might be two other terms to describe the book as the storyline runs around a mythic element and the genre is thriller.

Now tell us a little more about the book! What can readers expect?

This book is for readers like me who swoon over mythical elements and fictional adventures. The story takes place in a fictional place where the protagonist lives. The novel moves across the sunny side of life like the formation of friendships and small moments that we treasure, to the dark side of life like facing death and the inevitabilities of life. This is a story, which I hope, will provide the readers the entertainment they need along with a bit of everything. And I hope that everyone who grabs a copy never regrets reading it.

What was the moment when the idea of the book first came to be? What made you pursue it?

To be honest, this was a sudden idea. I had no intention of writing a novel but when this thread started tugging inside my mind, I wanted to get it down on paper. Things haven’t been easy, the process of writing the novel was hard, but there was nothing that would have stopped me to pursue it once I started.

Is there a scene, element, or character you really enjoyed creating and writing?

There is a particular character named Muriel Payton that I particularly enjoyed writing. She, I think, in a lot of ways resembles me and thus, has been close to my heart. It was so easy to form her character and at the same time, hard as well, and that, I guess, excited me a little.

As a debut author, were there any authors or works which influenced your writing style?

I have always been a huge fan of Rowling and Harry Potter book series. Even though I have read many books before and after Harry Potter, there was something about this book series and Rowling that hooked me up on reading way more than any book has. And I have always been amazed by the way Rowling created Harry Potter, and she has always been a constant source of influence.

How have you been coping with the current pandemic and what will be the new normal for you post it?

Life before the pandemic seems as if it was another lifetime. It was during the pandemic’s first wave and lockdown that I started writing the novel and I think that over the course of these past two years, a lot of things have changed for me, including my definitions of a new normal. Technology, which was earlier discarded to a huge extend, and a lot of art and literature, that I had turned a blind eye on earlier due to school and work, now take up a huge space in my life. But I can say that I am happy with some changes that the pandemic brought over in my life.

Lastly, are you currently reading anything and do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

I, actually, just finished reading The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good work of literature. The book captivated me from the first line and as a Keralite, it has been quite refreshing to read about things that are familiar for once. Right now, I am reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. As far as I have read, the book is beautiful and interesting and I get the feeling that I would love the journey with this book.

The book ‘Before the Eighth’ is available online and at your nearest bookstore.