Sanctuary
by Zainab T. Khan
Release Date: December 19th 2015 (Pre-order Now Available. )

Genre: Young Adult, Short Story

Synopsis:

Sanctuary (n.) the protection that is provided by a safe place.

“And Sanctuary was the right word to describe our small town with its mouth-watering Pakistani fruits, Spain’s bullfighting, Italian pizzas, French artists, Indian spices, Korean kimchi, and Turkish delights. Because to every single one of us – a Pakistani, Spanish, Indian, Korean, French, Italian, and Turkish – it was a sanctuary. Our own safe haven. Our home with its different cultural styles yet with a culture of its own.”

A Prelude to The Interview:

One of the main reasons I am so excited for Sanctuary’s release is the fact that it is built on such a multicultural foundation and, if you know anything about me, you should know how much I love studying, reading, experiencing and talking about all things multi-culture related. As a double plus, plus for this book promotion event, I had the opportunity to interview Zainab T. Khan, the author of this lovely novelette. My quick Q & A is just below, but be sure to check out Sanctuary when it’s released on December 19^th and visit Zainab’s webpage.  ^___^

What’s was it that sparked your inspiration to write Sanctuary?

I’m a sociology student so it always strike me hard when I read about discrimination. It’s unfair. And I despise unfair things. So I tried to create a world (a town, basically) which had no discrimination of any kind, but mainly on ethnic grounds.

Were the stories in Sanctuary solo pieces that you put together, or were they always meant to be in a book?

They always meant to be in a continuous novel, despite its short length. It made more sense to have a multicultural town rather than writing solo stories.

What would you say was your favorite story from this book to write?
I loved writing about Italian wedding, Enrique and Giovanna’s. Also the masquerade ball.

Is there a character from Sanctuary, or any other book (that you’ve written or read) that you wish you could be friends with in real life? If so, why?
That’s a real difficult question. I’m not sure how to answer that. Just one person? Aw, man. Okay, it’s a tie, between Fern, from Making Faces by Amy Harmon, and Millie, from The Song of David by Amy Harmon. There is a long list of reasons behind my choice but I’m afraid if I start writing it down, the answer will turn into a lengthy essay.

What were some of the things you had to research before you began creating such a culturally infused town in Sanctuary?

Languages. Names. Their country’s specialties. And some of their traditions.

If different from the book, could you describe your ideal sanctuary?
Home. My ideal sanctuary would be home. It is my home. A sanctuary is described as a safe place. Home is one place where I feel nothing but at ease. So that’s my ideal Sanctuary. It’s all thanks to my parents and grandparents who turned house into a home, then home into a sanctuary.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Hello, you beautiful person.

The only thing you need to know about is my favourite book boyfriends (Yes, boyfriend(s), deal with it. We all have them.) Jesse de Silva, Maxon Schreave, and Flynn Rider (he’s a fictional character too) and of course Adrian Ivashkov. Oh, how I wish I could resist them. But, David ‘Tag’ Taggert has my heart. Sorry, you four gorgeous guys.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website |Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr

Thanks so much for the interview, Zainab! ❤  🙂

And thank you so much for reading. Until next time,

Gia.