Today I’m pleased to be part of the book blog tour for The Pestilence by Faisal Ansari, this blog is hosted by Jenny of http://www.neverlandblogtours.weebly.com. My schedule is so full at the moment Im not able to read every book I get a request for. I do love participating in blog tours though, as I find new authors/books to read. While I wouldn’t have been able to read The Pestilence by the time it was my turn on the tour. Its definitely going on my TBR pile and once you read the blurb you’ll be adding it to yours. However, I do get a brilliant guest post written by faisal himself, describing how he became a writer
How I became a writer by Faisal Ansari
Two factors came together that enabled me to write The Pestilence. Firstly, for the first time in my salaried life I had the luxury of time. I had been working in the City for 16 years. It was physically and mentally challenging. The long hours meant you were away from the people who matter most to you. Looking back it was an excellent experience, but there wasn’t much scope for creative writing. The closest I got to being creative was trying to sneak inappropriate words into legal documents such as Listing Particulars. My favourite sentence was saying that a product had a “banal penetration” rate in a market. Then on the next draft of the document the “b” would mysteriously disappear. Unfortunately, I never got it past the lawyers.
I had got to the point where I felt I wanted to carve out some time to write, making time is the single most important thing for a writer. I was lucky enough to be able to do so.
The second factor was inspiration. On an ordinary London street I witnessed a man falling badly. He was old and frail, his face awash with blood. The shock of the fall caused his hands to contract and flex like my daughter’s the day she was born. I couldn’t sleep thinking of that man and his hands, always his hands.
I wished I could have taken away his pain. I wished I could have given him my strength. I wished I could have healed him. I got to thinking; what would happen if somebody did? What would happen if in this 24/7 news cycle a healer came from the east that could guarantee you a long life, free from injury, sickness and disease?
Over the next two weeks I wrote a 2,500 word short story about the healer. Writing it was a horribly painful process far harder than writing the actual book, it was something akin to passing a watermelon. I have documented my struggles in my Writer’s Diary. The finished story was raw, but it contained the main characters and was the genesis of The Pestilence.
About the Author
Faisal Ansari has spent the majority of his adult life strapped into a suit writing marketing and stuffy legal documentation for M&A transactions in the City.
Despite growing up in London, Faisal’s overwhelming preference is to be outdoors. When trapped indoors he reads until his eyes bleed.
The Pestilence is his first novel.
Links
http://www.faisalansariauthor.com/
Book description
“The little girl cupped her hands and whispered almost inaudibly into her father’s ear. “The Pestilence is coming. Everybody here is going to die.”
A mysterious electrical phenomenon rolls above the cities of the world. The lightning which comes from the east, shines as far as the west, turning night into day.
Two brothers of the lightning, Samuel Srour and Victor Pierre Chaput are gifted powers by the storm. Their paths intertwined, with enemies on all sides.
Samuel Srour has unwittingly started a revolution. His Healed walk the Earth. Free of injury, sickness and disease, but powerful forces stand in his way and the Pestilence is drawing ever closer.
Kindle
Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26846516-the-pestilence?from_search=true&search_version=service
Tour Schedule
25th – 31st January
Mon. 25th: Ali – The Dragon Slayer, Book Lover Worm
Tues. 26th: Nats Reading Cloud, Random Redheaded Ramblings
Weds. 27th: Book Review Café, Beauty Books and Babble
Thurs. 28th: Lil Novelist, Hans Book Reviews
Fri. 29th: Amanda Oughton (Best Crimes Books and More)
Sat. 30th: Bookabie, Sundays and Ink
Sun. 31st: Lynsey James, Postcard Reviews
The book review café 