In which this author introduces herself...
Hey hi hello! The last time I had a newsletter I was using TinyLetter (gone but not forgotten and dearly missed). Substack is completely new to me but I'm hoping it'll help me reach readers and fellow writers, because I do my best in a creative environment…and being a writer can be such lonely work.
Anyway! Let me intruduce myself – I'm Sumayyah (or Mayyah), and I'm a Muslim writer of fiction who occasionally dabbles in poetry. I'm based in Canada. I have my own website and co-run Sakina Literary Society. I used to be on Tumblr but no longer.
I plan to use this newsletter to share updates and excerpts on my various books-in-progress, my thoughts on different media (books, fanfic, TV, movies, music—really, whatever strikes my fantasy), discussions with you (if you're cool with me making it public), miscellaneous prompt fills, and whatever pieces of poetry I manage to produce.
As to my writing, here's a brief overview of what I’m theoretically, if not always actually, working on:
☆ Legends of Mourra Vol. 1: The Storyteller, The Djinn, and The Prince
Legends of Mourra is a Muslim-themed fantasy series of standalone stories. Volume 1 features a kidnapped prince, djinn, a lover of stories who joins the quest to rescue him, and a revenge plot decades in the making.
I draw inspiration from One Thousand and One Nights for Volume 1 and Aladdin for Volume 2, though the latter is nothing but a collection of ideas at this point. I mostly refer to this project as LofM because I didn't have a title until last year, and I've been working on this series for….15ish years.
☆ Oracle
A loose, isekai retelling of Alice in Wonderland and its sequel, featuring an oracle who isn't, an assassin who doesn't kill her mark, a usurper queen who was once a hero, and much betrayal. This is in the zero-drafting stage.
☆ Rivener
A post-apocalyptic fantasy featuring a woman with a destructive power, an enslaved wolf-shifter, and their run for freedom from the hunters who hound them. This is a complete novella but I'm expanding it with added backstory and plot.
If you're interested, I provide alpha and beta reading, as well as editing services (see my site). I also write fanfiction over on ao3 as songofswiftsunrise.
I hope you join me on my writing journey! I welcome all questions and comments and would love to hear what you're working on and/or reading. Or just to chat with you!
Until next time, happy reading and writing!