An Interview with Sameera Anum - the Author of "Those Green Eyes"

While WRIPE - 6 book count is steadily rising, the Chief Organizer of this remarkable writing project invites one of his earliest participants, Ms. Sameera Anum, to share her unique writing experience in WRIPE - 2 and WRIPE - 6.

Q - Hi! Sameera! So nice to have a friendly chat this lovely evening! How are you doing?

A - Hi! Am doing great Chinthaka! Thank you for having me on the interview. How do you do?

Q - Great! I’m good! So how should I begin? First, what do your friends call you? Anum or just Sameera?

A - My friends call me Sam. You can call me Sam too, Please.

Q - Okay Sam! So … tell me how your writing life began! I guess you have a long history!

Well... My writing life started when I jotted down my thoughts as poems in school ... Later I wrote poems just for my own entertainment, not really bringing it out to any platform. Then I happened to come across this unique writing platform called Sweek, when I was seriously considering how to develop my writing skills. So...  that’s how I began to write. :) It’s nice to be able to put my thoughts into words. That’s a kind of freedom that I enjoy a lot.

Q - Sam, you started with writing poems in your school days. Can you remember some of the poems now? It must have been years ago… I hope I’m not putting you in a difficult situation ha ha!

A - Ha Ha .. no not really ... I wrote a one about Friends … hmmm … can’t remember it … ha ha.

Q - Hey, hey it’s okay! It’s okay! Maybe you would like to share with us a poem that you published in Sweek?

Sure. Dream Of The Soul is one of my earliest poems, that I also had published in Sweek. I will share the link here!

https://sweek.com/s/CgEBDA9sCAUFBwgJAwEFB2YCCA==/SameeraAnum/Dream-Of-The-Soul

Q - So … you started as a poet! Then what came your way? Thrillers?

A - Now let me think… No, not exactly thrillers but suspense, mystery …I would say. To be honest, my first fully written story was on sweek, until then I had only worked on poems. “Those Green Eyes” was the first story I completed. So I’ll say, mystery..

Q - “Those Green Eyes” ... wow, it immediately brought to my mind 1977 American television film directed by John Erman “The Green Eyes”. It won a Peabody Award and a Humanitas Prize, as well. No chance that your book is not based on that, right?

A -  Woah!! Am sorry! Am not aware of the film.. Am really bad at films. I don’t have much knowledge on films.  And , nope, my book is not based on that! It should be a weird coincidence. I’ll take a look at the Film anyways, right after I finish with this interview :)

Q - Sure! It was an interesting one. It was about a Vietnam veteran wounded both physically and psychologically. Released from a VA hospital, walking with a cane, he can’t find work and can’t seem to fit in. Then he finds a renewed sense of purpose by returning to Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to search for a Vietnamese woman he had loved and a child he fathered but never got to see. All he knows, thanks to a single letter from her, is that it’s a boy with green eyes …

Sorry dear, I was a bit carried away… So Sam After Poems in School, after poems and Mystery in Sweek what was your next big milestone in your writing life?

A - Hmmm.. Interesting story. I’ll have a look at the film later. And no issues.. I was inquisitive to know the story line anyway. Speaking about milestones … yeah … I guess WRIPE-2  was a big turning point in my writing life! It took me a great deal forward in my writing life. I got encouraged to write more stories after that. It gave me the confidence to actually start thinking about writing stories . I had many writing ideas before joining WRIPE-2  but until I actually joined it, it took a long time to literally put them on paper. But after WRIPE-2, I had got the push that I needed to start writing stories. However it was followed by nearly a year's break from writing. Then, suddenly one day I wanted to express my thoughts and I posted a poem online via my insta account. I had a lot of people connecting to what I wrote . So that was also another milestone to my writing life.

Q - WRIPE-2! Hmmm… our writers would like to know about that! I can explain it myself, but I would value your viewpoint more. What’s your idea about WRIPE-2, Sam? It was based on International Mother Language Day on 21st February 2018, right? Your entry was … er … Tamizh?

A -  Yeah! WRIPE - 2 was about Mother Language day which falls on February 21st each year. It was the first time that I even heard about such a day! It indeed was a brilliant idea to have had WRIPE - 2 supporting Mother Language Day. It raised awareness of our origins at a time when it was really necessary. Am glad that I had a lot to contribute WRIPE - 2. And yes, My mother tongue is Tamil. A beautiful ancient language which has a full grammatical structure formed two thousand years ago. But it’s quite sad to live at a time when English has taken over young generations (no offense to English, still..) so much that they tend to forget the value of their own tongue. Yeah, it’s good to have a Global Language like English for everyone’s convenience, but we should not forget our roots right? This applies to a lot of other languages as well. Not just for Tamil. And.. a day dedicated to raise awareness on a timely issue like that, and WRIPE - 2 supporting that cause, and most importantly I am participating in that! It was a wonderful experience!

Q - How did you come across WRIPES in the first place, Sam? Our writers will be interested to know.

A - Hmmm.. I came across WRIPES through a dear friend Chinthaka who has been doing a lovely job of encouraging many writers :) He introduced me to WRIPES couple of years back. The idea interested me, and I found it as an exciting way to express my thoughts on various areas that need attention but are less discussed and to participate in the awareness of those concepts, Like Mother Language back then and now Asteroids.

Q- After WRIPE - 2, you are now again taking part of WRIPE - 6 that focuses on World asteroid Day. How would you describe "If an Asteroid Falls On Chennai '' to someone who has not read any of your previous mini e-books?

A-   “If an Asteroid Falls On Chennai” is a book that expresses a basic concept of life- Survival. We have always fought against all odds to survive the most catastrophic events on earth. Time and again we have crossed such eras which has landed us to the present. This story revolves around one such time, While the world battles a universal attack, the people of Chennai have a different battle to face. Chennai has to face nature’s wrath on one side and in a sudden turn of events have to also face a fast approaching asteroid. The survival of life at a time of catastrophic danger is the essence of the book.

Q - OK! Any advice you can give to beginners to writing? Do you recommend WRIPES to anyone?

A- Definitely! All the beginners out there, you should participate in WRIPES. It gives you the space to explore your own talent and provide you a boost of exposure and to get to know the many talents of other writers that participate along with you. In addition to the help that WRIPE provide you, in a way it feeds food for your thought on many concepts that do need attention, which we may have not thought about otherwise. Err.. advice.. Only thing that I would love to share with anyone who is beginning their journey to write is that, Do it! Write It! Put it down on Paper! You can, I know you have thought about it umpteen thousand times again and again in your head, but are still hesitant. Just Go ahead and do it. Even if you think it to be a silly idea, You’ll never know your true potential until you start exploring it. So don’t hesitate to jot down everything that you want to say to the world.

Q - By the way, you have hobbies, Sam, other than writing?

A-Yep. Crafts ! I love to do crafts and sketch anime. Although I'm not a great fan of cooking regularly but off late I have discovered that cooking relieves stress. So I search for different kinds of cuisines and do my own twist, and bring out a decent dish for  loved ones. New hobby that I have come to enjoy! And of course along with writing comes a good deal of reading. So I also read a lot. I’ve got my own little library of books and am planning on expanding it in the years to come.

Q-  Reading is one of your hobbies … hmmm… What are you reading right now?

A- One of my recent reads is “Milk & Honey” by Rupi Kaur.  I only had a few glimpses of the first few pages which I loved a lot. So Milk & Honey” is on my to-read list next along with “Homo Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari. Both books interest me a lot.

Q- Are there any authors who you would name as influencers?

A- Reading is a habit that I had cultivated since childhood. My first influences were Nancy drew adventures. Obviously it had many authors writing them. But there is one particular book and one particular author who is very dear to heart. “Artemis Fowl” books by Eoin Colfer. I was in awe of the story and the way Colfer had pulled me into this magical, scientific underground world. It was one of the earliest books that had a great influence on me to start writing.

As for poems I had William Wordsworth’s poems as part of English classes which inspired me to write poetry. In recent times I really love Nikita Gill’s Poems. She did have an influence on me to get back into writing down my thoughts as poems.

Q- Which book most influenced your life?

A- As I had said Earlier, “Artemis Fowl” inspired the author in me. I remember that as a child I was awestruck and amazed by how an author can turn magic to science and make me believe that science. I pretty much believed that elves and dwarves exist. The ability of Colfer to keep me glued to the story and the thought of the amount of research that he would have done to give so much of scientific explanations simply impressed me.

Q - All right! So … time is running out I am afraid … before we wind up … what are your plans for the future Sam?

A- Firstly I’ve got a bunch of random poems written down, which I’d like to upgrade & add more to it and have a mini poetry book out of it.. This year has started off with a positive note for me, with WRIPE - 6 and all. I will be concentrating more on my poetry, prose and stories this year. Hoping for the best:)

Q - That’s super. Wish you all the best. Maybe our readers would be interested in contacting you … any social media presence, platforms or … emails, Sam? You live in Chennai, huh?

A- Yes . I live in Chennai, India. As of now , My social media presence is greatly restricted to a private account. Anyone can reach me on Sweek of course under the name Sameera Anum. I’m planning on having a dedicated insta account for all my writing works in the very near future, until that there is a private insta account@sameeraanum through which people can access me.