Interview - Amra Pajalic

Amra Pajalic's baaaack, ready and firing her answers for my pesky questions. Amra Pajalic is the Australian author behind the brand new release, The Good Daughter.

A Good Daughter hasn't been released as yet, what are your hopes for it's release?
That readers will respond to the world I created and find it a good read..

Your book has been reviewed glowingly by Melina Marchetta, Simmone Howell and Randa Abdel-Fattah. What was it like to see their beautiful words about your work?
I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. I still read the blurbs when I need a boost. These are writers I admire who have had successful writing careers and it made me feel a little more confident about my book reasoanting with readers.

Sabiha felt very authentic to me as a teen tiptoeing the line between being Bosnian and being Australian. How difficult was it depict Australian-Bosnian families being so close to the subject matter? How do you think they will feel about these characters?
There are certain aspects of TGD I found difficult to write about, her mother's illness for one. But the Bosnian side of it was fun to write. I enjoyed showing this world and our little peccadilloes. I hope Bosnians take pride in their literary debut and that it encourages other Bosnians to dream big.

I find Jesse to be an intriguing character, where did the idea for his homelife come from?
Jesse came from my subconscious. He was a sneaky character who somehow grew as I kept writing. I wanted him to have something in common with Sabiha, a secret they both shared and felt ashamed of.

Sabiha's interactions with her longtime best friend made her appear much younger and immature. Was that deliberate?
Yes it was. Sabiha and I both have a parent Bi Polar and this means you grow up way too fast so I wanted to counteract this seriousness in her character by showing her having the same issues as any other teenage girl.

You are giving a reading as well as speaking as part of the 'Growing Up Muslim in Australia' panel at the Reading Matters conference in May. Who are you excited to see speak at this event?
I'm excited to attend all the wonderful panels, and also have the opportunity to meet other writers and on-line friends who'll be attending this event. I'm also excited to be on the panel with Randa.

What are you currently working on?
I'm working on a sequel to The Good Daughter. I felt like I had so much more I wanted to do with the characters, but had to end the novel so I'm enjoying being back in their world.

Thank you to Amra for taking the time to answer my queries amongst the publicity whirlwind that she is currently caught in. On Friday, Amra's guest blog will be available for you all the peruse.