Mubaraka had vowed long ago to sail on the boat of life without worrying about the destination. Whether she reached the beach smoothly or the waves crashed down upon her, it was all left in Allah's Hands.

Everything was going smoothly for her. She had an amazing family that never let her smile falter and kept her happy and thankful.

Surprises never come with warnings, though.

She had already given a piece of her heart to someone who had no idea about it. But things don't always go as they are planned, and Mubaraka finds herself in a position where her other half is someone she never imagined, her life is going in a direction she never expected, and her faith is elevating more than she ever thought it could.

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1. {Selcouth questions} Were you always an avid reader or writer?

{Hope answers}  I wasn't always a writer, though I can't say that about being a reader. Books have been my favorite pastime since ages, and no matter what, I always have a book or two to read. I recently started writing on Wattpad, besides school work, though :P

  2. {Selcouth questions} How did you get the idea for your book-A Dil for You?  

{Hope answers} I'm not exactly sure what lead to my book existing on Wattpad :/ After a few months of being a silent reader, I was getting impatient to write my own book. 

I had a few ideas in the beginning and together they morphed into something VERY unusual. The book that rests in your libraries (maybe) had to go undergo a lot of transformation to become what it is today. In concise words, I don't know :P

  3. {Selcouth questions} Is the theme or protagonist, of your book, related to you or your life? 

 {Hope answers} Not in a really evident way. Everyone, from Maha to Fatima, is purely fictional. And saying the protagonist, Mubaraka, relates to me, is a wrong way of putting it. 

I don't know how, but through writing her character I discovered my OWN fear of attachments. As for the theme, it revolves around how you should never lose faith even if you've lost something or someone very dear to you. 

I've faced that a lot in life, and even though I've come to accept it alhamdulilah, there's some leftover baggage and that made it's way into the book :)

  4. {Selcouth questions} Who inspires you to write? 

 {Hope answers} I've seen a lot of negativity around myself, in the people surrounding me, in my own self as well. 

I want to show everyone the beauty of Islam; it is the best religion that ever existed, and I think that if people followed it correctly, half our problems and worries would be eliminated, given a lot of them stem from being far away from Islam. That said, I admit I may not be able to portray it the best way in my book, but I'm trying. 

Other than that, the fact that we can let go of the rope of hope so easily when things don't go our way is a huge thing, and it can take us far away from Allah with hopelessness and hatred. I've seen it myself. I want to prove trusting Him in these times is the best thing you can do :)

  5. {Selcouth questions} In the near future, do you have plans to take your writing, to a new level? 

  {Hope answers} I think I'll focus on my studies :) writing is a big platform for me and while I do sometimes dream of publishing, it seems far away right now, like marriage is really far away for Mubaraka. LOL xD

 6. {Selcouth questions} How does it feel, to be the winner of The Spice Awards?

 {Hope answers} It feels amazing, subhanAllah! I was​ literally crying when I saw my name there and the feeling was just indescribable. It's not the first time I've won something on account​ of my writing but it definitely does feel so :)

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Thank you Hope, for taking time, out of your schedule, in order to answer this interview.