Interview with Aliya Leigh: A Look into the Writer's World By A Powers

StarBuzz Weekly, Toronto-
How did your passion for writing develop?
When I was young, my mother made my brother and I read classic novels and Shakespeare plays. She would always encourage us to read books, write essays and short stories. I always had a knack to tell the most boring stories with flair and excitement. I'm a big Edgar Allan Poe fan and by reading his stories, I got into the passion for writing horror and mystery.

What kind of writing do you enjoy?

Mystery and psychological horror. The mind can make a person see an event distorted, unreal or normal... but what is normal? That's the point. It's so amazing to me, how the mind works; it can make any story weird, insane and mysterious. I also love VC Andrews novels, even though each book ends the same way. VC Andrews brings the drama to life. Her stories are so wicked and drama driven, the reader can see the words come to life. Anne Rice brings out the darkness of a normal human being, which makes life real; we all have an evil side to us.

Can you tell me about Mystery?

Mystery is an adult novella which I can proud of. The story has heart, soul and how to survive the past. It deals with domestic violence, real love, fun, excitement, mystery, horror and survival.
The story came to me in a dream while I was going to school for Engineering. One of my classes was English and the class had to keep a journal. The story flowed on the pages of my journal as if I experienced domestic violence, pregnancy and true love.

Mystery is about a young black woman with crystal blue eyes, who needs to flee her violent boyfriend. She finds Jeremy, a playboy who needs a serious vacation and is planning to take a road trip to Las Vegas. Fate makes them meet in a diner in Pennsylvania. Jeremy meets the sad Mystery and invites her on his road trip with no strings attached. He falls in love with Mystery to the point he wants to marry her in Las Vegas. During the trip, Mystery becomes a mystery in her own skin and in the end, she needs to take her own journey, as she leaves Jeremy with a broken heart and a child.

How does this piece compare to your other work?
It has more heart and soul. It has feelings and you care more about the characters. In the story, it was like Mystery entered my body and wrote the story herself. The story doesn't fit in any category, which was so hard for my agent to accept. I mostly write young adult novels, but this was my first short adult novel, something out of my character.

One reason why Mystery has crystal blue eyes, is because my aunt from Denmark had crystal blue eyes and was killed by her husband. She never had the chance to see her two boys grow up and become married men, plus she never got a chance to meet her granddaughter.
This story was for her too. Domestic violence effects everyone.
The story is about how to deal with a bad situation, how to survive and see beautiful side of love, peace, trust and victory.

Why did you choose to publish Mystery on your own?
Mystery did not fit in any category and my agent didn't think it was commercial, meaning it would not sell to a mass market. For example, Eminem, Lady Gaga, and Dr. Dre can sell their music to a mass market because it's popular; while Enya and Loreena McKennitt aren't popular so their music won't sell to a mass market.

My agent knew my name won't carry the book because my name wasn't popular at the time, so I decided a long time ago to self-publish and to split the profit of the book to battered women shelters. Women need to know they can survive the past.

To read more: www.associatedcontent.com/.../interview_with_aliya_leigh_a_look_into.htm
Source: http://www.free-press-release.com/