Despite having published an impressive number of books, this is the first time Andaleeb Wajid has brought out a completed series at once. Titled Jasmine Villa, this tri-part series published by Westland, traverses the lives of three siblings — Tehzeeb, Ana and Athiya — where each is the protagonist in their respective book.
“Jasmine Villa didn’t come to me as a series at first. I did want to write about three sisters and Tehzeeb’s story was fully formed in my mind when I started writing, but I didn’t know what was going to happen with the others,” says Andaleeb.
“I wanted to write about a girl from a lower middle-class family who marries into an upper middle-class family and how she deals with a different culture. It is about how she tries to make a place for herself there and not lose her individuality.”
Andaleeb Wajid | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“While I was writing the first book, One Way To Love, I realised how the second sister’s story would unfold,” adds the Bengaluru-based author.
Talking about where she draws the inspiration for her books, Andaleeb says it usually is, “the germ of an idea or an incident which starts building and expanding in my mind. I don’t let go of it, but I often forget where it originated.”
Andaleeb has always enjoyed being a storyteller. “In school, I would entertain the class with horror stories culled from black and white Hindi movies whenever the teachers were absent or delayed for a class.”
She recalls how her first short story was published in a local daily a few days after her first child was born and how with all the commotion they missed it altogether. “We didn’t know it had been published until someone showed it to us.”
Even with the challenges of being a new mother, Andaleeb continued writing “in quiet moments of sanity” and started developing lengthier works of fiction, eventually bringing out her first novel in 2009.
“It was a Young Adult novel, though back then we didn’t have that label yet. It was a coming-of-age story about a young girl trying to find direction in life.”
Andaleeb Wajid’s Jasmine Villa series | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Now, 40 books later, Andaleeb says her journey hasn’t been easy. “It takes hard work to not give up, to constantly write and not give in to the voice in my head that says ‘you’re no good’. Then I remind myself why I started writing — I write because I love writing.”
Even though most people look down on romance novels and popular fiction that doesn’t deter Andaleeb. “I hope my books encourage girls everywhere to ask for more from life, to not just settle. I write about relatable people in relatable situations and I believe my books bring a measure of entertainment to readers.”
The Jasmine Villa series certainly has its share of entertainment complete with sibling rivalry, pesky relatives, misunderstandings galore and happy endings for girls who dare to ask for more.
The Jasmine Villa series — One Way To Love, Loving You Twice and Three Times Lucky — is available online and in bookstores.
Andaleeb Wajid | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
