The Heart of Aleppo by Ammar Habbib

The Write Way Café welcomes Ammar Habbib, an award-winning, best selling author who tackles serious topics with positive messages.

Tell us a little about The Heart of Aleppo: A Story of the Syrian Civil War.
Thank you for the interview! As the title suggests, this novel is set in the midst of the current Syrian Civil War. It follows a 13-year-old boy (Zaid Kadir) who is trapped in the city of Aleppo after it becomes a warzone. The book encompasses themes of humanity’s strength during the darkest times. The novel is definitely not politically powered, as it focuses more on the human aspect of the tragedies occurring in Syria. It’s told from the perspective of the young protagonist, which I think gives an extra layer of development to the story. Although the main character is fictional, everything that he sees and experiences in the novel is based on true events. It has done extremely well since its release in July 2018 in terms of its reception.

If The Heart of Aleppo was made into a movie, who would play your main characters, and why?
For this question, I honestly don’t have an answer. I am not very familiar with many Arabian actors who fall under the age of the main characters (who are all teenagers), so I’m not sure which actors/actresses I would pick.

Who is your intended audience and why should they read your book?
I think most readers would enjoy this book due to the contemporary topic, but it was written with the young adult audience in mind. However, I have gotten a lot of feedback from readers of all ages about the novel. I think that because of its relevant subject, most readers would connect with the story.

How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
I’ve been keeping up with the Syrian Civil War since it began several years ago. Hearing all the first-hand accounts, I wanted to write a work that would do justice to those who have been hurt or affected by the war. However, I wanted to keep the novel true to the people suffering from the war and keep the focus on them, not politics. That’s really how the idea for this novel began.

Who is your favorite character from your book and why?
My favorite character is the protagonist, Zaid Kadir. He’s a 13-year-old boy, and this book is very much his “coming-of-age” story. His character is very much based on me when I was a child, everything from his personality, physique, and internal thoughts. For that reason, I think I connected with him in a way I haven’t connected with any of my previous protagonists.

Tell us a little bit about your cover art. Who designed it? Why did you go with that particular image/artwork?
The artwork was created by my friend, Fiona Jayde. She is a freelance book cover designer who I’ve worked with for nearly all my projects. What I loved about this book cover is that it shows the themes of the novel. It displays the destruction that we see in the story. The burnt up soccer ball symbolizes that lost innocence of the protagonist, Zaid, as he journeys through the wrecked city. And the lighting effect where a small stream of bright light breaks the darkness shows the theme of how hope never dies as long as we hold onto it.

Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book or series.
One fact about this book is that it is very accurate to the events of 2012’s Battle of Aleppo. Everything that Zaid is faced with and witnesses is true-to-life. I wanted this work to show war from the perspective of a refugee, and I did a lot of research to keep the timeline of events accurate to what really happened. I think this all adds a layer of realism to the story that it would not have otherwise had.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
That’s a great question. I don’t have a mentor when it comes to my writing as of now. However, if I ever had the chance, I would love to learn from one of my favorite authors, John Grisham. I’ve always enjoyed his books, and I would love to pick his brain about storytelling.

Do you have any unique talents or hobbies?
Outside of writing, my unique talents would be my ability to daydream in any situation!

Do you have any tips for readers or advice for other writers trying to get published?
I’ve learned a lot about the industry over the past few years. What I’ve seen is that along with filmmaking, it is probably the most subjective industry out there. A writer may spend months perfecting their story, putting their heart and soul into it, staying up the whole night working on it, only for an editor to reject it with a short sentence of vague reasoning. That’s what can make the industry very frustrating.
     What I tell people who ask is that you need to write something that you believe in. Don’t worry about what others think about it. If you think it’s a great story and one that needs to be told, then write it! The other thing is that writers need to have thick skin. Editors and agents reject hundreds of works a day and critics give bad reviews all the time, so never take it personal. But if you believe in your work and did your best, then never let the opinions of anyone tear you down. Write stories that you’d want to read, regardless of what others say!

What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?
The biggest thing readers can do to help out an author is to leave a review after they read the work. Whether it’s a positive, neutral, or negative review, reviews left on Amazon, Goodreads, or personal blogs all help generate visibility for an author’s work!!

What can we expect from you in the future?
I’m currently working on 3 new projects (2 fiction and 1 narrative nonfiction). I don’t have release dates or official titles for any of them yet, but I hope to release at least one more novel in 2019!

After standing for over 7,000 years, Aleppo's ruin came overnight.

Separated from his family during the night the rebels attacked the city, thirteen-year-old Zaid Kadir is lost in the middle of a war zone. Alongside his friends, he is forced to survive the dangers of a civil war he does not even fully understand. Zaid witnesses the destruction of the brutal Syrian Civil War as it grows more deadly by the day and rips his city apart. However, as he braves this destruction, as he desperately tries to survive this catastrophe, he discovers something. Zaid realizes that it is in the darkest hours when humanity's spirit of hope burns brightest.

Amazon

Ammar Habbib is an award-winning & bestselling author originally from Lake Jackson, Texas. Writing has always been a passion of Ammar’s since he was in elementary school. Ammar enjoys crafting stories that are not only entertaining, but also have something useful to say to the reader. Ammar presently resides in his hometown. He lives with his family, all of whom are his biggest fans. To learn more about Ammar, please visit his official author website at: www.ammarahsenhabib.com

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