Beach author Salma Hussain’s new book It’s Not Over Yet ventures into young adult fiction
By JESSICA SHACKLETON
Beach author Salma Hussain’s new book It’s Not Over Yet is set to be released this week.
It’s the local author’s first foray into young adult fiction after previously writing a middle-grade book.
Hussain was connected with a literary agent and a two-book deal back in 2020 through the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) Pitch Perfect Contest.
“The first one I wrote was easy. It’s funny; it’s very lighthearted,” she said of her books. “This one is also funny; I like to have funny books, but it’s also heavy and deep.”
It’s Not Over Yet follows 15-year-old Wali Khan, whose life is turned upside down when he discovers he has a benign brain tumour. The looming surgery is just another thing to worry about along with starting a new school year. The book talks about surgery, illness, recovery, anxiety, and anticipation as well as featuring strong East Toronto connections.
Wali’s character lives in East York with his Christian mother, Muslim father, and older twin sisters. His home and school are off the Danforth, but he comes to the Beach for therapy appointments.
“I liked playing with a kid who feels like he loves the city, but sometimes feels alienated from it,” said Hussain. “If you’re a young person growing up in Toronto, you belong to the world and are open to inviting and embracing different parts of the world to make up your identity.”
Hussain’s first book, The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan, was published in 2023, and was a different mindset than writing young adult fiction (YA).
“I never thought I would be writing for YA, but I think the story comes out for me in the voice and character it wants to come out, so the first one was in the voice of a young girl who had immigrated, and she was going through puberty, very similar to what I’ve gone through. This voice came out in a teen boy, and he was young,” she said.
“Each story demands something else, and I’m not trying to be too afraid of doing what I want to do.”
Hussain pointed out that in the publishing industry, authors are often told to choose a niche and stick to it. Readers will come to expect formulas from authors, and publishers know these books will sell. Authors become synonymous with genres and tropes, and can find it difficult to branch out once they’re committed to one.
To that, Hussain said: “That’s nice, but you know what, I’m still emerging, I can play around, dabble, do what I want, so I don’t feel restricted. I’m letting myself be open, and I don’t feel the need to say, ‘Must write romantasy only, must write vampires’. Luckily, there’s space for so much voice and experience. So I’m just trying to have fun with it.”
She character names have been easy to come up with so far, and her editor suggested the title for It’s Not Over Yet, as she was struggling to come up with one.
Hussain was a lawyer before she started writing books. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in creative writing and a law degree from the University of Calgary, and a Master of Laws from McGill University.
“I think most of us, women especially, working women, mothers, anyone who’s been through illness, are in a process of pivoting and reinvention. We’re in new times; we’re seeking new things,” she said. “Writing was always something I enjoyed, but it was always for fun. I didn’t think I’d have the discipline or prolific word count to write novels.”
Once she had to sit and reinvent herself, the words started to come.
“I’m doing it for the art and for the craft, and part of it is reinventing narratives for myself. It’s an art form; it’s like dance or painting; it’s incredibly healing and cathartic, and I just feel very lucky that I’ve found an agent who’s very supportive and I have an editor who is supportive,” said Hussain.
She said her writing process starts with the “vomit draft”, where she just writes what comes to mind without worrying about whether it’s any good.
“For me, I like to see momentum and speed, and I’m kind of impatient, so my advice to everyone is just to write a skeleton draft for the book. Have the beginning, have an ending you’re working towards, and put some stuff in the middle. Just vomit it out so by four or five months later, you at least have a skeletal draft of something,” she said. “It’s going to look terrible, it’s not going to make sense, you’re going to cut a lot of it, you’re going to rework it, but at least you’ll be able to say you have something.”
Hussain said she works in spurts and will take time off writing after being fully immersed in the process. She reads and reviews books a lot as well and said that keeps the writing juices active.
“It’s something I really enjoy because I feel it’s very challenging. So I’m writing every day, but I’m not forcing myself to write on my project,” she said. “I write for fun; I journal, do reviews, interview other authors.”
Since she’s ventured into YA, Hussain said another book in the genre she recently enjoyed was Ramin Abbas has MAJOR Questions by Ahmad Saber, also set in Toronto. Hussain is excited about the new stories being told and written.
Her other advice to budding writers is to enjoy the writing process and the rest of life. Though she likes reading darker stories, her two books so far are generally focused on being lighthearted.
“I would like to edge more into funny and dark, but still maintaining joy through the process. I don’t want to be a writer who suffers terribly for my art. I think there’s a time and place for that, but the time and place I’m in right now, I want it to be a joyful experience,” she said.
It’s Not Over Yet is published by Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and comes out on Oct. 13. It is available through all major booksellers.
A book launch is taking place on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Nuts & Shells Bookshop, 1596 Dundas St. W., from 2 to 4 p.m.
For more on the book, please visit https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/688072/its-not-over-yet-by-salma-hussain/9780735271555 and check out Hussain on Instagram for updates at @salmahussainwrites
