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Lisa Selby
ShahSight Hello Shah, Welcome to your website ShahSight. You have interviewed many authors, including myself. You have also interviewed yourself. I thought it would be a good idea to have someone else interview you. So it is my pleasure to be able to do so. You are the author of "The Interpreter" please tell us something about your background so we can understand you better as an author.



Shah Sight Thanks Lisa, it's very kind of you, and it's appreciated. My full name is Shah Wali Fazli, I was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. After finishing my school, I went to university, studying medicine. But the Mujahidin and after them the Taliban took over Kabul and things went from bad to worse and the worst not only for me, but for the whole country. It's a long story, and both my books, The Interpreter, and Running from Life, is about the Afghanistan war.

Lisa Selby What made you want to become an author?

Shah Sight I think it is my job, and the way I have lived my life, full of adventures, full of tragedies, full of accidents and full of dramas one after the other, I haven't lived a normal life, Lisa, I have always been in danger, and that made me write about what I had seen in my life.

Lisa Selby Other than school realted projects had you ever written before as a hobby?

Shah Sight No, Lisa, for me hobby didn't exist much, you can't have hobbies in a country like Afghanistan, you can only think of survival, you can only think of how to make things safe for you and for your family. I was born in middle of a ongoing war in our country.

Lisa Selby What was the first thing you wrote? Was it "The Interpreter"?

Shah Sight I first wrote Running from Life in the Dari language, The Interpreter is my second book.

Lisa Selby Why did you decide to write "The Interpreter'?

Shah Sight When I was writing the interpreter, I thought of so many other names, until I came up with this name. After I wrote Running from Life in my native language, I got the confidence and I started writng this book. The main reason was to make a living out of writing, if possible, let's see if I can do that.

Lisa Selby For those people who might be unfamiliar with the book can you tell us briefly what it is about?

Shah Sight Thank you so much Lisa, of course, I would love to. The setting is in Helmand, Afghanistan. The story is about an Afghan interpreter working with the American forces in the Sangin district of Helmand, one of the most dangerous places in the world. His job is to go on patrols with the forces, to connect the soldiers with the local Afghans, and also with their Afghan partners in different parts of Helmand. Mullah Aslam, the Taliban commander, looks at Shabir, the interpreter, as an infidel and he is after him all the time -- to capture him and then behead him, as he manages to behead many interpreters in Helmand.

Lisa Selby Shah, it sounds fascinating! What do you hope your readers will get out of your book "The Interpreter"?

Lisa Selby Waht message are you trying to send?

Shah Sight Thanks, Lisa, I have said it a few times before, and I love to say it again that when I was writing this book I so much hoped that the war would be over by the time my book comes out. People who have read The Interpreter know what this book can offer. There is a lot to learn about the war and complexities of this war in our country. It's written in a way to make the readers wonder, guess, and ask themselves a lot of questions, and then get their answers in the next chapter or page. There is a lot to learn in this book, about Afghanistan, it's people, it's culture, it's beautiful nature, and also why NATO is and should be in that country.

Lisa Selby Shah, I think this book, "The Interpreter" will answer a lot of people's questions regarding this war and what is really going on over there, instead of what people see on the news. Do you see the current situation in Afghanistan getting better or worse in the future, especially after the US troops leave?

Shah Sight Good question Lisa, I so much hope that things get better for our people, as they have suffered so much. Now the US and the Afghan government are in talks with the Taliban, and the Taliban are ready to join the peace process and give up with this war, that is the only hope for us. But if the Taliban continue fighting in Afghanistan, and the neighbouring countries continue with their support of the Taliban, things will be the same for years to come.

Lisa Selby Shah, I only hope that things will get better in your home country. In the meantime, are your working on any other books? If so what are they about?

Shah Sight I am editing Running from Life, and only thinking of writing a sequel to the interpreter, because I had promised to myself if ten people liked the interpreter I would write the sequel, and I can tell you that more than ten people have approved my first book in the English language.

Lisa Selby Shah, I am sure that once more people learn about your book that they will want to read the sequel to "The Interpreter" as well as "Running From Life". I want to thank you for allowing me to interview you. I have found it fascinating, informative, and very enjoyable. I wish to ask you one last question. How can we purchase your book? Is it online, in the bookstores?

Shah Sight Online, you can buy it nearly every where, on Amazon.com and .uk, and on Smashwords, Barnes and Nobles, and many other sites, just type my name and the name of my book, that is it. But in the shop you have to order it, I don't think it physically exists in the shelves, which is a pity. I only add one link here to make sure people can see the book.http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/103817
The Interpreter - Special Military Edition, an Ebook by Shah Wali Fazliwww.smashwords.com
‎'The Interpreter' is the story of Shabir Khan, an Afghan interpreter working with the American NATO forces in the Sangin district of Helmand, one of the most dangerous places on earth.

Lisa Selby Shah, Thank you very much for granting me this interview. It has been most enjoyable and informative. I wish you nothing but success on your books and your writing career. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me. I also hope that the Afghanizatin poeple can soon live in peace. Thanks again for joing us on ShahSight.

Shah Sight My pleasure, Lisa, it was great to be with you on this interview, thanks for having me.


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http://www.facebook.com/groups/172815576157607/174764999295998/?notif_t=like

Deborah Logan Just bought The Interpreter

Thanks. I just bought The Interpreter to continue my education about Afghanistan.

Transformed during an enchanted journey, Lushina children try out their dreamed identities. On Halloween, the wayward Sadie leads her friends past cardboard cut-outs at a house on Windward Road. A wall mural transports them to a star where their costumes become real.

As Fortuneteller, Sadie only has to look in her crystal ball to help the others with their transformations. Children make up a bizarre community of star people and adventures. When Mistral's woman friend finds her star-of-sapphire necklace missing, a treasure hunt ensues in the latter chapters of this madcap fantasy.


Get free  with the coupon at Smashwords: PB55U 
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/74942 

Buy here on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/House-Windward-Leaves-ebook/dp/B005BYETAW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326837960&sr=8-2 

Had he known that the men of this world would one day abandon their peaceful ways for violent conflicts over the land, the elder would not have encouraged his kinsmen to come to Earth and settle within it as their home. They all would havepreferred oblivion. After all, the very reason they left their own planet was to avoid the death and carnage from constant retreats into their past where they had to repeat every event in their history, including the wars exactly as they originally occurred, in order to avoid extinction. The governors called them cowards, separatists, even anti-patriotic before they exiled them to the remote and unforgiving land to live among those who were originally criminals and now reformed and defiant like them. Former thieves and murderers, twice found guilty, one verdict wrongly so, had refused to repeat their crimes in order to keep the future the same. 

The elder and those exiled with him were former soldiers, condemned for refusing to fight again, in sanctioned efforts to preserve posterity. They considered themselves revolutionary heroes, and instead of dying a slow death from the harsh climate, they fled. Most of them, upon seeing the planet earth from afar before they entered its atmosphere, had chosen the water for their element and home for it was the bulk of this world, glowing blue from space with a single, massive stretch of land, green on the edges and brown on the interior. Others waited to make their choice until they arrived, and once they did, the new tickling sensation of the growth of plant life drove the next largest group into the land. Some preferred the wind whistling gently in a playful dance in some places and roaring powerfully in others. 

The single continent extended almost entirely from the southern to the northern ends of earth, but the first human inhabitants had lived only in small, clustered villages in the central lands for years before expanding into organized villages, and there were others isolated on the only island to themselves. It took much longer on this planet the second time, for life forms other than their kind to develop, so when the first microbes made the waters their home, the excitement began at the shores where the water and earth teamed with the wind and embraced in waves along the seashore. They had forgotten to spread the news to their kinsmen, the fires of the mountains in this world, so the wind whistled north the great news to the fires who preferred a quiet slumber. When awakened, they came running down the sides of the mountains with flames erupting, as the wind ran along with them. There was already plant life in the waters and the land. Now there were microbes in the water. One day there would be men, again.


From The Elements - Book I Copyright 2011 All Rights reserved by Talitha K. McEachin  http://www.facebook.com/theelementsbookI?ref=ts 

David stood alone outside the ship, and although he knew it was too late to change his mind, he wondered how things would have been had he decided to stay on Valdorion. Then he thought of Mary and knew that if anything happened to her because he didn’t go home, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. He turned and was about to step onto the ramp when he heard her voice come from the darkness behind him.
“Who are you?” she asked. 
He slowly turned around. As dark as it was in the tunnel, he could still make out the features of her face. Slowly, Mary stepped from the tunnel into what little light the silo had to offer, and then pointed her pistol at him. He had rehearsed the things he would say to her dozens of times, but now that she was in front of him pointing a pistol at him, he was at a loss for words. 
Above him, David could hear the sound of hydraulic pumps and the high pitched whine of motors moving one of the ship’s gun turrets into position. He knew that Legionnaire already had his crosshairs on Mary. He took a step toward her and looked back up the length of the battle cruiser. Holding up his hands, he desperately shouted, “Don’t fire!” 
Mary paid no attention to the heavy weaponry on the ship. She took a step back and continued to point the gun at David. “Why are you doing this?” she cried. 
When David tried to speak he couldn’t find the words. Demanding an answer, Mary shouted, “Why?” 
David fought back a tear and tried to hide the fact that his heart was breaking. He masked his sorrow with a face of anger. “Because I have to.” 
Suddenly the lights in the tunnel came on and spilled out into the silo. Casey and five troopers took their places behind Mary. The old security chief held the letter that David had left him in one hand and placed his other hand on his daughter’s shoulder. While speaking to his daughter he looked at David with a look of regret in his tired eyes. “He has to go, Mary. You have to let him go.” 
Mary looked back at her father. He held the crumpled letter tightly in his fist. With tears and questions in her eyes, she turned back to David. He had taken a step back and now stood at the edge of the ramp. The hard look he used to hide the pain of his breaking heart softened, but before he would let her see the tears that welled up in his eyes, David turned and ran up the ramp into the empty darkness of the ship. Once inside, the hatch closed and sealed shut behind him.
Mary began to weep. She turned to her father and for the first time since her mother’s death, he took her in his arms.
While standing in the airlock Darkblood watched through the porthole in the hatch as the troopers escorted Casey and Mary back into the tunnel. When the countdown began, thick slabs of tempered steel and concrete slid into place and sealed the tunnel off from the silo. 

Shah Sight

‎Gordon Mathieson, Thanks for your participation in our author interview, we are so pleased to have you with us today. You may want to tell us a little bit about yourself, and also about what you are writing at the moment. We know a little bit about your previous works from here and there, but we love to know about them from yourself, how are they doing, and what are people saying about them? Where can we buy your books, please?

Gordon Mathieson I have written and published 6 books. I have been both mainstream published and independent. My genre is generally Mystery. I have one spy thriller THE COLOR of ICE, a tension filled story between CHINA and the US. It is now a feature film screenplay which I will be pitching to movie producers.

Gordon Mathieson My next book will be my third in my Becky Bing mystery series, the MIssing Winner. THis follows HOOK ISLAND, and SUMMER GAMES featuring a teenage Chinese American. THis amateur detective solve cirmes like the older classic Nancy Drew books, but with contemporary technnology, her feisty pesonality, and bright determination. WHat makes these books special besides the storyline is that I use Mandarin in some of the dialogue (with English translation) to encourage readers to know about the CHINESE language----something I has studied at Yale University. I am encouraged by the sales and feedback of the Becky Bing series and have written a film/TV pilot screenplay for HOOK ISLAND. I will be releasing MISSING WINNER this spring. I look forward to promoting my books on sites such as yours and helping others to do the same.

Shah Sight Can you provide us with some links where we can buy your books please, it will help the readers?

Gordon Mathieson My website is www.gordonmathieson.com where I personally autograph copies for readers. In addition books are available on AMAZON in US, UK Germany, France and Italy. I now have HOOK ISLAND availble on KINDLE.


Shah Sight Gordon, it was a great joy to have you here with us, we really appreciate your time, and we hope to have the pleasure of meeting you again soon.

Shah Sight

‎Kim Asher, I know you live in Australia, but I don't know where about, do you want to tell us a little bit about it, and I also know that you have ordered many copies of my book The Interpreter for yourself and many friends, can I ask you why you got interested in this book, and why in that extend that you have ordered many copies, tell us something about it, we would love to know?


Kim Asher Blimey - this answer could take aaaaages! I live in Melbourne, which is the capital city of the state of Victoria, which is in the south-east part of Australia. 7 or 8 months ago I met my first Hazara refugee (who was an interpreter for the allies back in AFG) and since then the number of Afghans (particularly Hazaras) in my life has exploded! A particular group of my Hazara friends were all interpreters, which is why they became refugees and came to Australia - a very long and dreadful trip that tends to involve a lot of danger, a lot of ill-treatment and imprisonment in Indonesia and Malaysia, frightening and dangerous boat trips, then the agony of uncertain futures and a complete lack of information and months turning into years in detention camps here in Australia.


Kim Asher I now have a Hazara housemate that I met on Facebook through my other mates - he is very young, has no idea where his family is and calls me "mum". :) He got out of camp 2 months ago and we took him in and take care of him and make sure he had a family and friends and as good a future as we can help with.

Kim Asher I am also trying to help one of the interpreters get out of Curtin detention centre (the camp all my boys came through), which is in the far north-west of Western Australia. It is in the middle of nowhere, he has been there for 2 years after spending 6 months in an indonesian prison, after spending 2 weeks on a boat that was MEANT to go to Christmas Island, but actually limped back to Indonesia after getting lost and running out of food and water.


Kim Asher He is very traumatised, very ill, very depressed and very sad. He received his "positive result" 11 months ago - meaning the government announced "we believe you are a genuine refugee" - but he is still there and no one will tell him anything. It's disgusting. He has family in Perth, which is several hours' flight south of his camp, but they will not let him go there to be closer to his family. It's wicked what we have done to him.


Kim Asher Anyway, I am fighting for his rights, to get him moved, to get him freed, but we have no idea what is going to happen.


Kim Asher Also, the closest restaurant to my house is an Afghan restaurant. Through the restaurant, we met an Aussie guy who works for the Australian military and who will soon be training members of the Afghan military. He studied Dari and Farsi in 2011 and is now fluent in both.


Kim Asher It is him that I lent my first copy of your book to. :} He is now studying overseas and I don't know where the book is. I'm not fussed - I've ordered 2 more so that I can read one and someone else can read the other. I would like to see what my Afghan interpreter friends think of it - reading it could be good therapy for them, or good English practise and study, or both! :)

Kim Asher I am interested in the book because I want to know as much as I can about the lives of my friends and about how things are over there in AFG.


Kim Asher As a feminist (observing the Taliban, women's rights and women's problems) and a very loud critic of American foreign policy and American military invasions, etc, etc, I have been watching Afghanistan for a long time and meeting all the Afghan guys has been an amazing opportunity to find out as much as I can from Afghan people (not just the media) and to try help them as much as I can in order to undo the damage various governments in several countries have done to them. It also helps me to help them because I feel so guilty about what our government policies (which exist in the form that they do in order to appease the most stupid people in Australian society) have done to them.


Shah Sight Kim, it was lovely to get your answer, I appreciate your time, thank you so much.

Kim Asher Khahesh mikhonam, azizam. :) My pleasure - I look forward to actually _reading_ the book when it arrives again! :D Thank you for writing it and for spreading the word and helping outsiders understand what goes on in AFG.

I hit and kick everything until I realise that I am wasting my time, then I get hurt, and that is how I practice getting hurt, so I hit and kick things again, and again and again ...