This week YA author Kazim Ali took over our Twitter as a part of our weekly Thursday Twitter Takeover. Kazim Ali is the author of The Citadel of Whispers. (See YEM’s interview of Kazim Ali here.) See highlights from the takeover below.
Hi everyone it's Kazim Ali @kazimalipoet, taking over @YoungEntmag twitter account until 3pm Pacific.
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
Send me you questions, thoughts about #CitadelofWhispers and/or #ChooseYourOwnAdventure
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
#CitadelofWhispers is my first YA book, an interactive book in the classic #ChooseYourOwnAdventure format, published by @chooseadventure. It's a new world, grounded in the myth and magic of India with inclusive representative characters. @KazimAliPoet #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
I wanted a fantasy with characters who looked and sounded like me. Krishi, Zara, Saeed, and Arjun are like the kids I grew up playing with, the adventures they had are like the ones I remember like Aladdin and Ali Baba and Sinbad the Sailor. @kazimalipoet #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
Every adventure story needs a good swashbuckling pirate– think Han Solo. In my book the pirate captain is a former Duchess who has escaped her oppressive life and sails the seas with only the wind and stars for company. #CitadelofWhispers #ChooseYourOwnAdventure @kazimalipoet
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
What's thrilling about writing a #ChooseYourOwnAdventure story is that you as a writer can explore all the different possibilities as well. It's not just a READER who makes choices, the WRITER makes them as well in the writing of the book itself! @kazimalipoet #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
My favorite fantasy series is the Dragonriders of Pern (even tho Anne McCaffrey said they were science fiction)– I loved the combination between heart-stopping adventure, political intrigue, romance, and the thrill of discovering a new world that still felt strangely familiar…
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
When I was 6 years old my uncle took me to see Star Wars (now called Episode IV: A New Hope) in the theaters. My favorite character was old Ben Kenobi. You cannot imagine how electrifying that first light saber battle was! @KazimAliPoet #YAauthorTakeoverhttps://t.co/stAQZtkp0i
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
In fantasy stories my favorite characters are the rogues– sometimes they're good, sometimes they're evil and sometimes they switch sides. You never know what they're really up to. @kazimalipoet #YAAuthorTakeoverhttps://t.co/r6nqmxiPnn
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
The #CitadelofWhispers was inspired by young activists who are working on issues like climate change, gun control and girls' education. In my book the children and young people are not "learning"; they already have knowledge and power of their own. @KazimAliPoet #YAAuthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
MAGIC in the #CitadelofWhispers is drawn from objects like rocks, trees, rivers, or even an iron hook. The way MAGIC works in a fantasy is a reflection of human's relationship to their environment. Do they "control" it? or is it a *collaboration*? @kazimalipoet #YAAuthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
Don't you also love a character who comes out of NOWHERE and surprises you with their heroism?! #CitadelofWhispers @kazimalipoet #YAauthorTakeoverhttps://t.co/Qzfj5EnNxR
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
The #CitadelofWhispers is inclusive of all gender identities and sexualities; the main character is written gender neutral so a reader can choose how they identify; there are trans characters as well as characters defying traditional gender norms. @kazimalipoet #YAauthortakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
I grew up reading @chooseadventure books and no matter what fantasy book I read or movie I saw I always wanted to BE the characters inside the story. @chooseadventure books give every reader that chance. I hope #CitadelofWhispers will be part of your journey. @KazimAliPoet
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) December 2, 2021
