~ Wish Upon A Time - The Legendary Scimitar ~

Who's Behind the Story?

noreply@blogger.com (Nabila Jamshed) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 20:49:00 +0000

Nabila Jamshed, the author, is nineteen years old and has indulged in creative writing from a very young age. Born on the 4th of January, 1988, she now lives in New Delhi and is pursuing an Honours Degree in Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. This is her debut novel, a fantasy narrative that is also, in many ways, a philosophy reflecting the circumstances of the real world. Nabila has written articles on subjects ranging from War to Revolution and Cricket, Literature and Morality for the newspaper Hindustan Times Next. She is an active debater, currently the President of the LSR Debating Society and was elected Head Girl of her school, Carmel Convent School, New Delhi. She was also selected for the year’s Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Award, a prestigious award given to 150 students from the top universities all over the world for academic excellence and proven leadership potential. Nabila has a passion for reading and is particularly interested in comic fiction, fantasy, international relations, religion, politics, symbolism, legends and lore. Apart from writing, she enjoys translating poetry from Urdu to English.

What's the Adventure All About?

noreply@blogger.com (Nabila Jamshed) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 20:35:00 +0000

Strange things begin happening to the protagonist Eyelash one evening – from seeing somebody else in the mirror to vanishing through locked doors only to find night has become day, in the blink of an eye. She finds herself transported to an entirely different level of consciousness. From the insane to the mundane, all is magic. And she can’t just wake up.

“Wish Upon a time – The Legendary Scimitar’ is a magical adventure fantasy about the world of everybody’s imagination. It is about a young protagonist becoming irreversibly embroiled in a quest that seeks not only to recover a powerful weapon from the world’s most dangerous mermen, but also to end a world war. The narrative flows at two levels – the microcosm of the character’s lives, their teenage tribulations, quirky sense of humour, and the sparkling magic of their island Euphortopia on the one side, and a dark and hidden subplot on the other. The novel is a colourful story – India’s very own big fantasy novel which is international in its perspective and is not bound by racial or geographic contexts.

‘Wish upon a time’ is a story of Imagination, the many secrets and quests it throws up for Eyelash and how she becomes part of a tale of underwater cities, sunken ships, aura enchantresses and world leaders with hidden designs, rhyming fabulists, Euphortopia and its Enchantathons, legendary scimitars, stolen airplanes, the World Parliament, indignant fairies, enigmatic towers and jade palaces, terrorists, flying dragons that serve as transportation, obsessive police genies and unicorns of the realm forest. An adventure that begins with the discovery of powerful magic from the past leads the characters deeper into the turmoil Imagination is in, till they uncover a conspiracy that threatens to plunge the world into darkness. An old legend returns to haunt the Jadestone dynasty through a seventh generation storyteller as they discover an object of terrifying power and Eyelash unwittingly finds herself submerged in the awe-inspiring adventure that transcends Imagination itself.

The novel is in the genre of adventure fantasy, but it is also a philosophy. Events of the story occur in ‘Imagination’, constructed of the thoughts of people in the real world. Imagination is no more than ideas that have taken the shape of a parallel universe and it is in this surreal world that Eyelash, the protagonist, finds herself.

The novel also raises questions about conflict, international and internal, and answers them from the perspective of a young mind which can see the simple logic behind peace. In pursuing the forces of evil, Eyelash and her magical comrades encounter and oppose war, terrorism and violent ideology, issues confronting citizens of the future all over the world today. The story in its many twists and deliberations and finally in the larger-than-life climax, does much to answer some of these questions and establishes conclusively, the validity of non-violence.

The Launch - 24th June 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Nabila Jamshed) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 06:35:00 +0000

"Wish Upon A Time - The Legendary Scimitar" was launched yesterday, the 24th of June, 2007 at Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre. Present to launch the book were renowned author Ira Pandey, celebrated dancer Shovana Narayan, Principal of Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, Meenakshi Gopinath and Principal of Carmel Convent School, New Delhi, Sr. Nirmalini. The occasion saw an audience of nearly 160 people - a full house!

Wish Upon A Time will now be available in bookstores for everybody. So grab a copy now!