1–What is the title of your latest release?
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A swoony second-chance romance inspired by Jane Austen’s PERSUASION, and set in a massive Muslim conference in Toronto, MUCH ADO ABOUT NADA follows 29-year-old Nada Syed as she comes face to face with her biggest regret when she bumps into her ex Baz and must decide how to move forward.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I grew up attending Muslim conferences, with 10,000 plus people all gathering to hang out, be entertained and to learn and grow together. They are fun, high energy, positive spaces, and serve as a meeting place of sorts. There is also a huge meet-up culture that takes place, which is fun too – arranged marriage matrimonials happening alongside serendipitous meet-cutes. Really, I’m surprised more books aren’t set in conferences!
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Definitely. Nada is fun, hilarious, and contains depths.
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Intelligent, guarded, loving.
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Every book wants to be what it wants to be, no matter what the author’s initial intentions. I originally started this book with the idea that I was writing a MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING meets PERSUASION type plot, but after over a year of drafting, it became really clear that the book wanted to be a PERSUASION-inspired story only.
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I always finish a full draft before editing. I need to know the whole story before I can go back.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Anything with caffeine in it. I’m also a big pastry and dessert person.
9–Describe your writing space/office!
Currently I share my basement office with a lot of random things, including my husband’s computer servers and his collection of comic books. Space is at a premium in my house, so I’m grateful I have an office with a door.
10–Who is an author you admire?
So many! Fatima Farheen Mirza, Ausma Zehanat Khan, Emily Henry, Sonali Dev, Anthony Horowitz, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Christina Lauren, Sarah Maclean, and about a few dozen more.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
I remember reading A SUITABLE BOY by Vikram Seth when I was in undergrad, and just being blown away not just with his beautiful prose, but by the way the stories were all interwoven, and by his large cast of characters. It captured a South Asian experience that I really resonated with – I grew up surrounded by so many people in my large extended family, and my large community. The themes Seth tackled were so warmly drawn, the characters felt like real people, and I appreciated that too.
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
This is my third novel, and it was the second book in a two-book deal, so there wasn’t a call so much as a deadline! Handing in a book to my editor always feels great though.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
It varies. I enjoy reading, period. What genre I read depends on my mood and what I’m writing. For the past few years, I’ve read a lot of romance, and lately I’m getting back into mystery.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
Don’t have one, but I’m a fan of 90’s romcoms.
15–What is your favorite season?
Fall
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I’m pretty low key. I go out for dinner with my husband usually, and I insist my teenage sons buy me something small. Other than that, some years I’ll also make plans with friends, or treat myself to a gift, but usually it’s not a big event in my house. If you’re a “birthday month” celebration type of person, know that I’m silently judging you!
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I love the Scriptnotes podcast, and lately I’ve been listening to Commotion, hosted by Elamin Abdelmahmoud on the CBC in Canada. I’m also a forever fan of Code Switch and Serial, and The Trojan Horse Affair was truly phenomenal. I enjoyed Ted Lasso, Abbott Elementary, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. As for books, there are so many! See authors I listed above.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Indian.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
I generally don’t have free time, which is something I hope to change. I teach high school, write novels, plays, and other things, and parent two teenagers with my husband, plus I have a lot of family and friends. The days are long, the years are short, and I’m in desperate need of a visit to a spa, or maybe a hobby. I’m open to suggestions!
20–What can readers expect from you next?
My next novel, THREE HOLIDAYS AND A WEDDING, will be out in late September 2023, and it is a multi-faith holiday romcom set in the year 2000, when Ramadan, Christmas and Hanukkah all took place within days of each other. I co-wrote this book with Marissa Stapley, a fellow Toronto writer and the author of Reese’s book club selection LUCKY.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NADA by Uzma Jalaluddin
A sparkling second-chance romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion…
Nada Syed is stuck. On the cusp of thirty, she’s still living at home with her brothers and parents in the Golden Crescent neighbourhood of Toronto, resolutely ignoring her mother’s unsubtle pleas to get married already. While Nada has a good job as an engineer, it’s a far cry from realizing her start-up dreams for her tech baby, Ask Apa, the app that launched with a whimper instead of a bang because of a double-crossing business partner. Nothing in her life has turned out the way it was supposed to, and Nada feels like a failure. Something needs to change, but the past is holding on too tightly to let her move forward.
Nada’s best friend Haleema is determined to pry her from her shell…and what better place than at the giant annual Muslim conference held downtown, where Nada can finally meet Haleema’s fiancé, Zayn. And did Haleema mention Zayn’s brother Baz will be there?
What Haleema doesn’t know is that Nada and Baz have a past—some of it good, some of it bad and all of it secret. At the conference, that past all comes hurtling at Nada, bringing new complications and a moment of reckoning. Can Nada truly say goodbye to once was or should she hold tight to her dreams and find their new beginnings?
Romance | Women’s Fiction [Berkley, On Sale: June 13, 2023, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593336380 / eISBN: 9780593336397]
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About Uzma Jalaluddin
Uzma Jalaluddin is a teacher and also writes a funny parenting column named ‘Samosas and Maple Syrup’ for the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper. Her debut novel is AYESHA AT LAST.
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