Author Chat with Niloufar-Lily Soltani

I’m thrilled to have talented debut and fellow Inanna Publications author, Niloufar-Lily Soltani, on the blog today to discuss her new novel, out last week!

In exciting news, “Zulaikha” was highlighted by prestigious CBC Books as a Canadian book to read this fall. 🤩👏🇨🇦📚

I had the honour of reading and blurbing an early copy of this wonderful book. I hope you enjoy our chat and grab a copy of Lily’s book today.

Thanks for stopping by,

A xo

1. Tell us what your book is about!

Returning home from visiting her son in Holland, Zulaikha accidentally runs into Kia, an old family friend with whom she shares a past secret. This brief encounter at Amsterdam airport triggers Zulaikha to unravel the mystery of her missing brother, which has become like a cold case for years. Zulaikha is a woman from Abadan, a port in Khuzestan province in Iran, where most of Iran’s oil reserves are. The novel explores how living in that part of Iran has shaped Zulakha’s life, her relationship with her family, her love life, and her choices in tough times. Placed in undesirable situations that either others have created for her, or because of backward traditions, Zulaikha follows her intuition; she constantly moves and changes places in search of peace, safety, and, of course, love and joy.


2. What inspired you to write it?

My birthplace, Abadan, was the main inspiration. We moved to Tehran when I was two years old, but we spent many spring breaks or summers at my aunt and uncle’s places, which became my best childhood memories. My aunt’s husband was a senior National Oil Company employee, and my uncle was a worker who later left the oil industry. They lived not too far from each other, but the style of their houses, furniture, and how they lived looked so different to me. Right before the war, I lived in Abadan for a year, so that city stuck with me. I learned about my ancestors, Bakhtriai Lur, from my mother, and after I moved to Canada and raised my daughter away from all my family, I always wanted her to know about her roots and the birthplace of her parents. Everyone hears about Iran from the media, mainly about Tehran and not about its other parts. In addition, my longing to share the music, songs, and eight years of living in a war that feels like it’s being forgotten were all my motivations for writing this novel.

3. What was the most challenging aspect of writing the book?

I started writing this book bit by bit in 2008, fifteen years ago. Apart from the challenges I faced learning to write a novel in my second language, the story I had in mind covered a vast elapsed time of approximately thirty years, which is even difficult to do for an experienced writer. It was also challenging to figure out if I should change my Point of View (POV), and I wrote many drafts with different POVs until I figured it out. I can’t tell which part was most challenging technically. But I can tell that the most challenging part was emotionally. Writing and rewriting scenes that took me back to unpleasant parts of my past were the most challenging aspects of writing this novel.


4. What’s the best thing about being a published author?

So far, the best part is the support of other writers such as yourself Anita. Writers learn to grow a thick skin, facing unpleasant rejections or descriptions of their work. But then receiving support from other writers and my past mentors makes me feel who cares about the painful parts. I am still very new, and Zulaikha is being printed, so I am excited to see what giving birth to a book is really like.

5. What’s next for you?

I hope to soon receive good news from my literary agent about selling my new novel, Moon City, a literary crime/ noir mystery.

I have also completed a novella, a literary fiction with flavours from Gothics. I will begin submitting it soon.

I have a work in progress, too, which I am halfway through, and you never know, it can change where it’s taking me, but so far, it feels like a psychological crime novel.


6. Where can people find you online?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/niloufarlily/


X: @NLsoltani


Instagram: lsoltani_


About the Author:

Niloufar-Lily Soltani (Lily) is a literary and crime fiction writer and poet. Zulaikha, her debut novel, will be published by Inanna Publications in the fall of 2023. Zulaikha has been on the CBC Books to Read for the fall of 2023. A graduate of Humber Creative Writing, Lily lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada and works as a supply chain specialist in the power and energy sector.