Mason Student Self-Publishes Novel

By Broadside Correspondent Caylee So

Sunny Naasiri studied in the New International School of Thailand at Bangkok before moving to the United States at age 14. Bangkok was crowded, much to his dislike. The city was full of people and buildings, the opposite of any world he would ever admire.

Naasiri recalls being an introvert; living inside his mind more than interacting. It was then, in those years, he began to imagine a more peaceful world, a world full of more natural surroundings. Naasiri began reading R.A Salvatore’s Forgotten Realms series. Salvatore would later become his favorite author; his fantasy novels would influence Sunny to create his own world, his own stories.

At age 16, Naasiri put pen to paper, and crafted his own dreamscape called Merolas, creating his team of heroes—the Crusaders of Hope who seek to recover the Pearl of Kalimar from the realm of Smarngul, defy the immortal Hapdemir, and unlock mysteries that will save their civilization.

The journey to complete this story took three and half years. In August of 2008, while still a senior at George Mason University, Nassiri self-published and released his own novel to make his dreams come true. I sat down with Sunny to ask a few questions.

Broadside: Do you remember the moment when you said to yourself “I want to be a writer?”
Naasiri: The moment was particularly quite vivid. Initially, I started off writing as a hobby. I really didn’t want to become published, but my ambitions grew to the point where I wanted to tell the world one day that I have a really strong imagination.

Broadside: At what age did you begin writing as a hobby?
Naasiri: [I was] 16. Creative writing has been my passion. I agree with Albert Einstein’s concept that “imagination is more important than knowledge.” I wanted a career that emphasized freedom.

Broadside: What is the toughest or most challenging thing about writing this book?
Naasiri: When you write, there [are] a lot of hurdles that you must triumph over. One of the things for me would be character creation. You want to create heroes that inspire people, characters that are dynamic so that readers may be more captivated in reading them. But I would say the other big challenge that I have would be plot. With plot, there is always the option of revising. To be on a particular scene, and in your mind you tell yourself this is really awkward. The Final Crusade had a lot of that because initially it was kind of a role-playing game story. It was really scattered in the beginning. I really didn’t have a focused plot. I really had to delete a lot of scenes I had. It wasn’t a masterpiece at all.

Broadside: Is there a routine, quirk or unusual habit you have when you sit down to write? Like for me, if I were writing a scene where my character was at a club, I’d turn on club music and get myself into that whole club scene or mood.
Naasiri: On the contrary, I don’t have any quirks myself. I have to be very focused when I write. Nothing can distract me. Whenever I write, I would be physically detached from the outside world.

Broadside: Tell me a little bit about the self-publishing process and why you chose that route.
Naasiri: That’s a really interesting question. Traditional versus self-publishing, I didn’t really know the difference. All I wanted was to get my book out there without having to face rejection, but I’ve learned that self-publishing can be tough on making money. The small company doesn’t go out there and promote your book.

Broadside: Any advice for future writers?
Naasiri: Write what you’re passionate about.

Broadside: If you were stranded on an island and can only take one book with you to read over and over again, which book would it be?
Naasiri: My book.

To learn more about Sunny Naasiri’s new novel or to buy a copy, visit www.thefinalcrusade.com