Being recognised was a bizarre experience

30 August 2006

Kia Abdullah

SHE may only be 24, but comparisons have already been made between Docklands author Kia Abdullah and the enormously successful Monica Ali.

She talks to us about her writing, arranged marriage and getting recognised on the Tube.

HER debut novel about what it's like to be an Asian girl growing up in east London has attracted comparisons with Monica Ali, but Kia Abdullah has no intention of being pigeon-holed.

When I met the 24-year-old from Limehouse, she was eagerly awaiting sales figures for her novel Life, Love & Assimilation, a fact-based fiction which deals with issues such as drugs, sex and the patriarchal nature of Bengali culture.

But Kia is not content to sit back and rest on her laurels, and has already started work on her second book, a crime thriller.

I asked what inspired her to change direction and explore a totally different genre: "It is risky, but the whole writing thing is a risk. I have only written three chapters so far, but it is going to be really interesting.

"The first book was all stuff that I knew about, but for this one I will have to do research into police procedures and things like that."

I wonder whether comparisons with Brick Lane author Monica Ali have made Kia, a web designer who graduated with a first class honours degree in computer science from London's Queen Mary University, try to distance herself from the Asian women's author movement.

"No, not at all," she says. "I said everything I wanted to say about Asian culture. I don't know what else I could write about. A large part of the first book is based on my story but I have told it now. It is natural to move on."

Comparisons with Ali, although flattering, actually made it difficult for Kia to get Life, Love & Assimilation published.

"When I completed the book I had no backing or agent and approaching publishers was difficult. They said it had already been covered or I didn't have a distinctive voice like Monica Ali.

"But I don't really see us in the same way because I am a second generation Asian, born and bred in east London."

Kia is a natural storyteller and I am fascinated by how much she has achieved with her life so far. I ask her if she feels famous yet, and she shakes her head.

"I did get recognised once, which was a bizarre experience. It was just after an article in the Evening Standard. A man was staring at me on the train and I probably gave him a dirty look or something, but then he asked me if I was a writer. He didn't know my name but said he had read about me. I was gobsmacked."

During the course of our chat we get on to the topic of Kia's impending arranged marriage, which was the inspiration behind her online blog entitled Young, Free and....Desperate?

The blog had a large fan base, many of whom are disappointed Kia has finally found Mr Right and stopped posting accounts of the unsuccessful challengers for her hand.

So why an arranged marriage? Kia tells me: "Asian people who know me are surprised I am having an arranged marriage but I felt ready for it and my parents were getting worried because most of my sisters got married at 21.

"Some people like to make a distinction between arranged marriage and introduced marriage, but it's the same thing really.

"I had two conversations with him before I agreed to marry. I had said no to an array of suitors, so I did have a choice in the matter.

"I don't have any regrets and I am happy, which is the best you can hope for out of this crazy process."

I suspect Kia will make a success of it, as she has with everything else. Visit Kia's official website at www.kia-abdullah.com.