Birmingham Adult Education Service had the privilege of welcoming Nargis Darby to our latest Meet the Author event at Brasshouse Centre on Tuesday 24 October.
Nargis Darby, a local author who has overcome incredible odds read extracts from her new book A Different Shade of Love, discussed its plot and themes, and answered questions from learners.
Born in London and raised in areas around Birmingham, Darby spoke to our learners about her personal life, as she drew a great deal of inspiration for her novel from her lived experiences.
“My journey authoring this book began just after my 40th birthday. I was reflecting on what I had achieved in my life and around the same time, my husband and I were rereading our old love letters. I realised that there was a story waiting to be told and set to work on what became A Different Shade of Love.”
In the Questions & Answers session, our learners posed a variety of questions about the work itself and Darby’s journey to being published. One learner asked how long the book took to write and if there were challenges getting it published. From start to finish, A Different Shade of Love took just over a year to write, with Darby writing over 1,000 words a day.
When it came to publishing, Darby admits that she was lucky in that she had a friend who knew someone working in a small indie publishing house.
Another learner asked what Darby’s inspiration for writing it was, to which she responded that the love story she shares with her husband became the foundation for the novel.
Nargis is currently working on her second book, which she says is proving more challenging than the first as it handles very different themes and plotlines.
You can find out more about Nargis Darby and purchase A Different Shade of Love here
