Local writer releases first book after ‘conquering personal.
A newly-published author, who had to overcome dyslexia to pen his first fantasy novel, is hoping to motivate children across Bradford to speak out if they are struggling in school.
Nafees Hussain, from Bradford, has suffered from the developmental reading disorder all his life and constantly struggled throughout his childhood, yet never confessed the problem to his teachers.
However, after suffering a fall at work last year and being told to rest for three months, the now 26-year-old decided to put pen to paper one more time in an attempt to ‘conquer his own Everest’.
For 12 weeks, the aspiring author typed up more than 75,000 words and finally came up with his first draft by late February.
The only thing missing was any punctuation, meaning a further two months worth of work was put in before a copy was eventually submitted to a number of publishers.
Nafees completed his story despite struggling with dyslexia throughout the writing
“I always had an idea in my head for a story and when I suffered a fall at work, I thought I may as well give it a go rather than just sitting around doing nothing,” Nafees explained.
“One day I just began typing away at the laptop and just wrote everything that came to my head.
“At around April time, I finally submitted it and from there I was just waiting to hear back from anyone. It was a massive accomplishment for me personally to just finish the story whether it would be published or not.”
Nafees explained how as time passed by, he began to lose hope that any publisher would be interested in his fantasy fiction, yet just as he was starting to forget about the story, an American company declared their interest.
“I received a phone call from ‘AuthorHouse’ in America and they said they had read my story and wanted to help publish it,” he added.
“I couldn’t believe it. The last time I had even spoke about it was in April so to hear something so long after was incredible.
“It feels like climbing Mount Everest for me. From struggling with words to actually getting my story published.”
Last month Nafees’ story ‘The Secret Life of a Training Wizard’ was officially released.
The story follows a young boy, who must decide whether to pursue a career in the mines like his father and brother, or opt to venture into the world of magic.
With a host of magical creatures, and a council of dark wizards and witches prevalent, the fantasy story is the first of three parts.
Following on from his success, the local writer is now working with schools across the Bradford district and plans to host workshops on the importance of speaking about dyslexia.
“I have suffered from dyslexia all my life and in school I regret never speaking about it because I really struggled with words,” he said.
“Now that I am older and can look back on my own experiences, I can see how much I would have benefitted from a younger age should I have explained my situation to my teachers.
“Hopefully, I can tell children about the importance speaking about any troubles they are having in school and get them involved in creative writing as well.”
‘The Secret Life of a Training Wizard’ is available to purchase now from Amazon and is also available as an eBook.
