Writing is easy, getting an agent to bite is harder — Shameez Patel on Playing Flirty

She was born and raised in Cape Town, where she lives with her husband, child, and two cats named Turbo and Charger. During the day, Shameez Patel juggles her time between parenting her daughter and working as an engineer, but at night, she escapes to new worlds that always have someone to fall in love with. 

Patel became obsessed with fiction, especially fantasy fiction, at a young age, and wrote her first story — The Treasures of Zombie Island — before the age of ten. Surprisingly, it featured no zombies at all. She has been writing ever since.

Her new novel, Playing Flirty, is a charming and geeky romantic comedy about two board game nerds who love to outplay each other … even when their hearts are on the line.

The Reading List: #TheFlap is based on the Proust Questionnaire, an infamous parlour game invented by the French writer Marcel Proust, who believed the answers would reveal a person’s true nature.

So far we’ve revealed the true nature of literary luminaries including Nicky Greenwall, Sihle Khumalo, Yewande Omotoso and Sam Wilson, so you’re in august company. Here goes. What are you most excited about people discovering in Playing Flirty?

Shameez Patel: Joy, hopefully. Playing Flirty, while touching on some serious issues, is meant to be fun. If you don’t feel good after reading it, then I’ve done something wrong. 

TRL: What were some of the unexpected challenges that came up while you were writing your latest book? What was unexpectedly easy?

Shameez Patel: I’ll start with the second part of that question: What was easy? Writing. I know that’s a luxury, but writing Playing Flirty was the best part of the process. Especially draft one where there were no rules, and Rose and William could do anything they wanted to. The hardest part came after when I had to fight off imposter syndrome and believe in myself enough to champion this novel and get an agent to bite. It’s difficult going from writing a full story, to writing the pitch, blurb and synopsis.

TRL: What are some of the key ideas that inform the novel?

Shameez Patel: Playing Flirty is about celebrating the things you love. Being an adult sometimes feels like we aren’t allowed to have fun the same way we did as kids or teens, but with everything awful going on in the world, it’s nice to be able to play board games with friends, or dress up for a costume party. I also wanted to explore what it is like balancing the things you want versus what others want from you.  

TRL: If you could co-author a book with anyone, living or dead, who would you choose and what would it be about?

Shameez Patel: I think co-authoring a book with Suzanne Collins [author of The Hunger Games series] would be a dream come true. Her writing is very immersive and her commentary is always so very clever. I would love to learn from her and write a dystopian novel. 

TRL: What’s the best music to write to?

Shameez Patel: It changes from day to day. Sometimes I need to listen to a song that represents the scene and sometimes all I want is the score of various Studio Ghibli movies. 

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TRL: What’s your favourite writing spot?

Shameez Patel: Theoretically, at a coffee shop with infinite decaf cappuccinos. But I’ve only done that a handful of times. I get most of my writing done in bed or in my office. 

TRL: What habit distracts you most from writing?

Shameez Patel: Reading and playing video games. 

TRL: What is the quality you most like in an author?

Shameez Patel: I ask for very little: Be a good person. 

TRL: After readers have read Playing Flirty, what should they read next?

Shameez Patel: If they’re like me, they’ll need to swap genres, in which case, I’d love for them to dive into the fantasy world I’ve created in The Selene Trilogy. But if it’s romance they’re after, I’d recommend Unromance by Erin Connor, Better Once Than Never by Nuhaa Bardien, Sunshine Kisses by Kelly L Clarke, You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon and Celebrity Crush by Christy Swift. There are plenty more but I think I’m running out of characters!

TRL: What’s the first book you can remember having read to you? Or the first book from your childhood or youth that left a strong impression?

Shameez Patel: I don’t have any memories of being read to even though I’m sure I was. My parents encouraged reading and I’d like to think I started reading to myself at a young age. The earliest books I remember loving were the Roald Dahl books. Matilda was an absolute favourite. DM

Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel is published by Forever (R350). Visit The Reading List for South African book news, daily – including interviews!