Pak author's debut novel modern narrative with magical twist

Pakistani writer Manal Shakir always wanted to pen a book about relationships but in a different way and so when she blended a modern narrative with a magical twist, her first novel "Magic Within" was born.
The idea for "Magic Within" came to her about after she got married.
"I knew I wanted to write a book about relationships but I wanted it to be different. I've always been interested in fantasy, and it was becoming more popular at that time, so I thought, why not attempt to marry the two, a modern narrative with a magical twist. A narrative with a circus seemed like the right amount of fantasy in a modern every day setting," Shakir, who is based in the US now, says.

Initially the book's title was "Mazhar's House of Masti" but to give it a more international appeal, it was changed to "Magic Within".
The book is about ordinary characters who distract themselves with life in a big city but don't necessarily deal with their marital problems so their problems manifest in this extraordinary way where they're forced to deal with life.
"It's about reconnecting with another human being as well as finding your own happiness. Whatever you want to call it, coming back to your roots, finding that spark, rediscovering the magic, etc. That is what my book is about. Healing within yourself and healing with the people around you in a fantastic and fun way. It's solving life in a magical way," Shakir told PTI.

A story of troubled relationships and blurred realities, the main characters in the book, published by HarperCollins imprint Fourth Estate, are two unhappy couples - Adnan and Reena, and Zain and Shara.
"My characters are very real. They're a hybrid of my own imagination, as well as men and women I've interacted with at one point or another in my life. The people I know in my life are probably more subtle versions of these four characters, but for the book they were exaggerated and made into four very distinct characters with distinct personalities any reader could relate to.
"The difference is, in the book, these characters have a chance to deal with life not just while awake, but in sleep too, within their dream lives. My characters are very purposeful in their journey from the beginning to the end of the book and I hope readers sense that. How a reader feels about one character at the beginning of the book may not be the same by the end," the author says.