"A Place Called Hell" Interview with Hauwa Hala Nuradeen Reading With R

A Place Called Hell
Ruqayyah: [00:00:00] Well, hello there. Welcome to reading with R and today, as I promised on the last episode, I have a sister shaped surprise. Drum roll please.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have with us. Hauwa Hala Nuraddeen, my sister and author extraordinaire on the streets. So, Because she is my sister and you know, because I'm also, I'm awesome and amazing and all, I am the first person that has the privilege of interviewing her about her book that came out a few days ago, A Place Called Hell.
So here she is. 
Hauwa Hala: Hi. It's so, it's so cool to be here. . 
Ruqayyah: Okay. Oh, and as we all know, she's the first guest on our podcast. We'll see how this goes. You know, if it goes well and you guys love it, we'll probably make it a [00:01:00] regular thing, having guests on the podcast. So, as I was saying, A Place Called Hell is the first book in the Abdul Malik Trilogy, The title of the book is...
Oh, how many times am I going to see it? Anyway, I'll say it again. A Place Called Hell. We will link the information on how to get the book, where to get it, how much it is. Don't worry, all of you can afford it. All of you have to buy one. And, uh, without further ado, let's get into it. So Hauwa, please introduce yourself.
Hauwa Hala: Uh, okay. Wow, this question is so annoying. , cuz I never know what to say, but, um, my name is Hauwa Hala Nuraddeen and, I guess I, I guess I wrote a book, , and that's why I'm here. But, um, I'm a student and, you know, it's always so funny when people find out I'm a science student [00:02:00] that writes, they always make such a big deal out of it, but it's like, I have hobbies, you know, I'm, I'm 18.
That's really cool for me. And the book got released on my birthday, which is something that I really like and I, I don't know what to say again. 
Ruqayyah: Oh, I actually wanted to spill that little tidbit about how it was released on her birthday. So anyway, every year on the 23rd, October, On the day that Hauwa became an adult, she turned 18 on the 23rd, A Place Called Hell gets a little bit older.
So it's like, awwwwn, the day she became an adult, she had her first baby . Okay, pretend that is not weird. 
Hauwa Hala: I never thought of it that way. I never, it never occurred to me. But no, I can't stop. You know, like 
Ruqayyah: It's valid, I guess 
Hauwa Hala: It is. 
Ruqayyah: So, um, to paint a picture for you guys, even though, uh, the, the image for this episode is going to be a cover of the book.
It is pink and it [00:03:00] is blue and we love it. We love it. So, so much. So let's get started on the questions. As we all know, your host extraordinaire has a huge issue with recording and talking about books without giving spoilers. But this time around we are not going to have any of that problem. So to give you an idea of what the book is like, I will read the blurb, 
Two Families, Two Lives, and an Invisible Girl.
Aala Abdulmalik is the girl that doesn't exist. As the Abdulmalik family's best kept secret, Aala has seen little more than the walls of her home and her hill. A wallflower shackled to the family that doesn't want her. Spending her days alone, steeped in loneliness. [00:04:00] However, this changes the night she meets Nassar Abiodun, a boy looking for an escape from the problems of his home.
When a series of events intertwine these lives and bring Aala's existence to the spotlight , what is to become of the girl who isn't supposed to exist? So, Hauwa Hala, 
Hauwa Hala: Yes ma'am. 
Ruqayyah: Let's start with the questions. What were your inspirations to write this book? 
Hauwa Hala: Wow, well, um, okay, so this is kind of like I just, I drew inspirations from a lot of places, but the main idea came.
As of on a very random Saturday, I remember cuz I was in the car with my dad and we were talking and my dad and I were pretty close. Like, we talk a lot about different topics. We have similar interests. So then I just had, you know, a what if