Hi,
I’m A.L. Bashir. I'm 13 and currently writing my first novel: The Forbidden Bloodline.
I started writing over a year ago when I was 12 and finally decided to take charge of my childhood dream—having an impact on the world. It was something that had always lingered in the back of my mind, but back then, I just didn’t know how I was going to achieve it.
I’ve been home-schooled since I was 7, because I suffered from anxiety. Lucky for me, my mum is a teacher.
To be honest, I wasn’t the best at English. I hated going to the library or even reading books. But my mum made me go anyway. What I did enjoy was watching films.
After begging my mum to let me watch Wednesday when I was 11, I ended up writing a short story with detailed descriptions of Nevermore Academy—without even needing to be nagged. It surprised my mum. It surprised me even more.
I didn’t know it at the time, but watching movies and TV shows full of thrill, action, adventure and strong storylines was what drew me closer to writing.
That was when I was in Year 6.
Then, when I was twelve—about a week before Sammy Garrity's Entrepreneurial Mastermind Day (which I attended with my mum) —I decided I wanted to be an author and write novels with themes related to mental health, so I could help other children through my writing.
But not only that—it also became a way for me to voice crucial societal problems and shed light on things that aren’t right.
The book I’m currently writing is for anyone aged 10 and above. It’s a fiction novel featuring diverse characters who are struggling with mental health and neurodivergence. The characters’ family members have gone missing, and their goal is to find them—and uncover the harsh realities of Hawthorne's Hollow, and discover all the lies they’ve been told.
I never thought I was good at writing, mostly because I didn’t know what to write or how to write it. When I first started, I had a lot of help from my mum, which made getting started easier. But when it came to actually writing the kind of book I’d be proud of, I realised I had to level up my English skills and really push myself. Writing a book does have a formula—and I’m going to share it with you in my Writer’s Toolkit.
I don’t always like what I’ve written, and I’m still learning and improving every day. But sometimes, even I have to go back to my basic toolkit. Once you know what to do, you can start to change it into your own style.
So sign up and get my free writer's resources that helped me.
Here's the prologue to my book.
Seven Years Earlier
Chester Serene was dead.
Michael Barnabas – law enforcement officer stood in the doorway. He removed his hat and bowed his head as he delivered the news.
River knew he had no right to feel anything. Chester wasn’t his father. But hearing those words fractured his heart.
Ms. Serene’s eyes began to brim and threatened to spill. But she needed to be strong for her daughter’s sake.
Zara broke immediately, running into her mother’s arms seeking comfort. Her mum gripped her tightly, partly to steady herself but also to absorb her little girl’s pain. Her muffled labouring sobs shattered River – who only seven, stood in stunned silence.
It was too much. His parents had only divorced a few months earlier and now this? The pain refused to end.
River observed the moment; fixated on the way Ms. Serene ran her fingers through her daughter’s brunette hair. “It’s okay.” She whispered repeatedly with glassy eyes, knowing deep down it wasn’t.
Not once had he ever been given such a caress. Not from his mother. She didn’t believe in hugs or light kisses. Not like those Ms. Serene was leaving on her daughter’s head.
That kind of treatment was only reserved for his older brother, Xander. Not him. “Suck it up,” was the best he’d ever got.
The emotions in the room, felt like darts. Each, overwhelming and hot.
Grief for Chester, fear for how they’d survive, but there was another uncanny feeling. Something he couldn’t shake. And it was coming from the uniformed man standing on the porch - Shame.
As the blur from his tears subsided, River stared at the officer for a while and inspected his face. He seemed uncomfortable, like he wanted to dissolve back into the sheets of rain that he had walked out of. Not because the moment was awkward, but as he stood dripping in the doorway, River knew he was hiding something.
Shame laced with guilt and relief. A poisonous combination.
With interlocked hands, the man twiddled his thumbs and focused his venomous green eyes on River’s grey.
His expression was full of disdain. He glared at the boy, as though River was a monster. As if he’d committed a sin.
Michael didn’t need words to deliver his second message. His face did that for him. The contorted lines spelling out: You’ll be next – just wait!
Want to Write Your Own Story?
Sign Up And Get The Writer's Toolkit I Used
🎉 WANT A FREE SIGNED COPY OF MY BOOK?! 🎉
I’m sooo excited because…
📚 My book is coming out before the end of the year!!
And because I really want to make a difference…
I’m giving away 20 FREE signed copies — just from me, to YOU when my book is released! 💖
Here’s how YOU can get one:
👉 Tell your grown-ups and friends to sign up to The Parent-Teacher Magazine (If they haven't already done so)
👉 & Make sure they download my Writer’s Toolkit from this month's issue.
If YOU get the most people to sign up for both, 🎁 you could be one of 5 winners to get a signed copy before anyone else!
PLUS… I’m also doing a Prize Draw for everyone else who enters —
so 15 more people can also win a FREE signed copy too, which I'll draw randomly out of a hat on the day it's released! 🎉
(The date hasn't been decide yet but it will be before the end of the year!)
Just ask your grown-up to send the names of the people you got to sign up for both, to Sabina@theParentTeacher.co.uk — and you’re IN!
Let’s get more kids writing and more parents helping! 📝
This is going to be EPIC!!! 🤩
From your writing friend,
✍️ A.L.Bashir
Have Questions?
💎
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the most common questions I get asked about writing.
1. Which films inspired you to write?
Too many to name but the main ones include: Wednesday, Enola Holmes, Avatar, The Hunger Games, Ender's Game...
2. How do you write so descriptively?
I just use a thesaurus and get different words that mean the same thing.
3. When do you write?
I'm a night owl. Luckily for me, because I'm home-schooled I can wake up late. So my best work is done at night when everyone else is asleep.
I struggle to focus during the day.
4. Why are you home-schooled?
I begged my mum to home-school me, because I didn't like school. I got bullied a lot by older girls, so home-schooling is much better. It can be boring at times being on my own, but I have lots of things to do. And before you get any ideas, I still have to do school work because my mum is a teacher.
5. What else do you do, when you're not writing?
I like painting abstract pictures. Playing with my cats - I have 2.
I also spend time with my cousin.
6. What's the strangest experience you have had?
I've actually had a few...
I carried a snake around my neck - it was a massive boa constrictor or python.
I also walked across broken glass with my bare feet.
And I did an arrow break with the soft, front part of my neck.
7. Who's your favourite character in your book?
Probably, Khalid Amir because of his backstory, but you'll hear more about that in the next book.
8. Which place did you base your setting description on?
Hawthorne's Hollow is actually based on Mother Shipton's Cave in Knaresborough, but I changed it to have crystals, which you can only see after you get marked.
9. How much do you write in a day?
I tend to aim for a thousand words/four pages a day, but it takes a lot of time to think about ideas and to make them sound right.
10. Are you going to write another book?
Yes, this is a series. I already have ideas for the second one, because it was too much to put into this one, so I had to split the story up.
💎
Take the first step today — Let your imagination run wild!
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