Meet Saz Vora
Join us live on Instagram today at 10 a.m. Pacific time!
Saz Vora and I have been trying to get together for this interview since July. Her books are perfect for fans of new adult and contemporary romance, women’s fiction, and book club fiction—stories that make you think. If you love the multicultural layers of South Asian family melodramas, Bollywood-style gatherings, and plenty of food references, you’ll feel right at home in her work. Her stories don’t shy away from adult themes and draw deeply on her upbringing in England, weaving together the complexities of her Indian heritage and Britishness to create heartfelt and authentic narratives. I’m excited for you to get to know her. I’ll let her introduce herself.
SAZ: I am an East African Asian who migrated with my family to England in the ’60s to Coventry, where I grew up straddling British and Gujarati Indian culture. Before switching to write British Asian drama, I had a successful career in television production and teaching. I write from my experiences of growing up in England and navigating the complexities of my Gujarati and British culture, weaving stories that shed light on the South Asian community. Stories full of pop culture, taboo subjects, and family gatherings. My debut duet, My Heart Sings Your Song and Where Have We Come, was self-published in 2020 is a retelling of our experience of baby loss and the cultural clashes experienced by young British Asians. I’ve also self-published Made in Heaven, a Jane Eyre retelling with a South Asian twist, because it's my favorite book and I had to write something during lockdown to escape to France.
JEN: I’m so sorry for your loss. And I’m so glad you found an outlet for that pain. What's your favorite genre?
SAZ: I’m hooked on romance, although I wasn't a fan before. I love women's fiction, stories that have the complexity of life, but also include love at its heart. I write to raise awareness of mental health, baby loss, drug abuse, disability anything that will shine a light on women's issues.
JEN: I love romance novels that go deeper than the love story to do exactly that. That’s amazing. Who is your favorite author?
SAZ: My favorites are too many but Beth Moran, Cecelia Ahern, Jojo Moyes. My biggest influence is Colleen Hoover, who led me to believe I could write my story.
JEN: Do you have a friendly rival in writing?
SAZ: Gosh, that's difficult. Sapna Bhog, an Indian author has managed to get the hot hero down pat and has a great following. I wish I could write men like that. But my men are too soft and have a feminine streak in them. So maybe not. I don't really believe there are rivals, there space for everyone to grow and write.
JEN: I completely agree. But it’s a fun question to think about – I love your answer! Better question: What other creators are you friends with, and how do they help you create better?
SAZ: I have made some friends on Instagram and am part of RNA. A group of us, based in London, meet monthly. It's good to have people to talk with. I meet with some writer friends, mostly in Maidenhead, including Rachel Harrison. I'm also part of the Author Breakthrough Club and often ask questions. I have connected with Jeevani Charika, Janet Gover, Alison May, Anita Faulkner, and Arti Manani.
JEN: What's your favorite music?
SAZ: All music from western classical, rock, jazz, pop. I also love old Bollywood songs, usually love songs form the ’60s to ’80s. I often get inspiration from waking up with a song in my head. For example, I'm currently writing a Christmas novel because of “Ruby” by Kaiser Chiefs. The MC just popped into my head and then I had the FMC Cyndi Patel pop in. As someone who trained in art, it's process that's become second nature.
JEN: Where are you from? Do you live now where you grew up?
SAZ: I live in London, England, but grew up in Coventry, West Midlands. I was born in Tanzania but left when I was young. My background is a great influence in my writing, especially my upbringing of straddling both my Britishness and my Gujarati Indian heritage. All my writing includes my East African Asian background and my time growing up in the community in the Midlands, as London can be very impersonal.
JEN: That kind of cultural richness must bring so much depth to your work. It’s also lovely to hear how your upbringing in the Midlands shaped your perspective—there’s something so special about growing up in a close-knit community. What inspired you to start writing your book, and how did your journey to self-publishing unfold?
SAZ: I started writing the book of our childless experience in 2006, when I joined a Creative Writing course, but got some negative feedback, so I put it away. It was also the time my father was diagnosed with bone cancer, so I had to put it away. I went back to writing after I had a severe panic attack and had to give up teaching. I then built up the courage to share the story I wrote with other people and decided to go down the self-publishing route.
JEN: Thank you for sharing that—it sounds like your journey has been deeply personal and filled with both challenges and growth. It must have taken a lot of courage to revisit your story after everything you went through, especially during such a difficult time in your life. Choosing self-publishing is such a bold step, and it’s inspiring that you were able to share your experience with others despite the earlier setbacks.
What's coming next? Do you have any planned releases or works in progress?
SAZ: I'm currently writing the second book of my Sonali and Deepak university duet. This is the story of the couple’s IVF journey after their happy ever after. I'll wait to finish this and am aiming to publish this in 2025 after I release new covers for my current books. Hence, the new cover design process I’m going through. Writing was a way to process my grief and currently I'm finding it hard to write. This year there are too many milestones that remind me of what if. But it is my happy place. It exhausts and exhilarates in equal parts.
JEN: What else do you do? How have you been able to incorporate your previous (or current!) jobs or education in your writing?
SAZ: I’m on many charity boards, and use my background in TV, film and graphic design to show creative pathways to South Asians in the British Film & TV Industry. As a graphic designer, I format my books, design book covers, and create trailers. I would love to do that for other authors as well, but I’ve lost the confidence to meet deadlines because of my mental health issues.
JEN: I can relate very much to how mental health challenges might affect your confidence with deadlines, but it’s clear you have so much talent. What has been the biggest compliment you’ve gotten from readers?
SAZ: Best compliment is one I received that the books I write are like a movie through a DM from a reader. My best friend who is my early reader is often badgering me for the next story, so she can escape in my emotive and feel-good books.
JEN: Share some advice for aspiring writers. What advice would you give to your younger self?
SAZ: I should have been more confident in my early writing and persevered when I started my creative writing course in 2006. But life throws curve balls, and what I’ve learnt is you must deal with it as best as you can. For aspiring writers my advice is create what you love and learn your craft. Don’t believe all the writing advice on social media. You do you—for example, I can’t do writing sprints, or accountability threads. I flit from scenes, plotting, descriptions and characters dialogues. It's how my brain works. Anything I write is my daily word count, not just the chapters and first draft. That happens much later for me.
JEN: That’s such wise advice—thank you for sharing it. Life really does have a way of shifting our priorities, but it’s inspiring that you’ve come back to writing and embraced your craft. I love how you emphasize creating what you know and love; that’s where the most authentic stories come from. And the reminder to take social media with a grain of salt is so important, especially for creatives. That said… I hope all of my readers take the time to go follow you!
My hearts, please do seek out Saz Vora’s books. Her first book in the Reena and Nikesh duet celebrates its five year anniversary on Jan. 12! She’s running an ebook sale for that book and its sequel all month. You can find her on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. And join both of us LIVE today on Instagram at 10 a.m. Pacific / 6 p.m. GMT.
