Eman Fayyaz Butt, a 17 year old has just published her debut novel

War Within is the debut novel by Eman Fayyaz Butt, a 17 year old student based in Sialkot.

The genre is psychological fiction and revolves around a fifty year old women and her struggles with depression. Through her story the authors has shed light on the ever neglected issue of mental health and touches upon the struggles of a women in our society along with the relationship of an individual with the creator.

Eman started writing this book at the age of 15 and the two years have been full of struggles, not just limited to the writing process but also in trying to get her work published.

She has recently completed her ICS from Superior College and is now preparing for her entrance exam for undergrad.

Talking to Mashable Pakistan about her decision to become an author she said, “I was in ninth grade when I decided to become a writer. I was an ambitious student but failed to get the top board position despite studying for fourteen to fifteen hours every day. I was lost. I didn’t know what to do. But literature saved me just in time. So, I decided to write. Two years later, I published my debut book “War Within” without the help of anyone but Allah.”

Writing comes naturally to her as she has never had any formal training in any form. In her opinion the fact that she is an avid reader helped her in exploring the writer in her. While it is her dream to be recognized as an author she also plans to pursue a career in artificial intelligence.

Listing her favourite authors she mentioned, Elif Shafak, Herman Hesse, and J.K Rowling.

“I like to explore different genres but I enjoy literary and psychological fiction the most.”

As a young author who has went through the process of publishing without any expert guidance, she hopes that in the future we are able to develop a platform where first time authors can get some support and guidance.

Originally published at https://pk.mashable.com on August 8, 2020.