Kiss and Tell Tour: Interview with Mina Khan

The Kiss and Tell tour makes its way back to MNtR! Today, please welcome author of paranormal romance The Djinn's Dilemma, Mina Khan--who's allowed me to ply her with questions about her life and inspirations. She's got a fascinating background, one that seems to have informed much of her writing today. Check out her interview below, in which she talks about some of her early influences, as well as one of her favorite pastimes: cooking!

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MNtR: In a field of vamps, werewolves, witches, and faeries, djinns are a breath of fresh magical air. ^_^ What drew you to this magical being as the basis of your book?

MK: Writing about djinns (genies) came as easy since I grew up on my grandmother’s spine-tingling stories of djinns and ghosts. However, the djinns of my Bangladeshi childhood are not quite like Hollywood version of genies. My djinn hero, Rukh, is dark and dangerous. He is an assassin who can melt into shadows, read his targets’ minds and control air.

MNtR: The protagonist of The Djinn's Dilemma, Rukh O’Shay, is sexy and ruthless in his line of work, but also honorable in his own way. What kinds of qualities really get you in a romantic hero, both to write about and to read about?

MK: To me, every authentic character –hero, heroine, villain etc. – must believe in something and live by a personal moral code. That’s what makes Rukh an honorable assassin, that’s what leads him to find out more and more about his unsettling target (Sarah, the heroine) until he ends up falling for her. Besides that...a hero should be heroic –be courageous even when he’s afraid, do the right thing even if it hurts, and be loyal to the heroine. Add to that a good sense of humor, smoldering good looks, and smarts...whew!

MNtR: You've previously enjoyed a long career in journalism and media. How does journalistic writing compare to fictional, for you?

MK: Lol, you have definitely done your homework! I think my journalistic career really helped grow me as a writer. For one thing, I don’t believe in writer’s block because when you are on a daily deadline and have a stressed-out editor breathing down your neck...you can’t afford writer’s block. It also got me into the habit of writing daily and my experience came in handy when I created Sarah, who happens to be a journalist. How is it different? News writing is leaner and tighter; with fiction I had to learn to slow down and provide descriptions.

Mmm, Gazpacho! Click for Mina's recipe.

MNtR: I hear that you're quite fond of cooking, and even have a food blog, Hot Curries & Cold Beer. Do you have a favorite dish to make, or perhaps a type of cuisine that you particularly enjoy?

MK: I love cooking...in fact, I cook to relax. What I cook depends on my mood, but I’m usually striving to create dishes that marry Asian flavors of my childhood with new ingredients I have discovered in my American supermarket. My go-to dish – spaghetti with a spicy, smoky tomato-based sauce. Lol, I like my food and my fiction spicy & hot!

MNtR: Can we expect to get any more of your djinn tales in the future? ^_^ What kinds of stories would you like to write about at some point?

MK: I sure hope so! I have already turned in my second djinn story to my editor and started on the third djinn story. Right now, I’m writing novellas and enjoying it, but I’d love to tackle a novel-length story in the near future...and a more heroine-centric story.

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Thank you so much to Mina Khan for a great interview! That was a lot of fun; she's so intriguing and fun to hear about. I'll definitely be watching that food blog (and trying out some of the recipes; like that tasty-looking gazpacho, pictured above!). And her new novella? Hells yeah--I'm all about sexy half-djinn Rukh. Check out what that particular story is all about:

Book Description:


Rukh O'Shay, half-djinn and assassin, is used to taking out the bad guys. But his latest assignment, Texas Journalist Sarah White, is nothing like he expected. A glimpse of her bright aura reveals her gentle spirit, while her beauty makes him long for only one thing—to taste her.
     Sarah shares the raw desire to connect with Rukh. He can turn her on with a glance, and satisfies needs she didn't even know she had.
     But Rukh had been hired to kill her—and the only way to save her is to find out who wants her dead before someone else finishes the job…

Find the book at all major e-book retailers, including Harlequin eBookstore, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo Books.



This has been a stop on the Kiss and Tell Tour by Bewitching Book Tours. It's "Nine Days, Nine Authors"...with plenty of book features, author posts, giveaways, and more. Check out more information here.

Or tap dat image, mayng.