Fatiha Rais

Bio

Fatiha is a crossover fantasy romance/romantasy writer who writes Muslim female characters that are whip-sharp firecrackers on the page. She is on submission with a crossover romantasy novel about a storyteller, a mythical bathhouse that grants wishes and challenging fate. She is also a PhD student researching Muslim female storytellers and how words can be used as a mode of non-violent (at least physically) resistance in anti-colonialist movements in history. She is represented by Leah Pierre of Ladderbird Agency.

As an individual from a working class and ethnic minority background, Fatiha knows how difficult it is to step into the publishing world. She thinks it’s vital, now more than ever that the voices in publishing become more diverse. As such, she wants to support those of underrepresented backgrounds and of marginalised identities to navigate the publishing space. She is open to mentoring in the YA, NA and Adult categories in all kinds of fantasy (high fantasy, paranormal fantasy, cozy fantasy, historical fantasy – you get the gist) but is also open to cozy mysteries and historical fiction. She has a visceral need for there to be romance as a subplot or a main plot in her novels and loves high-stake stories that effectively combine romance and plot.

MSWL

Hello, I’m Fatiha and I’m excited to mentor fantasy, historical fiction and mystery projects with strong romance sub-plots or main plot in Upper YA, NA/Crossover and Adult fiction.

Take a look below to see if we’d be a good fit!

What I love to see and feel like I’d be a good fit for:

 Strong and intelligent female-identifying characters (they don’t have to be physically strong or book smart). I’d love for these to be written by people who identify as women or gender-neutral writers.

 Stories based in BIPOC cultures written by BIPOC writers.

 Muslim main characters written by Muslim writers, please.

 Fantasy stories with characters with disabilities (especially those that are not as immediately apparent to others) exploring both inner and outer conflicts with these in mind.

 Retellings – I love retellings! I’m especially looking for retellings of mythology from different cultures but I also love reimaginings of classics but centring BIPOC characters.

 Romance is a must. Well-developed and swoony. I love me the star-crossed lovers trope. I also love darker romances.

 Complex ace/aro-spec main characters

 Nuanced characters that aren’t just good or bad. Morally grey is a favourite of mine, but I do love a well-written villainous main characters. Think V.E. Schwab’s Victor.

 I love humour! Witty or laugh-out-loud funny!

 Political intrigue – oooh I love digging my claws into political intrigues. I beta-read an interesting modern spec fic surrounding political intrigue and bureaucracy of university.

 I love adventure as a sub-genre in novels!

 Interesting magic systems – I like original and complex magic systems!

 Comps to an anime! Think Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Yona of the Dawn, Dr Stone, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, anything Studio Ghibli

 Jealousy and envy between siblings!!! Messy, complex siblings relationships are so good.

Books and media to get to know me:

 The Infernal Devices

 An Ember in the Ashes

 Daughter of the Moon Goddess

 These Violent Delights

 The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

 The Red Palace

 Vicious

 Falling Kingdoms

 Red Queen

 Silent Reading

 Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

 Yona of the Dawn

 Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles

 Ashes of Love

 Story of Kunning Palace

What I’m not the best fit for:

 Literary fiction

 Stories set in schools. It’s unfortunate but I don’t like them in fantasy settings either.

 Stories about BIPOC characters written by people outside the BIPOC community. Please don’t.

 Contemporary stories, even with the fantastical it’s just not for me.

 Apocalyptic stories or survival stories (Please don’t send me zombie apocalypse stories and survival tropes)

 Stories that explore adultery and domestic/marital abuse are not for me.

 Mentees who plan to self-publish and are looking for guidance on the business side of things. I’m happy to work on craft, but I don’t yet know enough about marketing and self-publishing in general to be useful in that area.

Note: I am a returning mentor, but I have recently changed my pen name. I previously went by Amirah.