Finding Her Voice

My third novel, Finding Her Voice, is told in first-person narrative, with point of view switching from protagonist Mala Haq to best friend Rick Ahmed to love interest Aidan Parker. Mala has always been mute and regrets that she has never been able to speak for herself. Using sign language, Mala is only able to attend college at Princeton University when Rick agrees to interpret her signs for their professors. Aidan Parker is a medical student and recent graduate of Princeton. When he meets Mala for the first time, he is immediately intrigued by her inability to speak and her expressive blue eyes. Promising to help her, Aidan recommends Mala's case to a friend who manages to restore Mala's voice through corrective surgery. Just as Mala is finally learning how to speak and express herself properly, her parents reveal that they, along with Rick's family, are moving back to hometown Karachi, Pakistan. Five years pass. Mala, as well as Rick, has established a successful career as a Pakistani solo artist, turning her old talent for keyboard into a profession. Aidan and Mala meet again when they bump into each other in a mall in Karachi. Mala, mildly scolding Aidan for losing the paper on which she'd given him her phone number years ago, invites him to her home. The spark that ignited five years ago is slowly rekindled, much to the annoyance of Rick, who is grateful to Aidan for helping Mala but wants Mala to remember who it was that stood by her for so many years. Told in three parts, several references to modern Pakistani artists are made, and a list of websites of many artists is included at the end. Mala's first name and Rick's last name, Ahmed, can be seen as an allusion to legendary Pakistani playback singers Ahmed and Mala Rushdi, although this was actually unintentionally done.