YA AUTHOR
SUSAN AZIM BOYER
Welcome! I’m so glad you found me. I write young adult fiction featuring Iranian American heroines (whom I *never* encountered growing up), who make messy, complicated choices that rapidly snowball into avalanches. Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win (Fall ’22, Wednesday Books) is my young adult debut.
Author
fall 2022 wednesday books
Jasmine zumideh needs a win
Combining the bi-cultural confusion of Darius the Great Is Not Okay with the election shenanigans of the cult classic novel and film, Election, YA humorous/historical Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win features a bitingly funny, Mindy Kaling-esque, Iranian American heroine, who makes messy, complicated choices that snowball into an avalanche when an international incident intrudes on her high school election, forcing her to reckon with her identity in a way she never has before.
“Whip-smart, funny, and bursting with heart. Jasmine Zumedeh is exactly the kind of protagonist I want to spend pages with.”
– Jenn Bennett, Author of Alex, Approximately
My Experience
by the Numbers
rejections
years writing
years querying
book deal
books
jasmine zumieh needs a win
fall 2022
When an international incident intrudes on her campaign for senior class president, an Iranian American MC must reckon with her identity in a way she never has before.
unannounced
fall 2023
A brother and sister who have never met joing together to find the father they never knew.
Blog
handling rejection
What distinguishes writers who succeed in publishing from those who don’t? In my opinion, it’s the ability to handle and process rejection and disappointment, which comprise, like, 90% of any writer’s success. The trick is to be present to the feeling of disappointment in the short term while developing the resliancy necessary to bounce back and into your next WIP over the long term.
It’s helped me to acknolwedge — really acknowledge — the ways in which I may have evolved as a writer, even if the projct didn’t get the response I had hoped for. And to realize that nothing is ever for naught. A manuscript you thought long dead will resurrect itself, all its story problems suddenly clear — as well as the solutions!
How U.S./Iranian Relations Are Just Like Mean Girls
It’s hard to believe now, but in 1856, the United States and Iran entered into a Treaty of Commerce & Friendship, a term so benign, one can picture them signing it over Persian pastries and tea. Since then, the relationship has deteriorated. The character dynamics...