Happy New Year and happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope your New Year is off to a positive start. This week I’m excited to bring back author Valentine Wheeler to share their Top Ten List about one of their main characters Awais Siddiqui in their new book Give Way (released on January 4, 2021 find it here). As a reminder, Valentine is a Queer Romance, Fantasy and Science Fiction author who is published through NineStar Press (learn more here). Also, Valentine is part of Wizards in Space Literary Magazine (learn more here). Let’s get started.
Give Way features some of Valentine’s favorite things: baked goods, big queer communities, old friends who like to give you shit, and postal workers! In the meantime, let’s get to know one of the main characters...
Ten Packages Awais Siddiqui Delivered this Holiday Season
The first package he delivered in Swanley after his transfer. A big box of books, nearly 40 pounds, to Jolene McGonnigal at 61 Tremont Street, two houses down from his aunt Fatima’s house. Jolene hadn’t seen Awais in thirty years, but when she opened the door she smiled at him, called him by name, and welcomed him back to Swanley. (Of course, she’d then asked him if he could carry the box all the way inside, and her cat had nearly killed him by winding between his ankles as he navigated her narrow hallways with a gigantic package. But she’d given him a signed copy of The Fifth Season in thanks, since she ran the signing events at Turkey Creek Books in her spare time. The book had made him cry, but it was worth it.)
A slightly-battered small parcel from Egypt addressed to Rana Wahbi at 36 Tremont Street. She clutched it to her chest and thanked him so graciously when he handed it over that she halted him in his tracks. She told him it was her grandfather’s journal, something a cousin had found while clearing out old boxes of family detritus, and it had almost been thrown away. And then she promised him a free sandwich next time he stopped by her restaurant.
A small, neatly-addressed box with nearly $40 in postage and a signature required addressed to Michaela McNamara over on Dighton Street. She opened the door, took one look at the sender’s address, and shook her head. “Nope,” she said. “He knows exactly where he can shove it.” She handed him the package, then disappeared back inside the house, leaving Awais standing on the porch. He still didn’t have the full story, but he really, really wanted to know what the hell that was about.
A package to 77 Billerica Drive, addressed to Latify Thibeault on December 1. He doesn’t remember the package specifically, other than that it was small and square and nothing out of the ordinary about it, but when he opened the mailbox to stick it inside, he’d found an envelope. He went to toss it with his outgoing mail, but then he noticed the writing on the front: To Awais, our substitute carrier. Welcome back to Swanley, and thanks for the deliveries :) Love, Latify and Henri. He’d had to take a long moment to pull himself together after that one–they must have called the office to get his name, worried their regular wouldn’t share his tips with him. It was an act of generosity he hadn’t expected.
A small, dense, tightly plastic-wrapped box to Anthony Sullivan at 17 Chestnut Street that smelled overwhelmingly of pot. Hey, if it made it this far, Awais wasn’t one to judge. He left it on the porch wrapped in a SORRY YOUR PACKAGE WAS DAMAGED bag, just to give the guy a little a reminder that the mail might not be the best way to get this particular kind of package–especially since the return address was just a few towns over in Needham. Maybe next time he’d drive his federal crimes instead.
A small white padded mailer to Scotty Pillon at 14 Milton Avenue, Apartment 1. Scotty–who owned route 16, the one Awais liked covering most because it had a nice long section of close-together houses with mailboxes right on the street–opened the door just as Awais opened his mailbox to drop the parcel in. He’d handed it to Scotty instead, sharing a brief smile at the irony of the encounter, and moved on to tuck Lucy Smith’s mail in the box for the upstairs apartment. When Awais turned back toward the door, Scotty had ripped open the package and was clutching its contents, standing stock still.
“What is it?” Awais asked, and Scotty turned toward Awais to show him a bright, bold They/Them pin. Awais clapped them on the shoulder and grinned. “For work?”
Scotty nodded.
“I’ll get a He/Him,” said Awais. “Solidarity.”
Scotty swallowed hard and nodded again. “Thanks, man.”
A long, thin package with a bent end that was obviously a hockey stick to David Shapiro at 144 Pond Road. When his mom Lila opened the door and called him down to sign for it–which, though not technically allowed since he was ten, was adorable–he’d barrelled down the stairs, gasped, and said to Lila, “A package for me? What’s inside it?” The look of sheer parental doneness Lila had given Awais was worth the whole two hours of overtime he’d just worked.
A rooster, express mail to 93 Old Medfield Road. It rode up front with him, and the thing made terrifying dinosaur noises the whole time. Awais wasn’t afraid of birds. He just had a healthy respect for them. A very healthy, very distanced respect. And honestly, he’d rather not ever share a vehicle with one again. The baby chicks? Fine, small, cute. The full-grown version? No thank you.
A holiday gift box of fancy pears, apples, and oranges to Windmere Bakery. The kid behind the counter had torn the box open and immediately offered Awais his choice of fruit. Awais, who’d forgotten his lunch at home, enjoyed the world’s most perfect pear on his walk to his next stop at the Cairo Grill, where Rana Wahbi gave him the promised free shawarma. That was a good day.
One small brown box to 210 Washakum Ave Apartment 8, because the man who’d taken it from him–cute, flustered, very dapper–had blushed, given him a helpless up-and-down look, and immediately, accidentally declared his singleness. Awais is pretty sure nothing’s going to beat that one.
***
Thank you so much for stopping by today, Valentine and congratulations on the new book. I’m looking forward to reading Give Way and learning more about Awais and the other characters in the story. It was great having you. Do you have questions for Valentine? Leave them below and I’ll be sure to have her swing by and answer them.
Want to read some more of my Top Ten Lists and learn about some great authors and their works, check these out:
Top Ten Vloggers I follow, click here.
Top Ten List with Abigail de Niverville, click here.
Top Ten List with Schuyler L'Roux, click here.
Top Ten List with Jacqueline Church Simonds, click here.
Top Ten List with Kay Doherty, click here.
Top ten inspirations for Taking the Plunge by J.B. Reynolds, click here.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know more about Valentine’s character Awais Siddiqui. Please remember to drop me a heart/like letting me know you stopped by. If you want to help support me and Valentine, please consider sharing this post on your social media platforms to help keep the conversation going. Until next time I hope you stay safe and have a great week.
About Give Way:
Kevin McNamara’s post-retirement life is… fine. He has friends, a few consulting gigs, and an ex-wife he’s finally on good terms with. But when he meets an intriguing stranger–a rarity in close-knit Swanley–he can’t stop thinking about the hot mailman or the unexpected attraction that knocked him flat.
Awais Siddiqui never thought he’d want to come back to his childhood hometown, but when his grandmother falls ill, he’s the only one who can help his aunt keep an eye on her. Awais figures he’ll be back in the city soon enough–but then a silver fox on his route catches his eye.
Can Awais deliver the spark Kevin’s been missing?
About Valentine Wheeler:
Valentine Wheeler (she/her) lives outside Boston with her spouse and child and spends her days chasing mail carriers and citing obscure postal regulations. She goes by Lis in meatspace and her life's ambition is to eat the food of every country.
Find her on twitter or goodreads and her work at Ninestar Press and the Future Fire. She also serves as Fiction Editor and Logistics Manager for Wizards in Space Literary Magazine, as Logistics Wizard and Managing Editor for Mermaids Monthly, and as a slushreader for various genre publications.
Where to Find Valentine Wheeler:
Twitter: @ghostalservice