Raised by a Christian mother and a Muslim father, I grew up in a house full of culture, ideas, and fierce opinions in a city many call the Happiest Place on Earth. My name is Hanif S. Ali and though I was born and raised in Orlando, FL, I feel more like a citizen of the world. I received my education at the University of Florida, graduating magna cum laude with degrees in English and Philosophy. My lifelong love of reading led me to become a media assistant in the library of a prestigious preparatory school in downtown Orlando, but it wasn’t long before I founded the Writer’s Ink. Academy and worked to inspire other writers, while polishing my own craft.

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Soon after, I was approached by the administration to head the Composition program at the school because of my brand of invigorating prose and the fire I was able to light in the hearts of my crew of young authors. My outlook on life is that of a realist and a problem solver, but my background as a philosopher adds an extra layer beneath all of my writings – a lens for those who see the bigger picture and read between the lines. From the names of my characters to the shades of gray in the hearts of my villains, there’s always something more to be found for those who are willing to look.

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Despite the ides of The Mouse and the perpetuation that Orlando is of the tourists, by the tourists, and for the tourists, my hometown is not what you think. The groundswell of counter-culture swept along with the disenfranchised fallout makes for an edgy fringe to the City Beautiful and I embrace it every day as I walk the disgruntled streets and visit my patient haunts with one goal in mind – to fill my pages with ink. 

– H.S.A.