Deal author Anstey Spraggan had plenty of cultural shocks when writing her first book under the pen name Ruth Ahmed.

When Ali Met Honour, which she co-wrote with friend Dimmi Khan, is a love story highlighting the differences that Honour, an atheist, and Ali, a British Pakistani Muslim, have to grapple with in their new relationship.

Anstey wrote the part of 21-year-old Honour from Deal, while, in alternate chapters, Dimmi (short for Nadeem) wrote from the perspective of Ali, whose traditional family in Manchester want him to marry a girl from Pakistan.

“‘I’ve used some Kent beaches as settings that local people will recognise and there’s one scene in Malaad Tandoori in Middle Street where Ali gets mistaken for a waiter,” said the former Dover Grammar School for Girls’ pupil.

"We amazingly turned out to know so little about each other’s cultures, we kept finding little nuggets which turned out to be explosive" - Anstey Spraggan on co-writing the book with Dimmi Khan

The richness of imagery stems from Anstey’s local knowledge. Honour lives Tantivvy Cottage, Eastry – the house Anstey’s father lived in.

The book highlights the differences between the two cultures, with the authors experiencing as many shocks and surprises as the characters did.

“For me, I learned a ton,” said Anstey, who lives in Victoria Road, Deal.

“We wrote it really quickly. We knew the basic story and elements of the plot, but because we amazingly turned out to know so little about each other’s cultures, we kept finding little nuggets which turned out to be explosive.”

Among the differences was the British Pakistani perception of a young woman who has had a modest amount of lovers. And the question of whether Honour should or shouldn’t have a dog almost brought the project to a standstill.

There are three weddings: British, Hindhu (Pakistani weddings follow Hindhu customs) and French.

When Ali met Honour fills the void of a British Pakistani Muslim hero in English commercial fiction. Their aim was to throw a light on British Muslim culture.

Terrorism is something both characters are affected by indirectly: Honour by the aftermath of the IRA bomb at the Royal Marines School of Music in Deal and Ali by the IRA bombing in Manchester.

“The reputation of a British Pakistani is the ‘dangerous other’ rather than ordinary, so we wanted to write a book where the British Pakistani hero isn’t a terrorist.”

In deciding a suitable pen name, the pair used their middle names: Ruth and Ahmed and their successful partnership may even
lead to new book ideas in the future.

Meanwhile, Anstey is negotiating deals for two books written in her own name.

Anstey Spraggan is the mother of X-Factor singer songwriter Lucy Spraggan. She is also a teacher of creative writing at Canterbury Christ Church University.

She also holds two weekly workshops in Deal at the Astor Theatre on Monday evenings and Wednesday mornings. For details, watch this space.

When Ali met Honour, by Ruth Ahmed, is published by Dahlia Publishing. It is available on Amazon and in bookshops now.