The Author

THE AUTHOR

THE SHORT VERSION

Moud Adel is an Egyptian author who lives in France. His mother tongue is Arabic, and his daily language is French. Yet, he insists on writing his fantasy stories in English, using Arabic only when writing poems. When asked about why he doesn’t write in Arabic, which has come up a few times, his answer is always the same because he can express himself better in English. However, on separate occasions, he can also be found debating the beauty of the Arabic language and how rich with words it is. He claims that every emotion can be better described in Arabic for the sole reason that his birth language has more word variations that touch on every feeling.
Confronted by his contradiction, Moud claims that both answers are correct. He says that his home language, while indeed rich with words, is better suited for reaching into his own heart. That when it comes to fantasy, Arabic becomes more of a cliché and makes his words feel more like satire. And since he loves fantasy with every ounce in his soul, he will accept only what does it justice.

THE LONG VERSION

Moud Adel was born in 1987, in Aswan, the most southern city in Egypt, and the richest with ancient egyptian history. He was born at dawn, and delivered by the hands of his own father, against the latter’s well.

After delivering his own daughter, Moud’s father, Doctor Adel Fouad, wanted someone else to bring his first son to the world. However, on the awaited day, the second doctor expected the birth to last for a while longer, so he took a break to perform the dawn prayer. Moud’s father waited next to his mother, and so it was his fate to once again be the first to welcome his child.

Moud with his father, sister, and younger brother.

Growing up, Moud absorbed his father’s love for cars, his mother’s dedication, and his sister’s imagination. Despite being only three years older than him, his sister Yasmine was the one who told him bedtime stories, and she always came up with her own.

He spent the first sixteen years of his life moving across the country, staying in each city for only a year or two. In his first Thirteen years of school (kindergarten to highschool), he went to ten different schools. It taught him to make friends quickly, to understand them quickly, and unfortunately, to walk away from them also quickly.

He loved sports when he was younger, but was often limited by what each city offered. Swimming was his primary activity, and he competed in national level tournaments, but he also played water polo, karate, volleyball, ping-pong, and tennis.

He fell in love with reading at an early age, and while Christmas is not widely celebrated in Egypt, going to the annual national book fair was his own Christmas. He would save as much as he could from his allowance the entire year, only to spend on books. His gift was that his father always doubled whatever he saved on the day they went to the fair.

By the age of sixteen, he was already writing poems that he structured like short stories, but he didn’t venture into novel writing until university. It was then that he met an ex-girlfriend that loved writing as much as he did. And together, they co-authored many private novels. It was how they spent most of their classes, silently writing.

Moud in his late teens

He went to the school of Tourism Studies in Cairo, where he studied ancient Egyptian history and guest relations. Learning the mythology of his ancestors affirmed his love for fantasy and pushed him to create epic worlds of his own. It was there that he also began to write in English after realizing how superior it was to create true fantasy. He wrote his first complete solo novel “The Jackal” in 2010, and published it in 2012.

He worked in tourism for seven years and did thirteen months of military service.

After the Arab Spring started the Egyptian revolution in 2011 and tourism died, he found himself moving between jobs that he had no interest in doing, like call centers. In 2014, he moved to France with his ex-wife and started a new chapter of his life.

Starting from zero, Moud began rebuilding his life until he finally found stability again in 2017. It was then that he was finally able to, once again, pursue his writing passion, and he hasn’t stopped since.

He wrote ten novels between 2017 and 2021, published six of them, and rewrote three. He outlined the Mural universe after his second novel and began working on its mythology.

He is famous for his original worlds, unique magic systems, and colorful descriptions.

Moud's first book ever, his first book reading, and with his wonderful family.

Moud’s real name is Mahmoud. However, that name is so common in Egypt that he always went by a nickname that differed depending on his company. He was called Mody (by his family) Hoda, Hoka, Ab Adel, Hoksha, Compo, and Ganzori (By his friends). When he came to France, people tried to call him Mahmoud for the first time, which he felt strange about, but his French friends struggled with the letter H, so they started calling him Moud instead.

One thing that Moud didn’t know for a while is that his friends were calling him “The Guy with Thousand Lives” behind his back. When he asked why? They told him it was because he had so many stories about his life, despite his age. If you meet him, feel free to ask him to tell you one of these stories. He will be happy to share them with you.

Nowadays, Moud lives in the south-east of France with his beautiful wife and his wonderful son Yassin.

Country/region

THE AUTHOR