The ups and downs of Ali Sayyad Shirazi's life in various stages, from his early years through the imposed war and his martyrdom, are documented in Mohsen Momeni Sharif's book "Looking for the Scarlet Rose."

* Why did you choose to create a book about Sayyad Shirazi's martyrdom?

Ahmed Dehghan handed me a transcript of many interviews he conducted with Sayyad Shirazi the day following his martyrdom. I turned this material into a young adult book by adding his memories from the start of the revolution through Operation Wal-Fajr 1. After that, I made the decision to write about his entire life. I had anticipated it would take less than six months, but the project actually took three years to complete.

* Your book has been translated into several other languages. Have you gotten feedback from non-Persian-speaking audiences?

The commander of the Italian armed forces read the English version of my book and said that by doing so, he learned about the Iran-Iraq war. My book has so far been translated into eight languages. The most interesting comment I've received so far came from this commander.

* Which capabilities of the holy defense, in your opinion, ought to be focused on in order to generate more literary works about it?

I believe there are still topics we can write about even if years have passed since the war. However, in order to write about it, we must be creative and knowledgeable of history.

* Are you currently working on a new book?

Yes. I'm currently finishing the last few chapters of a book called "Moon and Oak," which differs from my other works in terms of location and viewpoint.