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Thank you for visiting my website. I love telling stories, and turning some of them into published novels is very rewarding for me as a writer. Having the chance to meet diverse and wonderful readers such as you is just as valuable.
At a glance, you’ll find that LOST IN THYME, BITTER ALMONDS and SHADOWS OF DAMASCUS are novels inspired by current events, and their plots move between the Middle East, Europe and the United States.
In my novels, I try to celebrate the human spirit with many of its contradictions, showing the complex struggles of regular folk trying to overcome extraordinary circumstances.
If interested, you can read excerpts and reviews of each book on the BOOKS Page. You will also find lists of some bookstores world-wide where the books are available, as well as optional buy links.
If you’d like me to visit with your book club click here.
I welcome your comments, questions, and book discussions. Just drop me a line and I’ll get back with you.
Paperback and E-book Editions
Lost In Thyme
A tale of two souls whose paths cross and intertwine, and the inevitable dance with fate that ensues.
A man’s dying wish unearths a tumultuous past and brings together two lost souls searching for the missing pieces that will make them whole again.
Thrust together by fate, Sami and Petra begin a whirlwind journey that explores their families’ mysterious past, from America all the way to the precarious outskirts of Palestine. As their lives and histories entangle and intertwine, will they be able to forge a shared future together, or will fate once again intervene?
Paperback and E-book Editions
الترجمة العربية Arabic Translation
Norwegian Translation
Bitter Almonds
Omar is an orphaned Palestinian born into chaos, displaced by violence, and driven by forces beyond his control to find his place in the world. He only has one thing to hold on to: a love that propels him forward and gives him hope.
Nadia is maturing into womanhood in a refugee community in Damascus. She tries hard to cope with the tough realities of her world. But she is confronted with a cruel load thrust upon her by a selfish brother. Will she break out of her traditional social mould to create her own destiny?
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Shadows Of Damascus
Bullet wounds, torture and oppression aren’t the only things that keep a man—or a woman—from being whole.
Debt. Honor. Pain. Solitude. These are things wounded war veteran Adam Wegener knows all about. Love—now, that he is not good at. Not when love equals a closed fist, burns, and suicide attempts. But Adam is one who keeps his word. He owes the man who saved his life in Iraq. And he doesn’t question the measure of the debt, even when it is in the form of an emotionally distant, beautiful woman.
Yasmeen agreed to become the wife of an American veteran so she could flee persecution in war-torn Syria. She counted on being in the United States for a short stay until she could return home. There was one thing she did not count on: wanting more.
Is it too late for Adam and Yasmeen?
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Join me in a facebook book club discussion of BITTER ALMONDS on May 27 organized by the Arab American National Museum through a live facebook event. Click on the links above to join or here for more details
“In her Own Words: My stories are like children that leave the nest to become books”
Feature Article in QF Publication
Honored to be the HBKU Press-sponsored resident for the 2020 Art Omi Writers’ Residency Program in New York.
Excited to announce that LOST IN THYME novel is chosen the winner of 2019 Best Book Awards in the Category Fiction: Inspirational. The contest is sponsored by American Book Fest
Palestinian Stories
“Immigrant Lilas .. Using English” Conveys Arab Woes of Displacement
Full article in Arabic by Journalist Hanan Mutair at SABAQ24.PS News
Lost in Thyme has been announced as a Finalist in the category of Fiction: Inspirational in the 2019 International Book Awards.
New novel LOST IN THYME to be released on November 29, 2018.
English and Arabic book signing event for Bitter Almonds in Amman, Jordan on October 1st, 2018 during the Amman Book Fair
Touching Hearts: An Engineer who writes from the heart, touching others.
Full Interview in Qatar Tribune
Announcing the release of the Arabic translation for Bitter Almonds as اللّوز المُرّ
Join me for a conversation with Georgetwon University in Qatar on January 24, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. For more information click here
Join me to discuss rhetorical devices uses on Thursday, October 26, 3-5 pm at Tracy Gee Community Center as part of the Houston Writers Guild Fall/Winter Seminar Series. Free to all Houston writers. Click here for more details.
Let’s help out Houston residents affected by hurricane Harvey. All proceeds will be donated to the Harvey Relief Fund. Starting date pushed to September 16. Let’s work together on Novel Writing at the Fig Writer’s Studio in Houston. For registration and more details click here
Had uplifting and deep discussions with the book club ladies of the American Association of University Women AAUW- Fort Bend chapter on July 3, 2017.
“وفي ثنايا الرواية تفيض الروح الإنسانية والنضالات المعقدة التي يخوضها الأشخاص العاديون وهم يحاولون التغلب على ظروف حياتهم الاستثنائية” – More on Aljazeera Arabic المزيد على
“A love story rooted in history and Palestinian culture, Bitter Almonds is inspired by the tremulous events in the Middle East and author Lilas Taha’s family history.” – read more about Bitter Almonds in the Gulf-Times
Proud to announce that Bitter Almonds won the 2017 International Book Award in the Fiction-Multicultural category.
Sincere thanks to the ladies of AAUW West Harris County Branch book club for the warm welcome, thoughtful discussion and powerful encouragement. March, 2017.
