REVIEWS
[F]ramed by the title and recurring references, almonds serve as a metaphor for Palestine, referring to the fertile orchards left behind and the nostalgia felt by their former cultivators. Calling the book “Bitter Almonds” expands the metaphor to cover the refugees’ disappointments and hard experience, as well as the plot’s unifying theme — a great love that must traverse a long, difficult path to be fulfilled.Read full review in The Jordan Times
[P]age-turning, heart-worming plot.
Women’s Review of Books magazine Vol33, No. 4, July/August 2016
ومن جهتها قالت الدار الناشرة إن الرواية نجحت في “وضع أزمة معاصرة مثل أزمة اللاجئين في صدارة اهتمام عالم الأدب، وبطريقة تجعلها أزمة إنسانية يلمسها كل إنسان حول العالم حتى وإن كان لم يعايشها. ولا شك في أن موهبة ليلاس طه في رسم شخصيات تنضح بالعطف وتجيش بمشاعر حقيقية قد جعل الرواية تجتذب القرّاء الكبار والصغار على السواء
more on Aljazeera Arabic
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BITTER ALMONDS chosen as one of FreshFiction’s Best Reads in January!
BITTER ALMONDS is at #9 on the list by Bustle.com for January 2016’s 13 best YA books to read when the snow inevitably falls.
Meet author Lilas Taha on Saturday, January 23, 2 p.m. at your Sugar Land HPB. Lilas will discuss and sign her new novel Bitter Almonds. Hardback copies available for purchase starting January 19 as specially-priced new items while supplies last.
BITTER ALMONDS is translated into the Norwegian language and is published by Cappelen Damm AS
“Lilas Taha’s BITTER LMONDS exemplifies struggle of displacement, power of human spirit.” Author interview and book discussion in Elan Magazine
Taha will be at a reading and discussion event for BITTER ALMONDS on October 7th, 2015 at Sakeyat Addaraweesh in Amman, Jordan.
Lilas Taha’s Bitter Almonds encompasses the pain of exile.
Author interview in The National
BITTER ALMONDS made it to the Gulf Times Newspaper. The article talks about books by Arab Women writers.
SHADOWS OF DAMASCUS was chosen as a finalist in the Mainstream w/Romantic Elements category of the Colorado Romance Writers 2015 Award of Excellence Contest. To see the finalists list on the CRW website, click here. Winners will be announced at the CRW conference in Denver, Colorado on August 8, 2015.
SHADOWS OF DAMASCUS is nominated for the RONE award (Reward of Novel Excellence) by InD’tale Magazine in the Contemporary: Sweet – 2015 category.
Taha will be chatting live about book plot and character creation on Coffee Time Romance on March 24th at 9:00 pm Eastern Time.
Taha will be discussing and signing her book Shadows of Damascus at the River Oaks Bookstore in Houston, TX on November 15 from 4-6 pm
Taha will be signing books at the Texas Book Festival 2014 in Austin on Oct 25 and Oct 26, from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm each day. Texas Book Festival 2014
Taha signed with Bloomsbury QF Publishers to publish her second novel BITTER ALMONDS in multiple languages. Estimated release date is summer 2015.
Author featured on the Arab American Institute website as part of their Together We came campaign.
In honor of my late father on his special Father’s Day, I am offering my book Shadows of Damascus for $.99 on Amazon throughout the week.
http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Damascus-Lilas-Taha-ebook/dp/B00HUZUG8Y
Happy Father’s Day!
Congratulations to P. L. Rickrode for winning the bid for Shadows of Damascus on the Brenda Novak Online Auction for Diabetes, bringing the total contribution for Diabetes research to $275,000 this year!
Throughout the month of May, the author is offering a free critique of a manuscript and a free E-copy of SHADOWS OF DAMASCUS on theBrenda Novak Online Auction for Diabetes.
Arab American Woman’s book inspired by current events in Syria: The Arab Daily News
Sugar Land Author’s Debut Novel Deals with Love, War from U.S. to Syria: Sugar Land Sun Newspaper