Writers’ Night in Paris!

For an American writer, it’s a dream come true: being invited to speak and read in Paris. On Friday, July 10, 2015, I was honored to join the very talentedauthors Reine Arcache Melvin and Heather Stimmler-Hall in a lively Q&A discussion with 40 Parisians about the writer’s life, followed by readings from our works, in the …

5 Things Literary Agents Do For Authors

In these times when anyone can publish a book with the click of a mouse, finding a literary agent is too often an afterthought, or no thought at all. Just as most of us wouldn’t go to court without a lawyer, however, we shouldn’t enter into publishing without an agent. Because, in an industry where …

The Writer’s Life: Hob-Nobbing with Authors at RWA 2013

I had a blast at the 2013 Romance Writers of America Conference in Atlanta last week, hobnobbing with romance authors, signing my FOUR SISTERS, ALL QUEENS, dining with one of my favorite book bloggers, moderating and participating on a panel with my literary agent, Natasha Kern, and volunteering at the Rita Awards ceremony. But my …

My Story: Finding Power Within

Dear Reader, Every writer, it’s said, has a single story to tell — and tells it over and over again. A’isha bint Abi Bakr, the most famous and influential woman in Islam, inspired me to write about her life in my novels “The Jewel of Medina” and “The Sword of Medina.” Now that I’m at …