Coming soon will be an article I am working on about the epic novels of Kamila Shamsie. She is not as well known in the United States as she has been in Europe, and I’m thrilled to have been asked to write a feature about her unique novels, Burnt Shadows and A God in Every Stone. Although set during different time periods within the twentieth century, these stories revolve around both the big picture political and more personal spheres of the Indian-English relationship, the reality and legacy of the British Raj, and the Indian (both Hindu and Muslim) search for self-identity. I have a lot to say about these novels and I will be interviewing the author as well, so expect a few lengthy posts on these topics (and many more) by the end of September.  

My daughter is actually growing up, leaving me more reading, thinking, and writing time! I never thought it would happen : ) She is a young girl with an appreciation for books already, and I am one proud mommie!

The other novel I’m engrossed in is Stephanie Thornton’s The Tiger Queens, a huge epic of the lives of the women of Genghis Khan. And it is a tome, at nearly 500 pages, but I have not a single regret for offering to review it–the novel is spectacular. This is for the November issue of the HNS magazine as well.

I have also taken it upon myself for October to review an historical novel the likes of which I don’t often see, a topic that has not been overwritten and that many Western readers would most likely consider exotic and off-the-beaten path: Holly Lyn Payne’s Damascena: The Tale of Roses and Rumi. Set in thirteenth-century Persia, Damascena follows the life story of the living saint Damascena, whose relationship with the famed poet Rumi forever changes her life. The novel has been receiving glowing and heartfelt reviews so far.