Introduce yourself, your writing and your books to our readers
I have two careers really: One as a teller of truth and one as a teller of lies. After working fulltime as a journalist in the US for a decade, I abruptly decided to move to Yemen, where I became the editor in chief of a newspaper. My first book is a memoir about the experience of running that paper and the journey I took with my Yemeni reporters. It was the most difficult, hilarious, and rewarding year of my life. Writing that first book, The Woman Who Fell From the Sky, felt a lot like a continuation of my journalism career. It was the longest story I had ever published, but I was just as exacting in my research. I had Al Qaeda experts read my pages on Al Qaeda, Arabists review …show more content…
I wanted the freedom to lie and make stuff up. Also, I had just moved in with the man who is now my husband, who was then the British ambassador to Yemen. So I went from living alone in the old city of Sana’a to living with Tim in a vast gated mansion we were not allowed to leave without bodyguards. We traveled in armored cars, had hostage negotiators in our guest bedrooms, and regularly dined with the foreign minister. It was surreal. Over our years there I heard a million fascinating stories I was dying to use in a book. Only because I didn’t want to ruin my husband’s career so early in our relationship, I thought I had better write fiction. I could place an entirely fictional narrative in our strange and fascinating context. The result is my new novel, The Ambassador’s Wife. Anyone who knows me will recognize certain autobiographical details. Like me, my character Miranda is an American married to a British ambassador. She is a vegetarian obsessed with exercise. And she has trouble keeping her mouth shut. But the rest is all made up! Miranda is an artist, a talented painter. I cannot draw or paint. She comes from Seattle, I was born in Boston. She is an only child, I have a sister. I have also never nursed a stranger’s child, been kidnapped for a prolonged period, or put my husband and students in …show more content…
Westerners tend to view Muslim women as powerless. I wanted to explore some of the ways these women do have power. They have the power of their connections with family, with each other, power in the anonymity of their dress. It is the Muslim women who propel the plot of The Ambassador’s Wife. And the ambassador ends up being the least powerful person in the book.
VIII. - Do you have any resources you can recommend to writers?
Funds for Writers has a pretty terrific newsletter, with a list of awards, contests, residencies, publishers, and good places to submit your work. I also subscribe to Poets & Writers, which is an incredible resource. A wise and experienced mentor who understands what you are trying to achieve with your writing is also invaluable. Take classes, go to writing conferences and festivals, and be friendly and supportive of other writers, and you will find someone.
IX. - Do you have any productivity tips for
I have two careers really: One as a teller of truth and one as a teller of lies. After working fulltime as a journalist in the US for a decade, I abruptly decided to move to Yemen, where I became the editor in chief of a newspaper. My first book is a memoir about the experience of running that paper and the journey I took with my Yemeni reporters. It was the most difficult, hilarious, and rewarding year of my life. Writing that first book, The Woman Who Fell From the Sky, felt a lot like a continuation of my journalism career. It was the longest story I had ever published, but I was just as exacting in my research. I had Al Qaeda experts read my pages on Al Qaeda, Arabists review …show more content…
I wanted the freedom to lie and make stuff up. Also, I had just moved in with the man who is now my husband, who was then the British ambassador to Yemen. So I went from living alone in the old city of Sana’a to living with Tim in a vast gated mansion we were not allowed to leave without bodyguards. We traveled in armored cars, had hostage negotiators in our guest bedrooms, and regularly dined with the foreign minister. It was surreal. Over our years there I heard a million fascinating stories I was dying to use in a book. Only because I didn’t want to ruin my husband’s career so early in our relationship, I thought I had better write fiction. I could place an entirely fictional narrative in our strange and fascinating context. The result is my new novel, The Ambassador’s Wife. Anyone who knows me will recognize certain autobiographical details. Like me, my character Miranda is an American married to a British ambassador. She is a vegetarian obsessed with exercise. And she has trouble keeping her mouth shut. But the rest is all made up! Miranda is an artist, a talented painter. I cannot draw or paint. She comes from Seattle, I was born in Boston. She is an only child, I have a sister. I have also never nursed a stranger’s child, been kidnapped for a prolonged period, or put my husband and students in …show more content…
Westerners tend to view Muslim women as powerless. I wanted to explore some of the ways these women do have power. They have the power of their connections with family, with each other, power in the anonymity of their dress. It is the Muslim women who propel the plot of The Ambassador’s Wife. And the ambassador ends up being the least powerful person in the book.
VIII. - Do you have any resources you can recommend to writers?
Funds for Writers has a pretty terrific newsletter, with a list of awards, contests, residencies, publishers, and good places to submit your work. I also subscribe to Poets & Writers, which is an incredible resource. A wise and experienced mentor who understands what you are trying to achieve with your writing is also invaluable. Take classes, go to writing conferences and festivals, and be friendly and supportive of other writers, and you will find someone.
IX. - Do you have any productivity tips for