If I had never heard of me, would I read my book?

This is a guest post I wrote for the Books and Other Spells website as part of my virtual blog tour:

If I was a romantic at heart, and constantly striving to experience something new, I would read my book. There's a love story that unfolds in very unusual circumstances. There are characters that are too different, too far apart, they don't even understand each other - which made it a bit challenging as a writer. There's a political upheaval that no one seems to understand, or predict how it would settle. And there's an inner strive to not just survive, but to experience life's beauty and embrace it. One has to look hard enough, though.

I would want to know more about this emotionally distant Yasmeen. What made her that way? And why can't she unfold? How many women I know are like her? Would she be able to move on with life, with memories of what she had witnessed screaming loud and clear in her head? I would want to know what mattered to her the most, and would she be able to keep it?

I would want to understand why Adam turned out the way he did. How he managed to hold on to his principles and honor, despite everything he went through. And I would want to see if I could accept his choices and decisions.

If I had never heard of me, I would be intrigued by the foreign name, the timely book title, and the promise of a different kind of romance. Yes, I would read my book. And I would judge, critique, write a review about it, and I would tell my friends whether I liked it or not.


Lilas Taha is a novelist, winner of the 2017 International Book Awards  and is the author of Shadows of Damascus and Bitter Almonds.