I’m pleased to announce, THE TUNNEL, has been selected as a Finalist in the 2016 Oregon Book Award. Winner to be announced on April 11th in Portland. Stayed tuned…!!!!

http://www.literary-arts.org/what-we-do/oba-home/

http://bookgoodies.com/interview-with-author-gail-chehab/

Excellent interview with Bonnie ZoBell of West Coast.

http://goo.gl/8mtm8b.

Authors must take up the challenge of social media

Mohammed Sawiri is among the thousands of Palestinians who became wealthy by hauling goods through tunnels under the border with Egypt but are now struggling to survive. Read

Oh how I detest blogging. So why am I doing my first blog? Because it’s good for me. Because I need to come out of my shell. For years, people have asked me do I have a blog? As a writer, I’m expected to have one. Here’s my problem—I can’t stand talking about myself. It’s too “self-promotionalish.” Of course, I have a mountain full of juicy stuff to write about: My marriage to my taboo Arab boyfriend; my first job after graduate school working at a steel plant in rural Mexico where an occasional explosion was as common as a shot of tequila; my recent trip to the Nicaraguan countryside to provide free healthcare to almost 400 horses; my trip to Cuba, a terrifyingly beautiful country, with my 80-year-old mother. All of this I could write about, but I don’t. Memoirs I love, but not my own. Other people’s blogs I gobble up daily. Yet I still procrastinate about starting my own. Continue Reading...