‘Falling in love is a luxury for a prince, my son. You have twenty women in your harem. Your duty is to make love with all of them and produce male heirs for the empire.’

Charismatic Prince Orhan, heir to the Ottoman Sultan of Türkiye, ignores his mother’s advice when he rescues a Russian slave girl, Rusalka, from drowning. He falls in love with her, takes her into his opulent harem, and renames her Süreyya. But she has a secret that could cost her life, or have her banished.

The harem is a hotbed of jealousies and intrigue. Süreyya is determined to escape, until she spends some intimate time with Prince Orhan. When Süreyya is unexpectedly offered her freedom, it comes at a price.

Freedom flows for Zahra, but suddenly it’s ebbing.

Zahra Ghafoori, an Afghan widow with a troubled past, plans to leave Tehran with her fiancé, wealthy architect Karim Konari, and her son Ahmad. Living through the post-revolutionary challenges in 1979 Iran, Zahra is anxious to settle with them in America. The dramatic reappearance of her revolutionary cousin Firzun, whom she believed dead in a bomb blast, changes everything.

Firzun manipulates Zahra to flee with him to Australia. When they arrive, Firzun disappears along with Zahra’s options. Before long, Zahra finds herself on the wrong side of the law.

Old and new loyalties are tested, which will either bring Zahra and Karim together or keep them apart forever … pushing freedom and happiness further away from her grasp. The question is, will it all ebb away forever?

My debut novel The Afghan Wife was published in November 2017.

A story of love and betrayal set against the background of international politics and the 1979 Revolution in Iran.

In the Historical Background section you’ll find information about Iran/Persia where the novel is set. There’s more information about me in the About Me section and a collection of my published travel articles and short stories in the ‘Cindy’s writing’ drop down menu. Please take some time to scroll through the photographs of Iran which I took when I visited.

The Afghan Wife is available now.