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I was both delighted and nervous when the Adana Branch of the Turkish American Women's Cultural Society Reading Group invited me to visit and discuss my story, 'Scandalous Lady'.
Nervous because, for all my experience of Turkey, the story of Olivia and Selim Efendi, set in Constantinople in 1811, was under scrutiny by a large group of Turkish ladies.
Delighted because they gave me a warm welcome, they approved my descriptions of life in that period; and then.... as they always do, they provided a splendid feast to complete the afternoon.
Some of the ladies and a sample of the feast
The event is a cherished memory for me, both for the discussion of my novel
and for the kind hospitality of the ladies.
"Ice cool Lord Berannes is the chief diplomat negotiating peace between the Ottoman Sultan and Russia. Then he encounters fiery, rebellious artist Olivia Hartford. And after that, nothing goes to plan – for either of them."