Well, I am ecstatic to announce that I am finished with the writing of my fourth book (imaginary drum roll please) Last Call, Cairo. Many people have asked me how I've come up with my titles and I tell them it’s always been a random, almost serendipitous moment. Because unlike the correspondence that Julia Child and her editor Judith Jones shared regarding more than two dozen potential titles for the former’s epic opus of the French culinary world, I never had a list (for any of my books). When writing, I never once stressed that I didn’t have a title for them yet; I just knew one would ultimately come to me. Last Call, Cairo did take a bit longer to manifest but one Sunday morning while lazily lying in bed still, it did.

Last Call, Cairo is as you guessed by its title, set in Egypt although the setting is more modern than ancient. The story will be told in three different time periods. The first will take place right before the advent of World War I and then “recommence” in the years after- this was essentially the Golden Age of Travel era, when the discovery of the ‘Boy King’ aka King Tut sparked a frenzy of interest in all things ancient Egypt and when having afternoon tea at the pyramids was a thing (and actually permitted). It will all be very Agatha Christie, Death on the Nile like.

The second part will be set during the war years of the Second World War in the Egyptian capital. Although many people don’t think of Egypt as being a pivotal player in the war (well, perhaps more the American demographic since the American military wasn’t involved there), it was. At the time of the Second World War, Egypt while officially an independent sovereign state, the United Kingdom still exerted its influence over the country, chiefly in matters of maintaining its own military presence there and of course in local politics too. Without going into a whole history lesson in this long overdue newsletter, Egypt had the Suez Canal and so access to the oil fields of what is today Iran… Iraq, so needless to say, the British didn’t want the Axis Powers to take Egypt and of course, both the Italians and Germans were gunning for it. The infamous German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel acquired his nickname ‘The Desert Fox’ from the cunning warfare tactics he employed against the enemy on the desert battlefields of Egypt and other parts of North Africa.

And finally, the third part is set many years later in the late 1990s and will in its own way, tie the first two parts together. 

Here's the complete synopsis for it-

Three strangers whose paths will cross on a trip to Egypt are unaware of the shared connections they hold. These unite them from times past to a sinister future.

Egypt, 1913

Alexandra Garris dreamed of something different, something tied to Egypt. But for a society girl from one of Philadelphia’s oldest and most affluent families, her destiny was predetermined, much in the same way as Egypt’s pharaohs' lives had been, and it did not include a college degree. However, a trip to Egypt on the advent of war would change all of that, forever altering her life’s path. From the streets of Cairo, to the still haunting memories of the Western Front in the aftermath of the Great War, to journeys on the River Nile, Alexandra's destiny would be forever tied to the country she had always loved.

Egypt, 1939
For Eleanor Mews, Egypt afforded her the opportunity to reinvent herself. It was there that she could finally shed the stigma of the person she had been, the poor girl from the streets of London’s East End, and become whoever she wanted. Although the war raging in Europe seemed so far away in Cairo at first, soon enough it came knocking on Eleanor’s door in the form of both love and loss.

For Eleni, a Jewish child fleeing the Nazi-occupied Greek island of Corfu, who would suddenly come into Eleanor’s life, it was Egypt but also the Englishwoman who saved her. Something she would never forget.

Egypt, 1997
For most people, a trip to Egypt is a trip of a lifetime. For Jimmy, Lux, and Eleanor, it turns out to be something entirely different.

Last Call, Cairo will be available in both paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon (and remember, even if you don't own a Kindle, you can still buy the eBook version with the Kindle app for iPhones/iPads). Pre-order is available now for Kindle.

"The last remaining wonder of the world still standing tall against the backdrop of the modern one. She had borne witness to the rise and fall of countless empires and conquering armies, and yet here she was, still enchanting all those who stood before her."

Last Call, Cairo

Books I've Read 

I’ve read a ton of books since I sent my last newsletter out but The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon and The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson were two that stood out and I really enjoyed them. Both are historical, one fiction, the other non-fiction.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

I've read a couple of books by Ariel Lawhon now and I have to say that I enjoyed her latest one immensely. The Frozen River is inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who stood up against the legal system at a time in American history when not only was this unheard of but also unfathomable. I'm a big Outlander fan and reading Frozen River brought the character of Claire Fraser to mind. Lawhon also did a wonderful job of immersing her readers in the setting of 18th-century New England.

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson

Okay, so I literally just finished master storyteller Erik Larson's latest work today (and so I'm all the more happy that I can include it in this newsletter). Like all history geeks, I of course have a pretty solid footing on the American Civil War. But lest you think The Demon of Unrest is a work about the Civil War, it's not. In fact, it more or less ends with the first official battle that took place in July of 1861- The Battle of Bull Run. Rather, Larson brings to life the critical five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War (when the first shots of the war were fired on United States soldiers at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina by Confederate forces). It wasn't my favorite of his (that honor still goes to In the Garden of Beasts), but as an American, a very enlightening read all the same.

And I know I say it every time, but if you have read any of my novels, The Tears of Yesteryear, The Dead Are Resting, and Red Clay Ashes, please leave a review for them on Amazon and Goodreads. It needn’t be long or eloquent, a sentence or two is perfect. But as someone who is independently published, reviews, not just ratings, are everything and help in spreading the word out about my books. So, if you enjoyed one or even all of them, please let fellow bibliophiles know by writing a review.

Actual written words, not just clicking on a

star rating mean everything to me.

Last Call, Cairo

Coming 10.15.24

Hope you're having a wonderful summer!

Until next time!