Patricia McArdle (Author of Farishta)

Patricia McArdle made a comment on her profile

"I have just released a video book trailer for my novel Farishta to announce the upcoming (June 5, 2012) release of the paperback version.
(The hardcov...more "

Patricia McArdle is now friends with M.L. Rudolph

Patricia McArdle added:

Farishta
by Patricia McArdle (Goodreads Author)

read in June, 2011

My rating:

Since I'm the author, I will not rate Farishta and will leave it to other readers to comment. It's been fascinating to see the varied opinions that GoodReads reviewers have about my novel. I appreciate them all. I'm starting to get invited to speak a...more Since I'm the author, I will not rate Farishta and will leave it to other readers to comment. It's been fascinating to see the varied opinions that GoodReads reviewers have about my novel. I appreciate them all. I'm starting to get invited to speak at a growing number of book clubs in my area (Washington DC) and in Southern California where I spend some time every year. I love it. I'm also beginning to set up Skype meetings with book groups in other parts of the country. The paperback version of Farishta will be out June 5, 2012, so I'm hoping more book groups will select it to read. It's so great to be able to talk to people all over the country (and the world) via Skype--for free! I've spoken to some vets and spouses about Farishta, and they really seem to appreciate my focus on PTSD in the story. The questions from each group I meet are so different. Many people want to know how much of the story is autobiographical--and the questions on this topic can get uncomfortably detailed. Others want to know more about issues related to Afghanistan and our decade-long war there: the treatment of women, sustainable reconstruction, archeology, and even my favorite topic--solar cooking. Some groups want me to focus on how I turned my memoirs into a novel. I can go on for hours on any one of these topics and sometimes we do. I do have a website now: www. patriciamcardle.com, that may answer some of these questions. Please let me know if your book group would like to schedule a meeting with me via Skype to discuss Farishta. You can reach me at mcardleprtmazar@yahoo.com.
It took me three years to write this novel and another year to edit it. I submitted the manuscript to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest in January 2010 and six months later won a publishing contract with Riverhead Books. Prior to publication, I had to have the entire manuscript examined for classified material by the Department of State and other government agencies mentioned in the story. They weren’t censoring my opinions, just making sure I didn't reveal any sensitive material--which I didn't. I'm glad we're out of Iraq (I don't think we should have ever gone in) and I hope we will soon be able to leave Afghanistan. I also hope that both countries will have the capacity to offer some degree of security and stability to their citizens in the future. Finally, I hope you enjoy reading Farishta.(less)

Patricia McArdle made a comment on Jo's review of Farishta

"Thank you, Jo Ann, for reviewing Farishta. A lot of what happened in my novel was based on real events that happened to me or to other people I knew i...more "

Patricia McArdle liked Jo's review of Farishta:

" I really enjoy books like this. Informative and crisply written. The obligataory romance was well wrought and even though it was fiction, it felt sincere or authentic, maybe. I will probably get no closer to Afghanistan than these types of books.... "
Read more of this review »

Patricia McArdle gave

to:

Caravans
by James A. Michener

read in June, 2009

My rating:

I was given a copy of James Michener's Caravans when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in a remote Paraguayan village in the early 1970s. I read it by kerosene lamp under my mosquito net, was fascinated by the story and was desperate to see Afghanistan....more I was given a copy of James Michener's Caravans when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in a remote Paraguayan village in the early 1970s. I read it by kerosene lamp under my mosquito net, was fascinated by the story and was desperate to see Afghanistan. It would take me thirty more years to get there.
In 2005 the Department of State sent me (now a senior diplomat) to spend a year at a remote British Army outpost in northern Afghanistan. After I returned from Afghanistan in 2006, I wrote a novel, 'Farishta', based in part on my experiences there. I drew a lot of inspiration from 'Caravans' in writing 'Farishta' (the Dari word for 'angel'). 'Farishta' just won the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel award and will be published by Penguin Books in August 2011. You can read a sixty-page excerpt and several early reviews at Amazon.com.
Here's a synopsis of the story: In 2004, American diplomat Angela Morgan is informed by the State Department that she must accept a one-year assignment at a remote NATO outpost in Afghanistan with the British Army or risk being forced to resign from the Foreign Service. Angela has battled untreated PTSD for more than twenty years. Her life and career have been drifting since she witnessed her husband’s death in the 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut.
At a meeting in London on her way to Afghanistan Angela has a highly charged encounter with a British major more than a decade her junior. During the year they spend at the camp in Mazar-e-Sharif, their confrontational relationship develops into a powerful attraction that both are reluctant to express. At the same time, a Russian diplomat, whom Angela befriends while transiting Dubai, gradually wins her trust with disastrous results.
When she arrives at the fortified military camp in Mazar-e-Sharif, the British soldiers and her young Afghan interpreter make it clear they are not pleased to have a female in their midst. Frustrated by her inability to contribute to Afghanistan’s reconstruction Angela begins leaving camp without permission and hidden under a burkah to work with a group of refugees. Her growing friendship with a young Afghan woman incurs the wrath of a powerful warlord in the north. When attacks are launched against the NATO troops with deadly effect, she must deal with wrenching personal losses.

If you liked Caravans, I know you will enjoy Farishta.

Patricia McArdle(less)

Patricia McArdle added a photo to the book Farishta

Patricia McArdle made a comment on Cathryn's review of Farishta

"I am really enjoying reading these reviews. Sorry you didn't like the romance thread, although such unlikely war time liaison's are not uncommon in co...more "

Patricia McArdle is now following Cathryn's reviews

Patricia McArdle gave

to:

Dove Season
by Johnny Shaw (Goodreads Author)

read in January, 2012

My rating:

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Patricia McArdle made a comment on her profile "I have just released a video book trailer for my novel Farishta to announce the upcoming (June 5, 2012) release of the paperback version. (The hardcov...more "
May 26, 2012 02:14pm
Patricia McArdle is now friends with M.L. Rudolph
Mar 30, 2012 07:33pm
Patricia McArdle added: Farishta by Patricia McArdle (Goodreads Author) read in June, 2011	My rating:
Since I'm the author, I will not rate Farishta and will leave it to other readers to comment. It's been fascinating to see the varied opinions that GoodReads reviewers have about my novel. I appreciate them all. I'm starting to get invited to speak a...more
Mar 17, 2012 02:29pm · see review
Patricia McArdle made a comment on Jo's review of Farishta "Thank you, Jo Ann, for reviewing Farishta. A lot of what happened in my novel was based on real events that happened to me or to other people I knew i...more "
Mar 17, 2012 02:19pm · see review
Patricia McArdle liked Jo's review of Farishta: " I really enjoy books like this. Informative and crisply written. The obligataory romance was well wrought and even though it was fiction, it felt sincere or authentic, maybe. I will probably get no closer to Afghanistan than these types of books.... " Read more of this review »
Mar 17, 2012 02:17pm · see review
Patricia McArdle gave to: Caravans by James A. Michener read in June, 2009	My rating:
I was given a copy of James Michener's Caravans when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in a remote Paraguayan village in the early 1970s. I read it by kerosene lamp under my mosquito net, was fascinated by the story and was desperate to see Afghanistan....more
Mar 17, 2012 09:00am · see review
Patricia McArdle added a photo to the book Farishta
Mar 07, 2012 11:26am · like · view gallery
Patricia McArdle made a comment on Cathryn's review of Farishta "I am really enjoying reading these reviews. Sorry you didn't like the romance thread, although such unlikely war time liaison's are not uncommon in co...more "
Feb 29, 2012 08:20am · see review
Patricia McArdle is now following Cathryn's reviews
Feb 29, 2012 08:10am
Patricia McArdle gave to: Dove Season by Johnny Shaw (Goodreads Author) read in January, 2012	My rating:
Jan 16, 2012 03:13pm

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