Suzanne Strong's Blog, page 18

Syrian Kurdish women my novel is about…

 Some of the women from YPJ Brigade, at the battle of Kobane, February 2015
4 February 2015, 23:08:21
Source: VOA [Public domain]

Hey guys,

In light of recent events in Syria, I must mention that it is an attrocity that the area where I based this novel is now being attacked by Turkey. Below, is my blog about where my novel came from. But I must say I am extremely concerned and incensed that the Kurdish people in this area who fought Daesh are now being abandoned and have to try to survive another attack. The battle my novel is about was the battle for Kobane which is on the border with Turkey.

About the Battle for Kobane

Within the first month of when Daesh surrounded the town the world watched on, but no one helped the Kurds – thousands of people left. I remember watching it on the news. There were approximately a thousand civilians who stayed, and they only had rudimentary weapons in which to fight Daesh who had tanks and heavy military gear. This is why there were Kurdish protests all around the world for someone to step in. In the end Barrack Obama did act and the US air strikes did help the Kurds after one month of fighting on their own. They held Daesh off by giving their lives in street to street battles. There were a large amount of women soldiers who enlisted for this battle. This is what compelled and inspired me to write this novel.

This is the real detail of this book, based on real facts of the courageous fight made by a combination of Kurdish forces, including many women. These people were not soldiers to begin with.

I hope you enjoy my character’s stories, Karin and Roza who feel compelled to join the battle to defend their families and their land.

This battle was the first successful battle against Daesh and led to its demise in Syria. My book Where the Sun Rises is available on Amazon, in e-book or print format.

“Where the Sun Rises is an ambitious, compassionate and powerful novel. Sensory memories accessed through scents and tastes are used brilliantly to evoke the physical strain, tenderness and revulsion of war for female soldiers in the fight against ISIS. Their story deserves a far wider readership and Strong’s achievement lies in her ability to take us into their dangerous world.”…
Dr Toby Davidson, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University, Sydney.

“Powerful and credible. An eye-opener to a story we rarely hear.”

Dr Lynne Spender, UTS Lecturer, Sydney. 

Where the Sun Rises no. 1 on Amazon…

Hey guys,

I was excited today when I released my book that it went to Number 1 on Amazon Australia and Number 1 on Amazon USA New Releases. Very excited to be releasing my book to the world.

My novel Where the Sun Rises Released today!

After three years of research, writing, editing and travel finally my novel, Where the Sun Rises is launched today! Where the Sun Rises follows the story of two Kurdish women who take up arms against ISIS in the Syrian town of Kobane. I’m very excited to finally release my novel.

Click on the link below to order the e-book, it is available in print as well. Contact me for further info about how to get a hold of it. 

Early Reviews of Where the Sun Rises…

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‘Where the Sun Rises is an ambitious, compassionate and powerful novel. Sensory memories accessed through scents and tastes are used brilliantly to evoke the physical strain, tenderness and revulsion of war for female soldiers in the fight against ISIS. Their story deserves a far wider readership and Strong’s achievement lies in her ability to take us into their dangerous world.’ 

Dr Toby Davidson, Lecturer, Macquarie University, Sydney.

“Strong has taken care to accurately present the reality of the lives of Kurdish women and the dramatic choices they make as fighters defending their land. The story is remarkable for the authenticity of the detailed portrayal of the geography, the intimate lives of the women fighters and the ferocity of the killing in which they are involved…Strong makes good use of the senses to convey the sounds and smells of battle and death and contrasts it with the delights of singing and dancing, the smell of freshly baked bread and the taste of goat’s cheese. The extraordinary amount of research undertaken pays dividends. Recollections of peaceful days and olive groves are neatly woven into the narrative, as are the reassuring pots of tea.

Powerful and credible, Where the Sun Rises is an eye-opener to a story we rarely hear.’

Dr Lynne Spender, Lecturer, UTS, Sydney.

My novel will be released in a few days time. I am excited to finally be introducing my new novel baby to the world.

To Singapore … ☀️

Flying off to Singapore today – should be nice and relaxing – pausing my novel editing for the moment. I need a break.

The women I wrote my novel about…

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/27/homepage2/kurdish-female-fighters/index.html

(News Source: CNN Website)

Hey guys, thanks for stopping by. These are examples of the phenomenal women from the YPJ and Kurdish forces I wrote my new novel, Where the Sun Rises, about. None of these women appear in my novel but I wanted to show you the real faces and stories of some of the women.

Their stories inspired and captivated me and I wanted to write from their point of view. Therefore I spent four years and more than 2000 of hours of research to seek to capture this point of view. There has been a lot of journalism done about these women, but no one had written a novel about their phenomenal fight against Daesh so I thought to myself, “what if we could see this war from their eyes?” I also wanted to show the world that bravery was wearing a female uniform and that Daesh were running from these women.

I contacted the Women of Rojava YPJ women on twitter and they wrote this supportive statement of my novel.

“We Kurdish people are proud of people like you, that are supporting us and are in solidarity with us. It means a lot for us. We know that we have solidarity from all around the world and that makes us stronger. We women are fighting here for all the women not only in Rojava- Syria.. Your book is amazing sister. Thank you so much, solidarity greetings from Rojava-Northern-Syria.”

Response from YPJ Media Centre. The woman could not be
named for security purposes.

I am thankful to Hassan Somboli as well from the Brisbane Kurdish Association who assisted me with language and culture. I was excited to be able to communicate with the YPJ Media Centre who were very supportive of what I was doing. I also communicated with Claudia Al Minyah and Hanna Bohman, a Canadian woman who joined the YPJ and fought in Syria. Hanna read my book and enjoyed it.

So much work, care and energy has gone into this novel. I am excited to release it to the world in October.

Following your main character

“First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him or her!”

Ray Bradbury

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I always think the best work I’ve written is when I allowed my characters to do what they would do, and say. That is when it works. Let them be who they are, say what they will and do what they will do, not what you would. This has been the case for me the many years I have been writing.

Have a great day!

Freedom Writing – 13 countries…

Hey guys, I am always interested to see in what countries Freedom Writing is downloaded when I offer it free. The countries in which it has been downloaded are as follows:

UK, Canada, Japan, USA, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, India, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, France and Germany.

It has been purchased in eight countries, USA, Mexico, Canada, Australia, UK, France, India and Brazil. Thank you to all my readers. I hope you enjoy it and please leave a review.

Freedom Writing for free!

Hey guys, for a few days my book will be free on amazon.com.