Anna
asked
Jessica Khoury:
I'm curious what your family ancestry is? I'm looking for more "own voices" authors and I was hoping you might have a Middle Eastern background since you write about Aladdin and Jinni and your last name appears to be Arabic in origin.
Jessica Khoury
Hello Anna! Thanks for your question. I am part Scottish and part Syrian/Palestinian. In fact, Mt Tissia (an important location in The Forbidden Wish) was named after my family’s village in Syria, not far from Aleppo, where—fun fact!—the story of Aladdin and the Lamp was first recorded by a Syrian storyteller! :)
More Answered Questions
faesera
asked
Jessica Khoury:
Hello there. I've read Origin and I love it! It was recommended by a student (yes, I am a teacher) and she said I have to read your book coz she read it twice. So I did and recently I bought Vitro and read it - and love it too. Now I am lending Vitro to my student. I am looking for your third Corpus book... it is the same world/theme; about mad scientists and their experiment? You are an amazing writer! Keep it up!
Alex Anderson
asked
Jessica Khoury:
I had recently read The Forbidden Wish and I absolutely loved it! I love the story of Aladdin, but I really love how you changed the story! What inspired you to write an Aladdin retelling, but instead of using Aladdin as the main protagonist you wrote it from a Jinni's perspective! What inspired you to write from a Jinni's perspective and was it difficult to add Jinni folklore into the story?
A Goodreads user
asked
Jessica Khoury:
When writing Vitro and Origin, what made you decide to write Vitro in third person and Origin in first? Did you feel as though first person in Origin would bring the reader closer to the protagonist and third person in Virtro a more broader perspective on more that just one person in particular?
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