SOLVED. Fantasy set in Middle East about escaped concubines forming their own city. [s]

[A.]

I believe I read this book in 2013 but not sure when it was published. Has two authors, a man and woman, both Western I think. I thought it was called something like "City of Women" or "The Women's City" but haven't been able to find it under that name. It's a feminist fantasy in a Middle Eastern desert setting. The narrator is a librarian who sheds ink tears, and her relationship with a warrior concubine is a major plot point. After a coup, the deposed ruler's concubines and children are taken out to the desert to be slaughtered. Instead, the women kill their handlers and escape, eventually forming their own city with a successful women-run government and economy/guild system. The son of the deposed ruler, rescued by the concubines, grows up obsessed with reclaiming his birthright and has a vision about poisoning the (original) city's water supply. He convinces the city of former concubines, who are in constant danger of being discovered and conquered by their aggressive trading partner nations, to go to war to take back the original city. Thanks for any feedback you can give!

[Jamie]

Sounds like many elements from The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper.

[A.]

Yes, one of the biggest similarities to Gate to Women's Country is the theme of how to create nonviolent societies. The characters in the book I posted about argue a lot about when violence is justified and nonviolence as a morally if not strategically superior tactic. If I remember right though, Gate to Women's Country had more of a European setting and used Greek mythology.

[A.]

The book is The Steel Seraglio, by Mike and Linda Carey