Monday, October 7, 2013

Roxana's Revolution review and a meet and greet with author Farin Powell

Roxana's RevolutionRoxana's Revolution by Farin Powell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

     In 1979, Iranian students supporting the Iranian Revolution took fifty-two Americans hostage at the American embassy in Tehran. After the US embassy's seizure in Tehran, President Carter took drastic measures against Iran He boycotted the importation of Iranian oil, froze about $12 billion of Iranian assets in the United States, and demanded the deportation of all Iranian students whose visas had expired or who were not enrolled in school.
     This book is about a woman who, even though she was a successful lawyer in New York, was deported back to her home in Tehran. What she found there was a place she hardly recognized. Her beloved home no longer sparkled, the schools, shops, and people were drowning under harsh revolutionary conditions and war. Despite all of this, Roxana found a good job and worked hard. She lived her life one day at a time through tragedy, hardship, and the unjust law forcing woman to wear a Hijab.
     This is a great book and I would highly recommend it to any woman out there who is trapped or is struggling to find herself. You should add this book to your library today and let the cooing of Roxana's Morning Dove tell you the story about one woman's fight to be free.

**I received an ARC in return for an honest review**

     I would like to welcome Farin Powell to my blog today. Thank you so much for joining us today to share a bit about yourself.


1) What genre do you like to write?
A. Fiction, thriller.

2) How long have you been writing?
A. Since age 10.

3) What inspires you to write?
A. Life and what's going on around me.

4) When a story idea pops into your head, how long does it typically take to write it (from start to finish)?

A. At any given moment I have ten stories playing in my head like movies. Roxana's Revolution took the longest--six months. The others between 2 to 3 months. Of course, I'm talking about the first draft.



5) What did you find to be the most difficult part of the writing process?  Easiest?

A. Being interrupted by everyday chores, responsibilities, etc. The easiest part when my outline becomes perfect.


6) Of all your characters whom do you most relate to?
A. I believe it was Tolstoy who said that the artist transfers his emotion into his work. there's a little bit of me in every female character I create, but the closest one would be Roxana.

7) Is there one of your characters that you did not like when you started writing about them, but found yourself liking by the end of the story?
A. If I don't like a character, that means he/she is the villain. But some times you cannot help sympathizing with him. My third novel is a thriller, and I'm dealing with a criminal character which I feel the readers will end up sympathizing with.

8) What is your least favorite part about writing?
A. Rewriting based on your editor's suggestion.

9) When you are not writing or editing what do you do for relaxation?
A. I don't think I know the meaning of the word. I'm an attorney. Writing is my relaxation!!!

10) What types of books do you like to read?
A.  I don't like horror, paranormal, zombie books.

11) What author(s) do you enjoy reading?  Why?
A. Unfortunately, I'm still fascinated by the giants of literature... Hugo, Alexandre Duma, and Hemingway.

12) Tell us about your books where can people find them?
A. I have a collection of poetry, some 80 poems titled A Piece of Heaven, two novels; Two Weddings, and Roxana's Revolution. They can all be ordered at amazon.com, B&N.com, the book stores.

Thank you so much for answering my questions and giving me the chance to read and review your book.

Photo provided and used with permition from the author.