What is the Echoes Series?

When I was in high school, I was assigned to read some books about the Jewish holocaust. The stories were personal, and I felt sympathy for the characters.

After I became a Muslim, I decided to write personal stories about Muslims. Stories showing the struggles and the humanity.

I put off writing the stories for several years. I was a teacher, and had no time or energy to write. But on the morning of 9/11, I, along with millions of others, watched death and destruction. I decided life is too short to defer a dream.

My first novel, Innocent People, is about the impact of 9/11 on ordinary Muslims living in a midwestern town. In Innocent People, I showed how the events of the day affected a Muslim woman, her husband and her children, portraying both the positve and negative.

For my next novel, Echoes, I created the character of Joshua Adams. Joshua converts to Islam after a rough childhood and a disastrous marriage. Even while he tries to change, the echoes of his old life pursue him.

When a friend read the completed manuscript of Echoes, she asked me, "What comes next?" I thought about it, imagining Joshua ten years later. How would he have grown? What situations would he and his family be facing?

The book is called Rebounding. Rebounding, the second book in the Echoes Series, was published last month. Joshua Adams and his best friend, Tony Evans, face new challenges as they strive to live as Muslims in a society where Islam is not the norm.

There will be a total of five books in the Echoes Series, insha Allah. I have already written the third book, and I expect it to come out early next year. I'm currently working on the fourth book. I know how the Echoes Series will end, but that's something my readers will have to wait to see.