Writing...Just because!

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest and Healthiest of New Years!  I'm busily making snow angels in my mom's front yard but will be back in 2012 to share more of my writing and publishing odyssey experiences with you! See you next year! Anne

Looking forward to tomorrow's tour stop at Jet Settlers Magazine where I'll talk about 'Expatriation Then and Now' and Linda at Adventures in Expatland will share her thoughts on @Home in Dubai.  Hope you can join me for a visit! Anne

We launched the tour today on Arabian Tales and Other Amazing Adventures and I Was an Expat Wife . Thank you Katie and Maria for a couple of incredible reviews (that quite honestly left me blushing).  I had a great chat with Maria too and invite you to have a read. Katie's blog also appears on The Boomer Chronicles today as part of their Blogging Boomers Carnival series! Very exciting! See you tomorrow when I visit Jo Parfitt at Summertime Publishing and Lynda Martinez at Longhorns and Camels .  We'll also launch our 'Funniest Dubai Stories' contest on The CAT (Cultural Arts & Travel Dubai).  Don't miss that!  And don't forget...if you can post and tweet the following message that would be great! "@Home in Dubai launches today! Full of advice for #expats moving to Dubai. Get it on Amazon http://amzn.to/vZJKYW #dubaiconnection"

--> I’m excited to share the plans for the Virtual Book Tour for @Home in Dubai…Getting Connected Online and on the Ground , which is taking shape quite nicely. The tour will run from Dec. 12-17 and feature some of my favourite bloggers (and stars of the expat and Dubai blogger world). There are more in the works but as of today I’m thrilled to announce the following blogs that I’ll be visiting on the tour: Dec. 12 – Launch Day is going to be a very exciting and busy day!  We kick off with a review on Katie Foster’s, Arabian Tales and Other Amazing Adventures as well as an interview/book review with Maria Foley (fellow Canadian and intercultural communications expert) at I Was an Expat Wife . I’ll also be sharing some quick tips on writing and publishing a book and setting up your online platform that will air on Jo Parfitt's Writers Abroad radio show. Dec. 13 – I’ll be dropping by The Cat for a guest blog and will announce the rules for a fun contest t...

I don’t typically review fiction but there are so many kernals of truth in Zvezdana’s book, Dubai Wives: A Novel and many instances where I was nodding my head, recognizing similar situations I had experienced (or read or heard about) while living in Dubai, that I thought it would be appropriate!  Dubai Wives is realistic, yet fictional, journey into the lives of eight women, all from different backgrounds and walks of life, but all living in the very cosmopolitan city of Dubai. Their experiences are fraught with the unique conundrums of living in an exciting, contemporary city with an undercurrent of Muslim values and Islamic law. It’s full of mystery and intrigue, high emotion and colourful characters whose personalities both clash and meld all at once. Zvezdana cleverly describes the wildest contrasts that bring the reader skilfully into the private lives of each woman…. like the demur outer trappings of the Emirati heroine, Jewel, to the inner sanctity of h...