Happy New Year!

Friends,

Together, we have learned so much in 2016. For one, death is an inevitable truth. (With the passing of so many well-known people, we realize that we are all but travelling guests on this world). Second, that the world can sometimes be a scary, unpredictable place. (We can only imagine what people during WWI and WWII must have felt.)

But from all of this we must ascertain that bitter days will pass. That despite our horrid outlook at times, life does continue for the better. The reason, good always prevails over evil because so many hope for it. And there is power in unity.   

So, friends, may we all use our time wisely. Put our deep energy together to work and pray for a better world, where love dominates over hate and justice over injustice.

May you all have a prosperous and blessed New Year.

BEYOND SKIN/ New Book Release!

Dear Friends,

I would like to introduce the release of my new novel.

Synopsis:

BEYOND SKIN follows the lives of five medical students who come from different walks of life as they struggle to find a place in their world. The novel is told through the eyes of Pansy, a recluse, who was orphaned at five and raised by a working-class, eccentric grandmother. The reserved introvert will embark on a life journey as she figures her way through the stressors of medical school, finding acceptance and experiencing love. She becomes acquainted with four medical students who will challenge her every step of the way. She learns behind every face, there is an inner conflict in search of acceptance, belonging, and identity.  In the end, she discovers, beyond skin, all humans are alike.

In writing the novel, I was brutally honest in making my characters have genuine feelings and emotions.

Hope you enjoy!

Available at Amazon.com

Friday!

Friends,

In Texas the temperature is reading in the three digits! I hope that you all have a beautiful and blessed Friday. Also, that you stay out of the heat and stay cool.

"If you're looking at things with the right set of eyes, people are endlessly fascinating. And then, of course, if you looked at it the wrong way, then the whole world is horrible, and tedious, and boring. That's the battle, really--to keep looking at the world in the right way." John Cusack
Friends,
May you always look at the world in the right way, and your days are filled with optimism. It's a blessing.

My father often asked me to write his life story. If I had written it, it would have been right up there with the best.
He was born in Palestine and became an orphan at age six when an epidemic took his parents. He told me about how nuns took him to their convent with plans to take him to Europe, but he was rescued by the villagers who said they took care of their own. And then he would speak on about the great ship that took him and several other boys to America. A villager... tried to stop him saying he was the only living member of his family, besides America was a strange land for a young boy. But at sixteen, my father saw the world as one and left. He went on to speak how in this new land, he often slept hungry and on the street until he found his way. Later, he would prosper as business man: he would capture the American Dream.
Writers often write from tidbits of their own imagination and tidbits of experience. It is easy for me to write about heroes. My father was an honorable man. He could stand with the best of men and laugh with a child. He had feelings for all God’s creatures.
Men, the way you walk on the earth is how your daughters will perceive the world. Their little eyes are watching. If you show integrity and respect, they will have the same expectations from others they meet in the world. They will accept nothing less. You just don’t realize how much you influence them. And your greatest gift to them is to be an honorable man.
Keen daughters have honorable fathers.
Have a happy Father’s Day

"A thing, which is done habitually, will be taken as a trait of the person who does it." Hazrat Ali Ibn AbiTalib
Friends, may your day be filled with sunshine.

Enlightenment for the Soul-Truth

There is a human tendency to exploit the meaning of the word ‘truth.’ For example, there is the ‘half- truth,’ ‘exaggerated truth,’ ‘bended truth,’ ‘opinionated truth,’ and even the ‘white lie.’ It appears that everyone has their own definition of the word ‘truth’ for whatever their intentions are. But the actuality of the matter is that there is only one truth and anything else added to it or taken from it is fabrication. (Was Mona Lisa smiling?)

Arabic Women Writers

Good morning friends,

I was honored to be placed in the group, Arabic Women Writers.  Nahla Hanno, Arabic

Women Writers website creator, has said her purpose in creating the website was to:

·       Celebrate and recognize Arab Women Writers who challenge stereotypical representations of Arab women.

·       Promote awareness of the breadth of their contributions to Arab & World culture.

·       Create a focal point for information related to Arab Women Writers and their work.

I would, also, like to thank Nahla for recognizing my work and referring to me as “a talented storyteller.”

Please check out my link at:

http://arabwomenwriters.com/index.php/2014-05-03-16-02-36/2014-05-03-16-23-31/diana-khalil

My sciatic nerve

While doing my Spring cleaning and lifting boxes, my sciatic nerve flared up. I was in excruciating pain for a while until my doctor prescribed pain medication. The experience made me realize, to a point, how people with chronic pains feel. It's similar to living in a box with the walls as pain receivers, and every time that person tries to get out of the box, the walls of the box send him back. I hope this on no one and pray that all sufferers of chronic pains find cures to their woes.

An excerpt from THE SANDS OF KEDAR

"It was late afternoon when she saw him from a distance. He was walking beside his camel with the reins in his hand. The hot autumn sun casted a beautiful shadow of a sight she adored. It had been ten days since seeing him, and her heart fluttered excitedly. Had she gone mad or did life suddenly become more visible, more beautiful, and more wonderful. For all she knew, she might have been dead the last ten days. It didn’t matter. She was alive now, and he was near. She quickly tied Desert to a tree, kissed his forehead, and ran out to meet him.

“Kais! Kais!”

When she reached, he let go of the reins and hugged her. “Missed me, did you?” He searched her face for a moment then smiled brightening the world with him. “You look like you’re feeling better.” She had always loved the way the gold of his eyes reflected in the afternoon sun, brilliant, captivating, like the moon against the midnight sky.

“Much better. But you’ve lost a lot of weight. And the beard that’s something new.”

He paused to rub his chin before taking the reins of his camel. The black stubbles against the golden tanned skin gave him a rugged look. Against the remarkable cheekbones, more evident from the weight loss, the once boyish look gave in to a more mature man. Though worried about his weight loss, the appearance gave him a virile look. He was a beautiful man. No one could deny that."

THE SANDS OF KEDAR/ Diana Khalil

A visit to Washington D.C.

I'm in Maryland for the next two weeks and with the election season upon us I’ve never felt so aware of it, being where I am, at this place and time.  It could be because whoever is chosen in November will be living just miles away from where I am, and I’m feeling like a guest to the Presidential neighborhood.  And then there’s this sudden awareness, I’m feeling, of what the new President will feel the day he or she moves into the White House. It will be a combination of excitement, worry, and pride all in one dose, I truly believe.  If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to sleep for days knowing my decisions would affect the nation and the world. I just don’t think I would be able to handle it. (I'm petrified to injure an animal as much less as make decisions on war that would involve other people’s children.) I just couldn’t do it.

And then there are the things I’ve heard. I’ve often heard it said, that once in the White House, the President forgets place and time. His little undisturbed world makes him forget his fellow man on the outside. Being near, allows me to see a part of his neighborhood he probably rarely goes out to see. Just outside those pearly white gates is poverty, one in four D.C. children live below it. And the thing is, while he or she is eating his filet mignon or whatever the cook is serving in the White House, his neighbor’s child will go hungry.  I often think, there should be four White Houses around the nation(one in the north, one in the south, one in the west, and one in the east) so the President can see and feel everyone. But that is wishful thinking. He’ll get enough briefings, or so I’ve heard, about what’s going on. Hopefully, that will help.

But this is all beside the point. I just feel excited about being in D.C. at this time of year. I get to see a lot of snow, a lot of national history, and a lot of museums. And most of all, election season is in the air. I've never felt this close to it. (Triangle Historic District. Washington, D.C.)

Friends,
Had a wonderful day at the book signing. Met some fascinating people. (It's one of my favorite things about a book signing.) Had some interesting conversations. And really enjoyed myself. I would like to thank Kazem and Sammer for coming. And a special thanks for Nagee and Janice for being there. Despite the bitter cold and driving a long distance, they came to support me which is really nice. That's what family is about. And, I would like to thank everyone else for being there with me in spirit. It's nice to think someone has thought about me. I hope everyone has a beautiful Sunday