A native New Yorker, I still call Long Island “home.” But, after living in Morocco for the past twenty-eight years, and raising two sons with my husband, a Moroccan architect, I’ve come to consider this country my “second home.” Have you ever acquired a second language? Your first language always remains your point of reference and is what you feel most comfortable in. You reach a point, however, where you’re so fluent in the second language, you start thinking and dreaming in it. Over the years, I’ve reached fluency in Morocco.

In 2000, I had just completed work as a contributing editor to FODOR’S MOROCCO, which features my essay on Moroccan culture and religion. I decided to write an article on mixed/interfaith marriage, so I designed a questionnaire and distributed it to friends - Christian-Moslem as well as Christian-Jewish couples. I got some great feedback and had many insightful conversations, delving into my own history as well. But, gradually Lorraine and Larbi’s tale began to emerge and somewhere along the way my article turned into a novel.

As a double major in English and French at SUNY Albany (BA 1975), I always loved to write. However, working and raising a family got in the way for a while. After graduation, I taught English as a Foreign Language for several years, was Assistant Director at the American Language Center in Rabat, and then switched careers to become a translator. In 1996, I found myself back in the classroom, this time as a student, working towards my Masters in Education (MA Framingham State College, 1998). The very first class was a Writers’ Workshop and the wonderful professor reawakened my love and need for writing. I found my voice again.

My voice did falter though, in the wake of September 11, 2001. I’d been working on my book for about a year and suddenly it seemed the world was falling apart. Especially the world of interfaith, intercultural understanding. Filled with anxiety and a sense of hopelessness, I put down my pen. In the months of universal soul-searching that followed though, I heard and read of people asking questions about Arab and Moslem society and culture, and what it was like for those living on the cusp where East meets West. I saw a need for stories like Lorraine and Larbi’s, now more than ever. I’ve been writing ever since.