Hot New Release! The Desert Sheikh

This week I am super excited to see my latest romance novel, The Desert Sheikh, on the virtual bookshops where it is already selling fast!

What's it about?

The first book, Kidnapped By The Sheikh, is about a woman, Dr Sarah Greenwich, who is kidnapped on her way to the airport by a Bedouin warlord, Sheikh Akbar Al-Zafir, in the mistaken belief that she is the British Ambassador's wife. Eventually, the sheikh discovers that he has been tricked, but by then it is too late, he has already fallen in love with his captive. . .

However, in Book 2, Married To The Sheikh, Sarah quickly discovers that life in the desert is not as idyllic as it could be. Although the sheikh is a passionate, sensual lover, he is not the perfect husband. Also, there are other women who want to get into Sheikh Akbar's bed. Eventually, Sarah is forced to make a terrible choice. . .

In Book 3, The Sheikh's Son, Sarah and Akbar struggle to reconcile their completely different lifestyles and cultures: she's a doctor living in London, while he's a Bedouin ruler from the Arabian peninsula. However, the presence of Ali, their only child and the sheikh's heir, forces them into trying to find a solution. . .

Although each story stands on its own and can be bought separately as novellas, they are also published together as a complete book, The Desert Sheikh, so people can read them in order (and save money!!)


What inspired it?

The basic idea for the book came from my readers, who asked me when I was going to publish another sheikh romance. However, instead of writing about a rich, well-travelled sheikh, like I did in my first book, The Royal Sheikh, this time I thought I would base the story around a more traditional sheikh, one that lived out in the desert in a Bedouin camp. The initial idea for Book 1, Kidnapped By The Sheikh, was based on a story I heard many, many years about a British family that was kidnapped on the way to the airport by armed tribesmen in a Middle Eastern country where kidnappings are still common. Luckily, they were eventually released unharmed, but the story got me thinking about what would happen if it was single woman who was kidnapped instead of a family, and what if she fell in love with the leader. . .

Of course, it is also the classic sheikh romance plot: the sheikh abducts the Western woman, and after much resistance, they realise that they are in love. However, in my book, like many good modern romances, the seduction isn't forced on the woman and she shows that she is more than capable of standing up for herself!

Once I finished Book 1, I began to think about what life would be like married to a Bedouin sheikh and what would happen if the couple had a child. This led to the other two books, Married To The Sheikh and The Sheikh's Son.

Why do people love sheikh romances?

There is something mysterious and exotic about falling in love with a dark, handsome sheikh in the middle of the desert. Ever since the classic novel, The Sheik, was published in 1919, romance lovers have been captivated by sheikh stories. However, unlike the early sheikh romances, the heroines are now more than a match for their foreign heroes!