Date Published: 4-21-2026
Publisher: Ground One Press
Can their love lead to lasting peace overseas?
New York City, 1981. Dianna leaves her small southern town for the bright
lights and rich culture of the Big Apple and a prime job at the Met. Sparks
fly when she crosses paths with a charming Lebanese diplomat. A shared night
of passion launches her into an exciting romance and opens her eyes to a
bloody conflict far from home. But as warring factions take hold overseas, she
can’t shake the feeling that her new love is hiding dark secrets.
Qasim has never known peace. When he gets the chance to bring his
country’s troubles before the United Nations, he abandons his family
obligations to heal his war-torn homeland. But his true mission takes a detour
when he falls for a beautiful American woman. Against the urging of his
closest friend and mentor, he wants to share his heart and hopes with her.
In the face of cultural barriers and mounting war, can Dianna and Qasim find
the strength to stand up for their love and a lasting peace?
Excerpt
February 13, 1981, New York City
Dianna scans the bar through strobe-lit smoke. A haze casts a film on the room’s mirrored walls, hung to give the illusion of space.
“Are you sure this is where you want to be tonight?” Sophia waves her elegant hand through the smoke and lights a cigarette. She feels a pang of guilt for dragging Sophia here. Two decades older, Sophia is more fairy godmother than buddy.
“Sorry,” is all Dianna shouts over the din and shrugs. She catches her stomach sticking out ever so slightly in one of the mirrors and takes a deep breath to pull it in.
“Dianna, I’m afraid I can’t stay much longer,” Sophia says.
Doubting she has the courage to stay here alone, Dianna ponders her options. She looks up at the scum-covered ceiling and asks for inner strength. The subway will close soon, and she has no car.
Then she sees him.
He wears a European suit. An expensive watch with a black face and gold hands glints on his right wrist. Not much taller than she, but wiry, he seems at once exotic and familiar: olive skin graces distinct, proportionate features. His dark hair reminds her of her mother’s, and his graceful stance, her father’s. He moves with a purposeful gait, arms relaxed, head tilted slightly to the right. He seems part of a world she has yet to experience.
The man circles her, moving through the crowd, around chatting couples, each time drawing nearer, until he stands before her, touching her forearm. “Have you seen a woman…?” he begins.
Dianna misses the rest of his sentence because of the blaring music, his accent, and the word “woman.” He could be fibbing to make himself appear less threatening. Or maybe he has been stood up. “Look around you,” she says and laughs. “Women everywhere. What did she look like?”
He moves in closer and speaks directly into her ear so she can hear him. Dianna shivers as she catches a whiff of his cologne. Her eyes catch his. With his tailored suit and self-possessed energy, he almost fits right in. Yet his eyes betray him. This man has suffered. She knows all about pretending. She’s hooked.
Dianna gazes at the green stone with a pang of pride. She doubts this man wants to hear much about her college days or the job that put her through school. “Yes,” she replies.
creativity coach. A former National Geographic writer and researcher and
humanitarian staff member for the International Red Cross, she has lived and
worked in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, regions that deeply inform her
storytelling. The Shores of Our Souls is a Foreword Indies finalist and a
finalist in the Faulkner-Wisdom Literary Competition. She’s a recipient
of the Hollins University Fiction Award.
Having firsthand experience in the places she writes about, Kathryn brings a
unique authenticity to her stories, blending rich cultural details with the
universal themes of love, redemption, and peace. She studied creative writing
at Hollins University, and publications management at George Washington
University. She currently lives in Maryland with her husband. They have two
adult children, off to their own world adventures, but still parent a feisty
feline. Next on their bucket list: Croatia, Portugal, or Tanzania!
https://mybook.to/TheShoresofOurSouls
