I was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. I lived through 17 years of war before immigrating to the U. S. where I met my husband. I studied nutrition and worked as a researcher at The Pennsylvania State University and worked as a diabetes specialist and dietitian at the Oklahoma State University Medical Center, but I always had a passion for writing. Currently, I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with my husband, two sons, and a goofy cat.

 

My passion for writing turned into an endeavor about 12 years ago. I took creative writing classes at Tulsa Community College and through Writer’s Digest University. I won honorable mention in the 77th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition in the mainstream/literary short story category for That Tamed Viking. A poem, “Urban PMS Rendition,” and a short story, "Consent in October," appeared in Underground Voices and Down in the Dirt online literary magazines, respectively. In 2016 and 2017, I won a first honorable mention, and third place, respectively, from Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc., in the historical novel category for Swaying with the Wind. I have also developed the contents of a website, diabetesbitsandpieces.edu.

 

At school, I was bullied relentlessly, especially in middle and high school. Those were hard years, but I managed to survive. In fact, being bullied was harder on me than living through war. When my oldest son started middle school, I heard stories about bullying. That motivated me to write a novel dealing with bullying. Research followed, and I recognized the complexities and intricacies of bullying. My experience with bullying and my research were instrumental in writing the novel.