Ask the Author: Laila Ibrahim

“Unfortunately my publisher does not use those mediums. Feel free to email me at ldibrahim@gmail.com and I can send you a file...that might work with your reader. :)
” Laila Ibrahim

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Laila, when did you realize yourself as a writer? After writing first book, publishing , success or …? You know this feeling inside «I am truly a writer»

Laila Ibrahim Good morning Mariia . I thought of the characters for Yellow Crocus when I was 33. I resisted writing the novel for 7 years because I didn’t believe I was a writer in anyway... I call it my ‘Jonah’ moment. I’m so glad the story waited for me to tell it. I think I was part way through book number 3 when I really started to feel like a writer as opposed to someone who wrote a book.

I know many people who have been writers their whole lives. That wasn’t me. But I’m so glad I listened to my still small voice and took the scary leap not knowing what would happen.

Thanks for asking. It was fun to think about.

Laila

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Hi Laila; I just finished the Yellow Crocus, am starting on the second book. I was wondering if you read every review or just some of them? As for reading this book it was eye opening to me. I moved to America when I was young and did not understand all that was about slavery. Why blacks could not walk in the front door. Thank you for your books. It is so interesting.

Laila Ibrahim Hello Eleanor. Thanks for being in touch. I used to read every review. With five books out I'm now blessed with too many to keep up with them.

I do respond to every note I get--or at least every one I see. There are so many ways to be in touch that I can find a Facebook message in an obscure place months after it was sent.

Best wishes in these strange and painful times,

Laila

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I loved Yellow Crocus, Mustard Seed, and Golden Poppies. Will there be a forth book to continue any of the family history?

Laila Ibrahim Hello. Thanks for your question. I am just starting another novel with the descendent of Mattie and Lisbeth. It starts in 1915 in Oakland California. I Imagine it will be released in Fall of 2021! It’s a long process.

Best wishes,

Laila

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I read Golden Poppies first. Does it matter if I go back and start with Yellow Crocus now, that I know the end? Just loved the book and history of it.

Laila Ibrahim Hello!

Other people have read them
Out of order and still enjoyed Yellow Crocus and Mustard Seed. I imagine it’s like a good flash back. It certainly will flesh out details.

Thanks for the question

Laila

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Hi Laila. I absolutely loved Yellow Crocus. Read it in one sitting. Is there a reading order for this as I definitely want to read more? Beautiful writing!

Laila Ibrahim Hello Judy. Thanks for being in touch! The next two books in the Yellow Crocus series are Mustard Seed and then Golden Poppies. My other novels, Living Right and Paper Wife, are stand alone.

I'm delighted you want to learn more about those family.

Laila

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Hi Laila, thanks 4 getting back. So looking forward to part 3! I have moved forward with Maddie & Lisbeth's story since leaving this message & glad to go back to see how Lisbeth's family have been coping since she made that huge decision about her future? I am based in the UK and much prefer audio as I can listen while I work. And yes, I do hope the same narrator is available to read, she's amazing!

Laila Ibrahim Hello again--

I hope you've found a copy of Golden Poppies narrated by the fabulous Bahni Turpin!

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WHY did you put the fictional speech in the book of Susan B Anthony? ON what basis, just to fit your story line? On what did you base that?

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

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I will keep my eyes wide open for Golden Poppies in Audible when it comes out. Congrats on an amazing book. ?

Laila Ibrahim Thank you and Happy 2020. May we all have excellent vision this year. :)

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Just finished listening to Yellow Crocus on Audible, your story blew me away!! My emotions were all over the place and I knew from early on this was a keeper. All I kept saying was, 'Wow!' I have Mustard Seed on my kindle for ages but had no idea it was a sequel. As soon as I realised it was I threw myself MSeed. I'm on chapter 1 and would like to know Will there be part 3?

Laila Ibrahim Good morning.

Thanks for your sweet note. I really appreciate you being in touch. I just finished the last copy edit of GOLDEN POPPIES which will follow these two families to California in the 1890's. It will be released June 1, 2020. though you can preorder right now. I sure hope Bahni Turpin is available again to read it.

https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Poppies...

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Is there any chance more of your books will become available via Kobo/Rakutan? I've switched eReaders lately because I'm tired of giving my money to a billion-dollar enterprise that pays no taxes.

Laila Ibrahim Hello,

Message me off line and I'll see if I can get you a pdf file.....

Laila

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I loved Yellow Crocus and Mustard Seed, would you know if Golden Poppies might be avaiable in Audible and if so will Bahni Turpin narrate? Your creation of these people, their families is such that as a reader I feel like are friends. I'm excited for the new book and will certainly listen to Yellow Crocus and Mustard Seed again to keep the story fresh and ready for the next chapter. Thanks for the great characters.

Laila Ibrahim Hello Kim,

Sorry I missed your question until now.

I sure hope that Bahni Turpin will be available. She has been amazing! I've made the request, and so had the publisher.... I have not heard back yet.

Best wishes,

Laila

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I just finished 'Yellow Crocus' last week and immediately bought 'Mustard Seed.' I hope to start it this evening. I saw that you will be releasing a companion story to this? When will this be out? I would love to read it as soon as I finish the Mustard Seed. I'm in love with Mattie and Lisbeth's stories!

Laila Ibrahim Hello Kate,

Thanks for reaching out to me. I'm so happy to hear that you are touched by Mattie and Lisbeth's story. The third in the companion GOLDEN POPPIES will be out June 1, 2020. Here's the back cover:

It’s 1894. Jordan Wallace and Sadie Wagoner appear to have little in common. Jordan, a middle-aged black teacher, lives in segregated Chicago. Two thousand miles away, Sadie, the white wife of an ambitious German businessman, lives in more tolerant Oakland, California. But years ago, their families intertwined on a plantation in Virginia. There, Jordan’s and Sadie’s mothers developed a bond stronger than blood, despite the fact that one was enslaved and the other was the privileged daughter of the plantation’s owner.

With Jordan’s mother on her deathbed, Sadie leaves her disapproving husband to make the arduous train journey with her mother to Chicago. But the reunion between two families is soon fraught with personal and political challenges.

As the harsh realities of racial divides and the injustices of the Gilded Age conspire to hold them back, the women find they need each other more than ever. Their courage, their loyalty, and the ties that bind their families will be tested. Amid the tumult of a quickly changing nation, their destiny depends on what they’re willing to risk for liberation.

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oh wow, that's exciting that you are working on a companion. Do you know the name yet? Thanks so much for replying to me! I can't believe you didn't write until you were 40! So glad you followed your gut (heart) and started! Thanks again.

Laila Ibrahim Hello Shirley,

I'm sorry I did not see this earlier. My next novel, Golden Poppies, will be out in May. It doesn't even have a cover... but here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Poppies...

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I am just laughing (in a good way) because I am also a birth doula, and while reading the birth scene in Yellow Crocus I was thinking - finally someone can write a good labor and delivery scene. Only later did I read your blurb and discovered you are a birth doula. Doula’s rock!!! Thanks for writing and absolutely wonderful story?

Laila Ibrahim Hello! Thanks for the affirmation. Agreed. Before wrote the novel I'd only once read a good birth scene. And they are great opportunities for drama!

I've slipped birth scenes into Paper Wife and my upcoming release, Golden Poppies, which will be out in May: https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Poppies...

Best wishes and thank you for writing to me!!

Laila

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I absolutely loved both the Yellow Crocus and Mustard Seed. I have already purchased your other two books to read next. I found myself getting confused with all the characters in Mustard Seed so I made a list of them and how they are related. I think that would be helpful to include in the book/Audible version. I read thru Audible so maybe this is already in the book? but just thought I'd suggest it. Keep Writing!

Laila Ibrahim Hello Shirley! Thanks for you enthusiasm and support. You are not the only one to ask for a character list for Mustard Seed--so I wrote one that is in the beginning of the novel. It makes sense that it doesn't some through in the audio version. I'm actually working on a companion right now and am finding creative ways to remind people of the relationships between all of the characters. There are a lot of them.

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Hello Laila, I am an avid reader and you are one of my favorites already. I love to write myself! I feel you captured the heart of a story with Paper Wife and I cannot put the book down! Oddly, and I have no understanding of this, I feel drawn to Asian stories yet have no interest whatsoever of visiting those countries. Did you do historical research as to marriage customs of Chinese?

Laila Ibrahim Bettye, Thanks! I did research about changing marriage customs in Southern China during that period. For all of my novels I do lots and lots of research before I outline. I like using actual laws and stories from newspapers to drive my plot. Laila

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Hi Laila, I absolutely LOVE both Yellow Crocus and Mustard Seed! Are you really writing another sequel? I do hope so! I can hardly wait to see what happens next for this incredible women and their families. I really enjoy your writing, I am just about to start reading Living Right. Thanks for sharing your wonderful gifts with us. Cheers, Kitty

Laila Ibrahim Hello Kitty!

Thanks for being in touch. I AM writing a companion story that will follow the lives of the Freedmans and the Johnsons. The story is set between Oakland and Chicago in the 1890s. It will be out November 2019 (insha'Allah :)

Paper Wife, my fourth novel, will be released October. 30, 2018. Very soon!

Best wishes and thanks for your enthusiasm.

Laila

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I really enjoyed the yellow crocus, and hope to get more time to read more of you works. Will you be writing any more of the same genre?

Laila Ibrahim Hello!

Thanks for your question. I'm working on the sequel to Yellow Crocus right now. It is scheduled to be released November, 2017. It's sweet, and heartbreaking, to revisit Mattie and Lisbeth after the Civil War.

Best wishes,

Laila

I was very pleased to find "Yellow Crocus" in Audible. Since my stroke a few years ago, I find reading print to be excruciatingly slow. I hope that "Living Right" will soon be released in Audible. Which brings me to my question. Would you ever consider writing a novel about a person with a disability?

Laila Ibrahim Hello Linda,

Thanks for being in touch. I'm so glad you enjoyed hearing Yellow Crocus. I hope to get Living Right onto Audible, but I'm not certain that it will be possible.

My daughter has Cerebral Palsy, so I have a soft spot for people with dif-abilities (as she says!). In the sequel to Yellow Crocus there will be soldiers who abilities changed because of the Civil War.

Laila

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A wonderful book. I read it straight through and am anxious to read your next one. I have read several similar books on the fate of slaves and their children in the ante-bellum south and I deeply appreciate the fact you gave Mattie and her family freedom and reunited them with Lisbeth at least superficially. I hope you will write many more?

Laila Ibrahim Hello Gail. Thanks for being in touch. I'm so glad to hear that you think I did a nice job with Yellow Crocus. I'm just starting to work on a sequel. My second novel, Living Right came out last month. It's on a totally different, but equally complicated moral situation.

Best wishes, Laila

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