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Thank you for having me today. The last few months have been crazy busy with the launch of my first book, Kissed, and I’m so pleased with the way things are going. There are a lot of different things that I could talk about today, but I thought I’d let you in a secret. One that even my mother doesn’t believe.
I live in Egypt (nope, not the secret, everyone already knows that.) I moved here last August. If you follow the news at all you know that in August of last year the military got sick of protesters camping out in the street, warned them a dozen times to get out, and they didn’t listen. They forcibly removed them. Over five hundred people died. A curfew was instated. No one was allowed of the house after 7 pm. This all happened two days before my flight was scheduled to leave for Egypt.
I called my mother from the plane.
“You’re really going?” she asked.
“Yep, you want to talk to the kids?”
She did talk to the kids and I kept my conversation short with her. I didn’t want to hear “You’re crazy” again. Off I went on a two-year adventure with my husband and two middle schoolers. I’m a teacher and decided to try my hat at teaching in an American school in a different country. Was it hard when I arrived? Absolutely. But I’ve loved every single crazy minute of it. And in spite of what my family thought would befall me when I arrived, everyone is still alive.
You want to know the secret? In spite of everything you might’ve have heard on the media, Egypt is safe. Never once have I felt threatened. (Okay so every time I get into a cab I think the driver is going to kill me with his driving, but I’ve grown used to that.)
The curfew passed, the streets calmed, and life is normal. We’ve seen the pyramids, cave churches, and swam in the Red Sea. These are experiences of a lifetime for my family. If you’ve ever thought of visiting Egypt, now is the time. There are no tourists. You get whole pyramids and beaches to yourself.
Living in a foreign country has been an amazing experience. True, I have to go to four different grocery stores to find everything I need for dinner, but I can walk to all of them. My commute is 45 minutes in stop and go traffic everyday, but I use that time to write. One thing I didn’t expect in Egypt was all the green. I thought I was coming to a desert. But I look off my balcony window and all I see is green and a multitude of floral colors. Every month a different tree is blooming a different color. Right now it’s bright red. Last month it was purple.
When my two years are up here, I’m not going back to the states. I’m heading to another new and exciting country. We asked the kids last night during dinner if we could extend our contract if they wanted to stay. At first they said “yes,” but as dinner wore on I could tell they were both faltering. Finally, my daughter said, “But that means we won’t get to go someplace new.” Then they both shook their heads. We wont’ be staying more than two years. I highly recommend overseas living. The experience is worth it.
Kissed (The Thorn Chronicles)
by Kimberly Loth
Trapped in a dark cult, sixteen-year-old Naomi Aren has lived a quiet, albeit unhappy, life nestled deep in the hills of the Ozarks. With uncut hair, denim skirts, and only roses for friends, Naomi seldom questions why her life is different from other kids at school. Until the day her abusive father, who is also the cult’s leader, announces her wedding. Naomi must marry Dwayne Yerdin, a bully who reeks of sweat and manure and is the only one person who scares her worse than her father.
Then she meets Kai, the mysterious boy who brings her exotic new roses and stolen midnight kisses. Kisses that bring her a supernatural strength she never knew she had. As the big day approaches, Naomi unearths more secrets of about her father’s cult. She learns she has power of her own and while Kai may have awakened that power, Naomi must find a way to use it to escape Dwayne and her father—without destroying herself.Buy the book: Only 99 cents.
About the Author Kimberly Loth can’t decide where she wants to settle down. She’s lived in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Utah, California, Oregon, and South Carolina. She finally decided to make the leap and leave the U.S. behind for a few years. Currently, she lives in Cairo, Egypt with her husband and two kids. She is a high school math teacher by day (please don’t hold that against her) and YA author by night. She loves romantic movies, chocolate, roses, and crazy adventures. Kissed is her first novel.
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