Friday, March 14, 2008

New Islamic Fiction release!!!


Sophia’s Journal: Time Warp 1857
Author Name: Najiyah Diana Helwani
978-0-9793577-2-5
Paperback 5.5 x 8.5
208 Pages
Price: $10.95
Reading Level: Teen/Adult

Description

Sophia is an American Muslim teenager whose father is Arab and whose mother is an American convert. Sophia is a high school sophomore who’s on the verge of getting her driver’s permit and embarking on a summer of mall visits and evenings at CafĂ© Rumi with her friends. Intelligent, feisty, determined and normal… those are most definitely the words that describe Sophia Ahmed, the young Muslim heroine of Sophia's Journey: Time Warp 1857.
During a bike ride with her family near Lawrence, Kansas, anxiety-ridden Sophia falls into a river and is washed downstream. She emerges in 1857 – smack in the middle of Bleeding Kansas. Sophia is aghast to find that slavery is going on in her adopted community, and she and begins to fight for the freedom of the slaves she knows. A local boy captures Sophia’s heart, but when he proposes marriage, Sophia is torn about marrying outside her faith. An old Gambian slave, who is still a closet Muslim, helps her work out her fears, and this causes an exciting, dangerous and unexpected turn of events.

The author researched historical types of food, clothing and the way of life in 1857 Kansas, USA. Readers will love learning about the way of life early frontier settlers lived. The book has a glossary and some unique recipes that are specific to the book’s period in history. This book will be a welcome addition to any Language Arts reading and/or American History program.

About the Author

Najiyah Diana Helwani is a teacher and freelance writer whose published credits include poetry and magazine and newspaper articles. Sophia's Journey: Time Warp 1857 is the first book in a planned historical fiction series and her first published Islamic fiction novel. Raised on the windswept prairies of Kansas, Najiyah's love of her American roots blends beautifully with her Islamic faith, and she strives to show people that the two are not mutually exclusive. Najiyah currently teaches English in Damascus, Syria, where she lives with her husband and six children. When she is in the USA she conducts workshops on Islam and the history of USA relations with the Middle East. www.MuslimWritersPublishing.com
Availability and Ordering

Sophia's Journal: Time Warp 1857 is available at IslamicBookstore.com, Amazon.com USA and UK and many fine bookstores.
Contact the Publisher: Linda Delgado at publisher@MuslimWritersPublishing.com. Send your mailing name, address and the number of copies you want to order. You will receive a response providing the total cost for your order including shipping & handling.

Payment can be made using PayPal and the Send To address of woodad@mindspring.com or by USD Check or money order. Payment address wll be provided when you send in your order.


Retailers
Discounts are available. Order through Ingram, Books In Print, Baker & Taylor or contact the publisher.
Contact the Publisher: Linda Delgado at 480-894-6014 or publisher@MuslimWritersPublishing.com.
Reviews

“I just read Sophia's Journal and I have to say, it's really a creative way to learn about American history! It's action packed and very unique and I would recommend it to teens and adults alike. Masha Allah, it was so good, I read it all in one sitting. Congrats to the author and publisher.” - Iman Kouvalis, Optimize It. Designs
“Subhan'Allah! I just finished reading "Sophia's Journal" and I'm in tears. What a wonderful story. It might take me a few minutes to recover enough to write anything coherent about it, but there will _certainly_ be a favorable review... Thank you for sending it to me.” - Tiel Aisha Ansari, writer

Sunday, March 9, 2008



In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Have, then, they [who deny the truth] never considered the birds, enabled [by God] to fly in mid-air, with none but God holding them aloft? In this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who will believe!

Qur'an 16:70

Plight of a lost child

Can I pump your gas?
A quarter to clean your glass?
I'm on my own, can you help me find my way?

Here I am, holding out my hand.
Everyone walking pass me, without even a glance.
Why wont anyone give me a second chance?

What did I do wrong, to end up this way.
Where is my mother, to chase my fears away.
Wont somebody help me, to find a better day.

Oct 2007