Jayida

<p><em>A rare historical fiction view into pre-Islamic Arabia and the Middle East through three tenacious characters from a multicultural Christian writer with Christian Palestinian heritage.</em> </p><p><em style=color: rgba(34 34 34 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Jayida stands as a magnum opus of historical fiction a luminous testament to the enduring power of storytelling... -The Historical Fiction Company 5-star 'Highly Recommended' Award of Excellence </em></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(34 34 34 1)>-Longlist 2024 HFC Book of the Year Awards </span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(34 34 34 1)>-2024 BookLife Indie Spotlight</span></p><p></p><p>Born in early 525 AD in northwest Arabia Jayida is secretly raised as a boy for her safety. In defiance of <em>al-'ayn</em> the evil eye she grows up as Jonder and soon becomes known for perceptiveness and bravery. But her meeting of Khaled whose father is the reason for her unusual upbringing turns her world upside down. Will she risk revealing her true identity and win his love? And whose lives must be sacrificed when her fame finally draws her into 'Antarah's quest the mixed-race badawi-Aksumite poet of the Banu 'Abs whose last challenge is to capture her to win his own beloved 'Ablah?</p><p>This is the timely retelling of a tale of <em>Sirat 'Antar</em>. Set in the 1500-year-old historical context of Arabian tribal poetry Roman-Persian-Himyarite-Aksumite relations and climatic and plague events recorded worldwide this colorful era is once more revived.</p>