Sky of Red Poppies begins with a casual friendship between two schoolgirls coming of age in a politically divided 1960's Iran under rule of the Shah. Roya, the daughter of a prominent family, is envious of the fierce independence of her religious classmate Shireen. But Shireen has secrets of her own. Together, Roya and Shireen contend with becoming the women they want to be, and in doing so, make decisions that will cause their tragic undoing. In the unraveling of family secrets, Roya begins to question how she was raised and how to become the person she wishes to be. Set against the backdrop of a nation forced to mute its profound identity, Sky of Red Poppies is a novel about culture, politics and the redeeming power of friendships.
Bio:
Zohreh Khazai Ghahremani (Zoe) says she was a dentist in another life! She attended Ferdowsi University in Iran and specialized in Pediatric Dentistry at London University, England. After more than two decades of practicing in the Chicago area and teaching at Northwestern University Dental School, she moved to California to follow her passion and be a full-time writer.
Zohreh is a poet/writer both in Persian and English. Her debut novel in English, Sky of Red Poppies, was selected by San Diego Public Libraries and KPBS as a One Book, One San Diego 2012. Her sophomore novel, The Moon Daughter has just been released. Ghahremani's first book, in Persian, Shareek-e-gham/Commiserator), came out in 2000.
An immigrant, Zoe draws heavily from her Iranian-American culture in her writing. Her work has won several other awards, including first place in the California Stories (2005), San Diego Book Awards (2004), and Best Fiction at Santa Barbara Writers Conference (2004). Hundreds of her articles and short stories have appeared in US and foreign publications. She is currently a columnist for Zan Magazine. Although Sky of Red Poppies was her first novel, it is now on the reading list for many high schools and colleges. In one radio interview, the author was asked what had contributed the most to such success? She responded with the translation of an old Persian poem, "A word that rises from one heart / has no choice but to land in another."
Zohreh is a frequent public speaker, and has been featured on Voice of America, KPBS, KIRN radio in Los Angeles, and Jazz Radio in San Diego and has been invited to speak at a number of universities including University of Chicago, Georgetown University, U.C. Berkeley, San Diego State University, UCSD, San Diego City College, and San Francisco State University. In addition to speaking about her writing, Ghahremani is a motivational speaker on how to pursue your dreams, and shares the experience that helped her to reach a seemingly impossible goal.
When not writing, Zoe enjoys gardening and painting, for which she has held several shows in California. For more information please visit www.zoeghahremani.com
To schedule a talk or arrange an interview, please contact zoeg2010@gmail.com or call 858-459-3333.
