I hope my writing will always reflect place as character and character as place. We are terroir and the ground is alive.

My forthcoming novel, LET THE SOIL REST takes place partially in Vlorë, Albania, where the novel’s co-lead, Arjan was born and lived until the mass exodus in the early nineties when he fled to the US as a refugee. Vlorë is the third most populous city in Albania after the capital of Tiranë and it’s nearby coastal city of Durres. Vlorë is a breath-taking stunner of a city, the Narta Lagoon to the north, the Vetëtimës (Thunderbolt) foothills to the east, Llogara Pass and National Park to the south, and the mouth of Vlorë Bay kissing the tiny Island of Sazan to the west. This is the place in the Mediterranean where the Adriatik meets the Ionian Sea, where the sand turns to pebbles, and the waters shimmer like rare gemstones. I can’t even begin to describe the peace and awe that comes over your body when these waters touch your skin.

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