About the Book

Book: Secrets of the Desert Rose Author: Marilyn Turk Genre: Dual Timeline Release Date: February 24, 2026 Three Women. Two generations. Their friendship survived the war. Their secret survived even longer. Monique and Audrey, one French and one British, grow up in French Algiers on the coast of the sparkling Mediterranean Sea. Best friends, they keep each other’s secrets into adulthood when World War II changes their world and Algiers sides with the Hitler-based Vichy government. Audrey joins Charles DeGaulle’s resistance army, the French Foreign Legion, while Monique stays to work in the underground resistance aiding the Allied invasion of North Africa. In present day, American born great-granddaughter Nicole, a graduate student in archaeology, goes to North Africa for an internship. The now centenarian Monique (Mimi), debilitated by a stroke, urges her to find the Desert Rose. Nicole finds different types of desert roses, but none are the right one until she stumbles onto information that hints the desert rose might not be a flower after all. While Sami, her instructor in Algiers, helps her find the desert rose, he also has to protect her from people who want the heirloom ring Nicole wears which has its own secret. Will Nicole find the secret before it’s too late?

Excerpt from the Book:

Maybe she hadn’t always made the right decisions. Except for one, and only Monique knew about it. And Monique would never tell. They’d always kept each other’s secrets, and this one was the biggest of all. But Monique would keep it because she’d crossed her heart. She wouldn’t give away the secret of the Desert Rose. Knowing that gave Audrey a peace otherwise nonexistent in this place as the whine of another projectile whizzed through the air.

Chapter 1

Nicole North Carolina, 2019 “You’re kidding me! No way!” Nicole stared wide-eyed at the phone in her hand. “What, Nicole?” Mom finished pouring the second cup of coffee and glanced at her daughter perched on the barstool at the kitchen island. Nicole dropped her phone on the counter and cupped her hands over her mouth. “Oh, my goodness, Mom. I got in! Can you believe it?” “Calm down honey.” Mom handed one of the cups to Nicole. “What are you talking about?” Her heart pounding and hands trembling, Nicole took a deep breath to steady herself, then lifted the coffee, holding it close to her face as she blew across the top. Taking a tentative sip, she raised her gaze to her mother.

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About the Author

Award-winning author Marilyn Turk has written over twenty historical and contemporary novels and novellas laced with suspense and romance. She especially likes writing World War II era books, and loves to discover information not widely known for her stories. In addition to fiction, Marilyn is also an annual contributor to Guideposts’ Walking in Grace and other Guideposts anthologies. Marilyn enjoys helping other writers and founded the Blue Lake Christian Writers Conference. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Faith, Hope and Love Christian Writers, AWSA, Word Weavers International and the United States Lighthouse Society. Marilyn’s most recent books have been Secrets of the Desert Rose, The Escape Game set in World War II, and a novella, The Gilding of Minnie Tucker, set in The Gilded Age.. She and her husband Chuck have a blended family of four sons, one daughter and four grandsons whom they enjoy spending time with.  Marilyn and Chuck are lighthouse enthusiasts and have visited over 100 lighthouses in the United States and other countries. They also served as volunteer lighthouse caretakers at Little River Light off the coast of Maine. As a result of her interest in lighthouses, Marilyn wrote Lighthouse Devotions, 52 Inspiring Lighthouse Stories.