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?

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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.

More from Marilyn

Why did I write Secrets of the Desert Rose by Marilyn Turk Because I enjoy reading novels set during World War II, I also enjoy writing them. Most of the novels I’ve read are set in Europe – England, France, and surrounding countries. But we know the war impacted the whole world, so I look for stories set in places we don’t know much about. Why did I set this book in North Africa? My sister-in-law’s mother was French and was born and lived in Algiers until sometime during World War II. Unfortunately, I waited too long to ask her about it, even though she lived to the age of 94. However, she left journals which gave insight into her life in Algiers and opened my eyes to what happened there before and during World War II. Monique is modeled on her stories. While researching Algiers though, I came across another woman who was British and also played a role in North Africa during the war. Her name was Susan Travers, and her autobiography provided more interesting information. Although the two real women may have never met, her life was the basis for Audrey’s character. I always find historical surprises when I research a novel and discovering the story of Cleopatra Selene was fascinating to me, so I had to include her in the book as well. And since there was so much secrecy involved in the true stories, I thought my characters needed secrets of their own, and my present-day character, Nicole, would have to discover them.

Interview with the Author

Did you use a functional outline, or was it just chaos that somehow worked?

I really don’t outline, I just know my beginning and my ending, then follow the characters around and discover the middle.

How do you handle moments when inspiration seems hard to find?

Pray, read what I wrote before, and if that fails, get up and go get some coffee, tea or chocolate.

Is there a particular scene or passage you’re incredibly proud of?

In this book, I like the ending. But I can’t say I’m proud of it because I didn’t know it would be exactly like it turned out, but God did.

What surprising discoveries did you make during the writing process?

The research always uncovers surprises that make their way into the story.

What’s one writing rule you believe in and one you think is made to be broken?

I believe you should stick to what you’re interested in and not try to copy others. The rule that can be broken is that you have to write every day.

How has writing this book changed you?

I have a greater appreciation for what happened in North Africa during World War II. I also regret that I didn’t spend more time with the lady whose journals I have.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Walk, play tennis, read, go kayaking.

What are you working on next?

Another World War II novel , this time set in Gibraltar, but it won’t be a dual time like this one.

Is there a genre or format you haven’t tried yet but would like to?

I may delve a little more into mystery, if I write the series that has come to my mind lately.

What is your favorite part of being a writer?

Having written. Seeing tangible evidence of my work. Setting my own schedule. Learning new things about old places and people. And of course, hearing from people who enjoyed my books.