Title: The Meleke Stone
Author: Olga Swan
Series: Standalone Title
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: June 29 2021
Blurb/Synopsis:
A meleke stone from the ancient plains of the Dead Sea is passed down by generations of females through four thousand years.
In 2019 Sami, the son of Egyptian immigrants in Toulouse, is traumatized by the family’s hardships in France and plots revenge.
Menes, Sami’s father from Cairo, had emigrated to France in search of peace. An unlikely friendship forms with Holocaust-survivor Moshe, each recognizing their past struggles.
Suddenly, a terrorist bomb explodes in a Toulouse synagogue. Moshe asks his son Simon to produce a film showing the true history of his people from the time of Sodom and Gomorrah.
What will happen to Moshe’s and Menes’ special relationship when an intrepid French detective’s efforts to find the terrorist reveal the horrifying truth?
In a soul-searching conclusion in Jerusalem, having no female descendant to whom to give the meleke stone, there’s only one thing that Simon can do to maintain the survival of his people for all eternity.
…..are you ready for the four thousand year journey of the meleke stone?”
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1. How would you describe The Meleke Stone to someone who has not read any of your previous novels?
It’s a fictional journey back into the mists of time, to unearth the true history of the Jewish people, through successive oustings from their land by wave after wave of different tribes. At the same time, it’s also the story of a warm friendship between a Holocaust survivor and an Egyptian, each recognising their similar struggles of living in a foreign land. The saga crosses centuries and continents – from Sodom to Judea to Warsaw to Toulouse and to Jerusalem.
2. Which part of researching The Meleke Stone was the most personally interesting to you? Were there any facts that you would have liked to include, but they just didn’t make it into the story?
All of it! This is my tenth book but the most satisfying. A life long dream. I used my twelve years of living in Toulouse as an important present-day setting, using every ounce of personal memory to colour the French section of the novel.
3. What are you reading right now? Are there any authors (living or dead) that you would name as influences?
Current reading material: Philip Roth’s Plot Against America, where he uses an alternative history of what might have happened if Charles Lindbergh had beaten Roosevelt in the US 1940 election.
Literary influences: Leon Uris; Elie Wiesel; Kathleen Winsor (see below.)
4. What was the book that most influenced your life — and why?
As a teenager, I was given an illicit (then-banned) copy of Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor. It was a 1944 original wartime edition, which my father had smuggled back from the army. It opened my eyes to a completely new world – historical fiction, the black death, great fire of London etc.
5. What else do you want your readers to know? Consider here your likes and dislikes, your interests and hobbies, your favorite ways to unwind — whatever comes to mind.
Olga Swan is a nom de plume – an anagram of my late brother’s name. My way of remembering him. I obtained a BA Hons (Open) in English language and literature at the age of 50. It’s never too late to acquire knowledge. The correct use of English grammar is important to me, but I hope that – at the age of 73 – I have proved that you can conflate a good education with the use of modern technology. The best of all worlds. I’m an avid user of an iphone, ipad and Microsoft Touch laptop.
To my readers: I hope you enjoy my eclectic range of fiction and non-fiction. Do leave a review on Amazon in due course. Enjoy!
For many years Olga lived in France, where she wrote her best-selling Pensioners in Paradis and Vichyssoise. B.A. Hons. (Open) in the Humanities, specializing in English language and literature.
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