Expats in cyberspace

A few years ago I read an article asking for submissions for 'Tales from the Expat Harem'. It had been written directly to me, regardless of it being published in a national newspaper. Within a week I wrote a piece and sent it in. It was rejected, but Anastasia Ashman suggested I come up with something different.

After several rounds of editing and several months of delays, the book was published in Turkey in September 2005. 'Tales from the Expat Harem - Foreign Women in Modern Turkey' edited by Anastasia Ashman and Jennifer Eaton Gokmen was simultaneously published in Turkish by Dogan Kitap. In February 2006 Seal Press published the American edition.

Through the whole process I never met either of the editors or any of the other contributors. I couldn't make it to Istanbul for the book launch or any of the signings for personal reasons. But we still produced a book together!