Monday, September 14, 2026

Secrets of the Desert Rose Tour & Giveaway

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?

Click here to get your copy!

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.

MY REVIEW

Dual timelines are so fun to read because the author is able to highlight two eras. With this type of genre the past and present collide into a story that brings historical events and how they affect each other . It is a unique way to tell a story and I have become a big fan of it.

The richness of the historical facts in the story brought me to a place I have only heard of. With exceptional details we visit Algeria . I loved how Monique and Audrey become great friends. They come from different backgrounds but that does not bother them. I’m thankful that the author illustrated that people do accept others without judging. This friendship will play an important role later in the story. Oh I can’t wait for readers to discover this unbreakable bond.

We shift to the present where Nicole has dreams of going overseas to discover archeological finds. What a life changing experience this will be as she finds something that had deep meaning for a family member. I loved how Nicole was very dedicated to her research and discoveries. Meeting Sami was a way for her to find someone who shared similar interests.

I was not disappointed in how the author used research to allow the story to become a realistic look at a place where history was a big part of how a war can change things. . I didn’t know how much World War II affected a region and I don’t remember reading much about this region. Readers will find mystery and beautiful lessons in friendship, faith and family. There is a part of the story that I wanted to address. At the beginning of the story in chapter two was a word or phrase that made me feel uncomfortable. I am disappointed that the author chose this word and had hoped she could have found another way to express how she chose to describe someone. The word I’m referring to is “hosebag.” I can’t overlook a word that for me was not something I would expect to see in a Christian fiction book.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.