About
A New York City transplant now living in Seattle, Joyce Yarrow began her writing life scribbling poems on the subway and observing human behavior from every walk of life.
Joyce is the award-winning author of the Zahara Series and, according to Library Journal, her literary novels of suspense “appeal to readers who enjoy unusual mysteries with an international setting.”
ZAHARA AND THE LOST BOOKS OF LIGHT (book 1 in the Zahara Series), was awarded 5 Stars by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and chosen as a Best Book in the Historical Fiction category by the PenCraft Awards (Spring of 2024). It has also been translated into Spanish and Portuguese. The second book in the series, STOLEN LIVES earned the 2024 Firebird Award for International Suspense. Both books are included in the Indie Author Project's Special Collection, curated by Library Journal.
In 2022, her coming-of-age novel SANDSTORM, won a the 2022 gold medal in Women's Fiction at the CIPA/Evvy Awards.
Joyce's other published novels of suspense include ASK THE DEAD, RUSSIAN RECKONING, and RIVERS RUN BACK (co-authored with Arindam Roy).
In addition to authoring novels, she is a Pushcart Nominee with short stories and essays that have appeared in Inkwell Journal, Whistling Shade, Descant, Arabesques, Weber: The Contemporary West, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. Joyce is a member of the Authors Guild and Sisters in Crime and has presented workshops on “The Place of Place in Writing” at conferences in the US and India.
Featured Work
ZAHARA AND THE LOST BOOKS OF LIGHT
In this fast-paced, suspenseful novel, journalist Alienor Crespo discovers a trove of irreplaceable books rescued from the flames of the Spanish Inquisition. Using her gift of second sight, Alienor exploits her knowledge of the past and present to confront extremists, who are bent on destroying all evidence of harmony between Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Medieval Spain. The future of the underground library of Zahara is at stake as well as the lives of its protectors. Hailed as a dazzling journey through time, Zahara and the Lost Books of Light will hold you spellbound until the end.
First Place in Historical Fiction - PenCraft Award Spring 2024
Other Works
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STOLEN LIVES (All Bilingual Press)
2024
Awards and Recognition
- Library Journal “SELF-E” Selection awarded to Russian Reckoning
- Pushcart Prize nomination from Inkwell Magazine
- CIPA/EVVY 2022 Gold Medal in Women's Fiction awarded to Sandstorm
- PenCraft Award Spring 2024, First Place in Historical Fiction - (Zahara and the Lost Books of Light, All Bilingual Press)
- Firebird Award - first place in International Suspense (Stolen Lives, All Bilingual Press)
