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

What does success as an author look like to you?

Finishing a book is a great reward, mainly because I believe God gave me the story and I was faithful to complete it. Another thing that makes me feel successful is when I get good reviews or someone tells me they enjoyed the book. And one more thing I love is when people tell me they learned a lot by reading my book, because I do a lot of historical research and love to share what I learn.

Which character did you connect to best in this book?

I relate to all three women. Like Monique, I wish I could do more like the Audrey-type people. Like Audrey, I’ve gotten in a little trouble being a bit rash (but that was when ai was a child). And like Nicole, I’m fascinated by archaeology.

Which part of the book was the most difficult to write?

Usually, it’s the middle. But this book had three points of view, so it was a little challenging to keep each story going separately and when to put them together.

What inspired this book?

My sister-in-law’s mother was French and grew up in Algiers and didn’t leave until 1945, after she married an American Navy man (you might see that in the book). Since I enjoy reading books set during World War II and haven’t seen other books set in North Africa during that time, I asked my nephew, who had the most contact with her, if she left any journals when she passed away at age 100, and was thrilled to discover she did! So I used some of the personal information and also some from the autobiography of an English woman who was the first woman to join the French Foreign Legion, made her and Monique friends, then the story came together.

Which author influenced you most?

Lynn Austin. She also writes historical fiction, and I love her books.

6. What is your favorite Bible verse or life verse?

My life verse is Psalm 40:1-3,

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
²He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
³He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.