After experiencing the Lebanese Civil War firsthand while living in Beirut in the 1970s and early 80s, Cathy Sultan returned to America with a deeper understanding of the horrors of war, as well as the socio-political complexities of such conflicts.
Much of which is recounted in Cathy Sultan's latest political thriller, An Ambassador to Syria.
Cathy Sultan is an author of six books, including a memoir, A Beirut Heart: One Woman's War, which told the story of her life in Beirut, Lebanon during the civil war. The book won Book USA’s Best Books of 2006 Autobiography Award. She has also written five additional books, two which (The Syrian and Damascus Street) serve as prequels to An Ambassador to Syria and feature many of the same characters.
In addition to writing award-winning books, Sultan has also been a part of the Interfaith Peace-Builders, a social activist group that promotes education on middle eastern issues and human rights.
I had the pleasure of being able to interview Cathy Sultan about her new book and how her experiences have inspired her writing.
Aidan Sanfelippo: In the book, An Ambassador to Syria, you tackle real-world concepts like conflicts in Syria, debates over the meaning of religion, and a few characters who are real people, like President Bashar al-Assad. What is your advice for writers who plan to research and write about real wars, religions, and people?
Cathy Sultan: My advice: know your subject matter. It's very difficult to write about something you know nothing about. I lived through the first eight years of the Lebanese civil war. I know what it means to hear bombs falling, see walls shatter, lives and cities destroyed, children crying because they're scared. I don't believe a writer can make these things up and come across as authentic. I think my story is so powerful because I know these things intimately.
You ask about religion. In my opinion, religion is too often used to stir conflicts. I know from my research that Paul Bremer, the US's representative in Baghdad after the invasion, purposely set about stirring up strife between Shiites and Sunnis as a way to deflect from what the US had just done, better to have people fight among themselves, the thinking went, than to come down on the US as occupiers. I had lived in Beirut some six years before the civil war began. Religion was never an issue and this was in a country that had seventeen different religious sects. Once the war began, religion became the lightning rod. If a Muslim killed a Christian, the Christians retaliated by killing more Muslims, and so on. Remember the Crusades. Those wars were all about religion. There was a time in the Middle East when people lived peacefully side by side but when the Western powers started their wars whether for oil or regime change, religion played a major role, and once religious strife is ignited, it is almost impossible to tame. Syria is a perfect example of a religious war, ISIS versus the infidels, with hundreds of thousands of people killed. The West used the religion card, thinking they could topple Assad, and failed miserably.
AS: Why is it important to write stories that involve real events?
“Oftentimes real events, like the war in Syria, affect hundreds of thousands of lives. If you know, as a writer, that there are truths not being revealed, if you know that your government has alternative motives, not necessarily honorable (think Iraq and weapons of mass destruction), and if you have the opportunity, the wherewithal, the knowledge, and good investigative skills, then you most certainly have the right, the necessity to write that story that has been bothering you.”
CS: Oftentimes real events, like the war in Syria, affect hundreds of thousands of lives. If you know, as a writer, that there are truths not being revealed, if you know that your government has alternative motives, not necessarily honorable (think Iraq and weapons of mass destruction), and if you have the opportunity, the wherewithal, the knowledge, and good investigative skills, then you most certainly have the right, the necessity to write that story that has been bothering you. In my case, I had the background necessary to tackle this story, and that’s why I took it on, knowing we are being manipulated into accepting forever wars.
I include this in the front of my book:
"We'll know that our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” —William Casey, CIA Director, 1981-1987
AS: You served on the Board of Eyewitness Palestine/Interfaith Peace-Builders, which is a nongovernmental organization determined to “emphasize listening to and learning from those immersed in the reality of the conflict, and advancing the work of Israelis and Palestinians committed to nonviolent struggle and peace with justice”. How has your work with this organization inspired your writing?
CS: I took my first of six trips to Israel/Palestine in 2002 and my experiences there, witnessing the Israeli invasion of the West Bank, interviewing both Israeli and Palestinians, was the basis for my second book Israeli and Palestinian Voices: A Dialogue with Both Sides. My subsequent visits on behalf of Interfaith Peace-Builders only added to my initial experiences and broadened my knowledge of the conflict. My third book, Tragedy in South Lebanon addressed the Israeli/Hezbollah war, and knowing what I already knew from my visits to Israel, helped me compile the material I needed for that book.
AS: How has your experience living in Lebanon inspired and influenced your writing?
CS: It's why I became a writer. Once we resettled back in the States, my son asked me to write about our life in Beirut. I had no formal training as a writer and had never taken a creative writing course. I wrote many drafts until finally, I was able to produce my memoir A Beirut Heart: One Woman's War. If I had not lived in Lebanon, if I had not lived through a civil war, if I had not done fieldwork in Israel/Palestine, I would never have been able to write the books I write.
AS: You let me know some parts of your book that you wanted me to talk about. Those sections primarily focused on the topics of religion, death, and the dangers of being in a war zone. Without spoiling the story, was it about these sections that stood out to you?
CS: I just chose random parts for you to read with no goal in mind other than to have you get an idea of my writing and the scenes I produced. A CIA agent endorsed my book saying that I capture the nuance and complexity of the situation... that I bring life to my work by creating compelling characters that feel like they live in the real world. These war scenes are my war scenes. These people, my characters, are real-life people who do whatever it takes to survive a war, and I know them all.
AS: Throughout the story, you switch between multiple characters’ perspectives, for example, the war correspondent Sonia Rizk and the Ambassador to Syria, Robert Jenkins. Do you have a favorite character to write from the perspective of?
CS: I love all my characters. Most of them have been with me from the beginning when I wrote The Syrian, Damascus Street, and now An Ambassador. And since I've known them a long time, I'm able to get inside their heads and bring them alive.
AS: An Ambassador to Syria is not your first book that has featured many of these characters. In the book, the reader can see how the previous events have affected the characters, but they can also still understand and connect with these characters without any prior knowledge. What advice do you have for making realistic and compelling characters and their history?
CS: Whatever story you want to tell, get to know your character. They're going to become your best friends. You'll be spending hours, days, weeks, and months with them. The more you know them, their pleasures, their dislikes, their habits, their inner thoughts, the more they'll come alive on the page. You want your reader to connect with your characters, fall in love with them, cry with them if they're hurt or lose a loved one.
AS: This is the third book in a story following these characters, the previous two being Damascus Street and The Syrian. Do you plan to continue these characters’ stories in a future book?
CS: Yes, I'm already into the fourth book in my Syrian Quartet. In this new book, it's Omar, whom my readers have met in An Ambassador, who is the main character. He has joined ISIS and along with Mary and Sonia will lead my readers on some harrowing adventures. Stay tuned.
An Ambassador to Syria is available on Amazon for $16.99, eBay for $14.50, or at The Local Store for $12.00.
You can also support Cathy’s work at her book launch on Nov. 16 at 7pm at Avalon Florals' new location 421 Water Street. She will also have a virtual talk on December 7 at 7PM sponsored by the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library and the CVWG. Sign up here.