Dede Sophie

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has announced that the Foreign Affairs Minister, the Honorable Justin Tkatchenko has stepped aside from his Ministerial portfolio with immediate effect.  This followed public uproar after a tiktok video from his daughter Savannah Tkatchenko was circulated widely on social media. The Minister’s defense of his daughter drew further harsh criticism from the public over the poor choice of words used to show his frustrations.  The Prime Minister announced that he will oversee the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the interim, and that includes making sure that the preparation towards hosting the Prime Minister of India, the President of the United States, the Prime Minister of Fiji, and all other Pacific Island leaders go ahead as planned.  “I want to commend the Minister for putting the interest of the country ahead of his own. I also want to apologise to his family, and especially his daughter Savannah for the traumatic experience over the last co

Alison McQueen, author of Under The Jeweled Sky Forbidden love set against the backdrop of a maharaja’s palace in post-World War II India is at the center of Alison McQueen’s new novel, Under the Jeweled Sky (Jan 21, 2014; $14.99 U.S.; Fiction; Trade Paper). Sophie Schofield always knew she would return to India. When she does in 1957, she is the new bride of ambitious British diplomat Lucien Granger and part of the glittering expatriate set that called New Delhi home following India’s partition. But it’s not the country she fell in love with 10 years earlier and Sophie is soon confronted with the memory of her first love and its devastating consequences. The past still haunts her – the guilt she carries, the destruction wreaked upon her fragile parents, and the boy with the tourmaline eyes. Join me in reading what Alison McQueen has to say about her research involving declassified diplomatic documents, and her love affair with India while writing this interesting book. Read more »