These haunting stories beautifully evoke the oppressive lives of modern women in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Anis, a computer programmer, is at the end of her rope, putting up with the bullying criticism of a no-good, unemployed lout of a husband; Azar is a young divorcee, and the only person she can talk to is Reza; but she can see him only late at night when "they" are not around; Sharmin has Down's syndrome and hopelessly loves Azad; he loves Kazhal, beautiful and blessed; but Kazhal is married off and is divorced at twenty and now awaits a hopeless future . . . For these and other characters the weight of traditional attitudes, the harassment of the religious establishment make for a frustrating, confining, and sometimes unlivable existence.

AVA HOMA is a writer, journalist and activist specializing in women’s issues and Middle Eastern affairs. She holds an MA in English and creative writing from the University of Windsor. Her collection of short stories, Echoes from the Other Land, was longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and she is the inaugural recipient of the PEN Canada–Humber College Writers-in-Exile Scholarship. Born and raised in the Kurdistan Province of Iran, Homa now divides her time between Toronto and San Francisco. Daughters of Smoke and Fire is her debut novel.

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"Ranging across regions, ethnicities, genders, sexualities and political dispositions, Homa's characters give us a prismatic portrait of Iran that resists both internal tyrannies and Western demonization. Her style is elegantly spare, gem-solid. This is a voice we all need to hear." --Susan Holbrook, author of Joy Is So Exhausting

"Ava Homa is Canada's exquisite answer to Raymond Carver. Homa announces new beginnings-less irony, more hope-and from a breathtakingly multicultural and international perspective. Readers will experience awe and beauty at the force of Homa's art to convey female Iranian protagonists wholeheartedly grasping their lives. A taut and subtle plain-spokenness enlivens her writing, belying rich dramatic tensions that build just beneath the surface-which will surprise readers and then captivate them." --Louis Cabri, author of The Mood Embosser

"Homa uses very tight, descriptive prose that takes us right into the moment of the story. She describes sights, smells, textures and sounds, as well as emotions, disagreements and passions that cut deeply to the heart of knowing her characters from the inside. She does this with an almost painful honesty, a striking truth and vulnerability that cannot be dismissed or ignored." --Black Coffee Poet

"Subtle and powerful, haunting the reader with the silence between the words." --Carole Giangrande, The Thoughtful Blogger