Juwairiah J. L. Simpson

Julia L Simpson-Urrutia, who has written under the name of Juwairiah (and other sobriquets like Sylvia F) is a freelance writer, teacher, and doll artist. Born in California, her love of cultures began when she went to study in Switzerland as a teenager. After obtaining a Bachelor's degree in French at the Monterey Institute of Foreign/International Studies (now affiliated with the Middlebury Institute), she converted to Islam at the age of 21 and studied writers Ibn Battuta and Ibn Khaldun under San Diego State University Professor Ross Dunn. Marrying a Saudi, the author moved to Saudi Arabia for nearly 20 years, writing for the Riyadh Daily, the Arab News, the Saudi Gazette, the Saudi Broadcasting System, English service, and the BBC World Service. Her books include The Jinn in the Clock, Under a Crescent Moon: Stories of Arabia and The Burning Boats: A History of the Muslim Conquest of Spain to be published in 2016/2017 by Beacon Books, London. Please visit her at www.grassrootswritersguild.wordpress.com.