What did I learn while writing The Secret of the Cylinder and what was the biggest surprise during the process?

I learned about daytime discos in Tehran in the 1970’s – one of the few places young people could kiss; similar to the way young people in Mexico City steal away to churches to do the same! At the Basilica of the Lady of Guadalupe in 2012 I was surprised to find myself sitting behind teenagers necking. Blasphemy! (I’m kidding here.)

The biggest surprise was when the actor who I’d talked with about playing the male lead, Mirza, was framed and thrown into jail for 2 ½ years in Dubai, while I was converting the screenplay into a novel. I was shocked and saddened by Farzan’s misfortune. But he never gave up, and neither did I. I signed his MoveOn.org petition to urge that his case be reconsidered by Sheikh Mohammed of the UAE (Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates) a.k.a. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. That didn’t feel like enough, though. So, using the power of positive intention, I wrote the character Mirza into, and then out of prison before three years had gone by. (Farzan was starting to approach his third year and he’d just turned 30!). The Swedish-Iranian model wrote a rap song while in prison, called “Save my Life” asking for the sheik’s forgiveness, mercy, and pardon. The audio for the music video was recorded through a phone booth from inside the Central Jail in Dubai. The sheik listened to the song. Farzan was released this past December, 2015. He appreciated my story!