Erin Ozcomert, a beautiful, graduate student at UCLA, has always felt compelled to learn more about the little known stories of her father; stories that have been hidden from her since his death several years before. Leaving modern day Los Angeles, Erin is swept into the ancient customs and traditions of her father’s village in northeastern Turkey. What she learns there is not at all what she had expected to find.
Erin Ozcomert, a beautiful, graduate student at UCLA, has always felt compelled to learn more about the little known stories of her father; stories that have been hidden from her since his death several years before. Leaving modern day Los Angeles, Erin is swept into the ancient customs and traditions of her father’s village in northeastern Turkey. What she learns there is not at all what she had expected to find.
As she is enfolded into the loving arms of her Aunt Fatma Ozkoy, Erin discovers a place where tradition prevails in social ceremonies and family feuds are still kindling hatred and murder, torn by some never forgotten malice performed by past generations. Trying to integrate these discoveries, Erin is given the gift of her grandmother’s journal. Reading the handwritten treasure, her emotions are stripped raw as she uncovers her heritage and the answers to her questions.
Forced to leave the village before she is ready, Erin returns to Istanbul only to discover more secrets from her father's past.
Excerpt
THE FORWARD DOOR of the 767 closed with a solid thud and my heart began to pound.
Anxious? Scared? Well, maybe just a little.
“Welcome aboard Delta flight 1762, nonstop service to JFK International Airport…”
As the flight attendant's voice faded into the background, my mind raced forward. New York, Istanbul, Atamkoy. All of it lay ahead.
Settling back in my seat, I tried to relax. But all I could think about was the last four years and what had brought me to this moment in time; to this Sunday morning in early June. In less than twenty-four hours I would be in the village of Atamkoy, Turkey; my father’s birthplace.
I’ve never experienced the exhilaration that I felt at this moment. It was otherworldly, almost as if I were having an out of body experience. But my fear was just as great. The fear that I would discover things that I really shouldn’t know about, and be involved in something that, perhaps, I had no right to be involved in.
But, this was a decision that I alone made, even before my father’s death. There was no turning back.
Professional Reviews
Pacific Book Review
History has many ways of repeating itself, as lives and love are woven together masterfully like a Persian rug by award winning author Behcet Kaya in his latest novel, Road to Siran, Erin’s Story. Although written as a sequel to Voice of Conscience, this novel stands on its own for those joining the series with enough of a storyline foundation written to bring new readers current with the cast of characters.
As seen through the eyes and written in the first person of Erin Ozcomert, a young, beautiful graduate student at UCLA, readers are swept from modern day Los Angeles to the ancient customs, civilization and heritage of an area in Northeastern Turkey, Siran, by the Black Sea, ruled for centuries by the Ottoman Empire. A place where tradition prevails in social ceremonies, Erin discovers family feuds are still kindling hatred and murder; as the strength and moral fabric of the region’s Turkish heritage is torn by never forgotten malice performed by past generations.
Pursuing the answers to her father’s life events, Erin departs on her own journey to visit the town where her father was born – and had been forced to leave in exile as a child after a horrific murder spree killed his family. Escaping, yet forced to look over his shoulder for his own safety throughout life, he decided to take matters into his own hands, which had unbearable consequences for his conscience to accept. This book begins as Erin is compelled to learn more about these little known stories. Feeling the only way for her to learn about her father was to visit the Ozcomert family member decedents still living in Siran. What she learned was not what she expected.
Laced throughout this book is the romance thread of Erin’s coincidental meeting of one of her past professors, Dr. Harry Rattcliff, and falling in love. However the descriptions of Istanbul, the nightlife, traveling throughout the region, and the granular history gained throughout the novel by Behcet Kaya’s writing adds a much more impressive richness to the story than an anticipated love theme. A rather large amount of the book has Erin reading her Grandmother’s journal, kept hidden only for her eyes. This technique brought quite an enjoyable dimension to the story, cleverly interlaced with Erin’s emotions while uncovering her heritage. Also, especially amazing was having a chapter dedicated to taking readers on a private viewing of the Sultan’s palace with a curator extraordinaire, learning the practices of the Harem and concubines; their lifestyle of opulent captivity and slaughter.
Part romance novel, part travel guide, part historical dissertations and part suspense, Road to Siran, Erin’s Story is all entertainment. Impeccably written with multi-lingual verbiage and heavily laden in dialogue, Kaya takes the reader through ancient areas of the world with an acumen of detail only gained by a passion for storytelling. Behcet, using his own name as a cameo for a character in the novel, subliminally spoon feeds the reader historical expertise under the guise of a romance novel – a marvelous method of creating entertainment which educates. I would highly recommend this to a young adult female audience, yet broad enough in the historical sense to be open to a wider group of reading enthusiasts.
Road to Siran
Grady HarpTop Contributor: Children's Books
HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWER
5.0 out of 5 starsA man is always rooted to his past
February 10, 2014
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
There is something to be said about the combination of a writer who also is an actor that somehow makes tension scenes more credible. At least that is the case with author Behçet Kaya who is also known by his stage name as an actor Ben Kaya (`Fast Food', `The Practice', `Being American' on film and numerous roles on the legitimate stages such as The Noise Within among others). Whether it is the fallout of thinking though a storyline or actually taking on the role of a fictional character, the result in the case of Behçet Kaya heightens the verismo as is evident in his short stories and his novels VOICE OF CONSCIENCE, MURDER ON THE NAVAL BASE, ROAD TO SIRAN: ERIN'S STORY and his soon to be published BODY IN THE WOODS. True, his background of having been born and raised in a small village in Turkey, secretly consuming the exemplary works of the Turkish writer of Kurdish origin Yaşar Kemal, his subsequent rebellious flight to Istanbul and London, compelled and succeeding to earn a degree in engineering, his successful introduction to the stage while attending the inner London Education Authority and his subsequent move to the United States where he gained citizenship and worked successfully to achieve is Screen Actors Guild card after studies in Georgia, and then moving to Los Angeles to embrace both his acting ambitions and writing skills - all of this is the progress of a man committed to his art - and it shows.
The beautiful UCLA graduating student Erin Ozcomert lives with her mother and sister in Los Angeles. Erin's father, father Ramzi Ozcomert Jr. commited suicide in a rather mysterious manner in Turkey and upon graduating she leaves her bright life in Los Angeles to travel to Siran, in northeastern Turkey, in an attempt to learn more about her father's life, his being forced to leave in exile as a child after a heinous murder spree killed his family, living a life in exile and ultimately taking matters into his own hands, which had unbearable consequences for his conscience to accept, resulting in his death by suicide. Erin travels to explore her roots, information she longs to connect with, but her journey is far more complex than she imagined. In Turkey she is embraced by her Aunt Fatma Ozkoy who, in helping Erin to grasp the secrets of family feuds, traditions and even murder, makes available her grandmother's journal in which are the clues and answers to many of the questions Erin seeks. Leaving Siran for Istanbul she encounters yet more secrets but also crosses paths with one of her past professors, Dr. Harry Rattcliff and a love affair begins.
Behçet Kaya's gift is not limited to the creation of brilliant intriguing stories: his style of writing captures the exotic flavors, the traditions and social amenities of Turkish life, giving the reader a sense of place like few other writers are capable of achieving. He is obviously one of our more important writers of the times and his niche in literature appears secure. Highly recommended on every level. Grady Harp, February 14
Road to Siran
Author/Reviewer Geri AhearnTop Contributor: Cooking
VINE VOICE
5.0 out of 5 stars"HISTORICAL, COMPELLING, INTRIGUING, AND INTENSE!"
May 23, 2014
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
As we follow the footsteps of a beautiful young woman, determined to investigate the mysterious suicide of her father in the intriguing saga from Voice Of Conscience, Erin is persistent to find the answers, but what she learned in Turkey was unexpected as the loss of her father continues to haunt. After the disappointing, sad news she discovers, she leaves the small village as requested and returns to Istanbul on a compelling journey, only to find more dark secrets about her father's past.
The deeper Erin digs to unravel the reasons that led her father to suicide as she collects pieces to the unsolved puzzle, the more confusing and dangerous her life becomes. However, while Erin follows the dreadful path of her long, dark journey in her quest for truth, she runs into an old college Professor and light begins to shine upon her as a sizzling romance begins. During her intimate relationship with Harry, she begins to realize he also hides dark secrets. Does Erin find the truth to her father's death, along with her own identity, or will she be sorry that her journey ever began?
Behcet Kaya delivers a Masterpiece of intrigue, romance, and mystery that grabs the reader's attention in the first chapter and entertains until the final curtains close, leaving the reader craving for more. The story is intense, mesmerizing, and filled with passion. The colorful characters come to life, and the picture-perfect setting is historical, and enchanting. "ROAD TO SIRAN:Erin's Story" is as clever as No Way Out with Gene Hackman, as dramatic as No Mercy with Richard Gere, and as suspenseful as Jagged Edge. Highly recommended for all those who enjoy intriguing stories, with a blend of history, and romance.
I wrote this novel several years ago, I self published and never had it to sell. I have decided to rewrite it and hope to get it published within a few months for people to be able to buy. I had a few copies and gave them to a few family members and
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