…a story of love, power, and betrayal in modern Damascus.

In this intimate episode of How I Wrote It, author Amber Thompson takes us behind the veil of her critically acclaimed debut novel, City of Steel, a sweeping tale of love, loyalty, and revolution set in Damascus, Syria. Raised in the very streets her characters walk, Amber weaves her own lived experience into the story of nineteen-year-old Laila, a young woman returning to Syria to mourn her father and reclaim her heritage—only to fall for Ali, the son of a powerful general. What unfolds is not just a forbidden romance, but a confrontation with identity, politics, and a city's unbreakable spirit on the edge of an uprising. Amber opens up about navigating dual cultures, raised between the U.S. and the Middle East, and how straddling these worlds gave her the lens to write a narrative that pays homage to the beautiful culture of Syria. With emotional depth and striking honesty, she discusses the power of storytelling as a bridge between nations, people, and personal truths. This episode is a poetic unraveling of a writer shaped by two continents, a family legacy, and the belief that even in a city of steel, hearts can break open and rebuild something beautiful.