Forbidden Love Hoax
On July 24, 2004 Malcolm Knox, literary editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, revealed that Khouri was not in fact living in Jordan during 1993-1995 (the timeframe of Forbidden Love), but was living in Chicago with her husband, John Toliopoulos, and her two children. She had not lived in Jordan since her early childhood, except for a three week stay during which she apparently researched the background for her book. Knox further revealed accusations that Khouri had left the United States while being investigated for the fraud of an elderly neighbor.
Things were further complicated for Random House Australia because Khouri was sponsored under the category of nomination for distinguished talent in 2002. On July 28, 2004 the Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs said that Khouri was cleared of violating her visa stay regulations. However, Khouri had already left the country of her own accord.
Khouri said she would co-operate with all requests to provide documentation and was said to be preparing to publish her next book A Matter of Honour in November 2004, again by Random House.
However, on August 18, 2004, Khouri admitted publicly that she took "literary licence" with the book, claiming that she did not receive any payment or royalties for the book.
Read more about this topic: Norma Khouri