Books | CIEL Global

Explore the Books of CIEL Global

(Memoirs, Noir Fiction, Cultural Guides & More)

A BITTERSWEET LIFE IN THE SUDAN & BEYOND
by Joseph S. Canaan

Available on Amazon: ISBN 978‑0989193221
A compelling memoir published in 2013, available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle. It's a journey across four continents — blending adventure, faith, and resilience — from scorpion-filled African deserts to narrow escapes in a sabotaged aircraft, and eventually immigration to the USA.

VELVET & VENGEANCE: Revenge is a Velvet Noose
by Katja Solè

A sleek noir thriller that walks the line between vengeance and desire.

Part 1 of a 7-book noir series.

Now available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/7qEPf13

ISBN: 979-8291368831

Coming Soon -- Book 2 in the Velvet Series
CRIMSON & CONSEQUENCES . . .
by Katja Solè
Expected: [release 2026]

RACKED & POURED: Spirits from the Shelf of Miles Up
by Alessandro Asante
A spirited journey through liquors, legacy, and love. Now available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/clLPE1w
ISBN: 979-8293726646

Inspired by the handmade shelves of
MILES UP — where every spirit has a story.

THAILAND WHISPERS: Haiku & Lens
by Eugenia Canaan & Selim Stamboulieh
A contemplative journey across Thailand through poetic minimalism and evocative photography --
87 haiku paired with 87 images, arranged thematically to illuminate the country's sacred, whimsical,
and everyday moments.

Paperback ISBN: 979-82-962332-6-4

Now available on Amazon

PUZZLING THROUGH THAILAND: A Word Search Journey
by Eugenia Canaan & Selim Stamboulieh
A travel-inspired collection of themed word searches paired with original photography from Thailand.
Each puzzle invites readers to explore culture, food, festivals, wildlife, and everyday life—complete with answer keys and photographic interludes.

Paperback ISBN: 979-82-096348-0-1

Now available on Amazon

PUZZLING THROUGH GREECE: A Word Search Journey
by Eugenia Canaan & Selim Stamboulieh

This book invites you to wander through Greece in twenty word search puzzles, each woven together with sixty photographs and captions. Travel from Hydra’s cobbled lanes to Meteora’s monasteries, from Aegina’s seaside cafés to Arcadia’s timeless hills. More than puzzles, these pages capture stories, spirit, and the everyday beauty of a land where myth, memory, and modern life meet.

Paperback ISBN: 979-82-655-2419-5

Now available on Amazon

THE ART OF SMOKING: Mastering Smoke, Fire & Flavor Across Cultures

by Alessandro Asante

Photography by Selim Stamboulieh

From Thai street stands to Greek terraces and the American South, Alessandro Asante explores the craft of cooking with fire. With photography by Selim Stamboulieh and reflective notes on regional sauces, this book celebrates patience, flavor, and the stories that rise with smoke.

Available on Amazon

Paperback ISBN (KDP): 979-8-2712858-5-1

Ingram Spark release November 10, 2025

Paperback ISBN (Bowker): 978-0-9891932-9-0

LIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA: What It Takes

by Martin Leigh

South Africa is beautiful, complicated, and often misunderstood. After four decades living and traveling across the country, Martin Leigh offers a clear, practical view of everyday life — the realities of safety, cost of living, politics, and the strength of its people.

This book is a straightforward companion for anyone who wants to understand the country as it truly is, beyond the stereotypes and the headlines.

Available on Amazon

Paperback ISBN (KDP): 979-8-2773-8554-8

LIVING IN GREECE: What It Takes

by Eugenia Canaan

Living in Greece is an insider’s account of building a life in Greece — not as a visitor, but from within the everyday realities that shape how the country actually works.

Set primarily in Evia and Athens, the book draws on lived experience navigating healthcare, banks, administrative systems, food culture, faith, and neighborhood life. This is not a travel guide or a relocation manual. It does not romanticize expat life or promise ease. Instead, it documents what daily life looks like once the novelty fades — how things get done, how people show up, and how trust is built over time.

Written with clarity and restraint, Living in Greece offers a grounded portrait of a country as it is lived: complex, communal, sometimes difficult, often generous, and deeply human.

Available on Amazon

Paperback ISBN (KDP): 979-8-2619-9485-5

UNDER HER MANTLE

by Eugenia Canaan

Under Her Mantle is a memoir of faith, family, and quiet endurance — a deeply personal reflection on love, loss, and the steady presence of grace across a lifetime lived under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Told through memory, story, and carefully chosen photographs, the book traces the life of Joseph Canaan, a man shaped from childhood by Catholic faith, Marian devotion, and a profound sense of responsibility. From early years in Sudan to adulthood in the United States, his journey unfolds alongside the author’s own — as sister, witness, and companion through seasons of stability, disruption, illness, reconciliation, and final surrender.

Throughout the narrative, the Blessed Virgin Mary is not an abstract figure, but a living presence — honored through prayer, sacred objects, quiet rituals, and acts of trust. To live under her mantle is to live held: not spared from suffering, but accompanied through it.

At its heart, Under Her Mantle is both a family memoir and a meditation on how faith is carried across generations — by example, by reverence, and by steadfast presence. Written with honesty and tenderness, it will resonate with readers drawn to reflective memoirs, Marian devotion, and stories of lived Catholic faith.

Available on Amazon

Paperback ISBN (KDP): 979-82-4363-838-8

THAILAND WHISPERS:
Light Festival

by Selim Stamboulieh

Festivals are rarely only about what they are named for.

The Light Festival did not begin for us in darkness. It began in daylight — along a river lined with tents, handwritten price signs, and the steady rhythm of preparation. Before candles touched the water, skewers were arranged in rows. Trays filled with dumplings, prawns, mushrooms, sausages, and unfamiliar delicacies. Oil warmed. Smoke lifted. Conversations crossed between stalls.

The celebration unfolded first through appetite.

Rows of vendors offered repetition and abundance — glaze, flame, bubbling pots, hands moving quickly from grill to plate. Curiosity became part of the evening’s spirit. Insects on sticks. Proteins unexpected. Daring flavors shared between friends with laughter and raised eyebrows.

Food was not background. It was the heartbeat.

Families gathered early. Teenagers lingered. Children pointed. Plastic stools filled and emptied again. The festival lived in motion long before it glowed in reflection.

Only later did the shift come.

As the sun lowered, firelight softened into something steadier. The heat of grills gave way to the shimmer of water. The noise thinned. Reflections stretched across the river’s surface. What had been sizzle and smoke became glow and pause.

Thailand Whispers: Light Festival, the third volume in the Thailand Whispers series, follows this arc — from arrival to indulgence, from bold curiosity to quiet release. It does not separate the feast from the floating light. It recognizes them as part of the same ritual rhythm.

Heat first.
Then glow.

Some festivals dazzle from afar.

This one invited us to taste it, stand inside it, and stay long enough to watch night take over.

Available on Amazon

Paperback ISBN (KDP): 979-82-4847-502-5

RISING FROM THE ASHES

by Kesaraporn Moolcharoen

Rising from the Ashes is a contemplative art book exploring identity, resilience, and transformation through hand-drawn mandalas and reflective text. Created as a private, meditative practice over time, these works emerged through repetition, attention, and care rather than intention or display. Moving through themes of inner power, protection, becoming, and renewal, the book invites slow looking and inward listening. This is not a book of instruction, but of presence — an offering to be held, shared, and returned to.

Available on Amazon

Paperback ISBN (KDP): 979-82-4815-258-2

PASSPORTS & PLATES:
Recipes from Across the Globe

by Alessandro Asante

Travel the world one plate at a time.

In Passports & Plates – Volume I, Alessandro Asante explores three regions and nine countries through the lens of discipline, technique, and deep respect for tradition. This is not a travel diary and it is not a collection of culinary souvenirs. It is a structured journey into nine distinct culinary identities — each shaped by geography, history, climate, and constraint.

From Southeast Asian street kitchens to Mediterranean family tables and beyond, this volume pulls back the curtain on how different cuisines think. Not just what they cook — but why they cook it that way.

Some of these dishes were encountered in markets and kitchens abroad. Others were learned through mentorship, repetition, and careful study. What unites them is not tourism, but technique.

Inside you will find:

• Recipes representing nine culinary traditions across three global regions
• Foundational pantry guidance and disciplined methods
• Authentic preparations grounded in structure rather than imitation
• Thoughtful adaptations suitable for a real home kitchen
• Cultural context at the start of each chapter
• Full-color photography throughout

Authenticity here does not mean rigid replication. It means understanding structure before expression — knowing why a dish works before adapting it. These recipes are meant to be cooked, adjusted, and made your own with confidence and respect.

Whether preparing Pad Thai, assembling mezze, layering baklava, or exploring new flavors from distant shores, this collection invites you to slow down, pay attention, and cook with intention.

This is Volume I of a continuing series. New regions and kitchens await in future volumes, but every journey begins somewhere.

For now, begin here.

Heat the pan.
Pay attention.
Cook with intention.

This is a kitchen without borders. And the oven is still burning.

Available on Amazon

Paperback ISBN (KDP): 979-8-2505-6715-2