Norma Khouri has admitted she did not tell the truth about her background and falsified elements of her controversial book Forbidden Love, but still denies the book is a work of fiction.

Shortly after Norma Khouri’s book, Forbidden Love, about the “honour killing” of the Jordanian childhood friend she called Dalia, had come out, Khouri told an interviewer: “The most challenging thing was reliving all of the events, especially the days of her murder. I would become very emotional and upset, and would have to walk away from it for hours at a time to be able to cope with all of the emotions I was feeling.”

A major Australian publisher has this morning withdrawn from sale Norma Khouri's best-selling book Forbidden Love over a row about its authenticity.