But in how many of those countries is a royal harem a (publicly) accepted custom anymore? I see a few problems (solvable problems, but problems nonetheless) with a present-day (or any other time in the last 1500 years or so) setting for a reimagining of Esther.
First, in the modern world, harems of concubines have fallen entirely out of fashion, even for absolute monarchs. If a ruler has one, this is Not Talked About, while the plot of Esther requires a public conscription of all particularly attractive young women into the royal harem. And this is part of why the story is so gripping---Esther's (and Mordecai's) first moral dilemma is whether, and how, Esther entering the king's harem (as required by the irrevocable law of Persia) can be permissible or necessary under God's even more irrevocable law. (Not that it's put that clearly, since one of the literary features of Esther is that God is not explicitly mentioned.)
Second, any time after the first few centuries A.D., if the "people" that Esther is pivotally a member of in the reimagining is Christians, the stakes cannot be as high as the original. With very few exceptions, every single Jew lived under the authority of the king of Persia, so it was well within his power to wipe them out entirely. By contrast, the explosive spread of the Gospel has ensured that there are Christians very nearly everywhere on Earth, from very nearly every people, race, tribe, nation, and tongue. No political ruler can credibly order the massacre of every Christian; all that would be at stake would be the fate of the Christians within whatever country, even presuming that they were somehow identifiable.
Third, arguably, the culture is different. Many Christians (particularly since the Reformation) would not require an edict from the king giving them permission to defend themselves, but would take up arms as soon as the first edict was published.
Some things to think about ...
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She is currently writing a fiction story of Esther. Hers is the "actual" story, and she has been doing a lot of research about the culture and time period. 
I could see that as being an interesting novel!