Jan 26 2014

The Dance Begins DANCER OF THE NILE Weekend Writing Warriors

better wewriwa???????????????????????????????Continuing on with my paranormal romance set in Ancient Egypt. Nima the dancer and Kamin, one of Pharaoh’s warriors, are traveling with the caravan for a few days as they seek to escape the pursuing enemy and get vital information to Pharaoh to stop an invasion. Nima was exposed to various temptations involving her future as a dancer and Kamin realized how much she means to him. But he’s got secrets he can’t share…they’ve quarreled, made up and Nima has said she’ll do a private dance for Kamin. It’s now evening and Kamin has been escorted by a friend of Nima’s to a borrowed tent and left alone there:

Nima came to the center of the tent, eyes focused on the floor, then chimed her finger cymbals once and lifted her head, eyes seeking his face. Kamin swallowed hard. Raising both arms above her head, fingers cupped as if to catch raindrops, she assumed a classic dancer’s pose, one foot planted solidly, on tiptoe with the other. A moment later, unseen musicians seated in the outer chamber played the first measures of music. Kamin heard a hand drum, flutes, other instruments he didn’t recognize, playing a version of a tune known as a standard in taverns along the Nile. She must have practiced with them on the march, during the day.

???????????????????????????????Keeping her eyes locked on his face, Nima rose effortlessly onto her toes, signaling the beginning of his private dance. He couldn’t have looked away if the entire Hyksos army had burst into the tent.

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The story:

Egypt, 1500 BCE

DancerOfTheNile_1600x2400Nima’s beauty and skill as a dancer leads an infatuated enemy to kidnap her after destroying an Egyptian border town. However, she’s not the only hostage in the enemy camp: Kamin, an Egyptian soldier on a secret mission for Pharaoh, has been taken as well. Working together to escape, the two of them embark on a desperate quest across the desert to carry word of the enemy’s invasion plans to Pharaoh’s people.

As they flee for their lives, these two strangers thrown together by misfortune have to trust in each other to survive.  Nima suspects Kamin is more than the simple soldier he seems, but she finds it hard to resist the effect he has on her heart.  Kamin has a duty to his Pharaoh to see his mission completed, but this clever and courageous dancer is claiming more of his loyalty and love by the moment. Kamin starts to worry, if it comes to a choice between saving Egypt or saving Nima’s life…what will he do?

Aided by the Egyptian god Horus and the Snake Goddess Renenutet, beset by the enemy’s black magic, can Nima and Kamin evade the enemy and reach the safety of the Nile in time to foil the planned attack?

Can there ever be a happy future together for the humble dancer and the brave Egyptian soldier who is so much more than he seems?

DANCER OF THE NILE, an Amazon Best Seller, is AVAILABLE on Amazon   Barnes & Noble   All Romance eBooks iTunes   Smashwords   Google Play

40 comments on “The Dance Begins DANCER OF THE NILE Weekend Writing Warriors”

  9. I’m doing the cover reveal tomorrow for MAGIC OF THE NILE, my next book, out in late February (fingers crossed). I’ll do one more excerpt from DANCER, for next week’s 8…to get to that action-based cliffhanger I promised…the rest of *this* scene with Nima’s entire dance and aftermath, is detailed in the DANCER book, I promise. (Which is available now – is that too promo-y?) HUGS to the Weekend Writing Warriors – you all collectively ROCK!

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  10. Love that last line! Such fantastic writing. I can’t wait to read this one. Rita books to judge first and then I’m indulging in the “Nile”. 🙂

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  12. Oh the anticipation. Lovely snippet. He’s in for a real treat. 🙂 You say you’re going to leave us on an action-based cliffhanger <- Veronica. You're cruel, lol.

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    • I took a mix of research on dance in ancient Egypt (including tomb paintings, yes – the description of her hair is drawn directly from dancers as shown in contemporary art), belly dancing, ballet and Hollywood’s idea of what ancient Egyptian dancing resembled and tried to create a cohesive, believable sequence for Nima. She likes to experiment and try new steps and movements. The fact that she’s just spent a couple of days learning new techniques from the Minoans gives me a little more license to be creative. and of course, no one alive has ever seen how the ancient Egyptians danced so…Kamin was certainly pleased 🙂 It was a fun scene to write!

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  18. Love the description of her stance. This is such a great excerpt–there’s just enough detail to give a good visual, and we also know a lot about what Kamin’s probably thinking, all in a compact space. You must have really enjoyed writing about these two!

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    • I love Kamin and Nima, yes, thank you…it was hard to be done with their story. But then, I get very fond of each book’s main characters so I just have to keep writing.

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  19. I probably should clarify that I realize ballet is a 15th century AD invention, but what I researched in that genre was how best to describe various, beautiful movements of the arms and hands. I don’t have Nima doing ballet in toe shoes 3000 years early, I promise LOL

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    • High praise indeed, from a dancer! I wish I’d known – I might have asked you for advice :-). Not being a dancer, I think I poured all my “wishing I could dance” into Nima!

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