Monthly Archives: June 2014

Jun 30 2014

Favorite Apocalyptic SF Movies

Day AfterOver at the USA Today HEA blog, I’m running a second column where I’m asking SF&F authors for their favorite  science fiction or HEAfantasy movies and TV shows. For my post here today, I thought I’d narrow in on some of my favorite End Of The World As We Know It (or EOTWAWKI) movies. I was reading Entertainment Weekly at breakfast and they have an “Ultimate Apocalyst” of 52 movies, which is what started me thinking along this vein.

On the magazine’s list of 52, I’ve seen 37, which I guess tells you how much I do enjoy this subgenre. EW might be missing a few but probably nothing too major. I mean, they’ve omitted the 1955 “Day The World Ended” AND the 1967 TV movie remake, entitled “Year 2889”, both of which I’ve seen. “The Day After” is missing.  They only include one version of “War of the Worlds”, the original in 1955 (sorry Tom Cruise) and they include “The Thing,” which I’m not sure counts because the world doesn’t actually end…

EW includes a lot of big budget flicks, like the Terminators, World War Z and Hunger Games, plus some lower budget classics. I’m not sure I would have included “WALL-E” but seeing it on the list did make me stop and ponder for a moment.

Elsewhere in the magazine they discuss how each era creates EOTWAWKI movies around the particular threat that seems most snowpiererlooming at the time, so the 1950s was all about aliens and the 1960’s had a lot of nuclear wars and currently we’re having ecological/climatological disasters. (I can’t wait to see “Snowpiercer,” which sounds wayyy cool, set on a train that endlessly circles the frozen globe.) Oddly EW left off “Day After Tomorrow” and “Independence Day,” maybe because humans figure out ways to survive. “The Walking Dead” TV series is missing too.

The epic movie I’m waiting for would be about the effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP).  Of course that might be due to my having the power suddenly and mysteriously go out in our area last week! (It did come back on in about two hours.) Maybe EMP wouldn’t be dramatic enough for the movie/TV folks but it sure would be hard to live through if it ever happens!

I don’t have a single favorite – what I watch and rewatch depends on my mood at the time. I occasionally pull out “Testament,” which was a very well done, grim little 1983 film starring Jane Alexander, where “the life of a suburban family is scarred after a nuclear attack” says the Internet Movie Database. That’s putting it mildly! The thing that’s fascinating about this movie is how it starts out like so many others – brave survivors, carrying on as best they can, neighborhood stalwart ham radio operator getting news of the outside for them, they go ahead and let the children perform their school play, everyone’s rationing, pulling together…and then things get worse…and worse…and it’s pretty clear no one is going to survive this.

On_The_Beach_(2000)Which leads me to “On The Beach,” neither version of which is on the EW list. Taken from the excellent, if grim, Nevil Shute novel, Australia is pretty much the last place on Earth anyone is left alive and the radiation is advancing with such mathematical precision that a person can literally count the days he or she has left. So they have the big road race, they open the fishing season early, they break out the blue poison pills…

I think part of the attraction of EOTWAWKI movies and novels is trying to figure out what we would do, what edge or knowledge or advance planning we have that would give us and our loved ones that tiny advantage, enabling us to survive. Because surely we would, right?

YES!

Do you have a favorite EOTWAWKI movie?

 

 

Jun 29 2014

Merely a Priestess? MAGIC OF THE NILE for Weekend Writing Warriors

WeWriWa buttonA fun way to sample new books and find new writers! Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…

Continuing with the excerpts from MAGIC OF THE NILE =>This excerpt follows after last week’s. Finally alone in the temple’s office, Sahure has confronted Tyema about her “masquerade” on the night of the festival. The conversation continues. (A little creative punctuation and some editing has occurred here.) :

“Does the god restrict your comings and goings – are you going to be in trouble?” MagicOfTheNile_1600x2400He frowned.

Wrinkling her brow, Tyema tried to follow the train of thought, saying, “No, Sobek is very considerate of me.”

The captain from Thebes didn’t seem pleased by the answer, clenching his jaw. “Are you sworn to serve him personally, then?”

Now she saw where his thoughts were running. “Of course not, I merely do him honor as a priestess – many in my family have been priestesses at this temple in past generations.”

Throwing out his arms, palms up, Sahure had exasperation written on his face as he said, “Then why is your attending the festivities in the village with me such a wonderment ?” 

We’ll get her answer next week. As always, I love your comments and feedback. Although this is a published work, the input helps for the future novels…

Here’s the story blurb for MAGIC OF THE NILE:

???????????????????????????????The standalone sequel to Priestess of the Nile…picks up about fifteen years later and tells the tale of Tyema, who was the younger sister in Priestess of the Nile…

After a childhood spent scorned and ignored by her family because of her crippled foot, Tyema was magically healed then installed as the High Priestess of his temple by Sobek the Crocodile God. But Tyema is still haunted by her memories, scarred by the abuse she endured. Despite Sobek’s protection, as an adult she’s become a near recluse inside the temple grounds…

Until Captain Sahure arrives in her remote town, sent from Thebes on an urgent mission for Pharaoh, requiring High Priestess Tyema’s help. From that moment on, her quiet, safe life is upended in ways she never could have expected.

But after a whirlwind romance with Sahure, the two part as Pharaoh orders him to undertake another assignment on Egypt’s dangerous frontier, far from Tyema’s remote town.

Heart-broken, Tyema is ready to return to her life of loneliness, official duties and, now, regret. But the Crocodile God has other plans for his priestess: she must uncover the sorcerer who threatens Pharaoh’s life with black magic. Soon enough, Tyema finds herself thrown into the chaos of Pharoah’s court, neck deep in intrigue and danger. Just when she thinks she can’t take the pressures of a very public court life and her secret investigation for the Crocodile God any longer, Sahure re-enters the scene.

But is her former love there to help or to hinder? Can they resolve their differences and work together to find the dark sorcerer who threatens Pharaoh and Egypt? Will the love between a proud warrior and a shy priestess lead them to a future together?

Available at Amazon   Barnes & Noble  All Romance eBooks  iTunes   Google Play Books

egypt postcard

 

Jun 27 2014

J is for Jewelry

necklaceContinuing on with my version of the A to Z challenge, the first word that springs to my mind when I think of the letter J is jewelry. Possibly this has something to do with the three standing jewelry boxes I have, although I hasten to add, I long ago decided my budget ran to fashion jewelry, not the “real”  stuff, with a few exceptions. I also decided to concentrate on earrings primarily, since I never was a bracelet person and we have to wear a clunky badge at the day job, which makes necklaces problematic. Although of course, being me, I do have some of each!

I have nothing in any of my jewelry boxes that compares to the glories of ancient Egyptian gold and precious stones, like the example above, but I do have some vintage Elizabeth Taylor for Avon “Cleopatra Collection” items, pictured here.

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??????????????????????????????? This little guy is the piece that started it all for me, when I was seven and my Aunt Barbara sent me this turtle pin (who had a twin but he’s gotten lost in the mists of time) and a red purse to match. Coincidentally, I wrote my first “novel” at age seven! I had never really noticed until today that my turtle’s back is a scarab. Wow, those connections between me and a fascination with Egypt run deep!

Not everything in the boxes is Egyptian-themed. I wore these five inch vintage Lunch At The Ritz earrings to the RT book signing because I figured if I’m going to keep telling y’all that I love blingy earrings and then when you run into me, I’m not wearing any, that would be a bad thing. Also highly unlikely since I won’t even go grocery shopping without earrings.

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The silver-toned ones are some of my favorite go-to, daily earrings ???????????????????????????????for just making the run to the post office, which I have to do today, or the grocery store. The fairy-themed ones in the middle are 1980’s Banana Bob and the split sun is an eBay find. (I troll eBay to the detriment of my budget.)

If a person writes a lot about the Crocodile God and his children, the Nile crocodiles, which I do, then they begin to acquire a collection of crocodiles. Of course they do! So here are a few of my favorites.

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And I’ll finish off with some bracelets, because I do have a few. I love the typewriter keys because I learned to type at age 8 on an old Royal typewriter my Dad found someplace (I typed so fast the strikers were always getting tangled up – at least we don’t have that problem on computer keyboards!). The keys looked just like the ones on the bracelet. I love the trilobites because they’re 250 million years old and whenever I get impatient (which is often), I remind myself in 250 million years , it won’t matter to me….and the marcasite one is just pretty and makes three. I might wear it with my steampunk costume at RWA. We’ll see!

And then below that is a pin that means a lot to me – my Romance Writers of America Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Special Interest Chapter pin. I’ll have to talk rings another day, maybe for the letter R!

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Jun 23 2014

Who Goes There? The Thing!

The-Thing-from-Another-World-PosterI’m doing a special column over at USA Today Happily Ever After, talking to science fiction and fantasy writers about their favorite SF&F movies and TV shows. Mine were “Farscape” and “Aliens”.   Hop on over to see what other authors picked!

But there’s another science fiction movie I totally love and rewatch often and that’s the original 1951 version of “The Thing From Another World.” OK, yes it’s dated, how could it not be when it’s over fifty years old? And yet….the movie has all the tropes I personally adore – small band of people in an alien environment, cut off from outside help, mixture of hard ass military types and see-the-world-thru-rose-color-glasses scientists/civilians, a strong heroine (essential in my opinion!) and they’re dealing with something new and unknown and very very deadly. Throw in some romance between the ranking military officer and the strong heroine and I’m totally on board.

The movie moves right along and I love how the crisp dialog overlaps and feels like real thing_from_another_world_56conversations. I kind of ignore the learned 1950’s-era scientific discussions and the fact that the alien being is a “giant carrot”, as one scientist puts it. He/it still has the ability to Take Over The World and make humans into food if this one isolated group can’t band together and stop it. I thoroughly enjoy the heroine and I raise my eyebrows at a little suggestive-for-the1950’s banter when she thinks she has the rugged hero literally tied up in her office.  OK, she’s a secretary (1950’s here, although the cast of characters does include a woman scientist in a minor role, doing first aid, mostly) but a smart cookie and figures out what the alien is up to at a critical juncture when the guys are all making jokes….

I ALWAYS wish the movie was longer, that there were outtakes, more information about the filming…I devoured the various Starlog magazine articles about the Making Of.

In my science fiction romance novels I almost always have an extremely competent sergeant  – my little homage to the Army Air Corps sergeant character in this movie. I like him.

Ironically, I’ve read that the actor who played the role, Dewey Martin, was a genuine World War II vet and really impressed the director, who started beefing up his part during the filming, at the expense of Kenneth Tobey, the actual star, who played the intrepid captain/hero. I don’t know how all that turned out. The movie works.

Also ironically, Mr. Martin was given an opportunity to co-star in a major big budget movie, “Land of the Pharaohs” (reviewed by me here) and really didn’t do so well as an ancient Egyptian,IMHO,  to put it kindly.

It’s been years since I read the source material, the short story “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell, writing under a kurt russellpseudonym, but it recently became available on Amazon and I downloaded it in a blink. The story holds up pretty well – there were no carrots and it occured in Antarctica and the alien could shapeshift….but I could still see some kernels of my favorite movie version in it and I was amazed at how much of the 1982 John Carpenter movie “The Thing” came pretty straight from the Campbell short story. Good stuff, altho minus the romance 🙁  And with a different ending….but hey, Kurt Russell!

Any oldie but goodie SF movies you recommend?

Jun 22 2014

About Last Night from MAGIC OF THE NILE Weekend Writing Warriors

If you’re here for the Science Fiction Romance Brigade Midsummer Blog Hop, you’ll find it below this post – sorry!

WeWriWa buttonA fun way to sample new books and find new writers! Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…

Continuing with the excerpts from MAGIC OF THE NILE =>This excerpt follows after last MagicOfTheNile_1600x2400week’s. Finally alone in the temple’s office, Sahure has confronted Tyema about her “masquerade” on the night of the festival. The innkeeper Sahure overheard talking about her in the previous snippet is her brother-in-law, by the way. (A little creative punctuation and editing has occurred here.) :

“Oh dear, I was hoping no one in the family had seen me.” Tyema knew she’d be dealing with the gossip and fallout of her excursion for a long time – her aunts, nieces and female cousins would want all the details, none of which she planned to supply, innocuous though the night had been.

“Apparently we’re the talk of the entire town today, I assure you, not that I care,” he said.

No, for you’ll be departing for Thebes all too soon, while I stay here. Tyema didn’t know what to say next. She was unused to dealing with a man on a personal level – all her encounters with people were about the temple, about Sobek’s business, and those interactions she could handle. She decided to switch the conversation to his reason for visiting the area, saying “I’m sure the Great One will be fine with anywhere you decide to build a river port, as long as the site isn’t close to this temple complex.”

He picked up a gilded crocodile statue on the desk, examined it briefly before setting it down, saying, “We aren’t done with the subject of last night yet.” 

More to come, I promise. As always, I love your comments and feedback. Although this is a published work, the input helps for the future novels…

???????????????????????????????Here’s the story blurb for MAGIC OF THE NILE:

The standalone sequel to Priestess of the Nile…picks up about fifteen years later and tells the tale of Tyema, who was the younger sister in Priestess of the Nile…

After a childhood spent scorned and ignored by her family because of her crippled foot, Tyema was magically healed then installed as the High Priestess of his temple by Sobek the Crocodile God. But Tyema is still haunted by her memories, scarred by the abuse she endured. Despite Sobek’s protection, as an adult she’s become a near recluse inside the temple grounds…

Until Captain Sahure arrives in her remote town, sent from Thebes on an urgent mission for Pharaoh, requiring High Priestess Tyema’s help. From that moment on, her quiet, safe life is upended in ways she never could have expected.

But after a whirlwind romance with Sahure, the two part as Pharaoh orders him to undertake another assignment on Egypt’s dangerous frontier, far from Tyema’s remote town.

Heart-broken, Tyema is ready to return to her life of loneliness, official duties and, now, regret. But the Crocodile God has other plans for his priestess: she must uncover the sorcerer who threatens Pharaoh’s life with black magic. Soon enough, Tyema finds herself thrown into the chaos of Pharoah’s court, neck deep in intrigue and danger. Just when she thinks she can’t take the pressures of a very public court life and her secret investigation for the Crocodile God any longer, Sahure re-enters the scene.

But is her former love there to help or to hinder? Can they resolve their differences and work together to find the dark sorcerer who threatens Pharaoh and Egypt? Will the love between a proud warrior and a shy priestess lead them to a future together?

Available at Amazon   Barnes & Noble  All Romance eBooks  iTunes   Google Play Books

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Jun 21 2014

Science Fiction Romance Brigade Midsummer Blog Hop

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The Hop and Giveaway are now OVER. Because I had so many people commenting on my blog, I randomly selected two winners instead of one and they have each been sent a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card. The winners were Meri and “Shannon Hollow Kitty Flynn”. Thanks to everyone for stopping by! Happy summer!

Welcome to the third annual SFR Brigade Midsummer Bog Hop!

To be entered for the prize available just on my blog, which is a $25.00 Amazon gift certificate, please leave a comment about science fiction romance. The winner for my blog will be randomly selected…

To enter the Blog Hop rafflecopter itself and be eligible for the Grand Prizes listed below,  you’ll have to go to the main page – click HERE.  (NOTE: No cash or other prize alternatives will be offered for the Grand Prizes.) You can also find the links to the other 40+ participants on the main page.

Starry Nights Blog Hop Grand Prizes:

1st  $100 Amazon or B&N gift card plus 41 ebooks

2nd $50 Amazon or B&N gift card plus 28 ebooks

3rd  3 separate winners each receive $25 Amazon or B&N gift card plus 11 ebooks

In my award winning SFR novel ESCAPE FROM ZULAIRE, the two main characters have an intimate conversation under the starry skies, which is the blog’s theme. Here’s the story for the novel:

Andi Markriss hasn’t exactly enjoyed being the houseguest of the planetary high-lord, but her company sent her to represent themEscape-from-Zulaire2HighRes at a political wedding. When hotshot Sectors Special Forces Captain Tom Deverane barges in on the night of the biggest social event of the summer, Andi isn’t about to offend her high-ranking host on Deverane’s say-so—no matter how sexy he is, or how much he believes they need to leave now.

Deverane was thinking about how to spend his retirement bonus when HQ assigned him one last mission: rescue a civilian woman stranded on a planet on the verge of civil war. Someone has pulled some serious strings to get her plucked out of the hot zone. Deverane’s never met anyone so hard-headed—or so appealing. Suddenly his mission to protect this one woman has become more than just mere orders.

That mission proves more dangerous than he expected when rebel fighters attack the village and raze it to the ground. Deverane escapes with Andi, and on their hazardous journey through the wilderness, Andi finds herself fighting her uncomfortable attraction to the gallant and courageous captain. But Deverane’s not the type to settle down, and running for one’s life doesn’t leave much time to explore a romance.

Then Andi is captured by the rebel fighters, but Deverane has discovered that Zulaire’s so-called civil war is part of a terrifying alien race’s attempt to subjugate the entire Sector. If he pushes on to the capitol Andi will die. Deverane must decide whether to save the woman he loves, or sacrifice her to save Zulaire.

Excerpt: Andi and the small group of Sectors Special Forces soldiers are on the run from rebel forces and have camped for the night:

Deverane looked up as she walked over, patting the rock beside him in invitation. “Can’t sleep?”

Shuddering as she sat, Andi rewrapped her shawl more tightly. “You’re surprised I’m having bad dreams?  After everything we saw today? What time is it?”

Reaching over, he tucked the fabric more securely around her shoulder. “Still middle of the night, I’m afraid. A long time to go until sunrise chases away the nightmares.”

“That’s what I was afraid of. I’m drowsy but scared to risk closing my eyes for more than a second. There are a lot of vivid images forming a queue in my subconscious tonight. These kinds of things don’t affect soldiers, I suppose.” Leaning back, she tilted her head to look at him, eyebrows slightly raised in query.

He continued to gaze across the rippling water and said nothing for a long minute. When he did speak, his voice was low and measured. “I went into the military because the abuse and slaughter of innocent civilians do bother me. At least in the service, I can do something to prevent atrocities.”

Biting her lip, she looked away across the lake. “I’m sorry. Was I being rude? Maybe I’d better go back to bed and leave you alone.”

“No, please stay.” He grabbed at the shawl, which promptly came off her shoulder again. Their hands met as he tried to reposition the wrap and she tried to keep it from falling off.  “I apologize if I sounded abrupt.”

She stared at him for a minute then smiled as she settled back down. “It’s all right. The last few days have been…rough. For both of us.”

Deverane set his pulse rifle on the rocky surface and picked up the metal cup that had been sitting on the other side. “I’d offer you a cup of coffee, but since wakefulness is your problem—”

Andi smiled ruefully. “I’d love some, but you’re right. That won’t help my insomnia.”

He drank before setting the cup down, steadying it with one hand as it rocked on the uneven surface. “I have nightmares sometimes, but from my own private collection. Have you ever heard of Merenia 12?”

”Sounds familiar.”  Racking her brain, Andi chased down the reference. “It was one of the first worlds the Mawreg attacked in Sector Fourteen, wasn’t it? A long time ago?”

“Right. I’m the sole survivor.” He stacked a couple of small stones on top of each other, then toppled the tower with a flick of his finger.

“You must have been very young.”  What could it have been like, going through an ordeal like that as a child?

This National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award Finalist novel is Available on AMAZON for kindle and as POD paperback   Nook  Kobo All Romance eBooks  iTunes   Xin Xii  Google Play

The book trailer:

 

 

Jun 19 2014

Steampunk Anyone?

TimelessOver at the USA Today Happily Ever After blog I’m interviewing two wonderful steampunk authors – Gail Carriger of The Parasol Protectorate series and Cindy Spencer Pape of The Gaslight Chronicles.

In fact, Cindy was the person who first got me interested in steampunk, when we met as Carina Press authors ???????????????????????????????several years ago. She has a wonderful dog in her books, named George and she was kind enough to send me the magnet featuring him, which has stayed on my refrigerator for several years now (even though I’m a cat person LOL).

I thoroughly enjoyed the Gail Carriger series as well and especially the trip to Egypt in the last book, Timeless.

I LOVE the look of steampunk – the jewelry especially. I’m going to have an opportunity to attend a steampunk-themed costume dinner at the Romance Writers of America national conference in July and I’m giving my imagination free rein as far as the outfit and the accessories.

20000 leagues altI’m sure there are many great sources for finding cool steampunk items to admire first men in the moonbut one I regularly follow on Facebook and Twitter is Steampunk Tendencies. There are vehicles, cosplay, art…think Jules Verne or H. G. Wells, as if the realities they wrote about had become the actual world, using steam power, instead of going down the path of technology we did follow. The 1964 movie “First Men In The Moon” is a good example of how Mr. Wells thought the future might be. Disney’s 1954 version of  Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” was another movie that attempted to bring the look and feel of that alternate technology to life, although I think mostly people remember Kirk Douglas fighting off the giant octopus more than anything else!

kirk and octopus

 

 

 

 

Jun 17 2014

The Letter I Is for Iris

???????????????????????????????I have always loved irises. To me they’re one of the most beautiful flowers around, except for roses, and they’re also a variety I can actually grow. I have a terrible “black thumb” (or whatever the opposite of a green thumb would be). I have a sentimental attachment to them as well…

Years ago, my late husband brought home a huge pile of iris plants that had been thrown in the dumpster where he worked, victims??????????????????????????????? of a new landscape design. We planted them all around the house and hoped for the best. Apparently the bulbs did as they were supposed to do, split and survived the trauma of being uprooted and replanted, because over a year later the first fragrant purple velvet iris bloomed. It was the day of his funeral, completely out of season for iris, and let me tell you, I took that as an absolute sign he was still watching over us. Yet another reason to adore purple iris!

Before the bicycle accident that took his life at much too young an age, we’d been on a trip up north to visit friends and happened to stop in at a place called Bluebird Haven Iris Garden, which was every bit as charming as the name implies and which I’ve discovered still to this day sells bulbs of the most amazing varieties of iris. My husband and I had planned to order enough bulbs to lay down a huge bed of iris along the back fence, but of course we never got the opportunity. Fate had other ideas. In his honor, a year or two later, I did place the order and my best friend and I dug the iris bed and did the planting. I got to enjoy the many flowers for quite a few years.

???????????????????????????????During that time, a very dear friend of mine who is a talented painter came out to photograph the iris in bloom. Later that year, she presented me with a lovely painting she’d done of one of the purple iris. I really treasure the painting, not only because it was from Mary, but also because we no longer own the house and the iris bed is long gone, but I can still look at her work of art and remember.

I also – of course! – collect various pieces of bric-a-brac with the iris theme. (You’re not really too surprised, are you?)???????????????????????????????

Do you have a special favorite among the flowers?

 

Jun 15 2014

Don’t Assume from MAGIC OF THE NILE Weekend Writing Warriors

WeWriWa buttonA fun way to sample new books and find new writers! Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…

Continuing with the excerpts from MAGIC OF THE NILE =>This excerpt follows after last week’s.
Finally alone in the temple’s office, Sahure is confronting Tyema about her “masquerade” on the night of the festival. (A little creative punctuation and editing has occurred here.) :

She put one hand on his chest, trying to push him away, but under her fingers his body wasMagicOfTheNile_1600x2400 solid muscle, an unyielding wall, “I’m sorry, I didn’t set out to deceive you.”

            He stared at her for a long moment before releasing the chair, backing up a step. Hands on hips, he asked, “Then why the lie?”

 Pointing a finger at him, she said, “You just assumed I was a simple priestess – Ema is the pet name my family calls me, if you must know. Please, I had such a lovely, rare time last night, don’t ruin it with anger today.”

“You’re right, I did assume.” Eyes narrowed, he studied her more closely as he said, “The innkeeper was saying this morning you never come to the village, you’re never seen away from this temple. Of course he wasn’t addressing this remark to me and when he noticed me standing there, he shut up and scurried into the kitchen.” 

SO hard to stop there, I just want to keep going LOL. But next week…As always, I love your comments and feedback. Although this is a published work, the input helps for the future novels…

Here’s the story blurb for MAGIC OF THE NILE:

???????????????????????????????The standalone sequel to Priestess of the Nile…picks up about fifteen years later and tells the tale of Tyema, who was the younger sister in Priestess of the Nile…

After a childhood spent scorned and ignored by her family because of her crippled foot, Tyema was magically healed then installed as the High Priestess of his temple by Sobek the Crocodile God. But Tyema is still haunted by her memories, scarred by the abuse she endured. Despite Sobek’s protection, as an adult she’s become a near recluse inside the temple grounds…

Until Captain Sahure arrives in her remote town, sent from Thebes on an urgent mission for Pharaoh, requiring High Priestess Tyema’s help. From that moment on, her quiet, safe life is upended in ways she never could have expected.

But after a whirlwind romance with Sahure, the two part as Pharaoh orders him to undertake another assignment on Egypt’s dangerous frontier, far from Tyema’s remote town.

Heart-broken, Tyema is ready to return to her life of loneliness, official duties and, now, regret. But the Crocodile God has other plans for his priestess: she must uncover the sorcerer who threatens Pharaoh’s life with black magic. Soon enough, Tyema finds herself thrown into the chaos of Pharoah’s court, neck deep in intrigue and danger. Just when she thinks she can’t take the pressures of a very public court life and her secret investigation for the Crocodile God any longer, Sahure re-enters the scene.

But is her former love there to help or to hinder? Can they resolve their differences and work together to find the dark sorcerer who threatens Pharaoh and Egypt? Will the love between a proud warrior and a shy priestess lead them to a future together?

Available at Amazon   Barnes & Noble  All Romance eBooks  iTunes   Google Play Books

 

Jun 11 2014

H Is for Hamunaptra

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The A to Z Challenge continues on my blog! At this rate, I’ll probably be wrapping up with Z about the time every other blogger in the world starts up again. I’m having fun though and I hope you are too.

The first thing that comes to my mind for the letter “H” is Hamunaptra, mostly because???????????????????????????????

I spend entirely too much time cruising eBay and look what I found and HAD to have! It’s only a resin replica of the Key to the Book of the Dead (in the movie) and doesn’t actually open (so no treasure map inside) but the 1999 “The Mummy” is one of my all time favorite movies. And the invented-for-this-movie  “city of the dead” Hamunaptra was the destination everyone in the movie was going to, for better or worse.  My younger daughter and I watched the movie at the theater on opening day, went outside, bought another set of tickets and watched it again immediately. SO good! All that adventure, hints of ancient Egypt, Brendan Fraser in his prime, Ardeth Bey the Medjai leader, with the long hair and the big gun….mummies, cats, scarabs….what more could I ask??? I try to capture that spirit of adventure, magic, romance and  anything-is-possible in the “Gods of Egypt” novels I write, which are set in ancient Egypt.

???????????????????????????????H would also be for the goddess Hathor, of whom I’m very fond. She appears in “Magic of the Nile” at a critical point and I have an unfinished novella  where she’s very key to events.  She was the Goddess of many things, but particularly of love, beauty, motherhood, music, joy and dancing, and could appear as a cow, a cow-headed woman, or a woman with curving cow horns.

Or, H can be for honeybee. Those little guys are so important to our food supply….plant flowers for them if you can, ok? This site seems to have a good year round list of what flowering plants the bees prefer.  We need the bees! (Yes, the bees are a total non sequitor from the subject of Egypt…)

So I’ll leave you with this photo from “The Mummy” – can’t talk about all that Ardeth Bey goodness and not have his picture anywhere. In our house we also quite loved Jonathan as portrayed by John Hannah.

Mummy snapshot