Sep 27 2015

We’ll Not Escape Weekend Writing Warriors

Warriors logo revisedHere’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

I’ve switched to an excerpt from a brand new novella set in my version of ancient Egypt, working title Healer of the Nile, which is for a boxed set later this year.

Tadenhut, elder son of a noble house and heir to the Hunting Cat estate, has been gravely injured in a battle against Pharaoh’s enemies and brought home to die. Mehyta, a woman from the estate’s village who has skills as a healer, has been ordered to assist the physicians in his care.

Having used her healer’s magic to assess his injuries, she finds herself dreaming of Tadenhut, who remains in a coma in the real world. Her dream takes place on a battlefield, after the combat has ended and we’re going on with the next sentences in the scene we were on last week. “Was I injured?” wasTadenhut’s last line last week:

His voice carried nothing but mild interest, although Mehyta detected a tremor in his fingers.

            She swallowed hard, reluctant to deliver the news. “Severely, my lord, but you saved Pharaoh’s life and Egypt prevailed over the enemy to claim victory.” It couldn’t be good for him to remain in this awful, deserted battlefield. “Can we perhaps find a better spot to talk?”

            “You didn’t tell me your name,” he said, rising and shoving the knife into his belt, setting the half-formed cat on the chariot.

            “Mehyta.” She was curious whether the information would evoke any reaction from him but he merely nodded.

            “Lovely,” He reached out and took her hand, “We’ll stroll, since you wish it, but I warn you, we’ll not escape this field of death.”

            His fingers closed warmly over hers and she couldn’t help but think of how he lay motionless in the bed.

I don’t have a cover or a blurb for this one yet. but there will be copious quantities of magic and a bit of romance, of course. Locked in his coma, Tadenhut isn’t as ready to give up his hold on life as everyone assumes, especially after this meeting in the dreamspace. The novella took on a sort of Cinderella-by-the-Nile air in some ways as I wrote it…I’ll  share enough excerpts to finish this scene, probably a few more weeks.

MagicOfTheNile_600x900Exciting News – I was notified that Magic of the Nile just won the Hearts Through History Romancing the Novel contest in its category! I used to excerpt that story here. on WeWriWa..

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? 

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37 comments on “We’ll Not Escape Weekend Writing Warriors”

  13. This makes me wonder how she’s going to heal him. Lovely scene here that drew me right in. And…Congratulations!!!!!

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  15. Congratulations! And another fab snippet–I love how he takes her hand and it makes her think of him lying back in the other world. He is certainly taking this all in stride. We’ll see if he keeps his cool forever.

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  20. This is so clever and beautifully written, shifting between the present world and the dream world. I’d be happy if you shared excerpts from this story every single week. 🙂 But on another note, congrats on your big win!

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  28. 1st, kudos on your wonderful Magic of the Nile news!
    I really like the way Mehyta seems concerned about his emotional state, it’s as if she feels he might give up fighting for life if he is too distraught. Great story.

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  29. Great news on the win. Brava!

    I loved this entire snippet, but I was especially intrigued by the half-carved cat Tadenhut left on the chariot – a sign, maybe, that he has unfinished business to tend to in the ‘corporeal world’?

    And strolling through a field of death, with no escape, hand in hand…that certainly says something about his mindset.

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  33. Beautifully done as always. I can’t say his optimism, or lack thereof, about getting out of that battlefield is going to help him. I get the feeling until he truly wants to leave and live, he isn’t going to get out. I hope she can convince him of that.

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  35. Thank you so much for all the comments! I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear this scene is working for people. I had such fun combining my understanding of various ancient Egyptian beliefs with the story and plot – this novella has really become one of my own favorites, if I do say so. Probably will HAVE to write some sequels with these characters 🙂

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