Here’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!)
May be edited a bit from published version.
I’m doing a few excerpts from HEIRESS OF THE NILE, my most recent ancient Egyptian paranormal romance.
The snippet from near the beginning of the novel, skipping ahead a bit from last week. Pebatma has grown sad and distressed and a kindly priestess has invited her to sit and rest:
Feeling as if she’d lost control of the situation, Pebatma allowed herself to be drawn through a narrow door she’d never noticed before and walked into a cool, green garden. A fountain played lazily in the center and the overflow ran in a burbling stream until it disappeared from sight. The smell of the blue lotus was pleasant on the air and Pebatma found her chest loosening with each breath. Birds sang a merry tune. The well-designed garden and the granite bench carved in the shape of a reclining cow, with the seat projecting from the beast’s stone side reminded her vaguely of her family’s estate, before they’d fallen from favor of course.
“Will you have a bite to eat? These are from the temple’s inner sanctum,” the priestess said with a wink. “Blessed but safe for human consumption.”
Unsure if she could avail herself of the offer, Pebatma heard her stomach rumble embarrassingly and she selected a fragrant sesame roll glazed with honey. “You’re very kind.”
If she hoped to receive a name from the woman, she was disappointed. As Pebatma nibbled the roll, the priestess said, “You’ve been a devoted servant to the Great One, through all your own travails. Not a word of reproach have you offered to her for what your family has suffered. Diligent in your daily prayers, offering what you can, when you can. I’m sorry you never became one of the sacred order yourself, but Shai the God of Fate had other plans. We must all bow to his will of course.”
Wondering how this person could know so much about her, when she’d never spoken a word to anyone at the temple since the day she and her mother were refused entry, Pebatma swallowed hard. “You’re remarkably well informed, my lady.”
With a vague gesture, the other dismissed the remark. “Temple walls have eyes and ears, or so it is said. Why not tell me yourself what troubles you today? What would you ask of Hathor were she standing here?”
Pebatma heard a cow moo in the distance and the faint sounds of a sistrum whirring. Goose bumps rose on her skin and she shivered, unable to take another bite of the roll. She became uneasy about where it was she truly sat right now and to whom she spoke.
VS: Next week I’ll finish her visit to the temple and then the week after we’ll meet General Marnamaret, the hero, who is definitely NOT a spice merchant or a stolid innkeeper.
The book blurb: 1550 BCE – Forced by a vengeful Pharaoh to flee for her life and hide in the poorest section of Thebes, Lady Pebatma has scraped and struggled to support her ailing mother and young brother for the past two years. Now, out of funds with the rent to pay and no possessions left to sell, she begs the goddess Hathor for help. With a new pharaoh taking the throne, surely something can be done…
A powerful general in command of the army and best friend to Pharaoh, Marnamaret has everything a nobleman in Egypt could desire…except for true love. He refuses to settle for less. On a whim, he prays to Hathor to send him the woman of his dreams.Will the goddess answer these heartfelt petitions? And if she does, will Shai the god of Fate allow the course of two lives to be changed by love? For none can deny Fate….
Author’s Note: This is a connected series. Heiress of the Nile can be read as a standalone. Although it’s my newest novel, the story falls between Priestess and Warrior timewise and is set in the early days of this Pharaoh’s reign.
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This snippet makes me very curious as to what fate does have in store for her. Great snippet!
Interesting snippet and intriguing last line.
She is right to be wary. Really enjoyed the snippet.
I’m thinking she’s reached a more important ear than she knows. Hope she listens!
I think she is right is suspecting to whom she is speaking.
Tweeted.
I’m curious to know who the woman is. I have a hunch she’s someone quite important. Enjoyed the snippet.
She seems a kindly woman, although Pebatma doesn’t suspect her identity until the end.
Going through the door she never noticed before is a lovely way to enter the spirit realm, which is where I suspect she is! Great snippet.
I’d ask are YOU the goddess?
LOL, where’s the fun in THAT? And she might or might not tell you….but you made me laugh today so thanks!
Thanks, everyone, for stopping by and commenting!
I was wondering if she knew who this kind priestess was, or if she was someone in disguise. I hope to find out next week! Loved this snippet!
I missed the deadline to sign up, but here’s my link if you want to visit my blog: https://wp.me/p1gshm-3jf
Hathor, perhaps?
Intriguing! Is it Hathor?? Great snippet!
Well, at first I was thinking: “Hey, give me a key to that place!” But after that last line, I’m not so sure!
Your book is included in this week’s Roost Recommendations, featuring a link to this post, a buy link, and a blurb. I share the Roost Recommendations posts on Twitter with readers looking for their next read.
https://ornerybookemporium.blogspot.com/2021/06/roost-recommendations-2-june-2021.html
Thank you very much! I appreciate the mention in your recommendations – wow!
Beautiful descriptions and wonderful end to the snippet.