Aug 12 2023

First Meeting: PRIESTESS OF THE NILE Weekend Snippet PNR Romance

I’ve decided to change up these weekly snippets and go through my backlist, sharing the first meeting between the two main characters in each book. I’m going roughly in the order of first publication. It’s always fun for me to revisit the books and I hope it will be for you too! Or if you’ve never happened to read a certain book, maybe I can entice you into giving it a try.

PRIESTESS OF THE NILE was my first ever published book, in 2012. Even better, I sent it to Carina Press in response to an open call and was later told they typically only acquired about 3% of the manuscripts that came in over the transom (versus through an agent). Three years later, after self publishing a number of books, I was able to leave the day job and become a full time author! No, not from sales of this little paranormal romance but it was the start…

The excerpt, on the shores of the Nile, near an abandoned temple, 1550 BCE. Sobek the Crocodile God has been drawn to the sound of a beautiful song and has taken his human form.:

“Don’t be frightened, please. I mean you no harm.” He held his hands up, palms out, and smiled. “I heard your singing and it drew me here. I only wanted to give my thanks for the concert.”

She laid one hand on her graceful throat, toying with an amulet on a thong. “You startled me.” Poised to bolt, the girl appeared wary, probably planning an attempt to run past him.

“I apologize.” He kicked off his sandals and waded into the water at an angle from her. The net drifted lazily in a whirlpool; he reached out and caught it, lifting the tangled strands from the river.

“Oh, don’t! You’ll ruin your fine kilt, sir.” She came to him hastily and took the net from his hands. “The river runs muddy at this time of the year. Your servants will labor in vain to get the stains out.”

He glanced at his waist. Oh yes, I did choose to wear the pleated white kilt of a nobleman. He followed her to the shore as she splashed through tiny waves with her net. “Fortunately, I have no servants to worry with such things.”

While putting his sandals on, Bek frowned at the Nile crocodiles lying deceptively immobile on the opposite bank, then glanced at her. “You take great risks, walking into the river with those beasts nearby.” One of the animals twitched. Bek glared at it. The creature met his eyes for a second, then settled onto the sand.

“Oh, I’m not afraid. I’m protected.” She was busy folding the net and packing it into a compartment in the lid of her fish creel. She didn’t even spare a moment to consider the predators across the water.

He coughed to cover his instinctive laugh. “Protected? And exactly how are you warded against attack?”

She stood briskly, raised her chin and tugged an amulet free of her dress to show him. It was a small green stone crocodile hanging on a frayed black leather thong. “My great-grandmother was the last priestess of the temple on the bluff above.”

He indicated the amulet. “May I see it?”

The girl unlooped the cord from her neck and handed the necklace over. “Great-Grandmother told me the amulet was blessed by the Crocodile God himself and would protect me from his creatures.”

Bek chuckled, holding the tiny figurine in his large meaty hand. “Mighty protection indeed.” He momentarily closed the pendant in his fist, then tossed it to her with a slight bow. “Nonetheless, you shouldn’t take such chances. Crocodiles are crafty and fierce.”

Cover by Fiona Jayde

PRIESTESS OF THE NILE (GODS OF EGYPT)

Drawn to his abandoned temple on the banks of the Nile by an enchanting song, Sobek the Crocodile god is even more captivated by the sight of the singer herself. Appearing to her as a man, he learns she is Merys, a descendant of his last priestess. Though filled with lust, Sobek believes Merys deserves to be more than just his mistress. But the rules that govern the Egyptian pantheon forbid anything beyond a physical joining of a Great One and a human.

Merys is attracted to the handsome stranger, who arouses passions in her that no man ever has. But with no dowry and no hope of ever leaving her village, she dares not dream of the future—or love.

Sobek takes every opportunity to visit Merys, taxing his resolve to leave her untouched. And when he saves her life, their mutual desire must be sated. But can a love between a human and an immortal survive the ultimate test of the gods?

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HQN does retain the rights to the audiobook.

Audiobook: Amazon or iTunes

And my most recent release set in ancient Egypt:

May 22 2023

Why I Wrote DANGER ON THE NILE

While science fiction romance is definitely my first love as an author/reader, I’ve been fascinated by ancient Egypt since childhood, when I read Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. I try to write one new book in my connected Egyptian series each year and find it to be a useful creative pause from SFR. The muse likes to explore other topics every now and then!

I’ve had one scene from my new novel DANGER ON THE NILE in my head for years. Decades maybe even. It’s a dramatic chariot scene in front of the abandoned fort where the characters take refuge from invaders. But that was it, vivid as it was. No other plot, no backstory, nothing. Eventually I got another scene in my mind, which is the opening with the priestess Mayet and her desperate flight from the temple. Then I literally woke up one morning this year and had the entire plot in my head, ready to go.

Any time I get a gift from the muse that involves an entire book ready to be written, I sit down and I do that. So I set aside my next scifi romance and dove into ancient Egypt. I got to research all kinds of things from ancient forts to border disputes in the 1500 BCE era to dolls of the time and I wrote. Over the years I’ve researched many of the worldbuilding details of my books and can use what I learned previously in each book. I also based some of the descriptions of a certain old bed on my own up close inspection of King Tut’s bed when the traveling exhibit from his tomb came to LA.

It was so much fun and really refreshing to the writer in me to be back in ancient Egypt. Of course this is my paranormal version – since I wanted the gods to be involved in these novels I couldn’t exactly go the historical romance route and I like the freedom of introducing a few details that might or might not be accurate. And leaving out other things!

I’ve been wanting to write a five book series about the grown children of Nima and Kamin, from DANCER OF THE NILE and RETURN OF THE DANCER OF THE NILE, because they’re one of my favorite couples (but this book is a standalone) so the dashing charioteer/diplomat/military man hero of the book is their oldest son, Khay. Next up in this series I might write the book I’ve had percolating about his sister, who is a librarian at Pharaoh’s palace but we’ll see what the muse is in the mood for.

While I was writing the book at least two other solutions to the dire situation my main characters find themselves in occurred to me but since I wanted the goddess Isis to be heavily involved, I had to reject those helpful ideas from the subconscious.

Fiona Jayde, my cover artist, and I decided to go in a completely different direction for the covers on this five book series and follow the trend of using objects rather than people to catch the eye and draw the reader in.

And now I find my mind turning over sequel ideas for Sati, a charming young supporting character you’ll meet in the novel. Whether I’ll ever write her book, who knows but it’s fun to ponder.

Wishing you health, prosperity and long life, and happy reading if you decide to delve into DANGER ON THE NILE or any of my ten other books set in the time frame.

Depositphoto

DANGER ON THE NILE (CHILDREN OF FATE) by Veronica Scott

1550 BCE. Mayet is a newly appointed priestess at the temple of Isis in a southern Egyptian border town. When enemies attack the city, she must flee alone with a sacred effigy to keep the invaders from claiming it and using it for their own magic rituals. Joining with other refugees from the stricken city, she has to hide the statue from curious eyes and comfort her companions as if she was a learned, senior priestess. They all look to her for leadership on their desperate trek north. With the enemy close on their heels, Mayet stumbles over an ancient, abandoned fort, where her party takes refuge. Surrounded and trapped by the invaders, she faces a bleak future.

Khay is a high-ranking Egyptian officer, sent by Pharaoh to negotiate treaties with various southern tribes. He and his soldiers narrowly escape an ambush at the city where Mayet’s temple was located and are on the run from the invaders when he sees the shelter of an abandoned fort. Now he and his men are also trapped inside the stout walls with no food and no hope of rescue. Yet he has no regrets for the priestess leading the refugees is the woman the goddess Isis has shown him in a vision, the one who could become his wife.

Together Mayet and Khay must find a way to bring their people to freedom. Will Isis listen to pleas from such a fledgling priestess? Khay comes from a famous family, smiled upon by other gods – will any of them come to his aid? As the pair struggle to stay alive and save the other Egyptians, attraction grows and unites their hearts. But is there to be a future in this world, or only in the Afterlife?

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The other books in my world of ancient Egypt: