Oct 27 2018

Ghost of the Nile Weekend Writing Warriors

In honor of Halloween coming this week, I’m going to my award winning Ghost of the Nile from 2015for today’s excerpt. It’s an unusual ghost story!

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!)

I’ll switch to my newly released scifi romance Timtur: The Teacher’s Alien Healer (Badari Warriors) next week.

Punctuation may be wonky to comply with our guidelines here. May be edited a bit from published version.

The excerpt – my hero gets bad news in the afterlife from the goddess Ma’at, who is speaking as the excerpt starts:

“I’m also a seeker of justice and balance, one who rights wrongs. I’m the goddess of second chances for the human race,” She raised her elegant eyebrows, “Although such chances are few and far between.”

Despite the warmth of the brightly lit room, a shiver worked its way down Periseneb’s spine, “You wish to right the wrong of my murder? Bring my murderer to account for the crime?”

She shook her head, the golden beads in her wig chiming like little bells, “Your death is done, past, woven into the fabric of life in the upper world these two-hundred years and more.”

He staggered, locking one hand on the edge of the table to steady himself, “So long?”

“Time here and time there run differently, warrior. Only the Nile remains unchanging.” She moved to the black-and-gold chair, seating herself and leaning against the richly decorated back, “Yet, your death is connected in a way to events now.” Ma’at nodded her head as if some decision had been reached, “I need a champion.”

The story:

1550 BCE

Betrayed, murdered, and buried without proper ceremony, Egyptian warrior Periseneb is doomed to roam the gray deserts of the dead as a ghost for all eternity.

But then the goddess of truth offers him a bargain: return to the world of the living as her champion for 30 days. If he completes his mission, he’ll be guaranteed entry into Paradise. Periseneb agrees to the bargain but, when he returns to the living world, two hundred years have passed and nothing is quite as he expected.

Neithamun is a woman fighting to hang onto her family’s estate against an unscrupulous nobleman who desires the land as well as the lady. All seems lost until a mysterious yet appealing ex-soldier, Periseneb, appears out of nowhere to help her fight off the noble’s repeated attacks.

Meanwhile, Periseneb’s thirty days are rushing by, and he’s powerless against the growing attraction between himself and Neithamun. But their love can never be. For his Fate is to return to the Afterlife, and Death cannot wed with Life…

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canva all 7 books corrected

Oct 3 2015

Try To Keep Walking Weekend Writing Warriors

(If you’re here for the SFRB Showcase, it can be found at this link.)

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. I’ve skipped a few sentences of conversation between the end of last week’s excerpt and today’s.

Together they climbed the low rise, Tadenhut assisted her on the uneven footing, and when Mehyta reached the top, she saw nothing but a thick mist completely encircling the valley where the battle had occurred.

“When I first found myself here, I explored the boundaries of my prison, thinking there must be more, must be some path to freedom.” Tadenhut released her hand, gesturing for her to precede him, “Go ahead, try to keep walking.”

She did so, taking about ten steps into the swirling fog and then retracing her path to his side before she lost all sense of direction. “I had no problem.”

Jaw clenched, he nodded. “Now observe what happens to me.” He ran full tilt at the mist as if going into battle, and vanished from her sight between one step and the next, pale tendrils of fog enfolding him.

Astonished, Mehyta pivoted in a circle, searching for him. Behind her she heard a shout and located Tadenhut standing beside the chariot with Pharaoh’s standard, returned somehow to the spot where he’d fallen.

Next week I’ll share what Mehyta discovers about the nature of the mist. I might go a few sentences beyond that (so maybe one further week, depending on where the scene break fits), as she has a dilemma to resolve, but then we’ll have to let the story go and switch to something else.

I don’t have a cover or a blurb for this one yet. but in includes 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.

In the meantime, if you can’t wait, you can always read one of my other novels set in ancient Egypt LOL!

As always, thanks for visiting!

Sep 27 2015

We’ll Not Escape Weekend Writing Warriors

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.

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.

Exciting 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?

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

Sep 19 2015

Was I Injured? Weekend Writing Warriors

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.

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. Mehyta is still speaking.

“Why do you linger here in this awful place, when all others are dead?”

“I can’t leave – I’ve tried but when I get to the edge of the battlefield, something stops me and I find myself right back here. All my original fallen comrades in this place have moved on, out of my sight, leaving me with the rotting bones of my cursed enemies and the horses.” He gave her a crooked grin and sat on the broken chariot once more, retrieving the knife and the carving. “So I sit and whittle, and wait. Perhaps I’ve been waiting for you?”

“You remember your injury?”

He didn’t glance at her but for a moment his hands were stilled. A muscle twitched in his jaw. Then he scraped the knife along the piece of wood and shavings fell, “Was I injured?”

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 one or two more excerpts from this and then move back to science fiction romance.

If you want more ancient Egypt and can’t wait for this novella, my most recent release in the connected series was Ghost of the Nile….each book is a standalone story.

The story for Ghost of the Nile:

Betrayed, murdered, and buried without proper ceremony, Egyptian warrior Periseneb is doomed to roam the gray deserts of the dead as a ghost for all eternity.

Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo iTunes

Sep 12 2015

Sent By The Gods? Weekend Writing Warriors

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.

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 started last week. Tadenhut is speaking:

“I half suspect I’m dead – this abandoned battlefield is like a strange territory in the afterlife. But in that case why hasn’t my family performed the proper rituals and sent my ka on its way to be judged? Certainly my father can well afford the expense. I committed no crimes I’m aware of. Perhaps no one knows where my body lies.” Rolling his shoulders, he made her a courtly bow. “Forgive my manners, I’m Tadenhut, captain of Pharaoh’s charioteers and heir to Hunting Cat estate.”

“I know.”

He gave her a sharp glance, “Are you sent by the gods to take me to the afterlife?”

“I do my best to heal the injured, my lord, not kill them.”

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 one or two more excerpts from this and then move back to science fiction romance.

If you want more ancient Egypt and can’t wait for this novella, my most recent release in the connected series was Ghost of the Nile….each book is a standalone story.

The story for Ghost of the Nile:

Betrayed, murdered, and buried without proper ceremony, Egyptian warrior Periseneb is doomed to roam the gray deserts of the dead as a ghost for all eternity.

Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo iTunes

Jun 14 2015

Act As Your Heart Dictates Weekend Writing Warriors

This week’s excerpt is from my newly released Ghost of the Nile. The goddess Ma’at has just told Periseneb she only wants him to complete his journey home…Periseneb is speaking:

“That’s all? Show up two-hundred years late and say, here I am? Who would know me now? Who would care? I have no place there, Great One.” His voice cracked a little on the last sentence and he clamped his lips closed, taking a deep breath. Thinking about the simple dreams he’d cherished as a man hurt like a knife to the heart. All gone, turned to dust.

Leaving the chair, she walked to him and the scent of her blue lotus perfume was calming. “Complete the journey and act as your heart dictates.”

The Story:

1550 BCE

Betrayed, murdered, and buried without proper ceremony, Egyptian warrior Periseneb is doomed to roam the gray deserts of the dead as a ghost for all eternity.

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Sep 3 2014

N Is for Nile

Given that I write a series of paranormal novels set in ancient Egypt and the Nile appears in all of my titles, how could I pick anything else for my letter N in the A to Z challenge?

I’m not sure why this Victorian trade card for the Newby Evans Piano company has a Nile crocodile and a fox chatting, but I thought it was charmingly comedic.

Here’s wonderful quote from John Keats’ Sonnet to the Nile:

Son of the old moon-mountains African!
Stream of the Pyramid and Crocodile!
We call thee fruitful, and that very while
A desert fills our seeing’s inward span.

And another from an American Poet, Bayard Taylor, in his To The Nile:

Mysterious Flood,–that through the silent sands
Hast wandered, century on century,
Watering the length of great Egyptian lands,
Which were not, but for thee.

Dec 17 2013

A Real Princess of the Nile from 3000 Years Ago

Sometimes you can close your eyes and almost touch the past…

Meritamen is an actual woman who lived a few hundred years after the general time frame where I place my “Tales of the Gods” paranormal novels. That’s her in the photo, as depicted by royal sculptors. She was the daughter of Ramses the Great and his favorite wife, Nefertari, and had at least four brothers and a younger sister. She played the sistrum, she danced, she sang…she was evidently a great favorite with Ramses II, being depicted in many of the official statues and paintings with him. Some of the titles and inscriptions regarding Meritamen talk of her being “fair of face,” with a beautiful forehead, as well as references to her perfume and that she was apparently very well spoken.

There’s a scene in her tomb where she’s depicted as bringing boxes of clothing with her to the Afterlife. I love that touch!

She was buried in the Valley of the Queens but the whereabouts of her mummy are unknown. Only the lid of her sarcophagus is in Berlin today.

So why are we talking about this relatively minor figure, shown to the left in a reproduction of a painting from her tomb? Out of all the players in ancient Egypt’s thousands of years of history, what makes her my blog subject today?

While writing my novels, I’ve built up a collection of what I call “faux Egyptiana” – museum reproductions of famous statues, trading cards and woodcuts from the late 1800’s depicting tomb paintings and scenes, modern papyrus paintings that approximate the gorgeous art of the ancients, fashion jewelry – but my budget doesn’t run to any “real” antiquities. I do from time to time, however, indulge in minor purchases of amulet beads purporting to be from the Egyptian New Kingdom, which is the era I’ve placed my novels in.

A few weeks ago I gave in to the intense desire to own this tiny scarab made of blue steatite (a form of soapstone) with what is believed to be Meritamen’s cartouche on the flat side. The bead came with a scholarly discourse stating the amulet can quite reasonably be assumed to have been hers, based on technical considerations too numerous to mention here. I loved the idea of having something that actually dates back to the time frame I write about.

OK, I can hear the sceptics now. Even with a great provenance and scholarly details, there’s no proof this bead is really hers or is thousands of years old. I do know that. Even in the days of ancient Greece and Rome, clever artisans made fake “antiquities” for the tourists to buy. So it’s probably a skillful fake. But…

But I choose to believe this might be real. When the package came and I gingerly took the tiny bead out (it’s about the size of my thumbnail) I felt this indescribable flash of something…this bead isn’t like anything else I’ve ever unwrapped. I can’t really describe it any better than that. I felt I was holding a fragment of antiquity in my hand.

Fake, real? Does it ultimately matter? For a few moments a connection has been forged between me and this genuine person from the time I write about, and now there’s a link between you and Meritamen as well.

Photos courtesy of Wikimedia: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License and represents no endorsement of the post or of Veronica Scott by Kurohito (photo #1) or Anneke Bart (photo #2) respectively. Photos of scarab bead are author’s own.

Oct 20 2013

Weekend Writing Warriors Is there a plan? DANCER OF THE NILE

Switching this week to my latest release, Dancer of the Nile, which takes us back to Ancient Egypt again. This is the second night, when Nima the Dancer has been forced to cook dinner yet again for the enemy soldiers. We’re in Kamin’s viewpoint. A little creative editing to stay within the eight sentence rule. The story blurb is below the photo.

Tonight’s meal smelled even better than the stew the night before. Sundown breezes brought a whiff his way, causing painful cramps in his gut, which grumbled.

Finally, after the officers and the soldiers had been fed, she scooped a bowl full of stew from the kettle and sauntered in his direction, her walk unhurried. Kamin enjoyed the view, realizing with a little jolt of dismay how eagerly he was anticipating even the most fleeting contact with her.

She set the bowl in his outstretched palms and looked him straight in the eyes, her own gaze intense. “Don’t eat it,” she said in a barely audible whisper, before walking away without a backward glance.

The guards watched him so he made a show of fumbling with the bowl, as if trying to get a better grip. He allowed it to slip from his fingers, struggling against the ropes in a convincing show of desperation, attempting to catch the rim as it rolled off his fingertips, shattering on a rock, splattering him with stew.

I love and appreciate your comments and feedback every week! Go here to find all the other Weekend Writing Warriors and read an amazing variety of terrific excerpts…

Egypt, 1500 BCE

Nima’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 is AVAILABLE on Amazon Barnes & Noble All Romance eBooks iTunes Smashwords

Oct 7 2013

Release Week DANCER OF THE NILE

I’m very excited to be releasing my third book in the Gods of Egypt series – DANCER OF THE NILE!

They always say you should write the book you can’t find enough of on the shelf and for me, that would be romances set in Ancient Egypt, with the gods actively taking part in events. I write in the 1550 BCE time frame, a period of great change for the Egyptians as they threw off a foreign invader. The true events of history create many plot opportunities. I do tons of research in order to put my characters in a setting which feels real and evocative of the time but I also take some deliberate liberties with history.

One of the best things about employing the Egyptian gods as characters is that there were many varying legends and beliefs about each deity, so I can pick and choose the aspects that work best for my story. For DANCER OF THE NILE, I really enjoyed working Renenutet the Snake Goddess into the story, to help my heroine, Nima the dancer. Renenutet was particularly involved with the harvest in Egypt but as a woman with the head of a cobra, she has her deadlier aspects, believe me.

Kamin, the Egyptian soldier who stands beside Nima as they fight for Egypt, is sworn to Horus the Falcon, so he plays a role in events too. Here’s the story:

Ancient Egypt:

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?

****************************************************************************************************************

I’m proud to say DANCER OF THE NILE hit the Amazon Best Seller list the first day, in the Romance=>Ancient World category. Thank you to everyone who purchased the book, giving it such a terrific head start, and I hope you’ll enjoy the story!

DANCER OF THE NILE is AVAILABLE on Amazon Barnes & Noble All Romance eBooks iTunes

All the other outlets will be coming SOON!

Veronica Scott

Science Fiction & Fantasy Romance Author

Tag Archives: Nile

Ghost of the Nile Weekend Writing Warriors

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Try To Keep Walking Weekend Writing Warriors

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We’ll Not Escape Weekend Writing Warriors

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Was I Injured? Weekend Writing Warriors

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Sent By The Gods? Weekend Writing Warriors

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Act As Your Heart Dictates Weekend Writing Warriors

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N Is for Nile

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A Real Princess of the Nile from 3000 Years Ago

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Weekend Writing Warriors Is there a plan? DANCER OF THE NILE

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Release Week DANCER OF THE NILE

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