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?

Buy Links: Amazon Apple Books Kobo Nook Google

HQN does retain the rights to the audiobook.

Audiobook: Amazon or iTunes

And my most recent release set in ancient Egypt:

Sep 16 2022

Friday Favorite Scene PRIESTESS OF THE NILE Crocodile Attack

One in a continuing series of occasional posts talking about a personal favorite scene from each of my books. It may not be my most favorite scene, since that would probably involve spoilers, but I thought it might be fun.

Cover by Fiona Jayde

Taking my books in order of release PRIESTESS OF THE NILE was my first ever published work in January 2012. Carina Press had issued a call for ancient world romance in 2011 and me being me, I had to put a paranormal spin on it. I’d always been fascinated with ancient Egypt and I had the realization that Sobek the Crocodile God was a shifter and therefore could appear as a human…and fall in love.

I was told later that at the time Carina only acquired about 3% of the unsolicited manuscripts they received so I was definitely lucky! and I took Sobek as my informal patron ever since.

Merys is the last priestess of an abandoned templed to Sobek on the Nile in 1550 BCE and she has a beautiful voice, which attracts him. In the beginning she doesn’t know who he is – he calls himself Bek – so one of my favorite scenes in the book is the one where she learns his identity in dramatic fashion.

The scene:

Merys stood carefully in one spot. She pushed her hair out of her eyes roughly and sighed in frustration, checking her neck one more time, not quite accepting the loss of her necklace. The slithering sensation against her skin as the old leather thong parted and the amulet fell had been so startling, she hadn’t grabbed for it in time. Peering uselessly into the murk of the Nile, Merys blinked back tears. The only possession of my great-grandmother’s I had left, the symbol of my being a priestess—gone. I’ll wait for the silt to settle and then hopefully I can find it. Taking a moment to enjoy the soaring flight of a flock of white ibis against the blue sky, she stood straighter, easing her muscles. I envy them their freedom.

The sky tilted and vertigo assailed her as her feet were violently yanked out from under her. A crocodile closed its mighty jaws around her ankle, ripping a desperate scream from her throat. The bone-crushing force sent a sheet of hot pain up her leg and through her body until adrenaline pulsed in her system.

The beast dragged her under the surface of the Nile, pulling her toward the center of the river. Cold water rushed over her face, into her open mouth. Merys gagged, tried to hold her breath, beating on the animal’s closed jaws with her fists, then trying to jab at the nearest eye. Her stomach heaved, nausea and weakness from the intensity of the pain in her leg spreading outward from her gut.

Author’s own collection

The crocodile rolled her over and over, tossing her like Tyema’s puppy with a rag doll. Black spots danced before her eyes and she scrunched them tightly closed against the dizziness. What do I do to get away before I drown? I have to breathe. My chest is going to explode. I’ve got to have air. Just as her lungs were bursting, something huge flashed by her in the water and struck the crocodile with enough force to shove it sideways a few feet against the current. The predator opened its jaws to deal with the threat and Merys floated free.

A tiny hope of survival bloomed within her. A spurt of energy sizzled through her nerves, giving her new strength. Kicking as hard as she could with the injured leg, heart pounding, Merys clawed her way to the surface. The water in her vicinity churned bright red. Something solid rose from the murky depths. Merys screamed and flailed, too weak to swim. A hard surface lay under her, lifting her completely out of the water, supporting her as if she were stretched out on a board or a raft. Thank the gods for helping me. Nausea and dizziness overwhelmed her and the world faded from her view.

When Merys regained consciousness, she was held safe in Bek’s muscular arms, nestled against his broad chest. Too exhausted to question the miracle of his presence she curled closer to him in relief while he strode across the beach toward her favorite spot under the palm trees. Tenderly he laid her in the softest spot, then bent to examine her leg.

Blood gushed from a long series of deep, serrated slashes, staining her dress as well as his hands and kilt. The crocodile’s teeth had shredded her lower leg from ankle to knee. The bone showed through. The pain was excruciating.

Merys leaned to the side and vomited river water that burned her throat while Bek held her hair out of the way. As she wiped her mouth, exhausted, he pushed her gently to a reclining position. Chanting something, he proceeded to run his hands over her legs. The pain spiked, then receded.

What is he doing? Some kind of healing, but how? Green light shone from his hands, radiating from his palms in a cold, numbing rush. The light brought blessed relief, mending her skin and bones in front of her eyes. Thank the gods.

When he finished, Bek sat on his haunches, resting his hands on his thighs, and scrutinized her. His face was lined, his eyes shadowed. He was dripping wet.

Another time I would have appreciated this view. But right now I need to understand what happened. “You saved me? How? How could you defeat a crocodile? And what did you do to my leg?” Wriggling her toes, Merys touched her shin hesitantly with the tips of her fingers. I’m safe in his arms. Her pulse slowed. The weakness ebbed away as she relaxed.

Bek gathered her in for a hug and she breathed deeply of his clean masculine scent. Crooning her name over and over, he buried his face in her hair. Then he pulled back, framing her face with both of his broad hands, and met her eyes. “I thought I’d lost you.”

She put a trembling hand on his cheek. “Who are you, Bek?”

“Sobek.” He cleared his throat as he stroked her back with one hand. She realized her soaked dress must be clinging to her as tightly as his wet tunic was plastered to his body. She leaned into the shelter of his mighty arms. Bek rested his lips next to her ear and whispered, “I am Sobek.”

New strength pumped through her, making her heart pound and sending a hot pulse along her nerves. “The Crocodile God?” I’ve been sitting and talking to the Great One all this time, treating him like a human man? I fell in love with him. How could I have been so blind? So stupid? “The Crocodile God himself?”

Purchased from DepositPhotos

PRIESTESS OF THE NILE

RT Book Reviews 4 1/2 Stars

Night Owl Reviews Top Pick

The Story:

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 pure. 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?

Buy Links: Amazon Apple Books Kobo Nook Google

HQN does retain the rights to the audiobook. This was also the original cover, which I absolutely fell in love with, by Frauke of Croco Designs but they also retained the rights to the art so I had to get a new cover from Fiona Jayde, who does all my scifi romance covers.

Audiobook: Amazon or iTunes

Jun 15 2018

LADY OF THE NILE PRISM Award Finalist

Cover by Fiona Jayde

Earlier this week I was really honored and excited to receive a phone call telling me that Lady of the Nile, my 7th paranormal romance set in ancient Egypt, had been selected as a Finalist in the Romance Writers of America Fantasy Futuristic & Paranormal Chapter’s PRISM Award!

That’s exciting stuff to a writer in the FF&P romance genres…see the full list of Finalists in all categories here. Congratulations to everyone whose book Finalled! Winners will be announced at the national conference in July.

I write my ancient Egyptian tales as a labor of love – not that I don’t love my scifi romance books because I DO and those are my main focus and genre – but the reader audience for ancient world romance tends to be smaller, without much crossover between the SFR genre and this one. I’ve often written about how the YA novel Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw first inspired me to want to write tales set in the far past. I was further inspired by seeing the King Tut exhibit many years ago, which included the amazing golden mask. And then there’s my favorite 1950’s ‘B” movie, ‘Princess of the Nile’.

My titles are an homage to McGraw’s book in fact (“…of the Nile”). I read that novel in elementary school, still have a copy and reread it periodically. (I also named the heroine in Wreck of the Nebula Dream ‘Mara’.) So when I place myself in ancient Egypt it’s a complete change of pace for me from my futuristic stories and a fun challenge as an author.

I try to put myself in the head of a person who might have lived then, and I make sure the gods and goddesses are present and involved in the daily lives of the people, as the ancients believed and hoped they were. As the reviewers at Dear Author said of Ghost of the Nile (itself an award winner): “There’s Egypt and gods and magic and strong men and stronger women and love even beyond death and into the Afterlife. The historic details add spice throughout the story and these definitely aren’t 21st C people in linen kilts.”

My heroes are usually the Special Forces men of their day – Pharaoh’s Own Guard, which is a unit I created (tell me Pharaohs didn’t have their own elite guard forces!) – strong, tough, smart, loyal…and the heroines are priestesses, healers, land owners…in ancient Egypt women could play many significant roles and my women carry on that tradition.

Cover by Frauke of Croco Designs

And of course Priestess of the Nile was my first published book, thanks to Carina Press. So the ancient Egyptians have been very good to me as well. I think of the Crocodile God Sobek as my special good luck charm, since he was the hero in that book.

There was even some serious Hollywood interest in making Priestess into a movie! Although that never came to fruition, like so many failed projects in the entertainment world but still…never say never.

I recently received the best compliment ever from a reader, who sent me a message that she’d been to the current King Tut exhibit at an LA museum and was amazed how familiar to her all the items and the various gods and goddesses seemed because she’d read my novels. (My books are set about 300 years after the time of Tut.) That was a fun and deeply satisfying thing to hear as an author! I have a page on this blog devoted to my approach to historical accuracy...I’m not writing ‘historical novels’ but I do my best to infuse the time and place into the books as thoroughly as I can.

The story:

Tuya, a high ranking lady-in-waiting at Pharaoh’s court, lives a life of luxury, pageantry and boredom. Khian, a brave and honorable officer from the provinces temporarily re-assigned to Thebes, catches her eye at a gold of valor ceremony. As the pair are thrown together by circumstances, she finds herself unaccountably attracted to this man so unlike the haughty nobles she’s used to. But a life with Khian would mean leaving the court and giving up all that she’s worked so hard to attain. As she goes about her duties, Tuya struggles with her heart’s desires.

When Tuya is lured into a dangerous part of Thebes by her disgraced half-brother and kidnapped by unknown enemies of Egypt, Khian becomes her only hope. Pharaoh assigns him to bring the lady home.

Aided by the gods, Khian races into the desert on the trail of the elusive kidnappers, hoping to find Tuya before it’s too late. Neither of them has any idea of the dark forces arrayed against them, nor the obstacles to be faced. An ancient evil from the long gone past wants to claim Tuya for its own purposes and won’t relinquish her easily.

Can Khian find her in time? Will he and his uncanny allies be able to prevent her death? And if the couple escapes and reaches safety, what of their fledgling romance?

Buy Links:

Amazon iBooks Kobo B&N

May 24 2015

One Pharaoh At A Time in Thebes Weekend Writing Warriors

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!)

While we’re waiting for my next two new books (one ancient Egypt – at the formatter – and one science fiction romance – at the editor), here’s another snippet from Magic of the Nile. At the command of Sobek the Crocodile God, Tyema has brought a special crocodile to Thebes and is about to show the beast to Pharaoh.

“…Sobek told me the keepers gave your beast the name ‘Pharaoh’.” He chuckled and there was a ripple of answering laughter from the courtiers in attendance. The guards maintained their stern mien and vigilant stance.

“We meant no disrespect, sir,” Tyema said, feeling butterflies in her stomach. What seemed amusing in Ta’sobeksef might be deadly insult here – so many ways to put a foot wrong in Thebes.

Nat-re-Akhte paced toward the crate and she followed, conscious of the entire group trailing behind her. “I’m sure there was no disrespect intended, although there can be only one ruler at a time in Egypt,” he said over his shoulder, “So long as your crocodile restricts his ambitions to the pond at the temple, the world can remain in harmony.” There was a definite twinkle in his eyes.

Suddenly she felt at ease, even though her companion was Pharaoh himself, and said, “I think we can safely assume the limited scope of my crocodile’s ambitions, sir.”

Note: Ghost of the Nile should be released by next Sunday so I’ll do an excerpt from it!

The story:

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?

Jul 12 2014

The Great One Sobek Doesn’t MAGIC OF THE NILE Weekend Writing Warriors

A 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 editing and some creative punctuation has definitely occurred here.) :

She started to chuckle, then laughed outright, “Could we start over?” She held out one hand, “I’m Tyema, high priestess of Sobek in the Ibis Nome, but you may call me Ema.”

He walked to her chair. “Much better,” he said, taking her hand and bowing respectfully as if she were the queen. “I’m Captain Sahure, sent by Pharaoh to survey the Nile in this area, to further his investigation into the possibility of building a new port.”

“And the Great One Sobek does not set limits on what I do with my personal time.” Tyema smiled, gazing into his dark brown eyes, enjoying the warmth of his reciprocating grin. Glancing at the piles of tablets and the rolled papyri on her desk, Tyema said, “ Alhough I can’t abandon my daily duties.”

Nearly done with excerpting this section of the novel. One more week for sure, maybe two…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…

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.

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

Jul 6 2014

Too Bad You Never…MAGIC OF THE NILE Weekend Writing Warriors

A 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 has definitely occurred here so I can give you a complete exchange.) :

“I rarely go outside the temple compound, and my reasons are strictly my own,” she said, striving for dignity, her heart racing a bit. “I thank you again for the dinner and the evening’s entertainment but now, I’m sure I must have others waiting for a moment of my time on temple business – my scribe said there was a full slate.”

He wandered over to admire a fresco on the east wall, of Sobek amid a gathering of his crocodiles, rendered in vivid colors. “Too bad you never leave the grounds; that’s going to present a challenge to me teaching you to drive a chariot while I’m here.” Glancing at her over his shoulder, Sahure grinned, one eyebrow raised.

Mouth open, she simply stared at him for a long moment.

“Shifting into the frog goddess Heqet now?” he teased, “Careful, you’ll be catching flying insects.”

We’ll get her reply next week. Nearly done with excerpting this section of the novel. 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…

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.

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

Jun 29 2014

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

A 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?” He 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…

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.

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

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!

A 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 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…

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.

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

May 11 2014

Is He Upset? from MAGIC OF THE NILE for Weekend Writing Warriors

Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms, Moms-to-Be, Grandmothers and everyone who plays a motherly role in someone’s life – best wishes for a great day!

A 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 =>I’m skipping the events of their evening together at the town festival (because I can’t excerpt the entire book here LOL). Suffice it to say Sahure doesn’t learn her identity while they’re exploring the town. I promised I’d share how he reacts when he does find out. Today’s excerpt is leading up to that moment.

The next morning…

As Tyema led the midmorning ceremony, chanting the hymns to Sobek, she was more conscious than usual of the small but attentive crowd of worshippers. Normally she blotted out any thought of the onlookers and lost herself in singing the sacred music. Today she wondered if Sahure was there in the outer sanctuary and whether he’d be upset to learn she hadn’t told him her true identity. Her anxiety wasn’t relieved any by the fact he’d appeared in at least one of her dreams as well, smiling and holding out another red flower she’d been too frightened to accept. Awakening from the dream with a gasp, she couldn’t go back to sleep, disturbed by unfamiliar thoughts and desires. Tossing and turning left her tired. By the time the ceremony was over and she was free to retreat to her office in the temple’s new wing, tension was rising in her like a wave. A small headache pounded over her left eye, spreading tentacles of pain through her head.

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:

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…

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.

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

Apr 13 2014

What Am I Doing? MAGIC OF THE NILE Weekend Writing Warriors

A 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…

So we’ve moved on to the newly Released MAGIC OF THE NILE. This week’s excerpt follows Sahure’s invitation to Tyema to accompany him to the festival. I’ve skipped a bit of cajoling on Sahure’s part. (I may have played with the punctuation to make it eight sentences. I think!):

Tyema hastened to her quarters, the whole time asking herself what she was doing. She rarely set foot in town, with all its sad memories, not even to visit her sisters. Never to attend festivals! Am I so susceptible to a handsome stranger? She giggled, thinking of her half-sister Merys and the handsome stranger she’d met, who of course was revealed to be the god Sobek himself. “I don’t think this Sahure is a god in disguise,” she laughed to herself as she returned to the gate, half expecting to find him gone. But he’s a pleasing companion and tonight I’m in the mood to be wild, to do the unexpected.

“You were quick, my lady,” he said, pushing away from the wall and coming to take her hand.

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:

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…

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.

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