"A Visit to Ancient Egypt" - New Book Trailer for Magic of the Gods!

Today I'm sharing my USA Today/Happily Ever After -recommended book trailer for my latest novel set in ancient Egypt: MAGIC OF THE NILE.



I have such a good time collaborating with Theresa McClinton of MakingItReel on these book trailers. We go back and forth on the music choice first and then try to settle on good stock photos for establishing the ancient Egyptian atmosphere. This time around she found one that was perfect - until we noticed the electric light hanging in the foreground LOL. Oops!

It's a bit more tricky to find the right images for the main characters, since often the actual cover models on the book itself may not have other suitable poses we can use. Someday hopefully I'll have the budget to do my own photo shoots in full Egyptian costume and commission actual mini movie trailers but in the meantime I think we've managed to do a good job of conveying the feeling of the book itself.

I hope you'll enjoy!

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? Will the love between a proud warrior and a shy priestess lead them to a future together?

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

Myths & Legends of Childbirth in Ancient Egypt

VS sez: Pulled this post from the Archives, since Magic of the Nile is now available and this post was about events in that book. Somewhat updated and added a quick excerpt!

"Repay your mother for all her care. Give her as much bread as she needs, and carry her as she carried you, for you were a heavy burden to her. “ So says the Papyrus of a scribe named Ani, from 1250 BCE.

I’ve just published  my latest paranormal romance set in Ancient Egypt in 1535 BCE and there’s a childbirth scene. Children were very important to the Egyptians and of course there were many beliefs and legends surrounding the act of giving birth.  Fragmented, surviving papyri give remedies for pregnancy tests, infertility cures, contraception and obtaining answers to the always popular question “how do I know the sex of my unborn child?” Physicians of the day were almost never involved in labor and delivery – it was all left to the women of the household or the village, and the ever present gods and goddesses.

Egyptian myths have a great many variations, which works well for me as a novelist, because I can pick and choose to fit my story. I have the goddesses Hathor and Tawaret attending the birth of the baby in Magic of the Nile, but there is historical support for my selection, including a famous carving at the Temple of Hathor in Dendera which shows these two goddesses assisting a woman as she gives birth. Hathor was the beautiful Great One often shown with the head of a cow, or as a woman with cow’s horns, and she was regarded as the goddess of domestic bliss. Tawaret was the Hippo Goddess, although she had the feet of a lioness and the back of a crocodile. She was also regarded as a goddess of fertility and childbirth in part because female hippos were so protective of their young.

A woman often gave birth in a specially constructed pavilion or bower, sometimes in a special spot on the roof of her home, shaded to be cooler. Many of the depictions of birth show the use of “birthing bricks”, which were specially made for the pregnant woman to squat or stand on during the final stage of delivery. The women assisting her (or the goddesses if she was very lucky) stood on either side, providing support and something to push against. The birth bricks were considered so important they even had their own goddess, Meskhenet.  This important figure was sometimes depicted as a woman and at other times as a brick with a woman's head, adorned with a cow's uterus. She also breathed the child’s ka (one part of the individual’s soul) into them at birth.

One popular folk tale from thousands of years ago had the poor mother deliver triplets and after each son was born, Meskhenet appeared to say he would become king of Egypt! And the next baby born would become king of Egypt. And then the third boy will be king of Egypt too! The poor, confused parents...but in fact, each of these boys did become Pharaoh for a time, succeeding each other on the throne, according to the legends. Rather an amusing mental picture – sort of like some modern TV commercials where the nurses keep bringing the poor Dad another baby…

Childbirth could go wrong in so many ways in that era, and newborn babies were regarded as being fragile as the young sun (which was reborn every day). It’s no wonder that a rich tradition of special prayers, remedies and attentive goddesses developed to comfort the mothers in labor.

Here's the scene partway through the novel, where the mother-to-be and her female relatives have a luncheon:

Her older sister Paratiti, who’d been chosen by Sobek years ago to be Tyema’s guardian until she took over the temple, arrived from her home in the village one day late in the eighth month, by prearrangement bringing her daughters and the wives of her sons, as well as a gaggle of girl children. The group ate lunch with Tyema in the temple’s private gardens, laughing and chattering in the shade of towering palms and fragrant acacias. The older ones talked about when their babies had been born, exchanging funny stories and teasing each other. Tyema sat in the midst of her extended family, marveling at what a strange feeling it was to be with them all, but the impending birth of her child gave them common ground. She felt relaxed, unworried, since they were in her home and she was the hostess. In control. The baby moved and kicked just enough to remind her the two of them were in this together, and after all the entire gathering was in Tyema’s honor, organized by Paratiti. Some of the women had brought embroidered swaddling clothes for the baby and there was one big parcel they refused to let her open. It had taken two of them to carry the basket from the donkey cart at the front gate to the garden where the lunch was being held.

Finally, as the temple servants brought plates of honeyed cakes and figs at the end of the meal, Paratiti gestured at the oversized basket. “Bring the gift now.”

Her daughters hauled the sturdy container to Tyema, setting it on the ground next to her. Smiling, she said, “I can’t imagine what this might be.” Lifting off the lid, she set it aside and removed the top layer of straw packing. Below the straw she found a fine pair of birthing bricks, smooth, freshly painted in white, with stunning portraits of the goddesses Hathor and Tawaret drawn on the sides in turquoise, gold and red. Protective spells were inked in black hieratic. Tyema sat with a brick in either hand, examining the art.

“Do you like them? I made the bricks myself,” Paratiti said anxiously. “I said blessings to Hathor as I mixed the mud and straw in the brick-making forms.”

“And we had the best artisan in the village do the paintings,” Tyema’s favorite niece, Renebti, added. “He wouldn’t take payment since it was for you.”

“I—I don’t know what to say,” Tyema stammered. “I’m touched.”

“I hope your god won’t mind, but birthing a child is a female mystery and he isn’t known for involvement with such things. His crocodiles come from eggs after all. We were afraid you wouldn’t have proper bricks here when the time comes.” Paratiti gestured at the temple behind the garden.

Magic of the Nile Available Now at Amazon   Barnes & Noble  All Romance eBooks Other eBook retailers coming soon!

Just for fun - Here’s a Kay Perry video for her single “Dark Horse,” which gives another take on “magic of the Nile”!

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New Release MAGIC OF THE NILE!

When I wrote my first novel in the Gods of Egypt series for Carina Press, Priestess of the Nile, my wonderful Editor Alison kept asking to see more of the little sister, Tyema, who I think I barely mentioned in the early drafts. So I took Alison's sage advice and gave the girl a larger role in the events although that book is primarily about her older sister Merys and her romance with the Crocodile God Sobek.

Well thank goodness I listened to Alison because over time I kept thinking back to Tyema and where I'd left her at the end of Priestess and wondering how the rest of her life had gone. And what the lingering effects of the ordeal she suffers in Priestess might be...and then one day, I just knew - Tyema's story HAD to be the next one I wrote. I'm self publishing the series now, which is fun and challenging, and Magic of the Nile is my first direct sequel. The events in Magic take place approximately 15 years after the end of the earlier novel.

But now I'm already asking myself well, what happens to the Tyema's niece, Renebti....I foresee another sequel LOL.

Here's the story for Magic of the Nile:

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? 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  

From the Archives: Sobek The Crocodile God Answers Questions

VS sez: Pulled this from the archives to inspire myself, since I'm working on the sequel to this novel right now, in December 2013. The new book is MAGIC OF THE NILE, scheduled for a late January/early February release, and involves Tyema, the younger sister of Merys, who was the heroine of the PRIESTESS novella from Carina Press. Which was my first ever published story!

Over on my own blog, I love to answer series of questions from various magazines - hey, I may not be a celebrity but I can have fun with the answers too! I thought for this month's blog here I'd have Sobek the Crocodile God from my novella Priestess of the Nile  take a stab at a few of the questions from the Proust Questionnaire, used in various forms by various magazines and TV interview shows.

What's your idea of perfect happiness? Listening to Merys, my beloved, sing some of my favorite songs from the olden days of Egypt.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? I really had to struggle to understand human problems, to have empathy for their concerns.

What is your favorite journey? Traveling the length of the Nile, from the source in the mountains to the lush delta at the mouth. A beautiful river, giver of life to Egypt!

Which talent would you most like to have? To dance. I'm not light on my feet in human form, although I can move with lightning speed as a crocodile.

What's your favorite occupation? Other than spending time with Merys, I enjoy cleaning up the Nile after a major sandstorm, eliminating sand bars that prevent her waters from flowing freely to the fields. On the rare occasions that I have to protect Pharaoh from black magic attacks, now that's a satsifying day.

What is your most treasured possession? I really don't have or need possessions, being a god, but I can tell you the humans greatly desire my tears, which I rarely shed, but when I do, they become emeralds and are said to bring good fortune.

What is your most marked characteristic? (Sobek laughs.) Other than being able to turn into a thirty foot crocodile? Loyalty.

What words or phrases do you most overuse? Well, since we're in polite company here, I'll go with "Set's teeth", which I do often say!

What is the quality you like most in a man? Honor. Keeping his word once he's given his oath.

What do you value most in your friends? We've known each other for a long time - eons, since the creation of all things - and they'll always tell me when I'm making mistakes.

What is it you most dislike? People who lie. Both the world of the gods and the world of Ancient Egypt where I exist are based on the concept of ma'at - order, law, morality, justice. Lady Ma'at, the goddess who personifies these ideals, works continuously to prevent the universe from falling back into chaos. She was a very good friend to my beloved Merys and me at a critical moment, presenting the truth of an issue so strongly that even Isis couldn't deny the situation.

Do you have a favorite motto or quote? There's this from a harper's song: "Follow your heart as long as you live."  I did that when I fell in love with Merys.

VS sez Thank you, Sobek! Looking forward to seeing you again in the not too distant future...

PRIESTESS OF THE NILE is available  at Amazon Barnes & Noble Carina Press All Romance

The story:

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 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?