Friday, October 12, 2012

The Mysterious Pharaoh

Buy Pharoah Mine HERE!


By Kerry Adrienne
When I began researching Egypt for my latest 1Night Stand, I was really in heaven. Who doesn’t love to spend hours on Google just going from one interesting link to another? I knew I wanted a time period where there were kings, and where there were pyramids, and where the religion was complex and filled with many gods and goddesses.

I tracked down the time period then researched the gods, houses, boats, and foods of the time. Suddenly, the story was coming alive in my mind.
I came across an article in the Los Angeles Times (April 10, 1994) that began like this:

Otto Schaden has spent 25 years trying to unravel the mysteries of Amenmesse, a Pharaoh who suddenly burst onto the royal scene of ancient Egypt, then just as suddenly vanished.

Hmm. Well, that was interesting. Further research revealed that archaeologists didn’t know a whole lot about this king at all. He only ruled for about four years, and then vanished and was (possibly) replaced by his brother. What a story!

I began to ponder how a king could be deposed…and how his brother (possibly the rightful heir) could rule *after* him. Seti was born in my mind and this 1Night Stand is my take on why Amenmesse took the throne. I’ve a story in mind for Seti’s return to Egypt as the rightful ruler, too—a follow-up to the 1Night Stand.

Now to Bastet, and the cat in the story. Well, anyone who knows me knows I am going to be that crazy cat lady. Even my husband has resigned himself to the fact—we have five cats and often foster pregnant cats and abandoned kittens that need bottle-feeding. Anyway, I began to research Bast.

A lot of overlap exists on goddesses in Ancient Egypt and there are so many things we really just don’t know. At one point, she was a defender of the Pharaoh—so I swiped that. Of course she is the cat goddess, and I already planned to use her in that capacity. Most people know that cats were treated well in Egypt—and the royal ones often wore gold collars with jewels.

When I wrote this story, we had just rescued a kitten. She was a little waif that was going to be euthanized at the shelter—all white, with one green eye and one blue. We named her Ophelia. Now, my preference is black cats (I have two) and that fits in with Bast more, so I combined Ophelia with my alpha cat, Giselle. Ta-da. The representation of Bast in the story. And if you look at the dedication, you’ll see that I dedicated Pharaoh, Mine to Ophelia and Giselle (aka FiFi and GiGi).

It’s really interesting how starting down the research trail can lead you on a path you never knew you would take—but, in my opinion, it is one of the most enjoyable things about writing.

Thanks for stopping by! I’ll award one ebook copy of 
Pharaoh, Mine to a person who comments.

9 comments:

  1. It's sound like an awesome story! I am addicted the the 1NS series.

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    1. I forgot to leave my email! carrollfamily02 at gmail dot com

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  2. I think it's truly amazing where we authors get our stories ideas from. Thanks for sharing, Kerry!

    And many sales to you!
    Jess

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  3. I enjoy any sort of history about ancient Egypt, too. It's rife with secrets, betrayal, gods and goddesses, heroes, heroines, kings, queens, battles....it's a writer's paradise, lol. And some of the new things discovered by archaeology really has mainstream archaeologists baffled. I love it when that happens!

    bicknellbrown AT sbcglobal DOT net

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  4. I love learning about history. This book sounds fantastic. Can't wait to read it. Thanks for sharing.

    e.balinski(at)att(dot)net

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  5. I love that a cat is involved. I love stories that have anything to do with Egypt.

    smurfettev AT gmail DOT com

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  6. I love reading mythology and history. It's one of the easiest ways to get my imagination flowing =-)

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  7. I'm torn about research because it's so distracting!!! LOL I get deeply into random information and stop writing. But Egypt was my mum's thing and she always longed to go to the country. She never made it sadly but one day I'll go and see all the things she used to talk about.

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  8. And the drawing winner is...SherriV! I will contact you to find out which format you need. :) thanks! Kerry

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