Purchase
Amazon * Smashwords * OmniLit * Barnes &Noble
Julie Gerber isn't thrilled to be pulled out of school her senior year to follow her parents halfway around the world to unearth a lost pyramid. However, when the cute British guy and the mysterious financier of their project both fight for her attention, things start to get interesting.
The pharaoh known as Djedefre was cursed for the murder of his eldest brother. The work of the archaeologists brings new secrets to light, ones that prove the fallen god-king wasn't the villain history had painted him to be. Can they prove his innocence?
As the team digs deeper into the mystery, members of the party vanish or end up dead. Someone is determined to keep the truth hidden at all costs, even 4,500 years later.
Be sure to add The Forgotten Pharaoh to your to-read list on Goodreads and check it out on Manic Readers!
I’ve never been to Egypt. It’s on my bucket list, but with four kids and
a tight budget, it won’t be happening anytime soon. Since The Forgotten Pharaoh is set in modern-day Egypt, this made writing
it a little more challenging. I normally set my stories in places I’ve lived or
at least visited. In the months I was
writing the novel, I spent a lot of time researching Cairo, Giza and Abu Rawash.
I looked at photos and videos on you tube, and read dozens of books on Egypt
past and present. I probably did more
research on this book than all my others combined. During my studies, I learned
about several interesting tourist spots in Egypt and tried to include them in
the story. Here are a few of my favorites, all of which Julie Gerber got to
visit.
The Great Pyramid of Giza- This is one of the most well-known
tourist locations in Egypt. It’s hard to get a good idea how large they
actually are when you’re looking at pictures, but the pyramid built by Khufu is
over 700 feet tall. I also learned they
now offer laser light shows outside the pyramids. That sounds like a show worth
watching.
The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities – I changed the name of
this museum because a lot of shady things happen there, but the fictional
setting was loosely based on The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. This museum
stores the largest variety of Egyptian artifacts on the planet. You can view golden sarcophagi, mummies, canopic
jars and much, much more. No trip to Egypt would be complete without a stop
there.
Cairo Marketplace – The Cairo marketplace is a giant bazaar
that merges the old with the new. You can pick up electronics or ancient artifacts,
both of which probably have a 50/50 chance of being authentic. Sample cuisines,
peruse art, and just have a great time. Even doing window shopping online was
fun.
The Colossi of Memnon – This place simply fascinated me. These
two giant statues have stood for thousands of years and were a tourist
attraction even back in ancient times. Noblemen from all over carved their
names in the stones to show they had visited. The statues were named after
Memnon, a hero of the Trojan War who was slain by Achilles. They called him the
Ruler of the Dawn. The thing that made this sight so special was
that on certain mornings, always within two hours of sunrise, a lucky few would
hear Memnon’s song rise from the lower base of the carvings. The stones would
actually hum. They believe now the
phenomena had a natural occurrence. An earthquake shifted the stone at some
point in time and dew became trapped in the crevices. When the sun rose, the
rapid temperature increase inside the porous rock created a soulful sound. Unfortunately, it’s been a very long time
since anyone heard the statues sing, but it’s still an amazing story.
Cairo Tower – I stumbled across this place completely by
accident while trying to decide where my characters should stop to eat. The
free-standing concrete tower is crowned by a circular observation deck
affording an amazing view of greater Cairo and the River Nile. The lattice
work, which has been enhanced with purple lights in more recent years, was
crafted in the design of a lotus, an iconic symbol of the pharaohs. I watched a few videos of the view from the
tower, and it was truly stunning.
Of course, there are many more captivating stops in Egypt
and in my novel. It would take forever to talk about all of them. These are only
a few that will be on my personal itinerary when I finally make it to Egypt.
Until them, I’ll just keep reading about them.
***Images purchased from Istock.com***
0 comments:
Post a Comment