By Bonnie Vanak
He had the personality of a curmudgeon, was known for being eccentric (showing curious tourists at the Great Pyramid his pink underwear to scare them off), read Euclid and conducted chemistry experiments when he was just a lad of 15, and authored over 1,000 books and articles on the digs he conducted.
Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, born in 1853 and died in 1942, is considered the "Father of Modern Archaeology." The British Egyptologist and archaeologist was the first to insist on careful, meticulous excavations and examining each handful of earth. He censured the crude methods of using dynamite to blast into ancient tombs. His scientific and mathematical method of measuring the Great Pyramid of Giza set the standard for pyramid measurement.
Before writing my first book, THE FALCON AND THE DOVE, I was researching ancient Egypt and the 18th dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. In 1892, Petrie excavated Akhetaten, the city the pharaoh built to worship the god Aten. Petrie's work inspired me to include the dig in my book when the heroine, Elizabeth, becomes part of the historical excavation. In THE FALCON AND THE DOVE, Elizabeth, a rebel at heart, breaks Petrie's rules by riding a donkey to the dig site. History tells us Petrie ordered all his workers to walk there. He led a very spartan life while on site.
I'm so fascinated with Petrie that I decided to interview him.
Bonnie: Sir William, is it true your expeditions meant sacrificing luxury and comfortable accommodations while at the dig site?
Petrie: Pah! Who complained to you about that? Bunch of lily-livered saps. Need to buck up. Nothing wrong with sleeping in an old tomb, and eating canned meat. The work's all that matters.
Bonnie: I read that you stripped off your clothing when outside Khufu's pyramid and showed off your Calvin Kleins for the tourists to scare them off. Your PINK Calvin Kleins.
Petrie: Who is this Calvin Klein?
Bonnie: He makes men's underwear.
Petrie: Useless profession. Yes, I did and I detest tourists. Get in the way, the whole lot of them. Worse than the flea-bitten donkeys.
Bonnie: So you did measure the inside of the Great Pyramid nude?
Petrie: Damn hot inside, what else was I supposed to do? Wear a fur coat? Have you ever been inside one? Stuffy as a tomb. Considering it was a tomb.
Bonnie: You worked with Howard Carter on the dig at Akhetaten. He was working as an artist, but made some important discoveries. You're partly to thank for Carter's training that led him to discover the tomb of King Tutankhamen.
Petrie: Carter? Insignificant sap, told him he'd never be more than an artist. Never would make a good excavator. I trained many gifted archaeologists much better than Carter.
Bonnie: Amelia Edwards, who authored A Thousand Miles up the Nile, was a great admirer of yours. She funded the Edwards Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology at University College, London. You had the distinct honor of being the first to take the chair.
Petrie: Yes, yes, Amelia, lovely woman, bequeathed her collection to the college. Intelligent and a very good author.
Bonnie: So where did you take it? The chair, I mean.
Petrie: (silence)
Bonnie: That was a joke.
Petrie: Pah! Are you quite done? I have work to do.
Bonnie: Almost. It's said you never did quite get the hang of Arabic. But you changed the way excavations were conducted, and as a result, archaeologists after you understood the importance of examining every bit of debris at a site, every single potsherd. You set the standard, and because of your sequence dating at Naqada, we now have the Predynastic Period of Egypt's history. You, sir, are to be commended for all your wonderful contributions to history.
Petrie: Thank you.
Bonnie: Afwan.
Petrie: What's that?
Bonnie: It's Arabic for "You're welcome."
Petrie, grumbling: Bloody show off!
Carrie Lofty is hosting a spring contest, so hop on over to her website for the chance to win a $25 gift certificate to either B&N or Amazon. Contest ends March 31.
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Michelle Styles has learned that her untitled third Viking book will be a Dec 2009 release in the US. Also, she'll be appearing as part of the Mills & Boon panel at the Hexham Book Festival on 2 May.
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Unusual Historicals would like to offer our hearty congratulations to Kimberly Killion and Anthea Lawson for their "Best First Book" nominations in the 2009 RITA contest sponsored by Romance Writers of America. They were guests of ours in 2008, Kimberley for HER ONE DESIRE and Anthea for PASSIONATE, both of which are Zebra Debut releases from Kensington. You can read their interviews here (Kim) and here (Anthea). Congratulations and best of luck! Three cheers for unusual historicals!
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Join us Sunday when veteran Harlequin Mills & Boon author and long-time contributor Michelle Styles will be here to talk about her latest release, IMPOVERISHED MISS, CONVENIENT WIFE, which comes out April 3rd in the UK. Don't miss it!
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We'll also draw the winner of Bonnie Vanak's THE SCORPION AND THE SEDUCER. There's still time to leave a comment for your shot at winning!
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Have a good weekend! If you have an announcement to make for next week, email Carrie. See you next week...
Today, our fantastic author is long-time contributor Bonnie Vanak, known for her Egyptian-set historicals published by Dorchester, her sexy werewolf series from Harlequin Nocturne, and her globe-trotting efforts to help the world's poorest citizens. She's a busy lady and took time out this week to talk about her latest release, THE LADY AND THE LIBERTINE.
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NOBLE IN ALL BUT NAME
Anne Mitchell, born illegitimate and raised in a workhouse, sold by her mother and packed off by her father to the East, had every reason to lose faith. But in Egypt she found identity with the Khamsin, a tribe of Bedouin warriors. Greater even than the secret they entrusted to her was her newfound honor, and for that she would give all.
NOBLE IN ALL BUT ACTION
Nigel Wallenford was an earl. He was also a thief, a liar and a libertine. Regaining his birthright of Claradon had been a start. Next he required wealth, and he knew of just the fabled treasure...and its key's guardian was a ripe fig waiting to be plucked. Never before had he scrupled to cheat, steal or even murder. One displaced Englishwoman, no matter how fair, would hardly be his match.
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THE LADY AND THE LIBERTINE is your seventh Egyptian historical. Would you tell us a little about it?
In this book, a displaced English earl seduces a virginal beauty in order to steal the pharaoh's treasure she guards in Egypt. I pitted Nigel, a thief, liar and libertine, who was cheated out of his birthright as earl, against Anne/Karida, who has sworn to be upright and moral. Karida was born in England and taken to live with my Khamsin warriors of the wind in Egypt. They entrusted her with a ruby that unlocks the key to a fabulous treasure buried in the sands.
Nigel was fascinating to write and complex. He does the wrong things for the right reasons. He's very naughty, and just when you think he'll change, he turns around and does something wicked again.
What kind of research do you do for your historicals?
Lots! I love researching about Egypt, and with each book, I find new material to incorporate into the novel. In this book, I loosely based the pharaoh's treasure tomb on the Valley of the Golden Mummies in the Bahariya Oasis, four tombs of about 105 mummies excavated by Dr. Zahi Hawass.
I needed a treasure tomb in the western desert for Nigel and Karida to seek. The tomb inside is all my imagination, from the traps I put there to the caskets filled with lots of gold.
Are there any more plans at this time for another Egyptian historical?
Sadly, no, I'm taking a break from writing them and concentrating on writing my werewolf Nocturnes. Right now I have too much on my plate with the Nocturnes, the day job (I work as a writer for a large international charity) and travel for the job. As I'm writing this, I'm packing to leave for another visit to Haiti!
There may be more in the future, but as of right now, The Lady and the Libertine will be the last.
Could you tell us the order of your Egyptian historicals?
Sure! They are as follows:
The Falcon and the Dove
The Tiger and the Tomb
The Cobra and the Concubine
The Panther and the Pyramid
The Sword and the Sheath
The Scorpion and the Seducer (Nigel makes an appearance in this book)
The Lady and the Libertine
Each book can be read out of order, as it stands alone, but I recommend reading The Scorpion and the Seducer before reading The Lady and the Libertine.
Thanks for having me! On my website, I have excerpts of all my books. They're all in print and can be ordered online through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Reviews
An exotic backdrop sets the stage for Vanak's newest novel. With a few twists, she combines an English lord, scarred in body and soul; an illegitimate young Englishwoman; a ruby and enough adventure, pathos, secrets and betrayal to keep you turning the pages of this sexually charged romance. Four stars.
--Romantic Times
As always, Vanak creates her romantic scenes with daring sensuality and the intimate scenes between Nigel and Karida were no exception. Especially well done was the initial scene when Karida revealed the burn scars received during her childhood after falling into a fire. Vanak has a knack for creating strong, imperfect heroines and her characterization of Karida bears witness to her genius in giving life to her unforgettable characters.
The author kept the non-stop action perfectly paced and flowing well along with the suspense of whether Nigel would or could change his wicked ways and become a better man. Vanak also includes a scrupulously good amount of historical research making this series as well as this installment a highly entertaining and recommended read.
-- Marilyn Rondeau, C2K KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
Excerpt
Khamsin camp, Eastern desert of Egyp
1908
He would not be the virile groom tenderly deflowering her on their wedding night.
He would never cause a sigh a passion to wring from her slender throat as he caressed her virgin breasts, now hidden beneath the modest white kuftan.
The sparkling ruby dangling between them stood out like a blood droplet against a snowy bank. His hands, accustomed to stroking the skin of whores, were not worthy of touching her. They were, however, quite capable of stealing the ruby, as they had swiped other priceless Egyptian antiquities.
Crouched beneath the shade of a cigar-shaped ben-tree, Nigel Wallenford, rightful earl of Claradon, studied his prey as he clutched an oily rifle in his sweating palms. The silent woman picked up scattered seeds on the ground. Karida was her name. She guarded the ruby he needed to complete the key and locate the treasure of the sleeping golden mummies.
All week, during his visit here on the pretext of buying Arabian mares, he'd heard her relatives praise her virtue and honor as if she were not a living, breathing woman but a limestone statue. Nigel wouldn't have cared if she was as corrupt as he; he cared only about the ruby.
Ben-trees, acacia trees, and yellow-green plants peppered the water source near the Khamsin camp. The burning yellow sun played off jagged mountain peaks and peach-colored hills of sandstone. A cooling breeze chased away the sultry afternoon heat shimmering off the tawny sands. Black mountains and endless desert ringed this part of Egypt's eastern desert.
Jabari bin Tarik Hassid, the Khamsin sheikh, thought Nigel was currently at the water source to kill desert hares, but he had chosen the spot to pursue Karida. Each afternoon since his arrival, she came here to gather seeds. Like a good hunter, he'd learned her habits, knew her movements. Like a hare struck down by a bullet, Karida would never know what hit her.
The ruby would soon be his.
Karida kept stealing glances at him. Her face, hidden by a half-veil out of courtesy to the visiting al Assayra tribesmen, was expressionless.
A good hunter knew how to disarm his prey, make them feel false security. Nigel set down the rifle and offered his most charming smile. He gestured to the bullet-hard seeds she dropped into her goatskin bag but kept his gaze centered on the ruby. His fingers itched to swipe the stone. Soon.
"Are those for eating?"
Karida blinked, as if startled to hear a human voice. "Samna. Cooking oil."
Like her Uncle Ramses and the rest of her family, she spoke perfect English. Yet her accent was odd, as if she'd lived somewhere other than here in Egypt.
"I'm marrying tonight. This will be my last time gathering the seeds." She gave a little sigh, as if pondering her fate.
"Do you love him?' Nigel blurted, then could have kicked himself. A rude question. But he was a foreigner; maybe she'd forgive him.
"I do not know him." Karida gave a little laugh, as sweet and musical as the jingling of gold bracelets. "I was informed I was chosen as a bride, but I don't know who has chosen me. All the al Assayra warriors are honorable and noble, however, and so my husband will be." Her large, golden-brown eyes, so exotic and mysterious, seemed to pierce him. "He will never lie to me or steal, and he will be admirable all his days."
Nigel stared at Karida in sudden bleakness, feeling the shadows of old ghosts smother him. She was so damn perfect, an angel compared to the demon lurking inside him. His gaze dropped to his hands, and he rubbed them violently against his khaki trousers, knowing he wasn't fit to touch her.
You would never marry me. I can't father your children. My own sire lied about my birthright because I was sterile, and though I was older, I could not give him an heir like my twin brother. I wouldn't give you my heart, but I could steal away yours.
Or worse. I could kill you.
Screams echoed down a rocky mountainside in Nigel's mind, then silence. Nigel tensed against the memory, guilt swallowing his soul until nothing remained but an inky darkness. He could just shoot Karida, take the damn stone, and leave her corpse here, festering in the blistering heat. One more crime to add to his list.
She glided over to a small brown rock to pluck out the few seeds scattered there. Each movement held an inborn grace. As sinuous as a serpent, so lovely. Unlike Nigel, Karida was not scarred from painful surgeries to fix an arm that would never work quite right. Her skin was flawless, her body smooth and unmarked.
Her exotic gaze centered on him as she straightened. "You won't see many hares at this time. It's too hot. Like the scorpions and the vipers, they like to hide."
"Like Englishmen should," he joked. "Ground's hot enough to poach an egg."
His gaze dropped to her feet, and he wondered if her toes and ankles were as perfect as the rest of her. Fabric billowed in a sudden gust of wind as the gods answered his prayers, revealing a flash of shapely ankles and well-shaped feet in silver sandals. Nigel licked his lips, imagining his fingers stroking her delicate skin and tickling her toes.
As she moved toward the tree, his eyes caught a sudden movement in the rocky sand. "Christ, watch out!" he yelled.
He raced forward, hooked an arm about her waist, swept her off her feet, and waltzed her away as if they were dancing in a ballroom. The goatskin bag tumbled from her fingers and fell to the ground with a smack just as the viper's head emerged from its sandy nest. Fangs struck the bag instead of her ankle.
Trembling, she remained in his embrace. Nigel became aware of those soft breasts pressed against his chest, the rapid pounding of her heart. A fragrance of orange blossoms and almonds filled his nostrils. For a wild moment, he wanted to rest his cheek against the top of the scarf covering her head and stay there, holding her in his arms.
Reluctantly he set her down and turned, watching the snake disturbed from its afternoon nap. He hunted for a rock to kill it.
"Use this."
Karida handed Nigel a nearby stick he'd seen the Khamsin use for shaking acacia leaves loose to feed their camels and sheep. He grasped it, and his fingers tentatively brushed hers.
Nigel trembled violently at the sizzling contact. Drawing in a sharp breath, he curtly told her to stand back.
He lifted the sturdy pole to strike the viper. It lifted its head and, for a moment, its cold, beady gaze seemed to reflect the blackness inside him. Then Nigel struck. Again and again he beat the snake, even after it lay motionless on the ground. Blow after blow, the misery and self-loathing inside him exploded like gunpowder.
A gentle hand tugging on his jacket sleeve caused him to stop. "That's enough, Thomas. I think it's past dead."
Her gentle, teasing tone caught him off guard, almost as much as her use of his false name. Nigel tossed away the stick and turned to stare at her. Dryness filled his mouth.
Bloody hell, she was beautiful. Pure as polished ivory. Radiant as the sun. His gaze dropped to his hands. Hands that killed more than just snakes. Nigel scrubbed them against his trousers.
"Are you all right?" he asked hoarsely.
Karida gave a little nod. She stared back with frank interest.
Rapt, he leaned forward. Was it his imagination, a trick of fading sunlight, or did her eyes widen as if she liked what she saw and wanted him as well?
His pulse quickened. Nigel wished he could see more of her face. Was her mouth thin and flat? Did she have a wart on her nose? The flimsy veil was a fabric barrier between his curiosity and answers.
Take it off, he silently ordered. He began chanting in his mind: Take it off.
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If you'd like to enter for a chance to win a copy of THE SCORPION AND THE SEDUCER, leave a comment or question for Bonnie. A winner will be selected next Sunday. Good luck!
If you live in Britain, be sure to check out Erastes on the radio, discussing TRANSGRESSIONS and gay historical fiction. The "Afternoon Delight" program will air between 2-4pm on April 3 on Radio Yare at 1350 kHz AM (medium wave) or 222m metres.
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Debut author Lisa Marie Wilkinson received a 5 Blue Ribbon review from Romance Junkies. "FIRE AT MIDNIGHT is full of suspense, passion, characters you'll either love (or love to hate) and a plot so thick that you'll feel like you're a part of it by the time the story ends. Beautifully written Ms. Wilkinson!"
Lisa also received the cover for her next novel from Medallion Press, STOLEN PROMISE.
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To add to an already impressive list of great reviews, DOWN HOME EVER LOVIN' MULE BLUES by Jacquie Rogers has two new reviews this week: a 5 Moon review from Mystique Books and a 5 Heart review from Satin and Lace Reviews.
Also, the Night Owl Romance Web Hunt continues until April 1! Jacquie Rogers is a participating author, and you can find out more by going to her contest page. Win prizes, autographed copies, and lots of other good stuff in four prize packages.
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Carrie Lofty has received the cover and release info for THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE, a print anthology featuring "Sundial" and the three other winners of The Wild Rose Press's 2007 "Through the Garden Gate" short story contest. December 4, 2009 is the scheduled release date. Info on all four stories and authors can be found here.
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Join us Sunday when veteran Dorchester and Harlequin author Bonnie Vanak will be here to talk about her latest Egyptian-set romance, THE LADY AND THE LIBERTINE, which comes out on March 31st. Don't miss it!
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We'll also draw the winner of Anna C. Bowling's ORPHANS IN THE STORM. There's still time to leave a comment for your shot at winning!
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Have a good weekend! If you have an announcement to make for next week, email Carrie. See you next week...
Bonnie Vanak has had a great run of reviews for her April release, THE LADY AND THE LIBERTINE. RT gave it four stars and wrote: "With a few twists, she combines an English lord, scarred in body and soul; an illegitimate young Englishwoman; a ruby and enough adventure, pathos, secrets and betrayal to keep you turning the pages of this sexually charged romance."
Marilyn Rondeau, at C2K Kwips and Kritiques, wrote, "Vanak has a knack for creating strong, imperfect heroines and her characterization of Karida bears witness to her genius in giving life to her unforgettable characters." You can read the entire review here, and here's a link to more information about this, Bonnie's newest Egyptian-set romance.
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Join us Sunday when debut author Lisa Marie Wilkinson will be here to talk about FIRE AT MIDNIGHT, an adventurous and touching pirate romance from Medallion. Don't miss it!
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We'll also draw the winner of Kate Bridges' WANTED IN ALASKA. There's still time to leave a comment for your shot at winning!
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Have a good weekend! If you have an announcement to make for next week, email Carrie. See you next week...
By Bonnie Vanak
As I sat down to write this blog last night, I wanted to write about ancient Egyptians and board games. But my mind kept zipping up and down like a game of chutes and ladders...
...the chutes and ladders that have to do with the dream of publishing your book.
So to keep on topic, I'll say this about entertainment. Ancient Egyptians loved playing games. One favorite was Senet, a board game in which you tried to reach the kingdom of Osiris. The bad guys tried to stop you. They kept detouring the goal of reaching a happily ever after.
In publishing these days, reaching that happily ever after seems harder than before. The economy, well, let's face it. We didn't need a panel of economic experts to tell us yesterday what most of us already knew. The U.S. is in a recession. Duh! I won't dwell on the bad news. We're all pretty much aware of the realities.
If the ancient Egyptians were to create a board game of publishing, there would be evil forces trying to prohibit you from reaching the Kingdom of Contract. Such evil forces might range from rejection, to a tight market, to publishers fearing to take chances on books that are different.
But in your favor is a powerful weapon called The Dream.
The Dream fuels your writing. It's the dream of finishing your book, hearing those lovely words that you made a sale, seeing your book published. It's the dream of telling a story that's spun around in your imagination, and bringing it to life to share with the world.
Some writers start out writing because they see it as a business and a job. Oh, it is a business, and it's a job where you'll work harder than you've ever worked before. But it's a funky, precarious business like most of the arts. There are no guarantees.
The only guarantee you have is you, the work you put into your novel, and your perseverance. And The Dream.
If you're published and it's been a long time between contracts, don't let go of The Dream. Keep writing. The market shifts, it always does. The economy will rebound. It's not over. I've known authors who were dropped by their publishers. They kept at it and remade their careers and sold again. They persisted, persevered and published.
If you're too discouraged to write to get another contract, write for the sake of writing. Write for the reasons listed in this post by author Toni McGee Causey.
Write a story you were dying to tell, but dismissed because it was too different, too tough of a sale, too impractical. Go for it. Bend the rules, let your imagination soar. Before I got published, I tried to write to fit the market. I wanted to get published in category romance because I heard that was the right pathway.
Note: There is no pathway to publishing that is right for everyone!
I wrote category romances and got rejected. Finally I sat down to write a book I wanted to read. I had a dream of writing a book set in Victorian Egypt, about an independent woman wanting to be an archaeologist and the handsome, dangerous sheikh who guards the treasure she seeks to find. I thought I'd have a better chance at winning the lottery than getting it published, but I wanted to write it. I could not let it go. I wrote for the sheer pleasure of telling the story.
That book became The Falcon and the Dove, my first published single title historical. Years later, I finally got published in category romance with my paranormal books.
I did it backwards.
If you're an aspiring writer with a plethora of rejections, don't let go of The Dream. You might not sell the first book you write. Or the second. Or even the third. But if you keep at it, polish and hone your craft, and learn all you can, the odds are in your favor that you will accomplish your goal.
No matter what your status as a writer, when you sit down to write the book, remember The Dream. Write the book because you must tell a story. Write it for that part of you that dares to dream, the person who will not let the dream die.
Be aware of what is selling in publishing, but remember publishing is like a soccer game. Schedules are set far in advance and by the time everyone ends up running after the ball, the ball is going in another direction. Be savvy about the market, but don't let the market bind your creativity in a straitjacket.
If you keep trying, and nothing is working, consider adjusting your goals. If your immediate goal is to earn millions, live in an oceanfront mansion and write your books on a little pink laptop while sipping pina coladas served by a cabana boy with a great six-pack, well, maybe you should rethink why you're writing. Publishing is precarious at best. Yes, there are those who come scampering out of the gate with a six-figure contract, a blizzard of good publicity and hit the NY Times best-seller list in the single digits. But most authors don't. Fact of the business.
Speaking of dreams, look at Stephanie Meyer. She started writing Twilight after having a dream about a vampire and a human girl. She had The Dream, not of getting published, but of telling a story. This is the very heart of The Dream, when the idea seizes you by the throat, shakes you up, will not let go. The images are seared into your mind. You can't NOT write. The words are spinning around in your head and you can't type fast enough. You want to be hooked up to some telepathy typewriter like the author in Stephen King's The Tommyknockers.
Seize the moment, be grateful for friends, family and any support you have while playing the board game of Contract. If you have a good editor and good agent, count your blessings and learn from them. If they want revisions, consider what they're asking. They're looking at your book with different eyes, and can turn a good book into a great book. Remember, it's a subjective business. One editor or agent may pass on your story for a variety of reasons. Another might fall in love with it and push with all her/his might to get it to contract.
Learn from experienced, successful authors willing to share their wisdom. Let them inspire you. Some of my mentors are Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. If you ever have the opportunity to hear these authors speak in person, do it. Just hearing Sherrilyn's story about how she had no money, and took her very last postage stamp to mail out a manuscript, the one that landed her a contract, is fuel for The Dream.
Lastly, learn to take a break and recharge your batteries. My favorite method is reading. For me, there's nothing like reading a book that pulls me in like quicksand, a book I can't put it down. A book that reminds me of the pleasures of reading, being entertained, to laugh, to cry, to give a little sigh of regret when the last page is turned and there is no more story.
A book that fires The Dream.
We are writers. We are entertainers. We are many things, but above all else, one thing unites us.
We are dreamers.
Publishing is a board game of uncertainty and like the ancient Egyptian game of Senet, there are many obstacles to arriving at the kingdom we seek. But if you keep playing, keep writing, keep working to push past those barriers, you can win.
Dare to dream.
Jacquie Rogers received a great review for DOWN HOME EVER LOVIN' MULE BLUES.
Jacquie Rogers, author of FAERY SPECIAL ROMANCES has really outdone herself with DOWN HOME EVER LOVIN' MULE BLUES. I could not help laughing at Socrates' plans and antics, I was love struck by the way her characters truly wanted each other . . . It was so touching, heartwarming, and very well written that I could not put it down. . . Jacquie Rogers has a way of writing fantasy romances that puts the city girl with the cowboy in a most spectacular way with this novel. 5 Hearts. ~ Book Reviews by Crystal
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Bonnie Vanak's Nocturne Bite, "Broken Souls", will be released in trade paperback in April as part of a Nocturne Bite anthology. Bonnie also sold another book to Silhouette Nocturne. Her seventh Egyptian historical, THE LADY & THE LIBERTINE, is now available for pre-order on Amazon and will be an April 2009 release from Dorchester.
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Join us tomorrow when our guest author will be Kensington author Tracy Garrett. Tracy will be talking about her second Zebra historical TOUCHED BY LOVE, set in 1847 Texas.
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We'll also draw the winner of Anthea Lawson's PASSIONATE. There's still time to leave a comment for your shot at winning!
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Have a good weekend. If you have an announcement to make for next week, email Carrie. See you next week...
This week's announcements include good news from RT and two small changes to our Unusual Historicals format. First, we now have a public calendar via our Yahoo group to let everyone know when authors will be posting or stopping by for a giveaway. Second, Thursday will now feature excerpts from our authors' works. Monday thru Wednesday will continue to be historical posts, Fridays or Saturdays for announcements, and promotional features with giveaways on Sundays.
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Carrie Lofty received four stars from RT for her December Zebra Debut release, WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS. "Lofty debuts with an adventurous romp that's a new take on the Robin Hood legend. The leading man will win readers' hearts as only a bad boy can. Lofty writes adventure romance like a born bard of old."
Carrie will be talking about her debut and giving away a copy here at Unusual Historicals on November 30. You can read an excerpt here.
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Michelle Styles also received four starts from RT for her newest US release, VIKING WARRIOR, UNWILLING WIFE. "A family in conflict, an ambitious hero bent on vengeance and a bold woman hiding a secret quest for salvation combine for a heady, tension-filled, passionate sequel to Taken by the Viking."
Here on Unusual Historicals, Michelle will be discussing her debut and giving away a copy on December 7. You can read an excerpt here.
In addition, Michelle conducted a well-received workshop on writing romance at the Berwick-upon-Tweed library as the National Year of Reading writer in residence. She also launched the Haydon Bridge High School Reading for pleasure reading group, again under the auspices of the National Year of Reading.
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Jennifer Linforth's debut novel, MADRIGAL, a continuation of Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, is now available for purchase. Congratulations on this wonderful accomplishment, Jennifer!
Unusual Historicals will feature Jennifer and MADRIGAL on November 9, so be sure to stop by for your chance to win a copy. You can read an excerpt here.
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Bonnie Vanak will be signing copies of THE SCORPION AND THE SEDUCER, her Egyptian historical, and her new werewolf Nocturne, ENEMY LOVER, at the Altamonte Mall Center Court, 451 E. Altamonte Drive in Altamonte Springs, Florida, on Saturday, November 1, from 2-5 pm.
Meet Bonnie and 18 other romance authors and stock up on wonderful holiday reading. Barnes & Noble will donate 20% of proceeds from book sales to Central Florida's non-profit Adult Literacy League. Be sure to shop early, because the first 75 book buyers will receive a FABULOUS goody bag stuffed with free books (most of them autographed), bookmarks, postcards, pens, and chocolate. For more information, check out the Central Florida Romance Writers' website.
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Join us tomorrow when our guest author will be Terry Blain. Terry will be talking about her novel KENTUCKY GREEN, set in the American frontier in 1794.
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We'll also draw the winner of Lynna Banning's TEMPLAR KNIGHT, FORBIDDEN BRIDE. There's still time to leave a comment for your shot at winning!
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Have a good weekend. If you have an announcement to make for next week, email Carrie. See you next week...
By Bonnie Vanak
They chose death over colonization. Suicide over assimilation.
Leaper's Hill on the Caribbean island of Grenada is a peaceful, lovely cliff overlooking a tranquil turquoise sea. Don't step too closely or you might end up below on the craggy rocks like 40 Carib Indians did in 1651.
For many years, the island was inhabited by the Carib Indians. In 1638, the Caribs faced invasion by the French, who decided they wanted to stay. The war-like, fierce Caribs said, ah, no thanks and drove them away.
The French built a colony in Grenada in 1650, after buying property from the Caribs for knives, hatchets, glass beads and two bottles of brandy. Sure beats today's real estate prices. The Caribs must have decided the price was too low, or the French too annoying, or they didn't like the French brandy, because they engaged the French a year later. However, the French, who now had a stronghold on the island and wanted to expand their territory, decided they weren't going away.
Make us, the French said.
The Caribs could not. The French decided enough was enough, and they were going to wipe out the Caribs. No more brandy or glass beads. Time to colonize to the max. Eliminate the enemy for once and for all.
Against the odds, the Caribs fought. On the northern part of Grenada, forty of the last Caribs made the decision to die. Instead of surrender and assimilation, they went to the cliff and jumped to their deaths.
The French named the hill "Le Morne de Sauteurs," or "Leaper's Hill." They went back to drinking their brandy, enjoying the island's pristine resources and trying to stave off the British, who also thought Grenada was a cool place to roost.
Unfortunately for the French, the British persisted, and they didn't want glass beads or brandy. So the French, instead of leaping, gave the island to the British in 1762.
Standing on Leaper's Hill gives you a sense of strong awe. At least it did for me when I visited Grenada. I envisioned the forty proud, brave Caribs, desperate and empty of hope, facing down the French. Unwilling to surrender their island, unable to hold it.
Unwilling to assimilate and lose their culture. The tragedy is interlaced with a touch of romantic heroism.
As writers, we can use the themes of invasion, expansion and assimilation to explore in our books. We can use our imagination to give them a different spin and twist. The themes don't have to be literal. What about the invasion of a strict parent admonishing an heir to act the part so he can assimilate into genteel society after a long absence? Or a heroine forced to marry and assimilate into a new culture or status?
I use these themes in both my historicals and the paranormals. The Carib's fierce independence that nudged them into making such a drastic and life-ending decision reminds me of Jamie, the heroine in Enemy Lover, my November Nocturne.
Jamie is an outcast who will not join the pack and become the mate of a strong Alpha werewolf. For her, it is better to jump off the cliff of her own loneliness than to assimilate into the dangerous world of the Draicon.
It's only Damian's gentleness, his fierce protectiveness toward her and the demonstrations of his love that enables Jamie to see differently. In Jamie's case, she does surrender and it is a sweet victory for both.
A victory far sweeter than the fate suffered by the Caribs, whose legend lives on in their namesake, the Caribbean islands.
Have you ever used an invasion, expansion or assimilation theme in your book and how did it play out?
It's been a busy two weeks, so lots of announcements...
Carrie Lofty, freshly returned from Nationals, is giving away a prize package of nine historical romances, some of which have been signed by their authors. How to win? Make up a story as to why these books need to belong to you. Crazy fiction encouraged! Deadline: Wednesday.
Carrie is also featured in this month's newsletter for Medieval Novels.Com. It's their special Robin Hood edition!
News from Nationals is incredibly positive, with some predicting that historicals will overtake paranormals in sales by the end of 2009. And more and more people are expressing an interest in historicals set in unusual times and places, even more traditional houses like Avon. We're ahead of the curve, ladies! Keep up the good work.
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Elizabeth Lane is going to be involved in a 2009 Christmas anthology, providing a western for Harlequin Historicals. She also received the cover for her newest western, THE BORROWED BRIDE, set in 1900. Gorgeous!
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Carol Spradling has been asked by The Wild Rose Press to be part of a 2009 Christmas anthology of stories set before 1900. Congratulations, Carol!
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Bonnie Vanak has sold two more Nocturne werewolf paranormals, along with a Nocturne Bite, an ebook novella. She also received the cover for the German release of THE PANTHER & THE PYRAMID and her newest Nocturne, ENEMY LOVER.
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Erastes has received two great reviews. The first, for "Hard and Fast" from SPEAK ITS NAME, is from Book Utopia Mom. She said it "thoroughly and utterly enchanted me." The second, for "Chiaroscuro" from Night Moves, is from Erotica Revealed, which declared, "The bejewelled writing style perfectly suits the period and the plot."
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Michelle Styles has been busy too. Her novel VIKING WARRIOR, UNWILLING WIFE received a great review from Medieval Book Reviews, calling it the "perfect combination of highly-charged tension and tender intimate moments amidst the political maneuverings of outside forces."
Michelle's September release, AN IMPULSIVE DEBUTANTE, is now available on the newly revamped Mills & Boon website.
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Anne Whitfield's newest release, WOODLAND DAUGHTER, is now available from Amazon.UK. Anne writes of this story, "This is the first book I've written set in the early Edwardian era of England and I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. Another 'first' for me is writing a book where the heroine is married and a mother at the start of the book, that made a wonderful change for me." Congratulations!
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Join us Sunday when Jeannine van Eperen, author of DAUGHTER OF SPAIN, will return to discuss and give away a free copy of YOU CAN BANK ON IT, set in Albuquerque in the 1950s.
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We'll also draw the winners of Marguerite Arotin's ONE ENCHANTED SUMMER. Leave a comment for your shot at winning.
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Have a good weekend. If you have an announcement to make for next week, email Carrie. See you next week...
By Bonnie Vanak
He had the personality of a curmudgeon, was known for being eccentric (showing curious tourists at the Great Pyramid his pink underwear to scare them off), read Euclid and conducted chemistry experiments when he was just a lad of 15, and authored over 1,000 books and articles on the digs he conducted.
Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, born in 1853 and died in 1942, is considered the "Father of Modern Archaeology." The British Egyptologist and archaeologist was the first to insist on careful, meticulous excavations and examining each handful of earth. He censured the crude methods of using dynamite to blast into ancient tombs. His scientific and mathematical method of measuring the Great Pyramid of Giza set the standard for pyramid measurement.
Before writing my first book, THE FALCON AND THE DOVE, I was researching ancient Egypt and the 18th dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. In 1892, Petrie excavated Akhetaten, the city the pharaoh built to worship the god Aten. Petrie's work inspired me to include the dig in my book when the heroine, Elizabeth, becomes part of the historical excavation. In THE FALCON AND THE DOVE, Elizabeth, a rebel at heart, breaks Petrie's rules by riding a donkey to the dig site. History tells us Petrie ordered all his workers to walk there. He led a very spartan life while on site.
I'm so fascinated with Petrie that I decided to interview him.
Bonnie: Sir William, is it true your expeditions meant sacrificing luxury and comfortable accommodations while at the dig site?
Petrie: Pah! Who complained to you about that? Bunch of lily-livered saps. Need to buck up. Nothing wrong with sleeping in an old tomb, and eating canned meat. The work's all that matters.
Bonnie: I read that you stripped off your clothing when outside Khufu's pyramid and showed off your Calvin Kleins for the tourists to scare them off. Your PINK Calvin Kleins.
Petrie: Who is this Calvin Klein?
Bonnie: He makes men's underwear.
Petrie: Useless profession. Yes, I did and I detest tourists. Get in the way, the whole lot of them. Worse than the flea-bitten donkeys.
Bonnie: So you did measure the inside of the Great Pyramid nude?
Petrie: Damn hot inside, what else was I supposed to do? Wear a fur coat? Have you ever been inside one? Stuffy as a tomb. Considering it was a tomb.
Bonnie: You worked with Howard Carter on the dig at Akhetaten. He was working as an artist, but made some important discoveries. You're partly to thank for Carter's training that led him to discover the tomb of King Tutankhamen.
Petrie: Carter? Insignificant sap, told him he'd never be more than an artist. Never would make a good excavator. I trained many gifted archaeologists much better than Carter.
Bonnie: Amelia Edwards, who authored A Thousand Miles up the Nile, was a great admirer of yours. She funded the Edwards Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology at University College, London. You had the distinct honor of being the first to take the chair.
Petrie: Yes, yes, Amelia, lovely woman, bequeathed her collection to the college. Intelligent and a very good author.
Bonnie: So where did you take it? The chair, I mean.
Petrie: (silence)
Bonnie: That was a joke.
Petrie: Pah! Are you quite done? I have work to do.
Bonnie: Almost. It's said you never did quite get the hang of Arabic. But you changed the way excavations were conducted, and as a result, archaeologists after you understood the importance of examining every bit of debris at a site, every single potsherd. You set the standard, and because of your sequence dating at Naqada, we now have the Predynastic Period of Egypt's history. You, sir, are to be commended for all your wonderful contributions to history.
Petrie: Thank you.
Bonnie: Afwan.
Petrie: What's that?
Bonnie: It's Arabic for "You're welcome."
Petrie, grumbling: Bloody show off!
By Bonnie Vanak
It was said about John the Little that one day he said to his older brother: I want to be free from care and not to work but to worship God without interruption. And he took his robe off, and went into the desert. After staying there one week, he returned to his brother. And when he knocked at the door, his brother asked without opening it: 'Who is it?' He replied: 'It's John, your brother.' The brother said: 'John has become an angel and is not among people anymore.' Then he begged and said: 'It's me!' But his brother did not open the door and left him there in distress until the next morning. And he finally opened the door and said: 'If you are a human being, you have to work again in order to live.' Then John repented, saying: 'Forgive me, brother, for I was wrong.
Sayings of the Desert Fathers
It appears like a barren wasteland, shimmering with heat and seemingly devoid of life. Egypt's Eastern Desert is a narrow strip of land between the Nile and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez, an area that covers about one-quarter of the entire country. Rugged, majestic mountains flank the land and both vegetation and rain are sparse. In summer, temperatures can climb to 115 F.
In the northern desert, close to the Red Sea, lived St. Anthony the Great. The religious icon became known as a founder of Christian monasticism, a leader of a group of devout monks known as the Desert Fathers. They were religious refugees who fled to the desert to embrace a pious life. They turned away from the cares of the world and chose to live a life of solitude to grow closer to God. The movement flourished after Christianity became a legal religion in Egypt in 313 A.D.
Life for these devout hermits was harsh as the environment they called home. The Desert Fathers were celibate ascetics who embraced the simple desert life as a means of learning discipline and separating themselves from worldly cares. They fasted often, never drank spirits and spent hours in prayer. They did work, weaving ropes and mats, and embraced the virtue of charity. Such a life was believed to produce spiritual clarity and wisdom and the starkness of the desert provided the perfect arena for contemplating God.
Eventually they initiated a routine lifestyle for ascetic life in the desert, forming communities that became the first Christian monasteries. They were spiritual mystics whose words were eventually collected by St. Anthony in a collection known as the Sayings of the Desert Fathers.
Anthony, considered to be the first Christian monk, was born in Egypt. When he embraced the monastic life, he shut himself away for long periods of solitude. He lived on bread and water and often would not eat before sunset. After settling into a cave in the Eastern Desert, he became a mystical icon and many disciples sought him out for his spiritual wisdom.
He died at the age of 105, and was buried by two disciples in a secret grave so his body would not be venerated. A monastery was founded after his death and built close to the site where he lived. You can visit St. Anthony's monastery (Deir Mar Antonios) today in northern Egypt. You can even journey to the cave where he lived, which is above the monastery.
For more information on the wisdom of the Desert Fathers, click here.
Jennifer Mueller just signed a contract with Robert Hale Ltd. for her first print novel. More details to come. Congratulations!
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Bonnie Vanak's latest Nocturne, ENEMY LOVER, is now available for pre-order. Go reserve your copy!
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Anne Whitfield's latest novel HER SHADOWED HEART, set in 1864 Yorkshire, was just released. You can purchase it at Amazon. 
Anna Thornton leads a privileged life, but she's not content. When the dashing Matt Cowan sweeps her off her feet, she thinks her boring existence has changed for the better--only all is not as it seems. Although Matt loves her, he lies and leaves her. Once he has gone she finds she is pregnant. Heartbroken Anna flees her home with her trusted maid.
She buys a run-down farm in Yorkshire and is determined to make a new life and be independent. She begins again, but events occur that will test her strength and self belief. An Irishman comes along looking for work. Anna reluctantly hires him, but she's wary of men, of love, and hates to find herself attracted to him, a penniless labourer, so she fights her feelings. Then, just when Anna believes she is getting on with her new life, the past returns to confront her.
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Carrie Lofty feels like a proper author this week, after having received her cover flats for her December release WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS, available for pre-order. Come, fall in love with the unusual green and purple!
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Michelle Styles' blog and website are now being archived by the British Library as part of their web preservation programme. She also received a really good review for VIKING WARRIOR, UNWILLING WIFE from Realms on Our Bookshelves: 
The part I like best is Michelle Styles wields her talent once more to spin a Viking tale of long ago, filled with strong willed personalities, compelling love and secrets to uncover. VIKING WARRIOR, UNWILLING WIFE will give the reader a few enjoyable reading hours in the time of the VIken!
Michelle also received the cover of her upcoming release, AN IMPULSIVE DEBUTANTE. It's also available for pre-order ahead of its September UK release.
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Join us Sunday when Blythe Gifford will be discussing her latest release INNOCENCE UNVEILED, set in 14th century Flanders, and giving away a free copy!
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We'll also draw the winner of a copy of Victoria Trout and Penelope West's ETHAN'S FLIGHT. Leave a comment for your shot at winning.
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Have a good weekend. If you have an announcement to make for next week, email Carrie. See you next week...
Bonnie Vanak received a great Booklist review for The Scorpion and the Seducer, which called her writing "splendidly sensual and delightfully different."
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Jennifer Mueller received a "Top Pick" review from Romance Readers at Heart for "Havana Holiday" and a B Review from Dear Author for "Egyptian Days" and "Egyptian Nights." Jayne of Dear Author writes: One thing I know is that I'll always get something new and different when I begin one of your stories. I realize I mention the unusual settings you utilize in almost every review but I appreciate it so darn much that it just has to be said.
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Join us Sunday when Michelle Moran will be discussing her gorgeous novel NEFERTITI and giving away a free copy!
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We'll also draw the winner of a copy of Jan Scarbrough's My Lord Raven. Leave a comment for your shot at winning.
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Have a good weekend. If you have an announcement to make for next week, email Carrie. See you next week...
Erastes has received a passel of good reviews, this first about Standish: Erastes thrusts us back into post-Napoleonic Europe in STANDISH, with vivid scenic descriptions and lively period language. He has created a story that readers will enjoy not just because of his style of writing, which is fabulous all onto itself, but because of the lessons learned by two incredibly written characters. This is a story to be read and embraced. ~ Literary Nymphs Reviews
This one is about the anthology Night Moves:The authors of NIGHT MOVES have brought us four fantastic stories about vampires. While each story presents characters with an allure that keeps readers begging for more; the similarities will end there. ...There is no weak link in this anthology. ~ Literary Nymphs Reviews
And finally, a review for her short story in the anthology J is for Jealousy:In "Fire and Ice" the inimitable Erastes tells a torrid tale of homosexual passion. Erastes writes erotica like Oscar Wilde with an erection: mingling wit and wisdom with the power to engage and excite. Regardless of a reader's sex or sexuality, "Fire and Ice" should be received as an outstanding story, well told, and unarguably erotic. It will warm and cool in equal measures. ~ Ashley Lister of Erotica Readers
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Erastes has also made another sale, this time to Perseus Books. Transgressions, a gay English Civil War romance, will be published in Spring 2009. Congratulations!
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Morag McKendrick Pippin has used her Hawaiian home to her advantage, landing a part as an extra in the "Lost" movie. But the part does come with a 5am start time...
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Join us Sunday when Jacquie Rogers will be discussing Faery Special Romances, and giving away a free copy and some other lovely goodies!
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To celebrate the release of Bonnie Vanak's newest Dorchester Egyptian historical, The Scorpion and the Seducer, we'll be drawing the winner of The Falcon and the Dove signed by cover model John DeSalvo. You have until Sunday morning to leave a comment or ask a question for your chance to win!
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Have a good weekend. If you have an announcement to make for next week, email Carrie. See you next week...
This week we welcome our long-time contributor Bonnie Vanak as she celebrates the release of her latest Dorchester novel, The Scorpion & the Seducer. And we're doing a little something different for the Q&A...
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Jasmine Tristan was no stranger to the upper crust of English society. And yet, though adopted by a viscount, she was called the "Brown Scorpion" and knew the cruel sting of isolation. When her anger won out, her mother voiced fears. Was Jasmine truly bad at her core, like her sultan father from whom they'd fled? How could she be, when with Lord Thomas Claradon she'd known a moment of pure beauty? Their kiss had been scorching as a desert sun. But like a sandstorm, it was misdirecting: Thomas's mother's disdain and his loyalty to family and duty put him forever out of reach. Only a return to her birthplace, a quest to find her roots, would bring Jasmine the answer--and it would prove that true love could triumph over ignorance, passion over prejudice.
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Hi, readers! Rather than talking about my latest Egyptian historical, The Scorpion & the Seducer, I thought I'd interview Lord Thomas Claradon, the book's hero, and let him say a few words Egypt, prejudice and the love of his life.
Bonnie: Hi Thomas. I thought we could chat about some items in the book and...
Thomas: Excuse me, but before I do this, I must lodge one complaint, Bonnie. Are you aware that you left me, shall we say, SUSPENDED, during a crucial love scene while you were writing The Scorpion & the Seducer? Do you have any idea of what that does to a fellow?
Bonnie: Well, life happens when you're a writer. The dog needed to be fed and...
Thomas: Right in the middle of the love scene? You abandoned us at the height of passion for your canine? Thank you very much.
Bonnie: Cut the sarcasm. Look, you have several love scenes in the book and that was only one, and...
Thomas: A dog. She interrupted me to feed her dog.
Bonnie: Ok, sorry! Let's move on, starting with Egypt. In the last half of the book, you visit Egypt with Jasmine, the heroine. You visit the al-Hajid camp in the desert to buy Arabian horses, you sail the Nile to a few ancient ruins, and end up visiting the Theodore Davis's 1908 excavation at the Valley of Kings. All this is happening while an assassin is chasing Jasmine, and makes several attempts on her life. What was the most thrilling moment for you in Egypt?
Thomas: When I indulging my lady love's passion for the very first time and you left me SUSPENDED there, unable to proceed, because of your dog.
Bonnie: You have a one-track mind, you know? Is that all you think about--sex?
Thomas: It is when a fellow is abandoned when he's with the love of his life and he desires to bring her pleasure. I wanted to be so gentle and tender with her. It was her first time, after all, and she was slightly afraid. I had to woo away her fears and arouse her passion. It was a union of souls and spirit, very special for both of us and at that critical moment you abandoned us for your dog.
Bonnie: Moving along! Tell me what attracted you to Jasmine.
Thomas: Ever since I was a child, I secretly admired Jasmine, after she punched me in the face when I called her an ugly old mare.
Bonnie: That was in The Panther & the Pyramid.
Thomas: Yes. I admired her for her spirit, her individuality, and her courage.
Bonnie: And your father punished you severely for letting her punch you. He whipped you.
Thomas: I shall never forget that. He wanted to teach me a lesson that Egyptians like Jasmine are my inferiors and I should never let an inferior best me. But love overcomes even the harshest punishment. I’d suffer a hundred lashes to be with my beautiful Jasmine.
Bonnie: Aww, that's so romantic! Your family and your friends are snobs, you know. They're upper class aristocrats and they view Jasmine as a dark-skinned Egyptian who is "mentally and morally deficient."
Thomas, sighing: Yes, that's why my mother called her the Brown Scorpion. It was extraordinarily difficult, trying to make them see reason and beyond her skin color. It did keep us apart.
Bonnie: I did love how you yelled at your friends for mocking her after she fled the ballroom and you stood up to them. That took guts. Was that one of the biggest challenges for you in The Scorpion & the Seducer?
Thomas: It was a challenge, but far greater was trying to convince Jasmine I was not among those who discriminated against her. I tracked her down to the park to apologize for my mother's abhorrent behavior at the ball.
Bonnie: Oh, I do like that scene. That's when you tell Jasmine: "What a rare, beautiful flower you are, Jas. Such lovely skin, like rich honey. When I see you I think of exotic lands and hot desert sun, not the coldness of England."
Thomas, quietly: Because she is exactly that to me. No matter what others shall call her or mock her, I shall defend and love her to my dying breath.
Bonnie: I knew you would. That's why I set you up with Jasmine. She needed someone very special. You proved it in the desert when you saved her from the scorpions. I am curious about how you liked living in Egypt at the al-Hajid camp, when you visited to purchase their Arabians. At the camp, Jasmine discovers her true heritage and she seems to fit in. But you're very English. Did you have a problem with adjusting to living in the desert and forsaking tea every day?
Thomas: I rather like the strong Arabic coffee. Egypt fascinates me and her people have a wealth of culture and history. But I must admit, my favorite thing about Egypt was Jasmine. I rather enjoyed it when she belly danced for me. She is simply exquisite.
Bonnie: You really are in love, you know that? Ok, I have just one more questions…what? Jasmine? What are you doing here?
:::Jasmine appears. Thomas's eyes light up::::
Thomas: My love... :::They kiss passionately::::
Bonnie: Excuse me, Thomas, but hey--I am NOT done here!
Jasmine: You interrupted us during a critical moment when you were writing us, Bonnie, so it's only fair we interrupt you.
Bonnie: But, what I have one question, Thomas? Thomas?
Thomas, kissing Jasmine: Mmmmmmm.
Bonnie: Sigh. Sorry readers. Romance characters. Always, they have a mind of their own!
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Bonnie Vanak's THE SCORPION AND THE SEDUCER is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble online, and in bookstores everywhere on April 29. Leave a comment and you'll be eligible to win a rare copy of Bonnie's first Egyptian historical, THE FALCON AND THE DOVE, signed by the author and cover model John DeSalvo. John was the cover model for Falcon. Just leave a comment or ask a question for your chance to win.
Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, born in 1853 and died in 1942, is considered the "Father of Modern Archaeology." The British Egyptologist and archaeologist was the first to insist on careful, meticulous excavations and examining each handful of earth. He censured the crude methods of using dynamite to blast into ancient tombs. His scientific and mathematical method of measuring the Great Pyramid of Giza set the standard for pyramid measurement.
