It’s the start of the National Novel Writing Month. This is my 3rd year participating, but it is the first year I’m actually writing a first draft. Usually, I’m either revising or editing. The WIP I’ll be working on is titled Bly. It’s about an American witch who moves to England to get away from … Continue reading This Year’s NaNoWriMo Project
Category: Writing
Celebrating 5 Years of Publishing
I’m one for celebrating milestones—even the little milestones. I celebrated the day I signed with an agent (as brief as a time that was), the end of each project or novel, the number of blog posts I’ve written, and the number of followers I reach on different social media. But this milestone snuck up on … Continue reading Celebrating 5 Years of Publishing
Writing Update: Dark Reflections
I’m happy to announce that I have finally finished the rough draft of Dark Reflections! There are still several stages to complete before saying it is ready for publishing, but the first and most important step has been completed. The rough draft is 224 pages, 103,671 works. The screen prints below show the statistics from … Continue reading Writing Update: Dark Reflections
Pirate Profile: Anne Bonny
Name: Anne Bonny (Anne Cormac) Birth Year: 1698 Birth Location: Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland Year of Death: 1782? Location of Death: Charles Towne, S.C. *Note: Much of what we know about several pirates’ lives, including Anne Bonny’s, come from the 1724 text General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates by … Continue reading Pirate Profile: Anne Bonny
The Pharaohs and Queens that Inspired My Novel
Natara Stone, the main character from Descendants of Isis, stems from a long Egyptian bloodline that once served the goddess Isis. In ancient Egypt, women held more rights than women do today. They could divorce their husbands, own their own land, and a few held high power over political matters. However, there were three primary … Continue reading The Pharaohs and Queens that Inspired My Novel
Zodiac of Dendera
The concept of the zodiac was invented by the Babylonians in the 5th century B.C., then taken up by the Greeks, and finally appeared in Egypt at the end of the 3rd century B.C. The first depiction of the zodiac signs in Egyptian art was on the astronomical ceiling of the tomb of Senenmut, chief … Continue reading Zodiac of Dendera
Egypt
Ancient Egypt existed in a landscape of extremes. Around 5,000 B.C., climate change turned the Sahara grasslands into a vast desert, and nomadic hunter-gatherers were pushed toward the Nile Valley. Through the Nile Valley flows a river that runs 56 miles long before reaching the Delta. There, the river traverses into seven branches. At the … Continue reading Egypt
Axes and Other Egyptian Weapons
The earliest arms differed little from hunting weapons and craftsmen’s tools. Bows, knives, and axes were sufficient enough to halt any local rebellion or conquer a neighboring area along Egypt’s border. However, as Egypt expanded its influence, Egyptians started to arm their military with maces, daggers, throw sticks, and spears. In addition, infantries were armed … Continue reading Axes and Other Egyptian Weapons
Egyptian Writing
In ancient Egypt, writing was considered to have magical properties, where written words breathed life into reality. And there was no more important job than that of the scribe. To form the sacred symbols known as hieroglyphs, ancient Egyptians took their inspiration from the world around them: animals, plants, natural elements, household objects, and buildings. … Continue reading Egyptian Writing
Valley of the Kings
Since the beginning of the New Kingdom, pharaohs were no longer buried in pyramids. Instead, they were placed in tombs that were cut into the cliffs of the Valley of the Kings. The Valley of the Kings consists of two remote, desert valleys that come together on the west bank of the Nile, across from … Continue reading Valley of the Kings
