2014 Literary Classics Silver Medal Winner for PreTeen/Tween
Literary Classics 2014 Seal of Approval
When 15-year-old Rosa agrees to help the ghost of King Tut find his lost queen Hesena, she doesn't count on falling for him. And once back in Ancient Egypt, Rosa discovers that finding Hesena is not all she must do: She must keep out of the reach of the living Horemheb—who crosses mortal boundaries using Seth's evil magic—if she is to stay alive to make it back home.
Sons of the Sphinx is based on the schism that shot through ancient Egypt when, according to historians, the Pharaoh Akhenatenturned his back on Thebes and the gods of Egypt. He built his own city to honor his god the Aten, and he insisted that the people of Egypt do the same. Along with this, he supposedly refused to send troops to defend Egypt's borders thus incurring the wrath of the then General Horemheb. When Tutankhamen becomes pharaoh, he reverses Akhenaten's proclamations and returns the governing center to Thebes and the worship back to the god Amun.
However, the damage has been done, and by the time Horemheb attains pharaoh status, he has proclaimed the betrayal of the Egyptian people by Akhenaten so widely and so much, all members of the family including Tutankhamen and Ankhsenamun and Ay are dishonored. Horemheb further insults the family by defacing Ay's tomb after his death. It is Ay's decision before his death to ensure that Ankhsenamun is not subject to dishonor by keeping her final resting place a secret.
The historical significance of my story is the main reason I was able to write Sons of the Sphinx. Needing to help right a wrong done over 3000 years ago and reunite the boy king with his queen (whose tomb has yet to be identified or found), allows my protagonist Rosa the opportunity to come to terms with who she is and what her place is in this world.
February 28th Sons of the Sphinx FREE!
Author Bio
I’m a twice-retired high school (ages 14-18) English teacher from Colorado having taught for 25 years. I love working with my students, and now I write for middle graders and early teens. My books are written for reluctant readers, but are enjoyed by any who love adventures and quests. It is my love of the ancient and medieval worlds that provides my settings for my stories.
Q&A for Double
Decker Tour
1. What made you
choose ancient Egypt for the historical setting of Sons of the Sphinx?
I’ve always been fascinated with ancient times, and Egypt is
at the center of my fascination. Ancient Egypt is mysterious, mystic, and romantic
to many people, including my target audience: young readers.
I didn’t really consider doing a story set back then until
after my visit to Egypt in 2008 and the tour of King Tut’s memorabilia in the
US. An idea for a story around Tut’s life started to grow. In fact, that story
is told by Tut himself in my short historical Tutankhamen Speaks. While that was a fun write, it turned out it
wasn’t the story I wanted to tell. I wanted an adventure and to set that
adventure in ancient Egypt with Tut sounded like an interesting premise.
2. Why do you write
middle grade/tween/YA novels?
Coming from 25 years of teaching high school students, I
want to use my experience to engage those readers and younger ones in the hopes
of enticing them to read more. My Arthurian adventures are for readers aged
8/9-12. Kids love Medieval Times. While Guinevere:
On the Eve of Legend and Young
Knights of the Round Table: The King’s Ransom are exciting adventure
stories, readers learn that while the journey to self-discovery is not a smooth
one, it is one that can be traveled. Even young kids are starting to wonder
where they belong in the grand scheme of the universe.
Sons of the Sphinx
is geared more to readers age 12 and up. At the heart of the story is the tale
of Rosa’s coming of age. She is a high school sophomore who is desperate to
find her place in life just as were the students I taught. It doesn’t help that
she has inherited her Nana’s gift. As
she finds out, where she wants to be, may not be where her life takes her, but
she has to learn how to make the best of it.
3. Sons of the Sphinx is already gathering awards. Explain, if you
can, what makes your books special.
Overall, my experience as a teacher and my ability to
understand what motivates kids is a big factor in the success of my books. To
that I would also have to add my philosophy on life, which is based on Joseph
Campbell’s idea of the Hero’s Journey. The
Hero With A Thousand Faces is really my Bible when I write. Campbell writes
of the journey all of us embark on everyday of our lives: the search for self
and worth, the successes and failures, the temptations and the denials.
According to him, this is not a single journey, but one that is repeated
throughout our lives.
Embedded within all of my characters’ adventures is their
quest to find themselves. This is for them the first time they’ve really been
able to explore their place in the world. My readers are also experiencing this
in their lives. However, my books don’t preach or shout this out loud; instead,
this journey is couched in an exciting and often dangerous adventure. This type
of story offers readers a type of catharsis the old Greek playwrights used:
Letting the audience experience the emotions of the characters while remaining
somewhat safe. Those plays also carried individual meaning for each of the
audience members and were very popular.
4. Tell us about
you’re currently working on.
I’ve just finished writing the first draft of the sequel to Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend. This
was meant to be a stand-alone story, but over the years, readers have been
asking what happens with the young Princess Guinevere and, especially, her
companion Cedwyn. In fact, for about a year and a half now, Cedwyn has been
reminding me that he wants to be a knight, and he wants to know when that is
going to happen. I finally gave in. I believe the sequel Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend—Cedwyn’s Story is going to be a
much stronger story where my characters make significant growth. Hoping to have
it out in late 2015.
5. What are your
long-term writing projects?
Oh yes. I’m hoping to have the first book of my trilogy The Feather of the Phoenix out in 2016.
These tales will take place, in a manner of speaking, in the ancient worlds of
Atlantis, Pompeii, and the Norse civilization. As of now, the books are The Atlantean Horse, The Ashes of Pompeii, and The Norse Star.
Also in the planning stages are The Trojan War and a sequel to Young
Knights of the Round Table: The King’s Ransom.
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