Paranormal Week - World Building with Ancient Egypt as the Foundation

I've always been fascinated by anything to do with Ancient Egypt, and the further back in time, the better. Cleopatra is interesting and all, but she's way too "modern" for me to write about!

The Egyptian civilization has almost 3000 years of recorded history to work with, beginning over 5000 years ago. They believed in a pantheon of gods and goddesses with authority over every aspect of life, many of whom have multiple origin stories and attributes. The Egyptians were lusty and loving, devoted to family and home life, while also building a rich, powerful nation, all things centered around the bounty of the Nile. Despite their endless fascination with preparing for and ensuring a satisfactory afterlife, they were quite practical, yet poetic, in their daily pursuits, leaving us fragments of poems and songs and science, math and medicine, tales of battles and magic and pharaohs.

As a writer, I couldn't ask for a more wonderful setting.

But being a lover of paranormal romance, I had no desire to write straight historical novels, not even about the most intriguing players in Egyptian history 4000 years or so ago. Much as I enjoy doing the research that supports my paranormal tales and anchors them in a world that once existed, I want to tell stories that involve the gods and goddesses walking among the warriors, dancers, pharaohs and priestesses. I want them taking an active role in events, with the resulting complications.

I like the period of 1550 BCE, when the Egyptians had been under the rule of the Hyksos and were just beginning to throw off the enemy invaders and reassert themselves, which would eventually lead to the most prosperous times Ancient Egypt would ever see, when the powers of the pharaohs such as the Rameses dynasty would be unparalleled. When things are in a state of flux, interesting events are much more likely to occur.

Nat-re-Akhte, the Pharaoh who anchors my connected series of novels, doesn't appear on any list of actual

rulers of Egypt. He's a composite of several, with a lot of my own thoughts about who a hero should be. He himself is sworn to serve Horus the Falcon, but so far I've also had Sobek the Crocodile God, Renenutet the Snake Goddess, Isis, her sister Nephthys, Lady Ma'at of the Scales, Thoth, Anubis, Hathor, Tawaret the Hippo Goddess - many deities taking part in the events as they unfold. Nat-re-Akhte's son will play a part in the god Amun-Re becoming the supreme god of Thebes in a later novel. (I can only write so fast and there are so many stories to tell in my alternate Ancient Egypt!)

So in Priestess of the Nile, we have Sobek falling in love with a human and then having to deal with the wrath of Isis, since such love is forbidden. Oh and the Hyksos show up - remember them? I'm currently writing the sequel to that novel, due out in January.

In Warrior of the Nile, coming in September, the goddess Nephthys forces Pharaoh to send two people on a mission which requires their deaths in order to save Egypt from black magic. But they fall in love on the journey down the Nile and search for a way to carry out their task and yet still  survive to be together in this life.

In Dancer of the Nile, due in October, a resourceful woman taken prisoner by the Hyksos and a warrior on a secret mission for Pharaoh  combine forces to try to save Egypt from a sneak attack. Renenutet and Horus come to their aid as they battle not only the enemy but also black magic.

So many stories yet to be told - if you enjoy tales of ancient Egypt, with mystical happenings and magical possibilities on the way to romance, I invite you to step into my paranormal world!

You can find more details about my worldbuilding and the books on my webpage 

Or you can visit my Amazon Author Page ..(the books are or will be available in most formats, not just kindle)

I'm also on twitter and Facebook!