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Howdy from Texas! I hope you all have been able to relax and rest this summer
Last newsletter, I revealed my Egyptian series and this newsletter, I am revealing my new Ancient Legends collection! I am writing this set of books at the same time as Egypt's Golden Age Chronicles because there was a tie in your vote on what I should write next from my January newsletter. It was between Finish Egypt's 18th Dynasty and the Story behind Ancient Myths.
Thank you for participating in last newsletter's opinion question. Rome, Greece, and Near East all tied for first place as other ancient time periods you would enjoy reading about in a fiction novel. A close second was the Americas! So I will be researching more in those time periods for my Ancient Legends collection.
I am super psyched to tell you all about the first books of both Ancient Legends and Egypt's Golden Age Chronicles, both of which I am already drafting!!
tl;dr - You'll find the following in today's newsletter:
- Book Update: New mug; New Release: Nefertiti's Legacy, Work in Progress
- Interesting Tidbits: Is Greek Mythology related to Egyptian history?
- Your Opinion Matters: One Question–What should I name my Character?
- Reader Recommendations: Forbidden Blossom by Nola Li Barr
- Giveaways / Book Sales: Historical Fiction Book Sale
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My toddler got me a desk doo-dad from Dollar Tree and I just have to keep it by my computer to remind me of the memory when she "read" it to me. I also have my new mug too that my grandmother gifted me! Isn't it awesome? She knows I can't go without the coffee. In the background on the computer screen is the first chapter of my new series, or collection rather, entitled Ancient Legends.
I believe all myths have some thread of truth. Ancient Legends will expose those truths in either a full-on fictionalized story set at an appropriate time period to have inspired the myth, or if there is some archaeological evidence available, it will be based on what we know! See more details about the first book in this collection, The Curse of Beauty, under Work In Progress below!
Additionally, next newsletter, I will talk more about the second book in the collection regarding King Midas and the Golden Touch. There actually was a King Midas of Phryiga and he was a powerful and rich King who sat on a heavily traveled trade route...ok, I am getting ahead of myself. I'm excited for this collection and hope you are too.
Thanks so much to my Launch Team. We are working on the cover as I type this newsletter, so unfortunately I have no cover sneak peak for you for The Curse of Beauty. Hopefully in the next newsletter! If you want to join the Launch Team, hit "reply" and let me know. I'd love to tell you about it.
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New Release - 6/3/2021
The one to end it all. This story blends drama, women's fiction and romance in an intense tale of strength and love. I think it ends the family saga beautifully (as do my reviewers ;) )
“As always, author Lauren Lee Merewether outdid herself…I could not have asked for a better conclusion to a fantastic series!” - Rabia Tanveer from Readers’ Favorite (5 stars)
"In the tradition of Christian Jacq, Merewether comes across as not only a gifted storyteller, but an Egyptologist who brings the ancient world to life…A breathtaking conclusion to The Lost Pharaoh Chronicles saga…" - Divine Zape for Readers’ Favorite (5 stars)
Pain lives in the palace; rest and peace will never befall her there.
Determined to escape the horrors of her past, Ankhesenamun leaves Egypt to find her sister in the vast lands of Canaan and begin a new life with a man she might love one day. However, the neglect of her father has caused Canaan to fall into a tyrannical state, full of oppressive kings and raiding brigands. After cursing the gods and forsaking her divine duty as Hereditary Princess, has Ankhesenamun further doomed their search and rendered any true escape from her past impossible?
In conclusion to The Lost Pharaoh Chronicles saga, Nefertiti’s Legacy is a dramatic tale of a woman’s struggle to find peace, inner strength, and the love her mother wanted for her.
Nefertiti’s Legacy will contain spoilers for the complete Lost Pharaoh Chronicles quadrilogy and the series complement, King’s Daughter and its bonus ending, A New Dawn. (Grab A New Dawn here from BookFunnel for Free - it will ask you for your email to confirm you are on my newsletter subscriber list).
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Work in Progress
Warrior King (Egypt's Golden Age Chronicles, Book I)
If you thought I was done with Ancient Egypt, you were mistaken! Let's go back even further in time to the beginning of the 18th Dynasty, the beginning of the New Kingdom of Egypt! I am SO excited about this new series Kamose in 1572 BC (the last of the 17th Dynasty kings) all the way to 1370 B.C. (early part of Amenhotep III and his Queen Tiye which will connect with The Lost Pharaoh Chronicles Prequel Collection).
After a few months of additional research into the period, I have a chronology, family tree, and loose outline for all five books, in addition to two chapters drafted for Warrior King. These next two months, I am going to focus on tightening up my book one outline and start drafting once again. I am also going to be drafting The Curse of Beauty and taking some much needed advertising and marketing trainings. Gotta learn from the experts :D
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| Work in Progress |
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| The Curse of Beauty (Ancient Legends, Book I) |
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Anyone want to head back to 1650 B.C. in Tiryns, Greece and uncover the story that could have inspired the myth of Medusa?
I will take that as a YES!
The Curse of Beauty is not a work of mythological fantasy fiction like Athena's Child by Hannah Lynn, but rather a work of historical fiction set at the end of the Middle Hellenic era just as the Mycenaeans rose in power. The original Medusa myth was told by the Greek poet Hesiod in the 8th century BC and then again, slightly altered, by the Roman poet Ovid in 1 A.D. Since then, many alterations and modifications have been made about Medusa. I wanted to stick to these two poems and come up with a real-life story that could have happened in Mycenaean history to inspire such a myth 800 years later by Hesiod . . . and I hope you find it exhilarating!!
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As I was researching The Curse of Beauty, I found it interesting that Greek mythology actually had Egyptian Kings in it! I believe if the myths are based on true events, those Egyptian Kings in Greek mythology were part of the Hyksos rule in the Second Intermediate Period! We know very little about those Hyksos rulers, but here is how I plotted it as a purely-for-fun side project to see how the timelines would have lined up if Greek Mythology was truth.
In Greek mythology, Io is the daughter of Inachus, the first ruler of Argos (a city in modern-day Greece). Io is impregnated by Zeus and flees to Egypt. She marries King Telegonous of Egypt and her son Epaphus becomes King of Egypt. Epaphus' son Belus succeeds him. Belus has twin sons: Danaus who rules for a bit but who is chased out of Egypt to go to Argos which left his brother Aegyptus as King. Then Aegyptus leaves Egypt to force Danaus' fifty daughters to marry his (Aegyptus) fifty sons. Aegyptus and 49 of his 50 sons end up being killed by Danaus and 49 of his 50 daughters. Aegyptus' surviving son is Lycenus who leaves Egypt to go to Argos to kill Danaus for killing his father... (talk about family drama) and becomes King of Argos. Anyway, several generations later, we get Perseus who founded the city of Mycenae (archaeologically speaking, this occurred in or around 1350 B.C.) So I worked backward from 1350 B.C. using 30-35 years for each generation and it seemed to line the Hyksos rule with the founding of Argos and Inachus' rule around 1650 B.C.-1625 B.C. which is consequently when archaeologists believe the Mycenaean culture began (and it is also the general time period The Curse of Beauty takes place) :)
Using Egypt's historical timeline, the Second Intermediate Period begins in 1650 B.C. with the first Hyksos King Salitis (although this is debated because there is not a lot of agreement on the Hyksos kings and/or length of rule). From what I can tell, Beon succeeds Salitis. Khyan follows Beon, and then there is a very short reign by Yanassi. After Yanassi, Apepi ascends the throne who reigns during the Egyptian Kings' efforts (Kings Sequenre Taa, Kamose, Ahmose) to take Egypt back from the Hyksos. There might have been an Apepi II, but regardless, Apepi (or Apepi II) dies and is succeeded by Khamudi who is generally regarded as the last Hyksos King. So again using the High Chronology, in 1570 B.C. Kamose (Ahmose's older brother) dies fighting Apepi's army, and Ahmose becomes King. (Sidenote: a 2010 radio carbon study dated Ahmose's reign as 1570-1544 BC). Then 18-19 years after Kamose's death, Ahmose overthrows the last Hyksos king (Khamudi) and drives the Hyksos out of Egypt.
So, if there is any truth to the myth and taking the above events from Egypt's history, I figure the timeline would somehow line up like this:
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Cool, huh? Well, I thought it was cool. :D
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| Your Opinion Matters |
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| I don't know which name to give one of the main female characters in The Curse of Beauty. Which one do you like? I'll go with the majority winner. |
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| Thank you for helping decide this book's future! |
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| More book questions to come! |
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I absolutely loved this page-turning women's fiction series written by one of my readers and fellow indie authors, Nola Li Barr. Forbidden Blossom is a dual-narrative story, one part in the 1940s, and the other in modern-day California. It dives into themes regarding socio-economic and cultural differences and hardships. I can't wait to read Book II which just came out too! Grab both books during it's discounted launch period.
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| Forbidden Blossom by Nola Li Barr |
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A decades-old scandal. A mysterious inheritance. Can a young woman survive a family desperate to keep their past buried?
Forbidden Blossom is the heartfelt first book in the Skyline Mansion women’s fiction series. If you like soul-searching heroines, paths to self-discovery, and stories of perseverance and inner strength, then you’ll adore Nola Li Barr’s generation-spanning tale.
[Also, if you read the Winds of Winter and Daughters of the Past anthologies I was a part of, there are two prequels to this series is in there too.]
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All books historical fiction on sale for $2.99 or less for the month of July. Click here or the banner below to see what is available. Every click helps me in this joint giveaway/book sales. Even if you are not interested, I would dearly appreciate just a click. :)
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Thank you for reading and keeping up with me on this journey into the past.
As always, if you have any feedback, suggestions, constructive criticisms or just want to say hi, I am all ears. Just hit "Reply" or find me on Facebook.com/llmbooks and send me a message.
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| Happy Reading! |
| Lauren |
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Ratings and reviews are the lifeblood of indie authors. Without them, few would know about our books. Your review is one of a kind, and I deeply appreciate your support in leaving a rating or a review on any of my published works on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or BookBub.
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About the Author
I am a historical drama fiction author. The majority of my books contain violence and adult themes; however, I do not write explicit sex scenes nor do I write with mature language.
If you like page-turning dramatic plots, simple dialogue, stories that evoke strong emotions, well-researched historical details, and characters with genuine, relatable feelings, a majority of my reader reviews say you will like my books. I write multi-genre fiction stories that combine the historical, drama, and family saga genres and contain elements of coming of age, women's fiction, and/or romance.
If you would like to visit me on the web, see a portfolio of my books, partake in the online Reader Extras, or see my About page, head on over to my website:
www.laurenleemerewether.com
Authors wouldn't be anywhere without readers like you, so your support REALLY means a lot. I'm a firm believer that books don't need to be expensive or difficult to get hold of - so I want to encourage EVERYONE to enjoy the pleasure of books - and not just mine. So if you've read any awesome books recently that you think people should be checking out, drop me a quick email - I'd love to get your recommendations to put on my website. I want to hear from you!
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What do Ancient Egyptian bus drivers buy when they crash?
ANUBIS
tehe
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