What's the story behind your latest book?
ETERNAL EGYPT is a supplement to the Giza Trilogy. The book is a collection of fictional short stories, all in chronological order recording the history of the plateau – its three pyramids, satellite pyramids, temples and tombs from shortly before the collapse of the Old Kingdom c.2181 B.C. through to the beginnings of the Roman domination of Egypt in 40 B.C.
In the pages and stories of ETERNAL EGYPT the reader will meet the priests, scribes, craftsmen and soldiers who continued to serve the three dead Pharaohs on the Giza Plateau (or White Rock as it is referred to), for more than two thousand years. What dramas and intrigues took place in those two thousand years? When were the pyramids first entered and looted? On what scale was this looting and on whose orders was it carried out? Some of these questions will be answered, or at least examined in the stories in the book.
The history of Egypt in the two thousand years since the construction of the three pyramids will also be a part of this story: the rule of the later Pharaohs such as Thutmosis IV and Ramesses II; the invasions of Kemet (Egypt) by the Hyksos, the Persians and Alexander the Great; and the gradual decline of this once magnificent civilization. What effect, if any, did all of this have on the three pyramids on the plateau?
The stories are of course fictional but much research has been carried out into the background for the stories. Questions too are asked as to how the plateau and its army of priests and scribes were administrated; the maintenance and upkeep of the plateau; and what continuous religious hold, if any, did the immense pyramids have over Kemet. Were the three Pharaohs resting on the plateau considered gods?
Another purpose of the book, and indeed a most important one is a tribute to the people of Ancient Kemet. Today, hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Egypt each year, not only see the magnificent pyramids and tombs on the Giza Plateau, but to visit the scores of other ancient sites up and down the Nile. When standing before the pyramids it is easy to think about the Pharaohs who were once buried there but what of the others, the common workers who built the pyramids? And what of those who followed, the priests and the scribes who were responsible for maintaining the memory of the dead Pharaohs and the upkeep of their Houses of Eternity? When the last of these Giza Pharaohs, Menkaure, was buried on the plateau, one would hope that it did not become simply a silent and empty cemetery, but continued as a thriving metropolis with priests, scribes, craftsmen, soldiers as well as numerous travellers and pilgrims coming to the plateau to not only honour the Pharaohs buried there, but to marvel at the immensity and grandeur of their House of Eternities. It is not unreasonable to think that the three Pharaohs lay undisturbed for nearly five hundred years until the collapse of the Old Kingdom and the chaos which followed.
And lastly, who knows what other wonders and secrets lie hidden beneath the sands of the plateau…
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
Smashwords is important for independent writers as it allows them to publish their books and distribute the books. It is excellent publication and distribution work.
Read more of this interview.