Anna Patricio

Best thing my Mother ever told me

2012-02-25T17:51:00.000+11:00

"It's in your blood!"

Makes sense. :)

The Legends of Asenath

2012-02-24T18:57:00.000+11:00

I've written on this topic for several guest blog posts. Now, I ought to do it on my very own blog. It's about time too.

So, as I may have mentioned here and there, my curiosity about Asenath stemmed from my Joseph interest. When I began looking her up over a decade ago - way before the novel was barely a figment of my imagination - the very first thing I came across was the apocryphal tale Joseph and Asenath, which dates to 1st century Alexandria.
I was astonished when I first came across this. I didn't imagine there would be other accounts of Asenath. Anyways, some folks apparently weren't happy about one of the patriarchs marrying a pagan priestess. Thus, they concocted this story which focuses on Asenath's conversion to Judaism.

Basically, in this tale, Asenath is a proud woman who shuns men and vows never to marry. She lives in a tower with seven handmaidens, completely isolated from the world.
But one day, while looking out her window, she sees Joseph, who has just been crowned vizier. She is immediately smitten with him, and runs downstairs to greet him. Her father, happy that his reclusive daughter is finally willing to marry, then enquires Joseph for his hand in marriage. Alas, Joseph refuses, saying that he cannot marry Asenath because she worships idols.

Distraught and rejected, Asenath locks herself in her room and weeps. Just then, an angel who looks like Joseph appears to her and tells her to repent of her idol-worshipping ways. Asenath does just that, thus converting to Joseph's faith. To mark her new path in life, the angel then feeds her sacred honey, after which golden bees flit around her. Some of them, I believe, land on her lips.

(This scene, btw, served as an inspiration for the artist who did my book cover, as well as a certain garden scene in the novel. So now you know why the bees.)

Then when Asenath meets Joseph again, he at last agrees to marry her. :)

Later on, sometime after Joseph's family comes to live in Egypt, Pharaoh's son falls in love with Asenath and plots to kill Joseph and steal her for himself. He conspires with 2 of Joseph's brothers - I forget who exactly, as it's been a while since I read the tale. I think one of them was Simeon. The other brothers, led by Benjamin, then come to Joseph and Asenath's rescue, and defeat Pharaoh's son along with the traitorous brothers. Pharaoh disowns his son, if I am not mistaken. And at the end, upon the monarch's death, Joseph himself becomes a Pharaoh, and he and Asenath rule Egypt together.

After this, I came across another legend that had Asenath as Dinah's long-lost daughter! I was really intrigued.
As you know, Dinah is known for her unfortunate encounter with the prince Shechem, who took advantage of her. Asenath was born as a result of that incident. Dinah's brothers then took the baby to the wilderness and left her there to die.

I read one version of this legend in an anthology of Jewish folktales: Miriam's Tambourine. Here, the infant Asenath had a medallion engraved with Hebrew letters. This would later help Joseph identify his long-lost "niece."
(I really don't like thinking of Joseph and Asenath as uncle and niece *shudder* but anyway....)
Not long after she was abandoned, an eagle rescued the baby and took her to Egypt, where she was deposited at the altar of the temple of Heliopolis. The priest Potiphera then saw the baby and adopted her as his own.
Later, when Joseph was choosing a wife, he immediately recognised his "niece" from the medallion she wore. Thus, they married.

Oh, I saw another version of this legend in another Jewish anthology Lilith's Ark, which contains retellings of the extra-Biblical and apocryphal stories. Here, Dinah is the handmaid of Potiphar's wife, and Asenath is Dinah's actual daughter and Mrs. Potiphar's adopted daughter (whew). Um, I sort of forgot how Dinah became Potiphar's wife's handmaid.
But anyway, Joseph soon entered the picture, and Dinah of course was happy to be reunited with his brothers. Then as you know, he went from the pit to the palace. He then convinced Pharaoh to let him marry Asenath so that he could rescue his sister and "niece" from Potiphar's wife's mean clutches. He did, however, have real affection for Asenath, not just pity.

But I still don't like the idea of Joseph and Asenath being related. Plus, though very little is said of her, I am still inclined to think that Asenath was Egyptian through and through.

Speaking of Mr. and Mrs. Potiphar, I have heard some speculations that Asenath may have been Potiphar's daughter. In the Bible, her father's name is Potiphera. So, very similar in names. This is an interesting idea, especially as it could have been great cause for intrigue - I mean, with Asenath later marrying Joseph and all. I personally think she may or may not have been; I don't really know for sure.

(Though in my novel, I had Joseph's master and the high priest two different people. Also, I used the name Pentephres for Asenath's dad in order to avoid confusion with Potiphar. Pentephres btw is from the Joseph and Asenath legend.)

In this book In Potiphar's House, I did hear of one interesting little story in which, while Joseph was being falsely accused, the infant Asenath cried out that he was innocent. As her reward, she later got to marry Joseph. So sweet. :)
This brings to mind Al's epic poem of Joseph, The Stars Bow Down. Here, he has Asenath as Potiphar's daughter from a first marriage. Asenath's mother died, then he remarried the wife who would become the (in)famous villainess. I am going to talk more of this in a future post, but basically, Al also has little Asenath crying out Joseph's innocence. It's a very beautiful story.

Hmm, there may be more Asenath stuff that I've come across, but these are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. Also, these are the most widely known ones - well, as widely known as they can be (considering how obscure Asenath is).

Next, I am going to talk about the legends of the woman we all love to hate - Mrs. Potiphar herself. Delving deep into Joseph's story, I also discovered a number of interesting tales about this villainess, and boy, are they scandalous!

Egyptian Superheroes... or Supervillains

2012-02-23T21:59:00.003+11:00

Being an Egyptophile, I frequently get asked if I've seen Stargate. I am not really a science fiction / fantasy enthusiast, nevertheless I was intrigued because of the Egyptian theme alone. However, everytime I looked at catalogues or went to the shops to check out this Stargate thing, I got pretty overwhelmed because I didn't know where to begin - there was Stargate, Stargate SG-1 etc. The latter, I was told, is a TV show. So I didn't know which one to watch first!

Last year though, Al gave me the Stargate movie, which he said was ancestral to everything Stargate. That made it infinitely clearer for me.
And it was pretty interesting. I wasn't expecting Ra to be a villain though. According to Al, that's a common trope in scifi and fantasy - to make gods into villains. I find that a bit disturbing. But the movie was good for its entertainment value.

So now you know the answer as to whether I've seen Stargate.

Recently, Al gave me a DVD set of this 70s TV series called The Secrets of Isis. For those of you who haven't heard of it (and I had no clue of its existence until now), it's a superhero type of show, which I guess is under the umbrella of scifi and fantasy...? Anyway, this science teacher goes on an archaeological dig and finds a magical amulet which once belonged to Hatshepsut and which enables her to turn into "Isis." She then lives a double life a la Clark Kent and Superman, saving the world - rather, her students when they get into trouble.

I haven't watched superhero shows in ages. I used to all the time, but then I outgrew them. But again, like with Stargate, I was curious to check this out because of the Egyptian theme. Even if it wasn't really, you know, Egypt Egypt.
And I have to admit that despite its hokey premise and laughable DVD cover, it is pretty interesting. I mean, it managed to keep me entertained. Definitely a far cry from Pauline Gedge's and Wilbur Smith's stuff, but good for its commercial entertainment value. Having said that, I did cry in an episode wherein a beloved pet passed away, and also in another one which involved a blind student.

(And speaking of Pauline Gedge, I do wonder if there was some sort of Hatshepsut trend in the 70s, seeing as that was when Child of the Morning was published. Hmm...)

Going through the special features of the DVD, I then discovered this comic called The Legend of Isis which doesn't seem to have any connection to the TV series, except maybe the slight similarities in Isis' costume. Although the dress in the comics is way, way more provocative. Not to mention that the storyline is darker and a lot less wholesome (the TV show was apparently aimed at kids).
Anyway, according to the comic book excerpt, Isis and Osiris were 2 gods who married in the 6th century BC (6th century? I thought the gods lived way before that.). Before the wedding though, Isis and Nephthys had to engage to a duel in order to win Osiris' hand in marriage. Isis won, thus she became the bride.
Nephthys was jealous though, and thus connived with Seth to get rid of Isis. (Btw, Nephthys in the comic is a psychotic evil magician.) Through a series of spells, she transports Isis to 21st century LA.
After nearly getting into trouble, Isis is befriended by a cop who realises she is not exactly of this world. He then takes her to visit his curator friend, who immediately recognises that the language she is speaking is Ancient Egyptian. While in the museum, Isis sees a tablet detailing Osiris and Nephthys' marriage. And there is absolutely no mention of her.
And that's about as far as the excerpt went.

I'll admit I am intrigued to see what happens next, even though I am not really into comics. And I kind of like the portrayal of Osiris (he isn't green-skinned here, btw). But again, I'd appreciate it solely for entertainment, and certainly wouldn't rank it up there with the finer specimens of Egyptian fiction.
I mean, this comic distorts the Ancient Egyptian legends in every way possible. Like I said, 6th century BC?!? Really? And since when were Isis and Nephthys enemies? As far as I know, it was everyone vs Seth and Apophis.

Not to mention, looking at the artwork of this comic - what on earth is a Native American totem pole doing in Ancient Egypt?

Oh mehn. Haha.

I kinda have mixed feelings about these shows / comics turning the Ancient Egyptian gods into superheroes... or villains, like in Stargate. On one hand, I am curious to check this out, for all the obvious reasons. On the other hand, I find it a bit, um, hokey? Trite? Commercialised ("commercial romanticism," as one of my lecturers at university said)?
Though it can be pretty entertaining. I guess you could call it my guilty pleasure. But I would rather go with Gedge's and Smith's novels, along with well-made movies such as The Prince of Egypt, any day.

ADDENDUM: I forgot to mention that I heard The Legend of Isis might be made into a movie! I think that would be interesting to see.
I just hope they do a good job on their casting. I find that a lot of historical movies these days have poor casting choices: overused young actors who don't really fit the roles. Not to mention that they look too... 21st century? I mean, in their period costumes, they look like college kids or yuppies dressing up for a Halloween party.
The Hallmark historical movies, however, do excellent jobs with their casting. The actors they get really look their parts: queens, viziers, warriors etc. Something about their features, I guess - they have very unique and elegant looks as befitting their roles.
But seeing as Legend of Isis may be a mainstream Hollywood movie, I wouldn't be too confident about the casting factor. Though we'll see. Would be good if they surprise me.

By the way, I wonder what Asenath's dad would have thought of the Egyptian gods being made into superheroes/villains. Haha.

Feedback

2012-02-20T18:27:00.004+11:00

So, Asenath has been out for nearly 6 months now, and in that time, I've gotten a pretty - well - interesting mixed bag of opinions. Some people love it, some people don't, some people think it's OK or so-so.

Happily, the positive feedback seems to outweigh the negative. Though in addition to praises, these kind reviewers have also given me constructive criticism.

Which I truly appreciate. Writing, like many things, is a lifelong learning process. And especially as this was my debut novel, it was good to hear what my strengths and weaknesses were, and what I could do to improve.

So far, these are the frequent constructive criticisms I have received:

"The dialogue was too modern."

This is the one I get the most. My reason for doing this was because I wanted to endear the characters to the reader. In addition, I wanted to portray the Ancient Egyptians and Hebrews as human beings instead of the grand, larger-than-life figures they are usually depicted as. Not to mention that I am quite fond of the Ancient Egyptians and Hebrews.
Also, in the case of Khasekh, I utilised modern dialogue as I found it suitable to his character.
But I suppose I ought to draw a line in the sand between making my characters relatable and creating a believable historical essence. Well, to be honest, I was a bit thrown off when I read this one historical novel in which a character said, "Yeah." Plus, I guess there are those, um, norms and expectations of readers and writers of historical fiction.
So even though we don't know how the Ancient Egyptians really spoke (not to mention that Ancient Egyptian is sadly a dead language), I guess readers appreciate being taken out of the 21st century and into another world, where people said, "I may indeed" instead of "Yeah, sure!"
Actually, some of my beta readers were also telling me that I made the speech too modern. So, OK, because this appears to be a majority opinion, I promise that in my next novels I will make the dialogue more historical fiction-ish. And I will also apply this to future editions of Asenath.
Now how to make Khasekh talk formal and still be coarse.........

"There were a lot of short sentences." Or "The writing was stilted / stop-and-start."

I too noticed this actually, but only after publication. See, I was advised to shorten my sentences as I was told readers are overwhelmed by long ones. I was also advised to alternate, but I went a bit overboard and shortened a lot of the sentences. Sigh.
But now that I am aware of this after rereading the paragraphs as a whole, not to mention the feedback I have received, I will indeed make efforts to make the writing smoother.

"There should have been more background description."

I know this might be subjective. Some readers prefer long and detailed descriptions (palaces, landscapes, costumes etc), others get bored and overwhelmed with them.
Ironically, my personal preferences as a reader is having a lot of descriptions a la Pauline Gedge. And now, having flipped through my novel, I have seen scenes that could indeed have used a bit more background description, such as the throne room scenes.
I guess I didn't want to bore the reader with too many descriptions. Plus in my early drafts, I was guilty of "telling instead of showing" so I doubled my efforts to make the story even more fast-paced. But upon studying Gedge's and other writers' works, I am beginning to learn how to make it fast-paced and still have vivid, sumptuous descriptions that bring this ancient era to life.

Meanwhile, I have received majority praise for my character and plot development. One reader even told me that the ending (well, not exactly the ending but near the ending) made her weep! That was one of the best remarks I ever heard.
So a huge, huge THANK YOU to all those who said those kind words. I will make an effort to keep this up in my future writings.

And as for the negative reviews.... Well fortunately, I had been warned this would happen. And having read the feedback of my favourite novels, I knew it would not have been realistic for me to expect all praises. I mean, even Pauline Gedge, Wilbur Smith and Arthur Golden get bad reviews.
Also fortunately, I had been cautioned on what to do upon getting negative reviews, which is to simply say nothing and then forget about them. Easier said than done, but that's the best way. Also it makes sense cuz it would save me the unnecessary stress of getting into a fight, you know?
So that is what I've been doing. I look at the negative reviews once (though I sometimes wish I didn't, but I guess it is human nature to want to know what people have been saying). And after about, say, 10 minutes of staring at them in horror, I pry myself away and never, ever lay eyes on them again.

Rest in Peace

2012-02-18T19:24:00.002+11:00

This post is a bit delayed as my internet wasn't working this week. But anyway.

I was shocked and saddened to hear about the death of Whitney Houston a few days ago. I was not expecting it at all, especially as she was still pretty young. I sort of go way back with her as I grew up hearing her songs, along with Michael Jackson's (whose own death a few years ago shocked me as well).

The details of her untimely demise are pretty disturbing, I have to say. Though it seems that strange deaths are a common occurrence in Tinseltown. But still.

Well, RIP Ms. Houston. :(

This is the music video of the song she did for one of my all-time favourite movies. It seems just about everyone now is downloading her music on youtube and flooding them with farewell comments.

A year already?

2012-02-06T16:51:00.004+11:00

I just realised it has been a year - if not nearly a year - since the revolution against Mubarak. My, doesn't time run!

I am not really into modern Egypt, nevertheless this news caught my interest. It's not just that it made the headlines, this was a very intriguing story taking place in an ancient land.
However, I had another reason for following the events, and a pretty selfish one at that: I wanted to see if there were chances of my upcoming trip getting cancelled or not.

At that time, the trip was only 2 and 1/2 months away (it was on the last week of April and the first week of May, a total of 15 days). So needless to say, I was pretty anxious.
Even worse, all my friends and relatives were telling me to cancel the trip - which I would have loathed to do! If they weren't telling me to do it, they were hinting at it.

However, despite the situation, I still really, really wanted to go! Al though was encouraging me, telling me that Egypt can't afford to lose their tourists as a lot of the economy is dependent on tourism. But still......

Fortunately, as you know, Mubarak stepped down. I then happily continued anticipating the trip.

I was really distressed though when I heard that some crazy people, probably thinking that the uproar in the streets wasn't enough, barged their way into the Cairo Museum and made off with some of the treasures! I couldn't believe that! There was already enough damage and tension, yet they had go as far as to desecrate the ancient treasures of the Pharaohs with their profane touch and actions!
But to my relief, I heard the stolen treasures were recovered. I don't know if all of them were, alas.
In addition, there were those who hadn't lost their senses completely. Some people apparently formed a human barrier around the museum, protecting it from the psycho looters. How very touching and uplifting to hear how the modern Egyptians respect and uphold the glorious past of the Pharaohs. How inspiring indeed!

I remember hearing that after the revolution, the pyramids were nearly deserted. And when I arrived in Cairo, I was told that the light traffic flow I was currently experiencing was pretty unusual for that city. Plus, the pyramids were indeed nearly deserted.
Alas, I heard that right after I left Egypt, another riot broke out, this time involving the Copts. Then another political uprising followed. Sad.

I hope the situation clears up, as I am planning to return to Egypt soon(ish). You see, most of my Middle Eastern trip was focused on Israel (though I am definitely not complaining about that, as Israel is the other must-see country for me. So, Israel and Egypt).
The first 2 days were in Egypt, then most of it was in Israel, then the last 3 days were in Jordan (a country I don't know too much about, but which I found pretty fascinating). Needless to say, 2 days in Egypt is far too unsatisfying! Though I did get to climb Mt. Sinai, which is an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life.
But as you can see, there is yet so, so, so much I have to see! The southern part, where Thebes is. That would include the temple of Hatshepsut, and the temples of Karnak and Luxor, to name a few. Not to mention further down is Ramses' temple at Abu Simbel, the one he built for his Great Royal Wife Nefertari.
And don't forget having a Nile cruise. I want a Nile cruise real bad. I need a Nile cruise real bad.

Plus I need much, much more time in the Cairo Museum. We were there for only about a pitiful half hour or so, because our tour organisers wanted to rush us off to Sinai (they said the last group they led got to Sinai pretty late. I guess that means they couldn't take their time climbing the mountain).
I didn't even get to see Ramses' and Hatshepsut's mummies. Le sigh. Hopefully in the next trip.

(I did however get to see King Tut's treasures, including his famous mask. Plus the Merenptah Stelae, which mentions the Exodus. Oh, and Mum and I sneaked into a part of the museum dedicated to Akhenaton.)

Well, Kemet (or Mizraim, as you were called by the Jews), until I see you again....

Ankh, weneb, sedjet!

The YA Dilemma

2012-02-02T18:09:00.005+11:00

I was recently talking with an author friend about this new strategy employed by the publishing industry. It's created quite a stir; prior to this, I also heard about it from another author.

It used to be that if a novel began with the protagonist in his/er childhood, it could still be classified as an adult novel due to certain themes and situations. Such novels would be Memoirs of a Geisha, Jane Eyre, Child of the Morning and David Copperfield (I have not read that yet, but I fully intend to as it sounds like my type of story).

Now, however, if a novel begins with a child protagonist, it is automatically classified as Young Adult (YA). I was really perplexed when I first heard about this.
Apparently, this scheme was implemented after the success of Harry Potter and Twilight. I guess publishers wanted to ride on these books' popularity. In addition, with the rise of new outlets like Amazon, I heard publishers might have felt this simplifying of categories could be an easier marketing / distribution strategy. Hence now, all novels with young protagonists are classified as YA.

Whatever the reason for this new categorising may be, I think it's a bit strange. It's rather black-and-white, and it doesn't make much sense to me. Memoirs of a Geisha has the main character starting out as a 9-year-old, and the publishers of before had no problem with that, especially as the novel sold very well - and continues to sell very well. Same with the other abovementioned books. So I don't really see any reason why a novel had to be classified as YA just because it has a child protagonist - or at least, begins with a child protagonist.

I guess if Arthur Golden tried to get his novel published today, he would be faced with the dilemma I hear some authors are having. Editors don't know where to place certain novels because they can't be classified as either YA or non-YA. These novels start out with child protagonists, yet contain very mature themes and situations.
And of course, the authors can't and won't rewrite these stories because if they change certain factors, then it just won't be the same story anymore. I totally understand where they're coming from. I can't imagine Geisha eliminating Chiyo/Sayuri's childhood, as that leads up to pivotal points in the story. For that matter, speaking in general terms, childhood experiences can shape the way we think and act and live as adults. So why not have a childhood sequence in an adult novel?

I suppose I am lucky I am with a (very brilliant) indie publisher who is quite flexible. In fact, my publisher hasn't classified Asenath as YA. Not that I have anything against YA, and not that I have a problem with YAs reading my novel. But I just didn't intend for Asenath to be in the YA category, that's all.
I noticed though that some reviewers have put the YA label on my novel. I am guessing it has to do with the heroine's age at the beginning (for those of you who haven't read it, she begins the story as a 9-year-old, just like Chiyo). This isn't really a problem for me, though it kinda perplexes me. But oh well.

Oy vey. This is peculiar indeed!

Job met Joseph?

2012-02-01T18:37:00.004+11:00

Yes, that is the Job who inspired the saying, "the patience of Job." I recently heard that he and Joseph might have been contemporaries. I never imagined this due to the mere fact that the Book of Job is placed so far away from Genesis, and I thought all the books of the Bible were in some sort of chronological order.

But then, I am no Biblical scholar. Al, with his insane knowledge of the Bible, confirmed that this theory / speculation has some plausibility.

Apparently, what led scholars to surmise this was due to the fact that Job was performing Abrahamic rituals - that is, the head of the family was performing the ritual offerings of sacrificing burnt animals on altars. From the books of Moses onwards, only the priests - the Levites - were allowed to make offerings. Thus, when King Saul made an offering himself, it got him into trouble.

What is of much debate though is the matter of Job's lineage. Some say he was a grandson (or even great-grandson) of Esau. Some say he was a son of Issachar, Joseph's half-brother - thus making him Joseph's nephew. Some even say he was descended from Ishmael. The Esau notion though is the most popular.

Very interesting stuff indeed. I never would have imagined. Maybe if I do end up writing the sequel to Asenath after all, I ought to include Job. I have yet to figure out how I will work him into the story though. We'll see.

Somewhat related: I also heard some speculations that Job (and therefore Joseph too) might have seen dinosaurs. I do remember mention of a "leviathan," which is supposed to be some sort of sea monster. Some folks think that dinosaurs were mentioned in the Bible but then died out after the Great Flood, as the atmosphere after the Flood could no longer support them. Others think that these might have merely been fancy names for animals - a leviathan might have been a crocodile after all.
I have not really delved into this subject matter before, so I have no idea what to make of this. It's very intriguing though.

ADDENDUM: I forgot to mention yesterday that I asked Al why the Book of Job was placed so far away from Genesis when - supposedly - the events in these 2 books happened simultaneously. (And I realise this may be a tacky question, but oh well.) According to him, it's because Job has been classified as part of the Wisdom literature, along with Psalms and Proverbs. Hence all the Wisdom books were situated together.

sob

2012-01-28T22:09:00.003+11:00

I saw on the news a closeup of this lovely little white dog. It was a long-haired toy dog, one of those breeds like shihtzus, malteses, lhasa apsos etc. It was a darling tiny thing, smiling a happy canine smile.

Unfortunately, this little white dog came from a tragic background.

It (alas I forgot the gender, shame on me) was rescued from an abusive situation and underwent treatment at the hospital. I was beyond shocked to hear what its former "human" did to it. I am so shocked, and even scarred by what I heard, I don't want to go into details. All I can say is that the poor little thing was very badly wounded.

Fortunately, the dog seems to be OK now, especially as it is already in good hands. But - oh! The news even showed the injuries! Blurred out, but still!

How can anyone do that to a harmless, beautiful little dog?

How can some people be so MONSTROUS?!?

For Writers

2012-01-23T20:14:00.001+11:00

The Top 10 Story Endings to Avoid

Funny, because I had no inkling about the ending of a certain movie of Bruce Willis. It pretty much shocked me. I should think though that after the success of that movie, everyone and his dog will be adapting that sort of ending until it grows old and grey - like now!

To Kill A Mockingbird

2012-01-20T17:06:00.003+11:00

Sometime ago, Al informed me that the classic To Kill A Mockingbird has similarities to the story of Joseph. While I was definitely familiar with the title, and while I am sure it was part of my students' reading list (though I chose some other book to do my report on), I never really gave this book much thought. Now, however, I was intrigued.

So I got a copy of it, and finished reading it just last night. It does indeed have a common denominator with Joseph's story, specifically the Potiphar's wife sequence. I guess most people know the plot of Mockingbird, but for this blog's benefit, for whatever purpose: the novel is set in 1930s Alabama, and revolves around the court case of a black man accused of raping a white woman. The child protagonist's father, Atticus Finch, is the lawyer who defends the accused.

While dealing with heavy issues, the tone of the novel is warm, engaging and sometimes witty as it is seen through the eyes of child-turned-tween Scout Finch. She also has a lot of funny moments with her brother Jem, such as when they moan about mean teachers, dread meeting snooty relatives, spy on the neighbourhood recluse, and make fun of the neighbours (eg, they build snowmen based on their neighbours).

The ending kind of shocked me. I like endings that stir strong emotions, even though this one was sad. I won't give any spoilers but... yah, my jaw dropped open.

I ought to add that during the trial, the Finch family develops a new enemy in the form of the accuser's father. He then sets out to kill them all. Also, what surprised me was that the accused Tom Robinson didn't figure in the book as much as I expected him to. This was neither good nor bad, but I was expecting to see a lot more of him. Though his actual appearances were brief, he was talked about a lot for most of the novel.
We never get to see the actual Potiphar's wife-esque scene either, but Tom does recount it in court. And it was pretty much like Joseph's unfortunate incident: the evil woman sends everyone out of the house then attempts to seduce the accused. The accused literally runs from her advances, and the evil woman falsely cries rape.

It was a good read, even though I felt sad at the way some things turned out in the end. I am so glad Al told me about this.

Joseph & Asenath's Family

2012-01-19T22:08:00.002+11:00

So... what I discovered about Joseph and Asenath's family. Alas, there wasn't more mention of Asenath. But there was additional mention of her and Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

1 Chronicles mentions Joseph and Asenath's grandchildren. (It's in Chapter 7, btw.) Manasseh had an Aramean slave woman who gave him 2 children, Asriel and Makir.
There is no mention of a wife of Manasseh, however. Also mentioned are the children of Manasseh's children - so, Joseph and Asenath's great-grandchildren.

Ephraim, meanwhile, had 2 sons named Ezer and Elead who were killed in Gath when they were stealing some sheep. Ephraim deeply mourned them, and when his wife gave birth to another son he named him "Beriah" after the bad things that happened to his family. Additionally mentioned was a daughter of Ephraim who built a city (wow), and of course, in line with the theme of Chronicles, Ephraim's grandchildren and great-grandchildren and so on - Joseph and Asenath's great-great-grandchildren, in other words.

Joseph and Asenath's great-grandson Gilead figures somewhat significantly in the last chapter of the Book of Numbers - so, during Moses' time. His family members spoke with Moses about land inheritance and the marrying off of their daughters (who would be inheriting the land, apparently) to other tribes of Israel.

In Genesis, when I was reading about Jacob's blessing his sons, I came across an intriguing line which for some reason I missed until now: after Jacob adopted Joseph's sons to include them in the blessing, he told Joseph, "Ephraim and Manasseh will be my sons just as Reuben and Simeon are my sons. But if you have other children, they will be your own." (Genesis 48:5-6)

I was intrigued by that because I wondered if this implied that Joseph and Asenath had children other than Manasseh and Ephraim. According to Al, the Bible expert, it was possible. If Joseph and Asenath had daughters, they did not get listed because daughters were generally not listed in geneaologies. And if they had other sons, they did not get listed too because they were not counted as the tribes of Israel, as Manasseh and Ephraim were.

Wow.

(And btw, this has been whetting my appetite for writing a sequel to Asenath. Al has been encouraging me to do for quite sometime. That would be most interesting although it may take a while as I am currently toying with ideas for my second novel which is still set in Ancient Egypt but way after Asenath's time.)

I remember reading this novel in which Joseph had a daughter after Manasseh and Ephraim. I thought that was a ridiculous artistic licence to take, since as far as I knew, Manasseh and Ephraim were it for J and A's children. But now, I know the author might not have been so off-base after all.
(Although she was way, way off-base in a lot of other aspects, one of which she had Joseph and Potiphar's wife actually have an affair! UGH! Complete and utter drivel!)

Somewhat off-topic but still related to Joseph: I remember in the Gospel of John, there was mention of a field that Jacob gave to Joseph (John 4:5, when Jesus met the Samaritan woman). This was not mentioned in Genesis and thus has to be taken as tradition. And according to Al, the field was down payment on Joseph's receiving a double blessing from Jacob, as well as a sign of the father's infamous favouritism.
And further reference provided by Al here.

Speaking of references to Joseph in the New Testament, I just remembered something I heard from my Quest For The Historical Jesus unit. In the Gospel of Mark's account of Jesus' arrest, present at the scene was a mysterious young man dressed in only a linen cloth. He was said to have been following Jesus (literally, and perhaps also figuratively - as in, abiding by what He taught?). Before Jesus was led away, the people (the high priests and soldiers?) grabbed this mysterious young man, and his linen cloth came off. He ran away naked.
There are those who speculate that this unnamed young man was Joseph. For when Joseph rebuffed the advances of Potiphar's wife, he also fled naked. So this scene in Mark could have been a nod to Joseph's integrity and righteousness.
I really must look deeper into this btw, this is really interesting.

The interesting stuff you learn..

2012-01-17T20:11:00.002+11:00

Inspired by Al and his insane knowledge of the Bible, I was spurred to finally buckle down and read the Good Book from cover to cover. It shames me to say that alas, I had never done that before. I should have but... I didn't.
Also, I was confident that since I grew up with Bible stories, I already learned everything I needed to know.

I couldn't have been farther from the truth. Because really, what they teach you in Sunday school is just the tip of the iceberg. Not to mention it is heavily abridged and screened, as they have to leave out certain details to protect the innocence of the kiddies.

So I began reading in the -ber months of last year... um, September, I think. Now, I am beginning 2 Chronicles. And I have to say, it's amazing what you learn when you read the Bible in-depth.

Sometime ago, I wrote about how I noticed that age 30 seems to be the milestone of many Biblical characters, specifically Joseph, David and Jesus Christ. In 1 Kings, I discovered another character who had a turning point in his life at that age: Saul. He became king at 30.
Alas, I don't think Saul could really included among the abovementioned, due to his - um - later downfall. But it was interesting, another milestone at age 30.

And in Joshua, I read about another instance in which a body of water parted for the Israelites: the Jordan River parted during one of Joshua's battles. It also parted during the time of Elisha. I found it most interesting how the Red Sea (or the Sea of Reeds) event gets so much publicity, while the parting of the Jordan River is hardly known.
It seems that if an event happens a 2nd time, it doesn't get as much hype. A couple of years ago, I read the draft of a study about David that Al made, and it was reading that that I learned about a second giant that David killed (and I also saw this in the Bible. What can I say, Al's knowledge of the Bible is insane!). I remarked to Al why is it that no one knows about the second giant, while everyone and his dog knows about Goliath. Al said that events repeated a second time aren't that well known. "Everyone knows the first man who landed on the moon, but no one knows the second," he said.

And today, I learned about Moses' grandchildren in 1 Chronicles. Never knew Moses had grandchildren, but then, Exodus never tells us what became of his sons Gershom and Eliezer. I remember reading one novel wherein Zipporah and the 2 sons died while the sons were still young. Glad to know that their lives didn't end too soon (well obviously, if Gershom and Eliezer had grandkids, then they did live kinda long).

I also made some interesting discoveries about Joseph and Asenath. :) But then, I shall consolidate that in a Joseph+Asenath post soon to follow.

Writers' Event!

2012-01-16T19:47:00.004+11:00

Last week, I attended my first ever writers' event - that is to say, the first writers' event I attended as an author. It was a gathering of the Christian Writers Downunder.

I first heard about this group when I came across Ausjenny's blog while looking for blog tour spots. We got acquainted, then she asked me if I wanted to join the group. I said yes and she added me to the Facebook group, thus making me a CWD member.

Not long after, I heard there was a gathering in my local(ish) area at one of the authors' houses. I was eager to attend, although I also had my reservations. To be more specific, I was understandably kind of nervous. Even though they said it would be an informal gathering, like a morning tea sort of thing, and even though I heard it would be only a small gathering (as not everyone in the CWD is in Sydney!), I still braced myself. I feared I would make a fool of myself, the way neophytes tend to do. Furthermore, I didn't know anyone in the group.

But there was only one way to find it whether this would be worth it or not.

And I am happy to say that it turned out more than worth it.

The gathering was in an area of Sydney I am not too familiar with. Being a bit of a wuss driver, I can't drive in places I don't know. If I have to drive to a new place, I have to practise beforehand with an expert driver. As it was though, I only heard about the event a few days before, so I didn't really have time to practise.
Author Jo-Anne Berthelsen, however, was kind enough to offer to fetch me as our places are near(ish) each others'. We met at a halfway point between our houses - Koorong! What a fitting meeting place, huh?
Hence I purposely got to the meeting place way ahead of schedule so that I could have some time to browse.

Ms. Berthelsen was friendly, very nice and chatty (which was good because I can be at a loss for words when meeting people for the first time). And the same went for the rest of the people I met later on.
Everyone in the group was very nice and friendly. I felt at home right away. We had instant rapport. Not to mention that there were other newbies as well, so I wasn't out of place at all.

There were about 7 of us. We all sat down to morning tea (coffee/tea and mini-pancakes) and introduced ourselves. Oh, I have to add that earlier that morning, before I left the house, I thought at the last minute to bring a copy of Asenath to show around should anyone be interested. And am I glad I did, because everyone brought copies of their books!
(So there's a tip for those of you who have yet to attend your first author event: bring a copy of your book to show around. If you bring more, so much the better, because you never know if people would want to buy!)

It was really interesting getting to know the other writers. There was such a rich variety. There were both published and pre-published writers of all genres. Some wrote contemporary fiction, one lady was into children's books, one was into poetry, and one was crafting a Young Adult historical fiction set in Roman Britian! (I don't know anything about Roman Britain, by the way, but I am sure it has its own fascinating tales and histories.) Oh, I believe some of them were into non-fiction as well.

It was interesting too to hear all this talk about writing, literary agents, publishing, and book marketing in the flesh. Until then, I had heard most of these types of discussions online... actually, now that I think about it, I've heard all of these types of discussions online. There aren't too many writers' groups and events around here, you see.
Well I did attend one writers' event a few years before I was published, but it wasn't very good. I mean, it wasn't very helpful and informative. This one of the Christian Writers Downunder was way better, as everyone really knew their stuff!

It was very nice hearing each others' stories and exchanging thoughts and ideas. Everyone was really interested in getting to know each other. There was none of that exclusivity or "clique-y" nonsense. It was a warm and friendly group. One of the authors was signed with a major literary agency, so I was really interested to hear her stories and experiences with it!

Afterwards, we all had a lovely lunch and talked about not only writing but other facets of life as well. It was amazing to see how much we had in common regarding our outlooks on life and stuff. It was tres cool!
Some of the ladies also had miscellaneous freebies - free books (not their own, but books they wanted to give away), magaziness, and our hostess Rita Galieh gave us presents from her recent trip to Thailand. I got this really cool top.

The event lasted from late morning till the afternoon but I hardly noticed. Jo-Anne Berthelsen, who is a speaker as well as an author, spoke after everyone's introduction, and was a bit concerned about the time. I wondered why, then I was astonished when I realised how much time had passed. You know what they say about time flying...

(Alas, this photo is incomplete as one of the members left shortly before we got the idea to have a group photo. Sigh. Oh well hopefully next time.)

Suffice to say, we all had a cool time. We're already talking about when we're going to do this again. :)

Influences For 'Asenath'

2012-01-12T17:41:00.011+11:00

Seeing that Sakuran movie recently prompted me to do a post I've been meaning to do for the longest time: what influenced Asenath. Well obviously, the first and foremost influence was the story of Joseph itself. But there are other stories which drove me to portray Asenath the way I did.

They always say that (fill-in-the-blank) does not exist in a vacuum. Well, the plot for Asenath certainly didn't exist in a vacuum.

Believe it or not, one of my greatest influences in the writing of my novel was Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha. I know it sounds peculiar how a novel set in the "flower and willow world" can influence a Biblical fiction. But well... I adored the protagonist, Chiyo-later-renamed-Sayuri. She is such a strong woman who has survived a lot.
I really love those stories of people overcoming adversity. And because this is also a theme of Joseph's story, I then thought to apply this to Asenath herself - the feminine side of Joseph's journey through trial and triumph. I like to imagine that Asenath was not too different from him. Of course, maybe the real Asenath might have lived different from the Asenath of my novel. But I still like to imagine that she could relate to Joseph to some extent, thus making the two of them a match made in Heaven. Because really, it should be Joseph and Asenath forever.

Which brings me to the matter of love interests: in Geisha, I was really moved by Chiyo / Sayuri's long-suffering devotion to the Chairman. I probably shouldn't go too much into detail, for those who haven't read the book (or seen that horrid movie version). But it just tugged at my heartstrings at how Chiyo / Sayuri clung onto her hope and love for him despite the numerous barriers thrown her way.
And it's really no wonder she felt that way, because the Chairman was a kind and compassionate soul. Thus for her, the Chairman was everything. He was someone who had all the answers. Her hero and her dream.
So in Asenath, I had my main character view Joseph similarly to how Chiyo / Sayuri viewed the Chairman. For like the Chairman, Joseph was an admirable character, beautiful inside and out.

I really, really loved the meeting scene between Chiyo / Sayuri and the Chairman. It was way better portrayed in the novel than the movie (well, don't they always say that the book is better?). It was more emotional, more... intimate. Like it really set the stage for their relationship and Sayuri's unfailing devotion to him. Again, I probably shouldn't say too much, but Golden wrote it so beautifully.

Ah... additionally, Memoirs of a Geisha has a theme of betrayal - being betrayed by someone you trusted. This was a very appealing factor to me, yet when I began writing Asenath, I didn't know how it would work its way into the story - or who the betrayer would be, for that matter. Somewhere in the middle though, it revealed itself to me and everything fell into place. I was psyched!
Again, best not to go into details, for both Geisha and Asenath.

I have to admit that the early drafts of Asenath were extremely similar to Geisha, in such a way that I sometimes forced it. However, over the course of revising, Asenath eventually found its own plot, though part of it were still pretty influenced by Geisha. Like my author friend said, "graze on everyone's grass but give it your own milk."

And I love Arthur Golden's style of writing. It is so simple yet poetic, plus he has this remarkable ability to describe complex emotions. It's amazing. And this has been said many times before, but I will reiterate it anyway: how could a man have written something like Memoirs of a Geisha?

Oh, and on a side note: yes, I thought the movie version was awful. I only went to see it because I was curious to see how it interpreted the novel, especially as I had read it to the point where some pages had fallen off the spine. But the movie did not impress me the least bit. True, the setting and cinematography were great. But I didn't like how abbreviated the plot was. Neither was I impressed with the casting choice for Sayuri.
I did however like the casting choices of Chiyo, the Chairman, and Hatsumomo; they played their roles so well.

Anyway, I really love these stories of women overcoming hardships and finding happiness in the end. Then I heard from someone that the classic novel Jane Eyre had a lot of similarities to Geisha. I had not read Jane Eyre yet, and was really eager to check it out.
And Jane Eyre does indeed have similarities to Geisha; different plot but a lot of common denominators. Girl who survives a difficult childhood and falls in love with a mysteriously charming man - though in my opinion, the Chairman has a sweeter personality than Mr. Rochester.

Oh, and as I mentioned last time, The Notebook also influenced Asenath a bit. The "Pharaoh's garden" scene in Asenath was inspired by a particular scene in Notebook. It was so lovely, I couldn't resist. Hint: it involves rain. A lot of rain.

Yes indeed, writing a novel certainly cannot be done in a vacuum.

Rainy Day Randomness

2012-01-08T22:42:00.003+11:00

I love the rain. Many people seem to hate it, but I love it. I prefer it to be rainy than sunny, in fact.
I admit sunny days have their plus points, such as those times when I have to do the laundry. But I wish it would rain many days, if not most days. Rain always relaxes me and, for some reason, I think everything looks prettier when it rains.

Anyway...

* I heard that not too long ago, author Nicholas Sparks was here in Sydney, doing some signings. Yes, that is the Nicholas Sparks of The Notebook, Message In A Bottle, etc. And I totally didn't know!
*sob*
I would have liked to tell him that I really loved The Notebook. It never fails to reduce me to tears. At first, I thought it was a typical boy-meets-girl story, but when you see the "twist" at the end.... wow.
Additionally, there was one scene in The Notebook that inspired a certain scene in Asenath. I loved that scene so much, I couldn't help applying it to my own novel. I tried not to rip it off though - a friend of mine said, "graze on everyone's grass but give it your own milk." For those of you who've read Asenath, here's a hint: it's a garden scene.
But oh mehn, I missed seeing Mr Sparks! *sigh* Oh well.

* I was recently thinking about Gollum from Lord of the Rings because of something funny a friend of mine said about. Not long after, when I logged onto facebook, I saw someone had tagged me with a Gollum video! And to think I'm not even a Gollum or Lord of the Rings enthusiast!
[Just so you know, this friend of mine said she overheard a school girl saying that Gollum was from Harry Potter.]

* At a Thai restaurant, I saw a dish on the menu called "crying tiger." The name alone intrigued me. Alas, I didn't order it because I was craving pad thai - my absolute favourite Thai dish. But I really should try this "crying tiger" next time!
Isn't that such a weird but cool name - crying tiger? hehe.
Now that I think of this, I remember in the first Rush Hour movie (which I loved), I saw this Chinese restaurant in the background with the name "Happy Lion."
Crying Tiger.... Happy Lion.... so weird but so cool!

Basic Lesson in Courtesy

2012-01-06T20:54:00.001+11:00

I was out running errands not too long ago, and afterwards decided to grab a bite to replenish myself. I got some yummy rice dish (cuz rice easily fills the tummy) and then sat down in a food court thingy. Usually, that particular dining area is kind of noisy. But that day, there weren't many people, so I thought there'd be no harm sitting there.

Wrong.

I was about five minutes into enjoying my peace and delicious (late) lunch, when I heard this loud obnoxious voice behind me. This girl carrying a laptop then appeared and sat in the table next to me. She was speaking with someone by means of what must have been Skype or some similar program... and she was doing all of this while utilising a volume used by vendors in the marketplace or fans in a sports arena. To use a cliche, she was acting as if she owned the place.

I angrily glanced towards her, but the girl was clearly too much into herself to care about the other patrons' peace - or lack thereof. I then moved far, far away from her.
Just to illustrate how loud she was, I could still hear snatches of her pathetic excuse for a conversation even though I was already on the other end of the food court, and it was a huge place. But it was no longer as annoying as it was when I was in the unfortunate situation of being in the next table. It was drowned out by other normal food court sounds.

Now, I am not exactly Miss Prim and Proper all the time, because when I get nervous or excited or shocked, my voice raises to the pitch of a Native American war dance. I used to be like that a lot when I was younger. But now that I know how irritating it is, I make more of an effort to control myself.
One time, I was having lunch with my aunt, and she said something that astonished me. And like a Lakota warrior riding out into battle, I yelled, "What?"
Then, I quickly remembered myself. Briefly glancing around at the patrons near us, I murmured, "Sorry... sorry...."

Just as loud, though not literally as loud as the loud-mouthed people (like that obnoxious girl), are those trying hard "know-it-alls" who deliberately speak within hearing range of everyone around them - whether they are strangers or not - in order to try and appear so impressive and "win admirers."
Let me give an example: the other day, in the Koorong bookshop, I was browsing through the fiction shelves when this lady appeared and began picking up all the books in the shelves, saying to her companion, "I got this... I read this.... I know this, etc etc....."
Nothing wrong if you know a lot about inspirational fiction, especially if it's essential to your job (like mine). But clearly, this lady was one of those know-it-alls - and seriously, whether they really know much or are just pretending, who can stand a know-it-all? Though Ms. Know-It-All was speaking to her companion, she projected her voice so that it could be heard by other people as well, and thus subject them to her pretentious showiness. (Hey, it's all about reading body language. It was so obvious.)

I honestly wonder why some people feel a need to speak so obnoxiously loudly in public. You hear it in campuses, in restaurants, in offices, in the malls, in buses and trains. I wonder if they are starved for attention or just plain lack breeding?
Or both?

The best thing to do when found in this awful predicament is to simply walk away. This does not mean you're defeated and letting them win. It just means you want to remove yourself from their nonsense and head to a better place.

Start-of-the-year Randomness

2012-01-02T20:07:00.002+11:00

Firstly, happy new year to those who drop by this blog! All the best for the coming year.

Well, last year - er, a couple of days ago - I caught this intriguing Japanese movie on TV: Sakuran. It actually showed before, but I wasn't paying attention to it, for some reason (I was probably busy or something). I was hoping though that I could catch it again. Fortunately, when it showed, I was able to sit down and watch the entire thing this time.

Anyway, what intrigued me about the movie is that it is about the - um - lower-class counterparts of the geisha. You see, I have been interested in geisha ever since I was introduced to Memoirs of a Geisha a decade ago (way before that awful film version came out). I then got my hands on Liza Dalby's non-fiction book Geisha and learned quite a bit from it. Not sure exactly how reliable it is (I am not expert enough to judge its reliability - or lack thereof), but it was an interesting read.

Well as you may have probably heard, geisha are known to offer certain - ahem - "services" to their customers, who are all men. Some people argue that geisha are prostitutes, some say they aren't, I'll let you be the judge. However, they aren't outright prostitutes the way their lower-class counterparts are. Which brings me back to the subject of Sakuran.

I used to think that the term for the outright prostitute was yujo, but in the movie they were called oiran. Not sure if it's one and the same; it's been a while since I read Dalby's book. But from their costuming, I could tell right away that these characters were women who were "below" the geisha.
First and foremost, their obi was tied in the front, whereas the obi of geisha are tied in the back. This was mentioned in Arthur Golden's novel as well, and according to him, the reason for this is that they (the prostitutes) spend all night tying and untying their obi, and thus can't be bothered to tie it at the back.
Secondly, there was the hair ornaments and kimono. I recognised them from the pictures of yujo in Dalby's book. The yujo - or oiran - or whatever they're really called wear bright colours and lots more hair ornaments than the geisha, to the point of gaudiness. Geisha, meanwhile, are simpler but more elegant.

Still, in the movie, the costumings and setting for that matter didn't strike me as gaudy. Colourful, yes. But not gaudy - though I guess as a foreigner to Japanese culture, I wouldn't know what's a classy kimono and what's a gaudy one.
But I really liked Sakuran's cinematography. It was even better than the film version of Memoirs of a Geisha. It was gorgeous: the housing of the oiran which, by the way, had a lot of pretty goldfish aquariums; the shots of cherry blossoms; the ethnic music; the costuming.
I was a bit thrown off by the western soundtrack at first. For some reason, they used jazz music (huh?) in a historical Japanese movie. But that didn't really deter me from enjoying the movie.

As for the goldfish I mentioned earlier: there are a lot of really gorgeous shots of goldfish. And yes, they are significant to the movie. One of the oiran explains it at one point: "goldfish, when released into the wild, grow into carp. But goldfish that remain in the fishbowl simply look pretty, nothing more. That is the destiny of us oiran - we are kept in the bowl."

The story itself was not bad either. Nothing extraordinary, but not bad too. At first, it reminded me of Golden's novel: young girl from impoverished background being sold into oiran house and trained to be a "lady of pleasure." Upon arrival, she meets an older oiran who immediately hates the new arrival (like Geisha's Hatsumomo), seeing her as a threat. However, there was not much emphasis on the rivalry between these 2 women.

Anyway, our protagonist grows up, becomes an oiran..... and falls in love with one of her customers. Alas, due to her status, it is not meant to be. Later, however, she is betrayed by him. But then, a samurai (!) proposes marriage to her, which the mama-san (er, or whatever you call the oiran equivalent of mama-san is) is highly enthusiastic about.

Oh, the lead actress is named Anna, like me! *googles for her surname, as I can't remember it off the tip of my tongue* Anna Tsuchiya. There you go.
I couldn't help thinking that she didn't look like the other actors in the movie - I mean, she didn't look purely Asian. Not to mention that Japanese women don't have the name Anna, at least as far as I know. I was so curious that I later looked her up. It turns out she is half-white. That explains it.
And there was another actress in the movie whose features were clearly not Japanese. She looked very European. But she played a Japanese and spoke Japanese.
That was not a problem with me though. Not the least bit. I thought that was pretty kewl.

There was some emphasis though on the relationship between Anna's character and her little sister... or attendant (Liza Dalby mentioned that oiran have a small girl who is their maid-in-waiting. I think to an extent, like the geisha and their "little sisters," the oiran also teach these small girls about their future role). Anna's character was really nice to her little sister. There were actually a lot of little girl characters in the movie, and they were really cute in their matching kimonos. Their naivete and sweetness reminded me of Kiya. I felt sorry for them though, knowing what lay in their future.... *shudder*

So yeah, it wasn't a super memorable movie, but it was pretty entertaining.

Now that I think about this, I remember Alfred was recommending to me the TV series Shogun. He tried to convince me further, saying Richard Chamberlain was like the Eddie Cibrian of before (hah!). I really should see that series someday.

Meanwhile, in other stuff, in line with the previous entry: I saw a BBC documentary on North Korea. It focused on a family of three girls, ages 11, 15 and 18. They live in a small apartment with no running water, a radio that continually blares out government news and can never be switched off (the volume can be lowered, but never silenced completely), and a single TV that has only one channel that shows - you guessed it - government propaganda.
But I was astonished to see they had a pet dog! A cute, fluffy white Japanese spitz (well, that's what it looked like). I was astonished because I didn't think people in the North had pets. But I think this particular family has some favour with the government, so that probably is the reason why.
Still, I was astonished... then pleased to see they were treating the dog well. And the dog looked really happy, so I guess this wasn't staged, unlike the mourning of the leader's funeral. Well, I had to mention this because I want to say that I think it's touching that love for pets is a universal language, whether we are in Australia, the US, China... or even a reclusive country like North Korea.

And another universal language: mothers nagging, "Hurry up! You'll be late for school!" lol.

Current Events

2011-12-30T22:49:00.002+11:00

I'm going to deviate from the MacGuffin topics of this blog (and feel free to point out if I'm using "MacGuffin" incorrectly, though from how I understand it, "MacGuffin" means all issues related to a particular topic. For instance, perhaps the MacGuffin of my blog would be ancient Egypt, the Bible, writing).

I noticed some authors talk about totally random topics in their blogs at times, and I thought to do that as well. Why not? It's fun. And it gives the blog a - um - "richer flavour." Or something.

Anyway. Lately, on the news, I have been seeing a lot of footage of the funeral of the late North Korean leader. This was of interest to me because North Korea has always intrigued me - in a dark, creepy way, that is. I am curious and fascinated, yet also flabbergasted and repelled by this strange place that totally isolates itself from the rest of the world, worships its leader like a god, lives every single moment on bizarre government propaganda (such as those folktales of Kim Jong Il performing magical miracles or something) - all while having a below, below standard of living.

I can't help thinking that it would be an experience to visit the place often referred to as the "hermit kingdom." I don't think that's possible though - unless maybe you're on a state visit or a journalist (though I hear even the latter are extremely restricted and are, many times, even under threat). My best friend Min, who is from South Korea, told me that her parents did visit the North many years ago and commented that it was a very dark and dismal place. Wow.

I once saw some photo gallery of a tourist's visit to the North. How the tourist managed to get in there, I have no clue. And if the photos are for real or not, I don't know either. But it was so.... bizarre. I remember there were pictures of North Korean groceries selling expired goods, plus this lemonade stand that didn't even provide cups or something. Really, really weird stuff.

I have also seen documentaries on North Korea showcasing the people's absurd devotion to their leader, including the mass games and performances dedicated to him (even though he never shows up), the film industry heavily laden with propaganda, and, of course, the funerals in which the citizens display an overwhelming and astonishing amount of grief, like we've been seeing on the news lately.
I also remember the shots of Pyongyang: how eerily deserted it was, how empty the streets were, even though there was a traffic cop directing the few cars that pass by. At times, it may look like a peaceful ghost town. But underneath the silent facade is, well, a whole different story.

And I heard from some South Korean students at Macquarie that this relative of the North's leader sneaked to Japan and tried to get into Tokyo Disneyland for free. Um, ok.
(Some of these students, btw, liked to joke that they were from the North. haha, funny. And someone actually believed they were from North! HAH!)

So yeah, this is all really repugnant yet fascinating stuff. Wonder what next strange account we'll be hearing from the reclusive country often toted as the "Hermit Kingdom."

Weird words

2011-12-23T18:10:00.004+11:00

Kind of following up on the last post: after a recent discussion with my friend author Alfred D. Byrd, I realised just how radically the english language has evolved, and in such a short amount of time at that! The language I hear today is pretty different from the language around when I was a teenager.

Take these examples:

"Let me google it."
"I have a blog." Or, "My hobbies include blogging." Or, "I'm a blogger."
"I tweeted to so-and-so."
"Like me/us on facebook."
"Follow me on twitter."
"Blog it, then tweet it and put it on your facebook."
"i(InsertWhateverHere)." (This is mostly in written language though, in lieu of the Apple craze.)
"I'm leaving at 10am-ish." Or, "Now-ish."
"I am so not into this."

Oh, I think the last one was already around when I was a teen. But as for the rest of them, well, if I had heard those when I was a teen, I would have thought that whoever was saying them was an escaped patient from a mental hospital.

iAstounded.

Who knows how we'll be talking 10, or maybe even just 5 years from now...

And with that, let me wish you all a Merry Christmas... or Happy Hanukkah... or whatever you celebrate. And a great New Year. Eat to your heart's content, enjoy your presents - and drive carefully, as the holiday traffic can get really insane.

Lhude sing cuccu!

2011-12-21T13:51:00.000+11:00

My friend author Alfred D. Byrd told me about this unusual and rather interesting song "lhude sing cuccu." I wondered what on earth it was / meant.

Apparently, it's from the Middle Ages, and the english back then was pretty different from the english today. I know that language evolves throughout the ages, but I had no idea the medieval english was that different.

Really interesting.

Here is the song in both medieval and contemporary English:

Svmer is icumen in
Lhude sing cuccu!
Groweþ sed and bloweþ med
and springþ þe wde nu.
Sing cuccu!

Awe bleteþ after lomb,
lhouþ after calue cu,
Bulluc sterteþ, bucke uerteþ.
Murie sing cuccu!
Cuccu, cuccu,
Wel singes þu cuccu.
ne swik þu nauer nu!
Sing cuccu nu, Sing cuccu!

~

Summer has come in
Loudly sing, cuckoo!
Seeds grow and meadows bloom
and the woods spring anew
Sing cuckoo!

Ewe bleats after lamb,
Calf lows after cow,
Bullock leaps, billygoat farts,
Merrily sing, cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!
Well you sing cuckoo,
Nor cease you ever now!
Sing cuckoo now, Sing, cuckoo!

And this is a rendition of the song.

Kosher Goodies

2011-12-19T15:09:00.002+11:00

A few entries ago, I mentioned going to an art exhibit that was held near Bondi Beach: "Sculptures By The Sea." Not far from the exhibit's venue was a Jewish grocery store - Krinsky's Kosher Supermarket, it's called. I wanted to go to it after the exhibit, then remembered it would be closed as it was Saturday.
Last week though, I finally got to go there. (And it was then I realised I hadn't been there in ages, mostly because it's pretty far from my place. Being at "Sculptures" though kind of whetted my "appetite.")

It hasn't changed much since the last time I was there. I mean, they don't have any new stuff. I do remember years ago that I saw a Diet Coke can in Hebrew. I was thoroughly amused.

I was looking for the snackfoods that I discovered (and loved) when I was in Israel, but they didn't have them. Still, I managed to get some other kosher goodies:

This was one of the first snackfoods I tried when I first ventured into Krinsky's. I am a bit of a chocoholic, so I was eager to check out how it tasted. It's been my favourite ever since.

This is how the cookies themselves look like:

They're yummier than they look.

And I got these chips as well:

They were OK, though this particular brand I tasted in Israel was better.

I have no idea what the name is, as I can't read Hebrew when the vowels are not included. When I was in Israel, I noticed that in most cases, they leave out the vowels. I suppose that to native Hebrew speakers, it's not really necessary.

My cute 11-year-old tour mate was asking me to translate the wrappers on the snackfoods and juice bottles, but alas I couldn't. Additionally, my Hebrew vocabulary is pretty limited, especially as I only studied it for one year (when I was at uni).

I never realised that there would be so much good food in Israel. They have really nice chocolates, chips, hummus, schnitzel, fruit juices (our favourite was the grapefruit flavour) and - believe it or not - pizza! Yes, you would have thought that the best pizza was in Italy. Well, it's in Israel too! Mum and I went to this pizzeria in the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem, and we were impressed at how yummy the pizza was.

And the chocolate milk in Israel is so rich and creamy.Well, it's probably no surprise considering they are the land of milk and honey.

Oh, and afterwards, I swung by the Jews For Jesus bookshop. They had some pretty interesting stuff there; I recognised some of the books they were selling as those I saw in Israel as well. I bought a few books there, but being that they were Christmas presents, it's probably best I don't mention here what I got. ;)

'Pharaoh,' by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

2011-12-09T17:53:00.001+11:00

I recently finished this novel Pharaoh by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. Those into Ancient Egyptian fiction would be familiar with her as the author of the highly popular Mara: Daughter of the Nile. However the former, for some reason, doesn't seem to be as known as the latter. In fact, I didn't even know about it until my friend and author colleague Alfred D Byrd told me of this book he got from one of the libraries in his area (the library was selling it as part of its "discarded" books, I think). He asked me if it was the same book I was reading. At that time, I was reading Mara, and I said, "It's the same author, but not the same title. Are you sure the book is entitled Pharaoh?"

Well apparently, there is such a book, although it's sunken into near oblivion. I was, however, able to read it because Alfred gave me his copy, so many, many thanks to him for that.

Anyway, like its more famous "sister novel" (if I may use such a term), Pharaoh is also set during the time of Hatshepsut. In Mara, the main characters were the fictional Mara and Sheftu; but in Pharaoh, the focus was the royal family themselves. Oh, and the former is YA, the latter is adult.

So Pharaoh may be really obscure, but I pretty much liked it. It was a gripping read, held my attention pretty much throughout. There were some parts that were a bit dragging, such as Tuthmosis II's "philosophising" or the lengthy political discussions, but afterwards the plot quickly picked up again.
There were some funny parts during Tuthmosis III's childhood. Then towards the end everything grew really nail-biting. It's probably best for me to not say what happens (I don't like giving spoilers) but the ending was shocking and even a bit over-the-top. But shocking, yes. McGraw is such a good writer in the sense that she always manages to bring me to the edge of my seat. At least, in the 2 books by her that I've read, that is what happened.
Oh, and her novels are so well-researched, too. :)

I somehow thought that Pharaoh would be chiefly from Hat's POV, just like in Child of the Morning. But the second half of the novel is dominated by Tuthmosis III, with snippets from Hat and Senmut. We never even get to see Hat's coronation.

What I didn't like though was how McGraw antagonised Hatshepsut. I get the impression that the author seems to have something against the female Pharaoh, because even in Mara, Hat was the villain. Both books were written in the 50s, and I heard that back then - if I am not mistaken - Hat was thought of as some sort of schemer? So these books are based on outdated research. However, taken as fiction, the plots are really good.

Though I found it disturbing how Hatshepsut didn't care about her daughter's illness... thankfully in Child of the Morning, she was portrayed as a selfless and caring mother.

McGraw, btw, gave some really interesting nicknames to the characters:
Hatshepsut = Lady Shesu. This was what she was called by her family members, namely little Neferure and Tuthmosis III as well as her brother-husband
Tuthmosis II = Nenni, the Tired One (because he was sickly)
Tuthmosis III = Thoth (awww)

Pharaoh btw is a whooping 500 pages! Wowee! It didn't feel long though. The plot was so gripping, that I'd even lost track of the time. I'd stay up reading until, like 2 or 3 in the morning.

Oh, I shall be talking about Mara: Daughter of the Nile in another entry. It was very good as well, though since it is YA, the plot is lighter than Pharaoh. But still good for what it is. Plus, I love the hero Lord Sheftu. Mmm... Sheftu...

It seems like I've been having a bit of a Tuthmoside marathon lately. First there was The Sekhmet Bed, and now Pharaoh! Wowee!

Peeves

2011-12-08T20:24:00.007+11:00

Not long ago, I went to the city for a meeting with a bookshop staff member (*grin*). It was morning, so like I am wont to do at that time, not being a morning person and all, I was in search of a nice piping hot cup of coffee prior to the meeting.

I was then debating between Gloria Jean's (for those of you who don't know what that is, it is to Australia what Starbucks is to the US - I think) and this new coffee shop I had never heard of before. They seemed to have some different flavours too, and I like to try different stuff, so I opted for the new shop.

I got something that tasted a bit like cinnamon. Really nice. I drank it on my way to the bookshop. Then when I was finished and about to toss the cup into the bin, I saw this blatantly sexual slogan printed on it.

I found it really lame. Now, I am not a total prude. But neither am I... what would be the word for it... vulgar? It really turns me off when people "sexualise" even the most mundane objects like coffee. I wonder what these advertisers (or whoever comes up with this stuff) hope to gain from it. Do they think it will entice consumers to buy their product, if not find it amusing?

Well for me, it's just tacky, classless, unimaginative, and even desperate. As if they're so desperate for attention.

This reminds me of those novels in which the sex scenes seem, well, forced. As if the authors inserted sex scenes just for the sake of having them. It comes out really awkward and tacky.
I even heard of this one historical novel that was denounced for having a gratuitous amount of disgusting sex. I only needed to hear a few passages to convince me not to read that book.

You know what else is disgusting?

PDA.
Even more so when done in inappropriate places.
Well, it's inappropriate everywhere. But when it's done in, say, a holy or sanctified place, it's profane to the max.

I once attended some young women's baptism. The baptism took place in a swimming pool near the church. While the pastor waded into the water, the young women lined up at the pool's steps, awaiting their turn. The rest of the people, meanwhile, stood around the rim.
While the pastor was speaking, I suddenly noticed standing on the other side of the pool across me were these 2 people acting as if they were the only ones around. Yes, they were putting on a show of their own.

Even though it wasn't my baptism, I felt enraged. It was really disgusting, not to mention disrespectful. So it might have not been their place of worship (or maybe, they don't even have a place of worship). That is still no reason for them to treat the church as if it was their private bedroom! I am not a Buddhist, but I certainly wouldn't act all loud and unruly in a Buddhist temple (which I have been to a few times).

Very rude, indeed. No manners. No breeding.

*sigh*

Well at least, when there was a baptism held last Christmas, there was none of that foolishness this time. Which is good, because the woman getting baptised told the story of her life, which was pretty heartbreaking.

Oh, and I am not going to buy from that coffee shop anymore. Which is a pity because the coffee itself wasn't bad. But until they remove that disgusting slogan printed on their cups...

Hopefully people will complain. A few years ago, there was some billboard (er, not exactly a billboard. It was one of those huge posters placed in bus stops) with a really vulgar slogan. Even worse, this ad was placed near a school and a church. Two churches, for that matter.
Not long after, I saw it was no longer there. Whoever was responsible for that ad must have received the wrath of parents and teachers.

Good.

A Canine Tale

2011-12-05T16:55:00.003+11:00

I remember when I was in high school, my brilliant social science teacher (the same one who inspired me to become an ancient history fanatic) was talking about how different cultures each have their own creation accounts. Afterwards, she gave us a really interesting assignment: we had to come up with our own creation stories.

I was really intrigued and excited to work on this, but had no idea how to go about it. Then I remembered how some writers came up ideas taken from their own backyard - the creators of the cartoon Rugrats, I heard, came up with the idea for the said cartoon while watching their babies play. (That cartoon was pretty popular when I was in high school, by the way.)
Then I thought of my dogs playing in the garden and thought, "That's it!"

Hence, I wrote this story.

Oh... beforehand, let me just ask you to excuse the so-so writing skills. Remember I was younger when I wrote this, and I am too lazy to refine it right now. The only change I made was to the title: originally it was "A Doggy Tale" but I have changed it to "A Canine Tale." This is due to the unfortunate circumstance that the former title, if used nowadays, would have a sexual connotation.
(Although I think some people still use "doggy" in the original context, such as when they're calling their pets. But just to be safe...)
*sigh* It's really peculiar and frustrating how just about every word / phrase nowadays has a sexual connotation. But anyway...

Without further ado....

A Canine Tale

A dog is a man's best friend. Indeed it is, especially since it was responsible for the world's existence today. Well, not the dog exactly - more like its relative, the wolf. This is the story:

Many eons ago, the universe was nothing but pure darkness. There was absolutely nothing in it, whether it be inanimate or living. One day, out of nowhere, a cloud of sparkling white dust appeared. The dust was swirling like a glittery whirlwind and continued to do so for quite some time. Then, after a long time, the dust began to take shape - all the particles came together and grew solid. And the dust, from this, took the shape of a wolf: a beautiful white one with sparkling eyes. Not only was it beautiful, it was immortal. It was surrounded with a god-like glow and could float on air, gliding gracefully. The darkness was no problem for it because it could see in the dark clearly, just like today's cats. Certainly, it had extraordinary powers.

One day, the wolf became lonely and decided to have pups whom it could pamper and play with and love. It was supernatural and did not really have a gender, so it was able to produce pups on its own. Out of its mouth came six adorable pups in different colors of fur. There were two blue ones, a brown one, a green one, a black one, and a golden-yellow one. The great white wolf was delighted; and for a long time the family of supernatural canines played happily together.

But then, the pups got bored with having only the darkness to romp around in and desired a varied environment. So their parent told them, "Because you are supernatural and immortal like me, why don't you create something?" No sooner after it had spoken these words, the pups went to work right away. The light blue pup made the daytime sky and clouds, and the black pup beautified the darkness for the night. The dark blue pup made the waters; the brown pup made the earth; and the golden-yellow pup made the sun and other astronomical elements, with a bit of help from the light blue pup who made the colder elements. And the green pup made the plants and grass which beautifully adorned the earth.

The great white wolf was pleased with the work of its children and upon seeing how exquisite the newly made world was, she decided to settle there with its children.

For many centuries, the seven wolves, full of happiness and contentment, roamed around the earth. It was during this time that it finally assumed a specific gender: female. Considering that she had gone through the act of giving birth, she felt more female than male. In addition to that, she found it more enjoyable to be a female.

But alas, the great white wolf sensed that there was no other life on earth, with the exception of its family. It seemed so...dead. She felt that there needed to be life in every corner of the earth. And also, she wished for others to see the work of her children. So first, she created animals in her likeness: foxes, jackals, and of course the domestic dogs. Out from her mouth they came forward. Next, she birthed the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and other kinds of beasts. And then she wanted to make someone that would be a best friend to her kind, the canines. So with the help of her children's creativity, they designed a creature and called it man. And thus, after they completed the plans and designs, a man and woman emerged from her mouth, known as Sesemar and Aneertak. And they were the first man and woman - & together, they formed a family which multiplied into the human race.

The great wolves still roamed the earth for a couple more centuries, and both man and animals loved them and respected them. Occasionally, the wolves would help the people when they were in need. Festivals would be arranged whenever the wolves would arrive at a certain place. But in time, the population increased and resourced grew scarce - and so did the space for the creator wolves. So for the sake of the earth and mankind, the wolves decided to leave - but not completely. The pups morphed into their very creations. As for the great white wolf, she divided herself into domestic dogs that would be man's faithful and loyal companions for all time. Afterwards, the seven wolves detached their eyes and placed them in the heavens. These became the twinkling stars which look down on the earth every night.

It is because of the wolves' immortality that the oceans we swim in today are the very oceans where battles were fought centuries ago. That the earth we walk is the same earth treaded on by peoples of long ago. The wolves, in the form of the universe, are still the same and still existing and still very much alive up to today. And every dog today is a manifestation of the great white wolf, which is why dogs demand respect! And it is because of the great white wolf's chosen gender that the earth today is sometimes called Mother Earth. So next time you wonder about how the earth came to be, you have the canines to thank for it.

What the wolves' names were? That is unknown, up to this day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the way, the creation account I personally believe in is the one in the Book of Genesis. This story was not meant to contradict my or anyone's religious beliefs it's just for fun. I guess you could say it's my attempt at fantasy.

And I don't think my teacher meant for this assignment to contradict anyone's religious beliefs either because after all, I went to a Catholic school (though I am not Catholic).

My heart goes out...

2011-12-03T22:25:00.002+11:00

I was reading the story of Balaam in the Book of Numbers. In case you don't know who he is, he was one of those people who were commanded to destroy the Israelites, who were under Moses' leadership at that time. While Balaam was on the way to accomplish this, an angel blocked his path. Balaam's donkey then left the road, and Balaam beat her.

This happened a couple more times (the angel diverting his path, and him beating the poor animal), until the donkey actually spoke to him (by means of supernatural powers), "What have I done to make you hit me 3 times?" When Balaam said she made him look foolish and that he would kill her, she replied, "I am your very own donkey. You have ridden me for years. Have I ever done this to you before?"
(Numbers 22:28-30)

Though I have heard of this story before, it was actually the first time I really read it, and it broke my heart. Cruelty to animals is just wrong. So very, very wrong. Even more so when it is a human betraying their very own pet. OK, well in Balaam's story, I am not sure if "pet" would be the proper term for the donkey. I am not sure what exactly to call her. But for sure, she had been loyal to him for many years - just as she said.

(And I am touched at how the Bible acknowledged the donkey's gender - referring to the animal as "she / her." Usually, animals are referred to as "it." However, those who are our faithful friends deserve more credit. I am glad the poor beaten donkey got that recognition as a she, not as an it.)

So it deeply saddened me that Balaam would suddenly turn against the donkey, after all she had done for him. What she said about her being loyal to him all these years, and never intending to make him look foolish reminds me of those touching anecdotes about pets that convey their love, trust, selflessness, and loyalty towards their humans.

I am unable to watch those animal rescue shows on TV because it's too heartbreaking. I cannot endure it. I do want to care by acknowledging that some poor pet has gone through much pain, I really do. I don't want to be an ostrich who buries its head in the ground and pretends animal abuse isn't happening. I do know that unfortunate as it is, it is a harsh, cruel reality.
But it is hard for me to sit helpless, not being able to do anything, while hearing the most shocking, appalling stories of animal cruelty.

I did, however, catch part of one of those animal rescue shows. I did not see the entire episode, but what I saw was enough to reduce me to tears. Some heartless monster separated a mother dog from her puppies.... and buried the puppies in the soil.

He then tied the mother dog so that she couldn't rescue them.

I don't know how she was rescued but I am glad she was anyway - so yes, eventually, a good, kindhearted, selfless person rescued her and led her to where her puppies were. She was digging frantically, with the rescuer helping her. (And seeing her frantic movements to rescue her children made me weep.) The puppies were recovered.

The rescuer, of course, rushed the puppies to the vet. Some survived. Others did not.

Whoever said animals are stupid and that they have no feelings is just.... dumb. I am sure Balaam's donkey didn't have to speak to express the hurt and betrayal she was feeling. And that mother dog who fought to rescue her puppies....

I also remember this story that was going around in which a fireman rescued a doberman who was pregnant. After he led her to safety, she gave him a kiss in gratitude.

I don't even have to look that far to see how animals have emotions. I see this in my own pets too. I see how happy they are to see me whenever I return at the end of the day. They are always standing at the gate, waiting for me, ready to greet me. Every day. Every single day, they stand at the gate, waiting, without fail. When I leave, they are at the gate as well, bidding me farewell with their eyes. And when I come back from a long period of absence (eg, a holiday or something), they excitedly jump all over me and greet me with kisses. They have been so loyal to me all these years, and have never failed to meet me or bid me farewell at the gate.

I remember I once saw these 2 chihuahua puppies for sale. They were tiny, frail darlings, intertwined together and sleeping. They were practically in a knot, their heads resting on each others' tiny bodies. But I saw they were shivering too. I would have bought them, but alas, Chestnut is a bit - er - antisocial. I hope someone bought them together. Those two chihuahua pups should NEVER be separated.

And people who are cruel to animals should be exterminated from the face of the earth and sucked into a black hole never to be seen again.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

How Could You?

When I was a puppy I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh. You called me your child and despite a number of chewed shoes and a couple of murdered throw pillows, I became your best friend. Whenever I was "bad," you'd shake your finger at me and ask "How could you?" - but then you'd relent and roll me over for a bellyrub.

My housetraining took a little longer than expected, because you were terribly busy, but we worked on that together. I remember those nights of nuzzling you in bed, listening to your confidences and secret dreams, and I believed that life could not be any more perfect. We went for long walks and runs in the park, car rides, stops for ice cream (I only got the cone because "ice cream is bad for dogs," you said), and I took long naps in the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day.

Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and more time searching for a human mate. I waited for you patiently, comforted you through heartbreaks and disappointments, never chided you about bad decisions, and romped with glee at your homecomings, and when you fell in love.

She, now your wife, is not a "dog person" - still I welcomed her into our home, tried to show her affection, and obeyed her. I was happy because you were happy. Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement. I was fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to mother them, too. Only she and you worried that I might hurt them, and I spent most of my time banished to another room, or to a dog crate. Oh, how I wanted to love them, but I became a "prisoner of love."

As they began to grow, I became their friend. They clung to my fur and pulled themselves up on wobbly legs, poked fingers in my eyes, investigated my ears and gave me kisses on my nose. I loved everything about them and their touch - because your touch was now so infrequent - and I would have defended them with my life if need be.

I would sneak into their beds and listen to their worries and secret dreams. Together we waited for the sound of your car in the driveway. There had been a time, when others asked you if you had a dog, that you produced a photo of me from your wallet and told them stories about me. These past few years, you just answered "yes" and changed the subject. I had gone from being "your dog" to "just a dog," and you resented every expenditure on my behalf.

Now you have a new career opportunity in another city, and you and they will be moving to an apartment that does not allow pets. You've made the right decision for your "family," but there was a time when I was your only family.

I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the animal shelter. It smelled of dogs and cats, of fear, of hopelessness. You filled out the paperwork and said "I know you will find a good home for her." They shrugged and gave you a pained look. They understand the realities facing a middle-aged dog or cat, even one with "papers." You had to pry your son's fingers loose from my collar as he screamed "No, Daddy! Please don't let them take my dog!" And I worried for him, and what lessons you had just taught him about friendship and loyalty, about love and responsibility, and about respect for all life. You gave me a goodbye pat on the head, avoided my eyes, and politely refused to take my collar and leash with you. You had a deadline to meet and now I have one, too.

After you left, the two nice ladies said you probably knew about your upcoming move months ago and made no attempt to find me another good home. They shook their heads and asked "How could you?"

They are as attentive to us here in the shelter as their busy schedules allow. They feed us, of course, but I lost my appetite days ago. At first, whenever anyone passed my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping it was you - that you had changed your mind - that this was all a bad dream...or I hoped it would at least be someone who cared, anyone who might save me. When I realized I could not compete with the frolicking for attention of happy puppies, oblivious to their own fate, I retreated to a far corner and waited.

I heard her footsteps as she came for me at the end of the day and I padded along the aisle after her to a separate room. A blissfully quiet room. She placed me on the table, rubbed my ears and told me not to worry. My heart pounded in anticipation of what was to come, but there was also a sense of relief. The prisoner of love had run out of days. As is my nature, I was more concerned about her. The burden which she bears weighs heavily on her and I know that, the same way I knew your every mood.

She gently placed a tourniquet around my foreleg as a tear ran down her cheek. I licked her hand in the same way I used to comfort you so many years ago. She expertly slid the hypodermic needle into my vein. As I felt the sting and the cool liquid coursing through my body, I lay down sleepily, looked into her kind eyes and murmured "How could you?"

Perhaps because she understood my dogspeak, she said "I'm so sorry." She hugged me and hurriedly explained it was her job to make sure I went to a better place, where I wouldn't be ignored or abused or abandoned, or have to fend for myself - a place of love and light so very different from this earthly place. With my last bit of energy, I tried to convey to her with a thump of my tail that my "How could you?" was not meant for her. It was you, My Beloved Master, I was thinking of. I will think of you and wait for you forever.

May everyone in your life continue to show you so much loyalty.

The interesting stuff out there..

2011-12-02T15:37:00.006+11:00

I remember sometime ago, I was browsing through one of the online book catalogues and came across this novel...

Yes, a novel about Joseph's master! I would have bought it right away....

But alas, it is in Spanish.

And there is no English translation.

That's a shame, as I don't speak Spanish! Waaah!

This is the synopsis I saw:

?Piensa que sabe la historia completa de Jose?

Busco con desesperacion el poder lejos de su tierra y por ello estuvo dispuesto a cualquier cosa, aunque nunca alcanzo una satisfacccion plena. La gran necesidad de ser aceptado por sus amistades le llevo a comprometer su propia dignidad pero nunca consiguio superar aquella barrera invisible de rechazo. Amo hasta el fin a una mujer incapaz de corresponderle y solo recogio indiferencia y traicion.

Experimento una soledad amarga porque no supo cuidar la amistad autentica cuando la tuvo al alcance de su mano, pero !que caprichosa es la vida! Acabo sirviendo como un heroe a Egipto y disfruto cuando se vio aceptado por un amigo leal de verdad. Su propio hijo estuvo orgulloso de el al comprender que, a pesar de los muchos errores que cometio, nadie podia negar su gran calidad humana.

I asked my friend, author colleague and a brilliant linguist Alfred D Byrd (he speaks Spanish and French, and like a local to boot!) what it meant. This was the translation:

He desperately sought power beyond his land, and through it he was ready for anything, though he never reached full satisfaction. His great need to be accepted by his associates led him to compromise his own dignity, but he never managed to overcome that invisible barrier of rejection. He loved to the end a woman incapable of returning his love, and received from her only indifference and betrayal.

He felt bitter loneliness because he didn't learn to guard true friendship when he had it within reach, but -- how fickle is life! He ended up serving as a hero in Egypt and knew joy when he saw himself accepted by a loyal friend in truth. His own son was proud of him on coming to understand that, despite the many errors that he had made, no one was able to deny his great human quality.

Ah, the elevator pitch ("?Piensa que sabe la historia completa de Jose?") wasn't translated because when I showed this to Alfred, I didn't see it at the time (I grabbed this off another catalogue). But I think I can try to translate it:
"Do you think you know the complete history of Joseph?"
(I cheated by looking saber up.)

Well, that sure sounds interesting. It also come across to me as sort of literary fiction, focusing on Potiphar's inner emotions. Well I hope this book gets translated. There is so much good, interesting stuff out there that I hope hope hope gets translated especially as I don't have multilingual abilities.
But lucky Alfred, he'll be able to read Potifar and watch La Reine Soleil.

Going slightly off-topic, I saw a French blog talking about the movie In The Beginning, in which Eddie Cibrian plays Joseph (it was a blog dedicated to him - er, Cibrian, that is). I asked Alfred to translate the blog entry and it came out as: "A little bit of Eddie under the tooth."

Hmm, whatever could that mean?

On second thought, to quote Alfred, "I don't think I want to know."

More book thoughts

2011-12-01T16:21:00.004+11:00

Wow, December already?! That was fast.

Well sometime ago, I mentioned this novel of Joseph I acquired: The Dreamer, The Schemer & The Robe by Jenny L. Cote. I was intending to talk about it after I read it - I guess sort of like a review, but not a 'review' in the strict sense of the word. I really don't know how to do this reviewing thing, but I do like to talk about my thoughts on books, movies etc. So I guess it's more like - um - yah, sharing my thoughts.

Well to the book. It was a quick and fun read, good for what it was. It is apparently geared towards children - and I don't mean YAs (well from what I understand, YAs are teens) but even younger than teens. Probably around ages 7, 8 up until 11... so, tweens in other words. There were a lot of chapters in which the cute little animal angels (dogs, cats, and a mouse) were learning about Ancient Egypt, so for me that was kind of dragging... but then again, I am not the intended audience.. though not totally. Remember I am a bit of a Joseph fanatic.
Ms Cote clearly did extensive research though, so that would be very educational for the young ones.

Speaking of the pet angels, I have to say it was really clever how Ms Cote embedded them into the story of Joseph. They appeared as pets for sale who were later bought by the Egyptians and Hebrews. Oh, they were not talking animals (whew), while their dialogue was obviously understandable to the reader (how else would Ms Cote convey what they were saying?) it came across as merely animal noises to the humans in the story.
There are 4 main characters: Max, a Scottish terrier; Liz, a black cat; Al, a big orange cat (I laughed when I read that, cuz that is what I call my friend and fellow author Alfred D Byrd); and Kate, a West Highland terrier. Max is bought by Pharaoh's jailer; Liz and Al are bought by Potiphar - and the latter is later presented as a gift to Pharaoh; and Kate is bought by Benjamin. As for the aforementioned mouse, he is an intellectual Egyptophile mouse named Nigel who Liz first meets in the marketplace (where Joseph was sold) and who befriended the four of them later on.
On a side note, it's interesting how the author assigned nationalities to the pets: Max and Kate are Scottish, Al is Irish, Liz is french and Nigel is British. I never thought of animals as having nationalities. Though now that I think about it, I remember a friend of mine from China told me that the German shepherd of her friend (who is also from China) understands them when they speak to him in Chinese. So a German shepherd who "speaks" Chinese, interesting combination indeed.
Oh, and I also know someone of Spanish descent whose dog apparently understands only Spanish. ha!

As for the book's portrayal of Joseph's story, well, keeping in mind that it was written for kids, there were parts that were glossed over, such as the Potiphar's wife sequence. Like I said though, a lot of the plot was sidetracked by the pet angels learning about Ancient Egypt... but again, the author did intend for it to be a childrens' educational book, and I am not fully the intended audience.
Oh, Asenath was mentioned! Her role was very brief in it though - like what is usually the case in Joseph retellings (sigh). But there was a part near the end in which she encourages a nervous Joseph who is about to be reunited with his father. Joseph confides in her that he doesn't know what to say, and Asenath says, "Well for starters, how about 'hi, Father?'" lol, I thought that was cute.
(And yes, the dialogue is pretty modern in this book. I guess it has to be like that in order to be able to reach out to the kiddies.)

So yes, this isn't a bad book at all. Even if you're not a kid anymore, you might still like it for some enjoyable, light reading. Plus you may actually learn something a thing or two about Egyptology!

By the way, I plan to talk about the Joseph fiction I've read throughout this blog. It will not be in a series though, it will be at random posts. Everything in this blog is random.

My thoughts on 'The Sekhmet Bed'

2011-11-21T19:57:00.006+11:00

I mentioned a few entries ago that I would be sharing my thoughts on Lavender Ironside's The Sekhmet Bed. So today, I shall. But first, a bit of an introduction on how I got to read this novel. It's a rather interesting story.
Sometime ago, when I was scouting around for endorsement blurbs, one of the authors I contacted suggested I get in touch with Ms Ironside and help cross-promote each others' work. I kept that in mind, as a new author like me needs all the exposure I can get.
Later, after the "blurbs assignment" was completed, I then looked up Ironside. I was intrigued by the premise of her novel, and then decided to contact her.
And fortunately, she agreed on the cross-promotion thing.

Anyway, onto The Sekhmet Bed. It's a good novel, it really is! I am not just saying this because of our collaboration. It's true!
Oh, before I continue, let me just clarify that I am not a professional reviewer. I know you hear a lot of people say that, but in my case, I won't even try to be a professional reviewer. I will just tell my thoughts like they are, very casually, as if I was relating them to someone over the dinner table.

So basically, the story is about royal sisters Ahmose (who will later become Hatshepsut's mother) and Mutnofret who vie for the attention of their husband, Tuthmosis I. On the outset, it may seem like a typical royalty / female rivalry plotline. But Ironside managed to develop this pretty well. The tension was so real, you could nearly touch it. At one point, the two women nearly killed each other, which made me fear for their lives.
(Heh, after I bookmarked my chapter for the day, I found myself mimicking Ahmose as she hissed, "Mutnofret! Mutnofret!")

However, Ahmose and Mutnofret aren't merely power-hungry workaholics. Remember they are sisters as well, and close ones at that (or at least, were close). In fact, Ahmose had high hopes for the future of her elder sister Mutnofret. But when a change in plans alters the destiny of these two women, their relationship sours severely, even more so after the marriage to their husband. Thus alongside jealousy, they also feel regret and loss, and that is what made me truly care about them.
As for whether they ever get reconciled or not, it's probably best I don't say. But it was nice to see they were pretty multi-dimensional.

Indeed, the character development was really good. The author described their emotions really well - pain, frustration, turmoil, regret. And I really like seeing the Ancient Egyptians as human beings too because - well - that's what they really were. No different from people today (although they had the better eye makeup).
Still, I felt I was transported to another world, thanks to all the vivid, beautiful imagery the author painted. I could nearly see the purple dusk skies, the common people (rekhet) labouring along the river, and the golden dust behind the chariot as Tuthmosis and Ahmose rode throughout the land. I also like the metaphors used, such as (these are paraphrased, by the way): "her thoughts hung like river mist" and "her feeling were like water among the reeds." Really lovely.

And I liked the portrayal of Hatshepsut, though she appears only briefly (towards the end of the book). She was really cute - in a feisty way. This is probably not surprising, considering she will one day be gutsy enough to ascend the throne.

The ending was emotionally draining, pretty shocking and kind of sad. I certainly won't go into details but all I can say is that it had a strong emotional impact on me. These days, I've rarely come across a novel that has managed to accomplish such a feat.
So yes, I do recommend you check out The Sekhmet Bed. I haven't read an Ancient Egyptian novel this well-written in ages!

A humble Pharaoh?

2011-11-18T16:53:00.002+11:00

There is a scene in my novel in which Pharaoh, upon meeting Joseph and Asenath in his apartment for a luncheon date, apologises to them for keeping them waiting.
Normally, people wouldn't think twice about this. However, in this case, there is something wrong with this picture.

And what would that be? Well, it's really simple: a Pharaoh never apologises to anyone. Never. Like Asenath inwardly commented after that unexpected display of courtesy: "To whom need a living god account?"

However, I wrote that scene on purpose. One of the few things we know about Asenath is that Pharaoh arranged her marriage with Joseph. In this scene, Pharaoh was preoccupied with this - from what I know about the way men's minds work, they are extremely goal focused, never resting until what they have to do is accomplished. So when Pharaoh saw Joseph and Asenath together, he was kind of distracted, thinking "I have to do this, this has to be done, get from Point A to Point B." Thus, the unexpected apology slipped from his mouth.
Though Pharaoh was revered as a god, he was still very much a human being. I then strove to show his human side. Even a "living god" can err (though in Ancient Egypt, no one would dare say aloud that Pharaoh erred, probably unless he himself admitted it).

In addition, I kinda wanted the readers to think, since this would be out-of-character for Pharaoh. And I do like novels that make me think.
I would be interested, however, to hear different interpretations / speculations / hypotheses of this scene. But the abovementioned are my own personal reasons.

My beta reader / writing mentor, upon reading one of the drafts of Asenath, made a comment, "Wrong, a Pharaoh never apologises! To whom need a living god account?" (And it is to him that I owe the credit for Asenath's silent remark.)
Then he read Asenath's discreet reaction to it and commented, "Oops, spoke too soon!"

So yes, I do know a Pharaoh would never apologise. Not even in his wildest dreams. But now you know why I wrote the scene as I did. So there.

By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea

2011-11-12T18:52:00.005+11:00

Today, I went to an artistic event at the beach called "Sculptures By The Sea." I thought it would be fitting to write about it here because after all, writing and visual / fine arts are in the field of arts and humanities. I am not at all artistically inclined (though I used to do a bit of photography before), but that certainly can't stop me from appreciating artwork!
Anyway, "Sculptures By The Sea" is an annual event held around this time of the year. I went for the first time last year, and was pretty impressed. I thought it would feature garden variety sculptures like statues, abstract swirls, etc. But no, the stuff here is really cool and unique and unusual.... in short, avant garde. Which I love.

Last year, there was a giant chicken made out of wires. Inside it were fluorescent eggs. That chicken seemed to be the hit of the exhibit. In fact, when my sis and I were looking for our friends, we were told to meet "at the giant chicken."
There were also stairs painted like piano keys, as well as colourful glass icicles hanging in one of the coves (?) along the beach. Um what else... ((thinks)).... there was also a cute camel sculpture which I was enthusiastic about, what with the animal's association with Egypt and all. And if I recall correctly, there were these dwarf statues. It was really cute.
Oh, I also loved these giant yellow letters standing along the beach: "OMG." Everyone wanted their picture taken with the letters.

This year did not disappoint either. There was a giant tap / faucet, complete with the handles. There was also a giant picture frame with the most elaborate engraving. At the top, it had an engraving of a Japanese lucky cat - I mean, those little white cats whose paws wave, as if saying hello.
And perched on top of the frame was a cuckatoo! At first I thought it was a real bird, but it wasn't. The artist intentionally put it there!
There were also miniature boats that had been built around tree trunks, looking like boats that had gotten stuck in the trees. There was also a huge, false spider's web hanging on the edge of a cliff, fake deflated balloons draped all over the rocks, and a pride of lions made out of.... straw, I think.
There are so many more, these are the ones that come to mind at the moment. I actually took pictures but I am kind of lazy to upload them right now, not to mention they are in my sister's camera as I forgot my own.

Oh, and you know how art exhibits have those signs "Do not touch the exhibits?" There was a giant version of that sign. At first, I thought it was merely an enlarged sign and was looking around for the exhibit. But it turns out the sign itself was the exhibit. Clever!

Unique to this year's exhibit was a play on everyday signs. I saw "PRIVATE POETRY. TRESPASSERS WELCOME." And "3-HOUR BARKING, 3PM-6PM."
There was also a vintage TV (not sure if it was a real one or if an artist just made it, but it looked very realistic) and a vintage bicycle.

There were lots of people with their dogs. It was cute! There was a tent which featured mini versions of the exhibits as well as various other smaller sculptures, and I saw someone carrying his dog around while looking at the artworks. Cute!

Anyway, the way the "Sculptures of the Sea" exhibit is designed is that it's laid out along a particular path which spans several beaches. The artworks are displayed in random spots, some of them even on the rocks beside the water. So you really do venture around quite a bit.

I wouldn't mind going again next year. I hope it retains its uniqueness.

Oh, on a Joseph-related note: there is a Jewish grocery store in the area where "Sculptures By The Sea" was held, and I wanted to go there afterwards but then remembered it would be closed since it was Saturday. Oh well.

Interview with Lavender Ironside

2011-11-11T21:13:00.001+11:00

Today, I am very privileged to have a special guest here on my blog: Ms. Lavender Ironside, fellow historical novelist and author of The Sekhmet Bed which is about Hatshepsut's mother, Queen Ahmose. Check out all the cool stuff Lavender has to say on history, historical fiction and Ancient Egypt.

Welcome to my blog, Ms Ironside! Tell us a little about yourself.

Thanks for having me! It's nice to be on the blog of a fellow historical novelist working with ancient Egyptian settings. There aren't enough of us out there!

Hmmm...a little about me. I live near Seattle and have worked at a variety of jobs while I tried to write books good enough to establish some sort of a career. My most recent work was as a zoo keeper, and I'm hoping to get back into that field soon. I mostly worked with birds; I love birds, and if you read The Sekhmet Bed you'll notice a particular kind of bird (my favorite) figures into the plot in a pretty important way. I won't say what kind or how to avoid spoilers. But I will say that I'm such a bird nerd that I really had to edit out a lot of unnecessary detail about this bird before The Sekhmet Bed was ready. I can get really long-winded when it comes to birds (or blog interviews).

Have you always been into Ancient Egypt? Or, what got you interested in Ancient Egypt?

I became an Egypt nut in high school. I went to a wonderful experimental public school that had an arts-focused curriculum. Now such schools are becoming more common, as they've been shown to improve graduation rates and college entrance in kids who don't do well with the typical American public school setup, but at the time, in the 90s, it was considered a pretty off-the-wall thing. I was lucky in that I come from a family of professional artists, and my mother has always believed whole-heartedly in the arts as a viable -- and even admirable -- career choice. She let me attend this school, and I'm so glad she did.

The school was full of really incredible, creative, enthusiastic teachers. My history teacher got to know all her students pretty well, and when we started our ancient history unit, she pulled me aside and said, "I think you'll especially like this woman from ancient Egyptian history. Her name was Hatshepsut. Here's a book and a paper model of her temple. Read the book and put the model together by the end of the week, and then you can do a report on Hatshepsut for the class."

She knew exactly what it would take to get me hooked on history. That model was incredibly intricate, and I was so immersed in putting it together. And then I got just as immersed in the biography. By the time I delivered my report, I had Egypt fever in a bad way, and it's never left me. And I have Hatshepsut and my history teacher at my kooky high school to thank for that!

Oh, what a coincidence! I, too, was introduced to the joy of history by a fabulous teacher in high school. She made history come alive, and didn't make us memorise anything either. She was more like a storyteller. Apparently, if you have a good teacher, it makes a huge impact on your life. Anyway, where did the idea for The Sekhmet Bed come from?

In 2007 Hatshepsut's mummy was finally positively identified by Zahi Hawass and other Egyptologists. The History Channel went nuts with the story, which was fine with me, but watching all the specials on Hatshepsut reminded me of the paper model and my passion for her story. The new information that she died at an old age of an abscessed tooth, and was not murdered by Thutmose III as was previously assumed, filled me with speculation about what Hatshepsut's family must have been like.

At the time I was writing a lot of sci-fi short stories (under a different pen name) and selling it pretty regularly, and I was thinking I'd keep writing sci-fi, and eventually move into novels in the genre. But I couldn't stop thinking about Hatshepsut's family, so I put aside my sci-fi projects for a while and began researching the female Pharaoh. I read everything I could get my hands on about her, and one of the things all books and web sites had in common was their descriptions of a beautiful mural in Hatshepsut's mortuary temple (the same temple I had assembled as a paper model!)

I like to think of this mural as "The Secret Origins of Hatshepsut." It puts forth the claim that Hatshepsut was not sired by her mortal father, but rather the god Amun, and that Amun appeared to her mother, Queen Ahmose, looking glorious and smelling lovely, and she made love to him and conceived this daughter who actually had the soul of a son, and was not only destined to rule but bred specifically by the highest god in Egypt to rule! Now, obviously this was just political propaganda meant to solidify Hatshepsut's claim to the throne. But I was so intrigued by the idea of the god Amun seducing the queen and conceiving a girl with a male soul that I couldn't let that idea go, either.

Finally I asked myself, "What if somebody actually did believe this story...and what if that somebody was Hatshepsut's own mother?"

That idea thrilled me so much, I knew I'd found the novel I wanted to write.

What inspired you to develop Queen Ahmose's character the way you did?

I wanted the moment where Amun appears to Ahmose and she takes him into her bed to be one of the key moments of the novel, one of the best and most memorable scenes. I wanted it to be a big turning point for Ahmose and for the reader. So I knew that I had to make her acceptance of pregnancy a really momentous decision. Once I'd figured out that Ahmose had to be formerly reluctant to become a mother, I began asking myself why. And I quickly came up with the idea of her seeing someone she loves die in childbirth. I needed Ahmose to be young, too, because I felt it would be more believable for a young woman to be frightened by this situation than an older, more world-wise woman.

Once I'd decided to make Ahmose about thirteen at the beginning of the novel, the rest of her character and her development into a sure, experienced queen (she's 21 by the end of the book) really fell into place. I recall vividly what it was like to be thirteen or fourteen, how sure I was that I was always right, and how stupidly I often acted. I think girls of that age have always been basically the same, whether they grew up in the late 80s and early 90s, or during the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, whether they were just some kid in Seattle or the daughter of a Pharaoh with a country to rule.

Oh, definitely. It's interesting to think how different and similar the Ancient Egyptians were to us. Well, having written about Joseph the dreamer, I have to comment that the dream sequences in your novel are beautifully depicted. How did you come up with them, and what made you incorporate the theme of dreams in this novel?

Thank you! The two dream sequences (and a third that was cut from the first draft) are my favorite parts of the book.

As I was developing Ahmose's character, I knew she had to put a lot of personal significance on religion and visions, more so than the other people in my book. This was necessary to make her truly believe that Amun had fathered her child, and that she had seen Hatshepsut's male ka. In order for Ahmose to have great conviction about Hatshepsut's destiny and identity -- enough to stand up to the Pharaoh about it -- she had to be strongly connected with the gods. I decided that giving her the unofficial occupation of "god-chosen" dream-reader was the best way to do this. "God-chosen" is a concept I made up for the novel, not something taken from actual known Egyptian culture, and it can be compared to the Western concept of being "touched." The god-chosen in my fictional world are a little extra-special in some significant way -- maybe a little out-there and kooky -- but they're taken seriously; they have real divine gifts and the gods have a purpose for them. Ahmose's specialty had to be interpreting dreams and visions in order to make her conviction about her child's origins rock-solid.

The latter dream sequence, where Ahmose takes Amun into the Sekhmet bed to conceive her child, is taken directly from the mural I mentioned in Hatshepsut's mortuary temple. The earlier one, which Ahmose tries to use to interpret the Pharaoh's own recurring dream, was just something I came up with after a lot of imagining what it might be like to be locked in a religious haze, desperate for signs or omens.

There is a noticeable shift in my writing style when Ahmose is dreaming. I tried to make the narrative more disjointed and almost alien, to give the impression that these scenes don't take place in the real world.

I was really intrigued by this: how did you come up with the idea of Hatshepsut having eight kas?

In my book, she actually has eight male kas and one female ka, for a total of nine! The kas first appear subtly as a carving of nine boys Ahmose sees during one of her dreams.

As I was writing the book, I recalled that in Pauline Gedge's novel Child of the Morning she gave Hatshepsut fourteen kas! I wondered whether any research could support that, or whether it was just something Gedge came up with on her own. I did some reading and a lot of digging around, but I came up with some pretty mixed answers. I found a few sources that seemed to indicate that in a few places Hatshepsut depicted herself as having a multiplicity of kas. The most common number seemed to be 14, but most often the word was just used in plural form, as in "Hatshepsut, mighty of kas," and similar salutations.

Anyhow, in my research I came across the text of an old play. I recall now that it was written in the early 1900s, though I could be wrong. It was about Hatshepsut's voyage to Punt, and in it, one of the characters praises her as having nine kas. I read the entire play and really enjoyed it (I used to do a lot of live theater), and I wanted to give a little nod to the play. Unfortunately today I can't recall the title of it or the author's name, although I believe it was called simply "The Expedition to Punt."

So the short answer is..."artistic license."

Wow, I haven't heard of that play, but it sounds interesting. You discover all sorts of obscure but very intriguing stuff when you delve deeply into research. Speaking of which, what sort of research went into The Sekhmet Bed?

I did about two solid years of reading and outlining before I really started working on The Sekhmet Bed with serious focus. I was still writing and publishing some short sci-fi during this time, but my focus had shifted pretty solidly onto The Sekhmet Bed. I ended up with an absolutely massive outline that covered Ahmose's story, and reached all the way to the end of Hatshepsut's life; and then I realized that would be well over 300,000 words once I wrote it out, so I broke it into three smaller outlines, and continued to perfect the various points of Ahmose's story.

Most of my reading was done with Joyce Tyldesley's books. She is a marvelous Egyptologist who has a very engaging, clear writing style that brings Egypt to life. I relied on her book "Hatchepsut" for much of my information, but I also read many of her other books, such as "Private Lives of the Pharaohs," "Daughters of Isis," "Judgment of the Pharaoh," and "Egypt's Golden Empire." There were a few more as well, but their titles escape me.

As I wrote the book, I found that it was difficult to find good lists online of Dynastic Egyptian names. There are a lot of lists of Egyptian names, but they include lots of names from the Greek and Roman periods, as well as more modern Arabic names. In frustration, I wrote to Ms. Tyldesley, explained that I was working on a novel set in the New Kingdom, and asked her where I could find a good resource for names. She recommended a book called "The Royal Families of Ancient Egypt," which is basically nothing but names listed by family, in chronological order. It took me another year to find a copy of the book (and, as luck should have it, it turned up at a small used book store I where I worked as the Christmas temp!), but it is priceless to me.

Historical accuracy is very important to me as a writer and as a reader, and I wanted to be sure I was confident in my history before I put any serious work into the book.

Did you encounter any difficulties in the writing of the novel? If so, how did you deal with them?

My biggest difficulty was in breaking my insistence that I remain totally historically accurate.

I needed to give Ahmose a believable antagonist, and I settled on Mutnofret, the second wife of Pharaoh Thutmose. I tried to stick to known history as well as I could for a long time, rejiggering my notes and my outline to make Mutnofret a cousin who Ahmose coaxed into royal marriage to shift the responsibility of childbearing off her shoulders; then Mutnofret was already Thutmose's wife who followed him to the throne; then she was an ambitious harem woman who was jealous of Ahmose because she was so much younger than Mutnofret. All of these scenarios seemed highly plausible given known history, but none of them gave the story the kind of conflict it needed to have.

I finally managed to shut up the nagging "Be Historically Accurate!" voice in my head and asked my story what it needed in an antagonist. The answer was that Ahmose's antagonist needed to provoke real, deep emotion, not superficial cattiness or that same-old same-old "scheming harem women" plot. So I made Mutnofret Ahmose's own sister (which was almost certainly not true), and then made Mutnofret Ahmose's elder sister (extra-extra not true), displaced by her younger sister for political reasons beyond either girl's control.

At last, I had just the right conflict to suit my characters and story. And not only that, but Mutnofret became my favorite character because of this change.

But it was really hard to shut up The Voice. I think all historical novelists have it, to one degree or another!

How do you combine thorough historical research with seamless writing?

Well, I am very flattered that my writing appears seamless! Believe me, that's only after a LOT of editing, and help from my friends and one of my former agents, who is a great editor!

So I guess the answer to that question is, a very clear, well-worked outline (I love outlines for historical fiction, but I seldom use them for other kinds of writing) along with reliance on some readers whose opinions I know I can trust. My friend Lori, who is a romance/erotica writer going by the pen names L. A. Witt and Lauren Gallagher, was especially key in helping me decide what to keep and what to cut in The Sekhmet Bed. She's a very good writer with a great sense of character and plot, and she really helped me keep focus where it needed to be.

I'm confident that I could write a decent book without any input from my trusted friends, but I don't think it would be as good as the ones I've run by my readers.

How long did you spend writing and researching The Sekhmet Bed?

The research and outlining phase lasted about two years of pretty solid work...I'd spend several hours a week reading and then work what I had learned into the outline on the weekends, little by little. Once I actually sat down to write, the first draft of the book came together rapidly. I completed a 110,000-word draft in a little under three months, writing every day after I came home from the zoo for between one and three hours a day. I think a disciplined writing routine is the key to producing quality work in a reasonable amount of time.

I found my first agent with that 110,000-word manuscript, and we did another three months or so of revisions, paring it down to 82,00 words, before we began submitting it to publishers. So, about two and a half years, all told!

Do you have any other favourite historical periods? If so, what are they?

Oh, yes. Dynastic Egypt, pre-Syrian invasion, is my favorite by far.

But I also love historicals set elsewhere in the Middle East. And any novel that deals with an ancient culture will interest me. Celtic/Pictish settings, Genghis Khan and surrounding cultures, ancient South America.... I love well-written historicals set among Native North American cultures, although good ones are really hard to find. Novels set during times of religious or other social upheaval are very attractive to me, as well. I love books about the Salem Witch Trials, for example, or very early Colonial America.

I'm not as big a fan of royal-court-based European fiction or Medieval/Renaissance fiction; the European courts have just never held an excessive amount of fascination for me, and I confess I got a little burnt out on Medieval and Renaissance stuff in my teen years, when I read it obsessively. However, some writers' styles are just too delicious to resist, so I do love authors like Karleen Koen and Ken Follett, even though they write in settings that aren't my favorite.

Have you read any other good historical novels you'd like to recommend?

Aside from Follett's historical series and anything by Karleen Koen, I have to give a nod to Saints by Orson Scott Card. This is one of his lesser-known books, and a lot of people pass it by because they think it's just "Mormon fiction." But it's a really masterfully crafted historical novel about life in Industrial England and emigration to America, with wonderful characters and a pretty tragic conflict. Plus it deals with the Mormon polygamist movement, which was a fascinating and strange bit of American history, one that had a much larger impact on politics and the development of the U.S.A. than most people realize. It's an unusual choice for a historical novel's setting, but it works very well.

I also love Card's Women of Genesis series, and I wish he'd finish it already! One book still remains to be written. I'm not even a religious person, but I really do enjoy Card's religious/historical novels.

Do you have any other books planned for the future?

After two years of working to get The Sekhmet Bed traditionally published, I finally decided to self-publish it, and it has become sort of an experiment in marketing and promotion for me. If it is successful enough, I plan on self-publishing the final two novels in the series (remember that long outline I broke into three books?) Book Two is written but needs revision, and Book Three is thoroughly outlined, but is yet to be written. So if readers are enthusiastic about The Sekhmet Bed, the rest of Hatshepsut's story will appear without too much delay!

Other than that, I am hard at work on novels intended for traditional publication under my other pen name, Libbie Hawker. One is almost done, and is a contemporary literary novel set in southern Idaho, about the various ways people cope with living in an ultra-restrictive community. The other is about a man who decides to hit the rails after the 2008 bank crashes, and becomes a train hobo...with disastrous results.

And last, a fun and random question: if you could meet any historical figure, who would it be and what would you say to him/her?

Oh my goodness...I have three particular heroes in American history, none of whom I'm brave enough to write novels about (yet) because their stories are so huge and I wouldn't know where to begin. Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Harry Houdini are all so dear to me that I'd hang their portraits on my wall if I could. If I could meet any of these gentlemen, I'd just like to shake their hands and say, "I really admire you."

Thank you for your time, Ms Ironside! It was a pleasure to have you here.

Learn more about Lavender at her blog.

Oh, and I have already read The Sekhmet Bed and loved it! Will be sharing my thoughts on it here real soon.

I love this poem...

2011-11-02T20:27:00.004+11:00

It is by the ancient Chinese poet Li Bai (who seems to be also known as Li Po... but my friend from China insists it is Li Bai).

THE SUMMIT TEMPLE

Tonight I stay at the Summit Temple
Here I could pluck the stars with my hand
I dare not speak aloud in the silence
For fear of disturbing the dwellers of heaven.

So simple, yet so full of pathos.

Author's Copies!

2011-10-31T19:25:00.003+11:00

I guess these photos say it all...

I wonder why they arrived facedown? lol..

I waited so long to hold the book in my hands.

They arrived at the post office last Thursday, were picked up on Friday. To say I was over the moon is an understatement.

The Dreamer, The Schemer, & The Robe

2011-10-26T21:53:00.001+11:00

Sometime ago, I came across this book on Amazon: The Dreamer, The Schemer, & The Robe by Jenny L. Cote. As you can tell from the title, it is fiction about Joseph.
Naturally, I wanted to get it. Alas, I couldn't order it straightaway. But I kept it in mind, needless to say.

Today, I was at Koorong and - lo and behold - The Dreamer, The Schemer, & The Robe was right there on the shelf! I was astonished, delighted, ecstatic, amazed, thrilled, excited, giddy..... I wasn't expecting it. At all. It seemed like one of those really rare but very cool books; and rare and cool stuff hardly make their way to my neck of the woods. However, today was an exception.

So now, I have the book. Here. Beside me.

I so can't wait to read it. I flipped through the book and it looks really exciting. Perhaps I may be biased - I may be just saying that only because it's about Joseph. But throw in the topic of Joseph, and I am instantly hooked.
By the way, I saw the name "Zuleika" there. Another author used that name for Mrs. Potiphar. Very, very interesting.
I so can't wait. I wonder if Asenath will be in the book too. Well, it's a pretty long book, so she should be there.

Right now though, I am in the middle of an Ancient Egyptian novel The Sekhmet Bed by Lavender Ironside - which is pretty good so far. I will be writing about that in a future entry, as I have teamed up with Ms Ironside to do guest posts and review each others' books. Really fun.
Then, after Sekhmet Bed, I will read The Dreamer.
And after that, Eloise Jarvis McGraw's little-known novel Pharaoh. So many good books lined up, huh?

I ought to mention, by the way, that The Dreamer is a Young Adult novel that features dog and cat angels helping Joseph. Can you imagine: dogs + Joseph! What could be a better combination?

ADDED: I got another cool thing from Koorong as well: sometime ago, I mentioned this really cool Bible, the Glitter Wings Bible. Today, I got that as well, alongside a booklet Living The Dream: Joseph For Today, A Dramatic Exposition of Genesis 37-50. Yes indeed, I left Koorong with a shopping bag bulging with awesome, awesome stuff.

Book trailers

2011-10-02T17:09:00.001+11:00

Out of the book trailers I've seen so far, I like these two...

City of the Dead, by T.L. Higley.

Petra, also by T.L. Higley.

I have read these 2 books as well. City of the Dead was pretty good. I wasn't expecting much from it, but it turned out pretty impressive. It was well-researched and well-written. It suceeded in bringing Ancient Egypt to life, from the elaborate descriptions of the palace banquets to the leafy scent of the Nile marshes. There were even a few jokes in the novel, although to get them, one would have to know Ancient Egyptian culture.

Petra was OK in the beginning. It was still well-written, but towards the middle the plot got really dragging. I couldn't finish it. Plus I don't know if it was just me, but there seemed to be an overuse of the words "yellow light."

But these 2 books sure have stunning trailers.

On butterflies

2011-09-28T20:15:00.001+10:00

happiness is like a butterfly
the more you chase it
the more it will elude you

but if you turn your attention to other things

it will come

and sit

softly

on your shoulder

How tragic!

2011-09-24T21:54:00.002+10:00

Writer Beware was one of the websites I came across when I began researching on publishing. It is very good that I did so, as it gave me a lot of warnings I most likely would have overlooked. It taught me how to identify scammers, fraudulent publishers and agents.... all the stuff that newbie writers aren't aware of.

I still read their blog to keep myself updated. Recently, I came across this shocking story.

The Cruelest Hoax

In summary, someone pretended to be an agent at a reputable literary agency and emailed an aspiring writer, saying she was offering representation. Naturally, the writer was over the moon, and joyfully accepted.
Eventually though, the writer began to see some red flags, such as a frequent change of email address as well as the agent saying she would take 75% commission (agents take between 10-15%). The writer then contacted the agency, and that was when she realised she had been gypped.
Poor thing.

The scammer then 'apologised' on a twitter account, saying that she didn't mean this and that she is "only a teenager." Uh, ok...

Can you believe that? This is indeed a mean trick, and even kind of scary. It goes to show what kinds of characters are out there to deceive people.
The people at Writer Beware, however, have said not to lose sleep over this as this is a rather unusual incident. Still, you can never be too careful. Especially when something is just too good to be true. As my author friend Alfred D. Byrd often says, "If something is too good to be true, it usually is." (I think Writer Beware said that on their blog too.)

Early on in my research, I myself nearly fell for a couple of scams. One of them was this manuscript submission website wherein you post your manuscript for a fee. I actually downloaded and filled out their application form even though I was still in the process of revising my manuscript. I thought it would be a good thing to do in advance. Later on, I learned that those submission services were scams. Good thing I never had a chance to submit the form!

I also came across the website of this literary agency that welcomed manuscripts that were unfinished. I was immediately enticed, as I was undoutedly eager to get my ms out there.
The agency's website had an online form that I could fill out. I was about halfway through the form when I thought to return to it another time. I can't remember why exactly - maybe I wanted to create a well-crafted synopsis/blurb that the form was asking for. Not sure. But either way, it is a very good thing that I never completed the form because a few days later, I heard about this agency's ill reputation as a fraud.

Then I came across websites such as Writer Beware, and learned what an unsuspecting newbie needed to know.

So, be careful. Having made mistakes (and near mistakes) in both my writing and non-writing life, I have learned that before one plunges into a commitment or new venture, one must research, verify, and ask the opinion of more experienced and reliable folks. In short, look before you leap.

And I feel terrible for this poor soul who was the victim of this most horrid prank. I hope all will turn out well for her in the end.

I want to see this movie!

2011-09-22T21:07:00.005+10:00

I recently heard about this movie called La Reine Soleil, which is a French animated movie set during the reign of Akhenaton. I discovered it by sheer accident, while browsing through Youtube. (I discover a lot of good things that way, btw - through sheer, pure accident.) At first I thought it was one of DreamWorks' movies as the leading lady and her cat look eerily similar to - of all characters - Asenath and her cat from Joseph King of Dreams. Well imagine that!

For those of you who have seen the Joseph movie, just look at this poster. Couldn't Ahesa very well be Asenath?

But I digress. Naturally, being the Egypt buff that I am, my interest was piqued and I looked up for more info.

Apparently, this movie is based on one of Christian Jacq's novels. All the more I was intrigued, as I know Christian Jacq very, very well! Ahem, not personally, mind you (though how I wish). But I was really into his Ramses series back in the day, and I also read 2 books from The Stone of Light series. So yes, I am pretty much well acquainted with him, and would be very interested to see a movie based on his works!

This movie looks good. I can tell. Maybe I am being biased, but I just know that it's good. Interestingly, not long ago, I just finished Pauline Gedge's The Twelfth Transforming which was - to quote my author friend Alfred D. Byrd - so disgusting yet so well-written, which is a rather rare combination. Hopefully though, Akhenaton won't be that disgusting in this movie.

But well, I want to see it. I like the drawings and the story sounds interesting and... it's Ancient Egypt, for crying out loud!

I WANT TO SEE THIS MOVIE.

Alas, if I am not mistaken, it seems the movie is available only in French. Even the clips I watched were all in French. That's rather disappointing, as I don't speak a word of French. So if anyone can tell me where I can get an English dubbed or even English subtitled version, I would be eternally grateful. I don't mind subtitles, by the way. I know a lot of people don't like them, but I have no problem with them.

When are people going to make a movie of one of Pauline Gedge's novels? Or Wilbur Smith's novels? Or Mara, Daughter of the Nile? That would be ever so interesting. It's not that I lack imagination, but I am always interested to see books being made into movies as I am curious to see how others perceive and depict novels. I find the result is either spectacular (even though the book is always better, as it's more complete) or horrific. I was horrified, for instance, at the movie version of Memoirs of a Geisha. I didn't like the casting choice for Sayuri. But I liked the movie version of The Notebook - far better than the novel, I daresay.

By the way, speaking of French stuff, I would be ever so psyched if, one day, Asenath would be translated into French and also German. I kinda noticed that the people in French and German-speaking regions are huge, huge fans of Ancient Egypt. I am guessing that it might have to do with the fact that the early Egyptologists were from France and Germany. After all, when Napoleon Bonaparte was conquering the world, he brought with him to Egypt an intellectual team who discovered the Rosetta stone! So French people really must have a thing for Ancient Egypt.

Now, what would Asenath be in French? I think Asnat? Some other language, Spanish I think, has her name as Aseneth?

Coolness.

Ahhh, I hope I can see La Reine Soleil soon!

Here, check out the trailer.

Thoughts on the trailer

2011-09-10T18:53:00.000+10:00

Well, I really should comment on the beautiful trailer my publisher did for me. It seems to be a habit of mine to make delayed commentaries/remarks, doesn't it? I suppose it is because on the day itself, I am at a complete loss for words. Especially now that it involves my book getting published and all. Like I said in a previous entry, it's like what I imagine sleepwalking to be.
Or like being in a dream (ahem, Joseph), wherein you see things happening but you can't really make sense of it, and you're not even sure if it's for real or just an illusion.
Or something like that.

But to the trailer.

It came out better than I imagined. I feel it captured the very essence of my book. As I viewed it, I got chills running down my spine.
I love how it emphasised on the Ancient Egyptian theme ("in the time when Pharaoh ruled all...."). And the music is so dramatic and poignant and, well, Egyptian.
Did I mention the trailer is so... Egyptian?
Those moving hieroglyphs at the beginning and end are awesome, too. It's almost like the moving hieroglyph scene in Prince of Egypt.

I especially love that part wherein there's a painting of an Egyptian woman accompanied by the caption (?) "....yet she retained the kindness that defined her." In picturing Asenath that way, I feel one is really drawn into her era.

Re the absence of Joseph in the trailer: well like I said, Imajin does allow their authors to have input, and I did make some suggestions for the trailer, which were acquiesced. However, due to my lack of aesthetic knowledge, I didn't know how or what to suggest for portraying Joseph.
In the end, I decided it might be good to let the reader exercise his/her imagination. Anyway, I already have my own idea of how Joseph might have looked like.

Having said that, I might add that when asked for suggestions for the book's cover art (that is, before I thought of showing my publisher the beautiful picture I saw on DeviantArt), I mentioned that I did not want Joseph and Asenath in a passionate embrace (or some other such pose) like what you would see in the cover of romantic novels. Because even though Asenath is a love story, I didn't feel it would be fitting. Firstly, Joseph and Asenath are a regal and dignified couple, he being the vizier and she being the high priest's daughter.
Additionally, I was hoping for Asenath to not come across as your typical boy-meets-girl story. I want people to see it as a journey of overcoming adversity, kind of like Jane Eyre and Memoirs of a Geisha.
I then thought of probably having Asenath alone, staring out at the Nile or something, as if reflecting on all that had happened in her life. And why not? After all, Joseph has gotten more than enough publicity. Asenath, hardly.
In all honesty though, I didn't know what exactly to suggest for the cover because, as I said, I have little to no artistic inclination. But yeah, the abovementioned were the basics of how I would have wanted it to be.
But then, I saw that picture in DeviantArt and... you know what happened. :)

Anyway, back to the topic of book trailers. I think they're awesome. If they're well done, they can be a flattering companion to a book. I know you should use your imagination when reading - and well, the books of the past didn't have trailers! But I suppose it's interesting to see how someone might envision their book. I am especially interested to hear the accompanying music, as I am one of those people who can't live without music.
I only heard about book trailers recently, and it seems they're growing in popularity. Some authors have to make their trailers themselves, I am so blessed my publisher did it for me (they do it for all their authors).

So if you haven't seen the Asenath trailer, go watch it. Then read my novel. :)

The trailer of 'Asenath!'

2011-09-06T19:24:00.001+10:00

Enough said.

A more detailed commentary on this another entry. For now, I will sit back and take it all in.

The best day of my writing life...

2011-09-03T17:47:00.005+10:00

....is, undoubtedly, the day I got accepted for publication. Oh, and of course, the day my novel was released.
OK, so those are the 2 highlights of my writing life, but I shall speak of the former today as the latter has already been detailed throughout this blog.

I was meaning to talk about this the day Asenath was released but I was just so over the moon. And at a complete loss for words. Asenath has been out for a few days now and it's still pretty hard for me to digest. Seeing my book - the book I've been working on for 3 years - advertised and for sale is just surreal. It's like, er, sleepwalking I guess. (Though I have never sleepwalked before, but I can imagine what it might be like.)

But back to that glorious day I was accepted for publication. The timing was so perfect, it was almost like a movie. But I ought to start from the beginning.

So I worked on Asenath for about 3 years-ish. Then around this time last year (has it really been that long?), I decided the novel was completed for good, and started shopping it around. Prior to that, I had already researched on agents and small presses (the big publishers don't take unagented submissions). So I first submitted to agents that deal with historical, romance and religious markets.

And I got rejections, rejections and more rejections. About four agents requested partials from me though (the first 50 pages or so). But up to this day, I still haven't heard back from them. So I have crossed them off as non-responders - not interested, no reply.

When I had exhausted every possible agent I could think of, I then began subbing to small presses. And again, rejections, rejections and more rejections.

Imajin Books was literally the very last publisher I submitted to. Sometime after I sent them my full, I got a reply....

REJECTED.

I was nearly in tears as I (struggled to) read through the letter. Apparently, I was rejected because the story was too slow-paced - too much exposition, too much telling instead of showing, and dragging plots.
But then, at the end of that crushing blow, Imajin invited me to revise and resubmit as they were still interested in the story itself.

After overcoming the initial shock, I opened the battle-weary manuscript and began attacking it mercilessly, like a hunter dog ripping its prey to bits. I had often heard "kill your darlings" in writing advice, and I thought I had already done it before in my numerous revisions. But it was only that day, when I chopped off what I now realise was excess baggage, that I truly understood the meaning of that phrase.

So on and on I feverishly laboured, often well into the night (I work better at night than in the daytime). Chopping, cutting, trimming, making the story tighter. I continued to work on it even as I went to my parents' house since we would be going on the Middle Eastern trip.

And the day before the trip - Good Friday, at that! - I was finished.

Before I continue, I ought to mention that I was torn on whether to submit my revision before or after the trip. If I submitted it before the trip, the wait would be a bit less agonising. I mean, I would be active instead of sitting like a vegetable and staring at my email, waiting for a reply to pop up.
On the other hand, if I submitted it after the trip, I would be able to incorporate the sights and smells and the feel of the Middle East.
I asked my author friend Alfred D. Byrd for advice and he said, "Hmmm, that's a good question." Then he said that publishers have their authors do edits, so I could incorporate my Middle Eastern experience in the editing stage.

That is, if Imajin accepted me.

I had previously heard of this edits thing, so I thought this was very good advice.

That is, IF IMAJIN ACCEPTED ME.

So yeah, I finished everything on Good Friday, the day before I left for the trip. Before pressing the "send" button of my email, I prayed.

So came 2 fun-filled weeks in the desert. The ending, however, was pretty anticlimactic.

After we left Jordan, our group had to suffer an excruciating 6-hour stopover in the Dubai airport before going home (who came up with that idea, I wonder?!?). Let me add that we weren't even brought to an airport hotel. Yes, we were stuck in the airport with no comfy bed.
It was midnight, so we were all like zombies. After walking around till we could walk no more (there were a few interesting bookshops though), we slept in the waiting lounge. Now I kinda know how beggars in the street feel like. Oh well, that could be good for writing a future novel (as Alfred so wisely says).

Naturally, we were all eager to get home. But then, our flight was delayed due to weather conditions. You can imagine how shocked and worried we all were. Not to mention tired, dirty and hungry since all of us were still in our clothes from the day before.

But thankfully, we finally made it home. 3 or 4 hours late. But we were home.

After cuddling the dog, changing into fresh clean clothes and having dinner, I went to check my email to see if I already had a reply from Imajin. I wasn't sure what to expect but anyway.

I saw an email simply acknowleding that they had received my revised manuscript.

And I might have missed the second email (still getting used to the way Gmail works) had my finger not accidentally (or not?) scrolled down.

"Dear Anna," the second email read. "Thank you for giving us the opportunity to read Asenath..."
Yes, yes, they all start like that.

"We would very much like to work with you, and we'd like to extend an offer in publication....."

I screamed so loudly, my family thought there was a mouse in the room.

And that, gentle reader, is how I came to be a published author. So it took me 3 years to work on Asenath, and a 4th to get it published.
I hear with some authors though, it took them like 5 years to look for publication? If I am not mistaken, the author of Gone With The Wind sought publication for 10 years! Wowee!

Now as I recall everything, I look back and.... I still can't believe this happened. It's surreal. It's like seeing one of those unusually beautiful paintings (like those of Picasso, especially the one where there's a tiger coming out of a fish's mouth) and wondering if you're in some strange, exotic dream.

Just.... wow.

And to think now, Asenath has been released. Double wow.

In other words, I previewed the trailer (!!!!!) of Asenath. No hunky Joseph, alas. But it's still awesome. It did a spectacular job of capturing an Ancient Egyptian feel. Can't wait when it's up, so I can show it off.

'ASENATH' IS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-08-31T07:34:00.000+10:00

Grab your (e)copies at Amazon and Smashwords!!

(Paperback edition coming soon.)

And here, have a nice little press release my lovely publisher did for me...

Debut Author Anna Patricio Explores Ancient Egypt & Romance in ASENATH

EDMONTON, AB, August 30, 2011 - From Imajin Books and debut author Anna Patricio comes an epic historical novel that spans decades and explores ancient Egypt and the romance between Joseph and Asenath.

"Transports you to an ancient land of mystery and breathes vibrant life into a little-known figure from a well known story."
―Bruce Judisch, author of A PROPHET'S TALE

Two Destinies...One Journey of Love

In a humble fishing village on the shores of the Nile lives Asenath, a fisherman's daughter who has everything she could want. Until her perfect world is shattered.

When a warring jungle tribe ransacks the village and kidnaps her, separating her from her parents, she is forced to live as a slave. And she begins a journey that will culminate in the meeting of a handsome and kind steward named Joseph.

Like her, Joseph was taken away from his home, and it is in him that Asenath comes to find solace…and love. But just as they are beginning to form a bond, Joseph is betrayed by his master’s wife and thrown into prison.

Is Asenath doomed to a lifetime of losing everything and everyone she loves?

"High adventure and passionate love amid the turbulent world of Ancient Egypt."
―Mirella Patzer, author of THE BLIGHTED TROTH

"A captivating love story."
―Lee Harmon, author of REVELATION: THE WAY IT HAPPENED

"A true clash of cultures and religion with love as the bridge to happiness."
―Haley Elizabeth Garwood, author of THE WARRIOR QUEEN series

"Absorbing and well researched…beautiful."
―Diana Wallis Taylor, author of JOURNEY TO THE WELL

"An intriguing look at an almost-forgotten woman of the Bible."
―India Edghill, author of QUEENMAKER

"A compelling read."
―Deborah Galiley, author of POLISHED ARROWS

"A beautiful, tightly woven story of many colors, both epic and intimate in scope."
―Susan J. McLeod, author of SOUL AND SHADOW

ASENATH by Australian author Anna Patricio is available August 30th, 2011 in Kindle edition and Smashwords edition (multiple formats for a variety of ereaders).

You can learn more at http://www.imajinbooks.com and http://www.annapatricio.blogspot.com

Imajin Books is an innovative, unique Canadian publisher with an eye on exciting, ever-changing trends and opportunities in publishing that opened its 'doors' to authors worldwide in late February 2011. They promise great reads by wonderful authors, with ebooks priced under $5 and trade paperbacks under $18.

From ImajinBooks.com: The future of reading is ebooks, and the future is NOW!

Disclaimer: Imajin Books is not associated in any way to the US company ImaJinn Books.

Imajin Books
3715-14 Street NW,
Edmonton, AB, Canada
T6T 0H9

780-490-1719
imajinbooks@shaw.ca (preferred contact)

Cuteness

2011-08-29T19:13:00.004+10:00

Walking home today, I passed by a lady with a tiny dog that looked like a Boston terrier puppy or something. As I neared the dog, it suddenly semi-sat (if that makes sense) and stared up at me with the largest, roundest, cutest eyes. It seemed very frisky too, prancing around instead of walking in a straight line.
My dogs are like that too, by the way.
Anyway, I smiled down at the little creature. I do so love dogs.

Last year, every morning, I would often come across a lady walking a dog who looked like one of my dogs before. It was such a nice way to start the day. I haven't seen them in ages though.

Seeing dogs always brightens my day.
So what does this have to do with writing or ancient history or what is expected in a historical novelist's blog? Um, nothing. I just thought it was cute.

Oh, wait, actually it is kind of relevant. As I mentioned sometime ago, the Ancient Egyptians were animal lovers. In fact, I believe there are a number of books about pets in Ancient Egypt. So I suppose it would be fitting for me to make posts about dogs every now and then.

And why not? Dogs are the best. :)

In other stuff, Asenath countdown:
2 more days if you live in Australia or thereabouts,
ONE more day if you live in US/Canada (lucky people).

I am exhilerated beyond belief. I don't know what to say. As a novelist, I probably should have a billion words or so. But really, I honestly don't know what to say.

More words about the cover..

2011-08-22T19:50:00.000+10:00

I probably should have said more about it the day I posted it, but I guess I was just so excited. Now however, I will elaborate.

Firstly, to recap in case you have not seen the previous posts and are too lazy to scroll back (it's OK, I'd be lazy too), I mentioned this beautiful graphic of Asenath that I saw on DeviantArt and showed it to my publisher. Imajin Books, being the cool people that they are, allow authors to have input on the cover, the blurb and, well, everything. So anyway, to give them an idea of what I'd like in a cover, I showed them the picture.
They too liked it, and said they would ask the artist permission to use it for my novel.

A couple of months ago, at the end of June, I was informed of the good news that the artist had given her OK.

Last month, I saw the cover for the first time. It wasn't finalised yet though, hence I did not post it yet. But I was enthralled. It was more beautiful than I imagined. And I couldn't believe this lovely, elegant Egyptian cover actually had my name on it - that it was my book. Surely these things only happen in fairytales!

Then a few days ago, I was finally given the go signal to show off my beautiful cover to the world. Which is what you just saw in the previous entry.

I fell in love with the picture when I first saw it on DeviantArt, and I love how Imajin's artists made it into a book cover. It's so elegant and so... Egyptian. I love the strong Egyptian background - the wall paintings, the lotus columns, etc.
And the model is so pretty. I don't know who she is (would anyone know?) but she might have been how Asenath looked like. Elegant and lovely Middle Eastern features, topped with class and innocence.

I have been asked numerous times about the shiny things in Asenath's hands. If you look closely at it, you will see that they're bees. Why bees, you ask? Well, the artist based the picture on the Greek apocryphal story Joseph and Asenath. In the tale, Asenath wants to marry Joseph, only Joseph refuses her because she does not worship his God. Asenath weeps, then an angel who looks like Joseph appears to her and feeds her sacred honey. So great is her love for Joseph, that she accepts it, thus converting to Judaism. And of course, where there is honey, there are bees, and while she partakes of the sacred honey, the bees surround her.

There is a scene in my novel wherein Joseph and Asenath were originally surrounded by butterflies. I chose butterflies because they are pretty - my second favourite animal after dogs, in fact. But my editor suggested that keeping in line with the cover art and the legend, we should change the butterflies to bees. I was actually hoping to give a nod to the apocryphal tale (though I didn't know how to go about it), so I agreed. And I pretty much like how it has been revised.
When you read it, do tell me what you think of it.

In the meantime, don't forget to mark your calendars - 30 August. :)

My Book Cover!

2011-08-20T18:18:00.001+10:00

OK everyone, here it is.... MY COVER!

Click on it to enlarge.

And news too: I finally have a release date for the ebook edition - 30 August. The paperback will follow in about 2-3 months, or so my publisher tells me. Stay tuned.
And for you ebook readers, mark your calendars!

Please please please tell me I'm not hallucinating all this.

Another music post... Opera

2011-08-08T21:25:00.001+10:00

Last Saturday, I caught the ending of a stage version of Don Giovanni on SBS (I love that channel, by the way, as it has all the artistic stuff). It was then I realised I haven't seen/listened to any opera in a long time.

I love opera. When you mention opera to many people, they usually think of the (stereotyped) image of people wearing Viking helmets and singing, well, operatically. They tend to make fun of this.
I, too, used to think this way. Until one day, when I was looking for calming music, the classical music radio station was playing opera and I immediately felt myself relaxing. It was such a refreshing break from the heavy rock music my peers were playing.

Since then, I have loved opera. I have always liked classical music per se, but I did not like opera until the day.
Someone told me that people who say they don't like opera have never even really listened to it. I suppose that's true. As I said, I too used to say I didn't like opera even though I hardly knew anything about it.

My favourite opera is Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly. It never fails to make me cry. The title character is so sweet and innocent, you can't help your heart breaking when she meets her tragic demise. And the music is so poignant.
I have a DVD of it - a movie version, not a stage version. (By movie version, I mean it's just like a movie but the dialogue consists of the libretto instead of ordinary speech. I guess this is a pretty good innovation in opera since actually going to see an opera in person is pretty expensive even though it is worth it.)
I also have a a number of CDs of it. One interesting thing about opera is that you can hear the same song sung in so different way, portrayed by so many different singers in a variety of emotions. Some singers have more pathos than others. But it's really interesting to hear numerous version.

Two years ago, I finally got to see Madame Butterfly live at the Sydney Opera House. It was more spectacular than I imagined. The setting was so ethereal and all the singers played their parts very well.

Going a bit off-topic - connecting this to Asenath - I mentioned some entries ago that the novel has a theatre scene reenacting the drama of Isis and Osiris. My description of the stage was inspired by the Opera House's production of Madame Butterfly, specifically the stage setup. It was impressive.
There was a raised platform surrounded by a moat. Bridges served as entry/exit points for the singers. It was unique, though I suppose they had to be careful not to fall into the water. I am guessing they designed the stage that way since Madame Butterfly takes place in a seaside area (Nagasaki).

When the performance reached the final segment, I could not control my tear ducts. I also heard a lot of sniffing around me. Guess I wasn't the only one who found it emotionally wrought. And why not, it was a major tearjerker.
At the end of the performance, when the actor playing Pinkerton (the unfaithful captain) bowed, everyone booed him. He then picked up the child actor (who played his and Butterfly's son) and swung him around. The "boo's" grew louder.
I was amused. Well, Pinkerton deserved it anyway. :)

Madame Butterfly showed again this year but I didn't go. My friend Min told me she was choosing between Butterfly and Carmen. She decided on the latter, but fell asleep watching it. Not because she was bored but because she was tired - or at least, that's what she tells me.

As a result of Madame Butterfly, I have now taken a liking to butterflies. They are rather pretty. They are now my second favourite animals after dogs.

I actually listen to all kinds of music except heavy metal and rap. But I am most inclined to opera, classical, and new age / fantasy such as Enya and Loreena McKennitt. And I also like slow / mellow rock. Any more good music you would like to recommend, do let me know.

'Asenath' News

2011-08-06T22:36:00.000+10:00

I should have written this a couple of days ago, but first I got excited over the news, then I got kinda busy. (And before that, I was a bit under the weather. What a dramatic turn of events, ne?)

So, a couple of Asenath updates:

1) An estimated release date has been set. I will say more on this when everything is etched in stone. But what I can tell you is that it's not too far from now. Stay tuned.

2) I got the ARC (Advanced Review Copy)!!! As you can imagine, I was salivating over it like anything!!! It's just... it's just... wow, I don't know how to describe this.

This must be a dream. If so, don't wake me up from it. Good night and thank you.

The Official Blurb of 'Asenath'

2011-08-02T21:01:00.000+10:00

OK kids, here it is. I worked with my publisher on this and I have to say, both they and I did a splendid job.

I have posted this in the "Books" section as well. But for what it's worth, here, while it's hot and fresh.

~*~

Two Destinies...One Journey of Love

In a humble fishing village on the shores of the Nile lives Asenath, a fisherman's daughter who has everything she could want. Until her perfect world is shattered.

When a warring jungle tribe ransacks the village and kidnaps her, separating her from her parents, she is forced to live as a slave. And she begins a journey that will culminate in the meeting of a handsome and kind steward named Joseph.

Like her, Joseph was taken away from his home, and it is in him that Asenath comes to find solace…and love. But just as they are beginning to form a bond, Joseph is betrayed by his master’s wife and thrown into prison.

Is Asenath doomed to a lifetime of losing everything and everyone she loves?

~*~

Now, to wait for the book cover.....

"Author" vs "Novelist"

2011-07-28T19:30:00.002+10:00

I realised something recently. I prefer to define myself as a novelist rather than as an author.
I know they're moreless the same (although I believe "author" has a broader definition. Correct me if I'm wrong). But the reason I prefer to use "novelist" for myself is simply because I think it sounds... pretty. Lyrical. Almost musical.
Try saying it out loud: "novelist." It's rather soft on the palate.

Also, I think the word "novel" itself is a rather pretty word. There are some words I find pretty, some I find ugly, some I find weird, some cute. "Sniff" is a word I think is cute. "Fork" is a word I find weird. I don't know why I perceive certain words this way, I suppose it's just me.

But back to the topic: "author," on the other hand, seems more... ah, I'm not sure of the exact word for it. Hmm, what would be the opposite of dreamy and poetic? Left brain? Practical? Dry?
I mean, even the way it sounds, even how it looks when the letters are formed together. It doesn't have the lyricism of "novelist."
At times, "author" even seems like a masculine word. Though I know that for hundreds of years, zillions of female writers have been calling themselves "authors" - and zillions of male writers call themselves "novelists." But it's just that for me, "author" lacks the romanticism-feel "novelist" has.

However, I still define myself as an "author" at times simply because that is what's widely known. In addition, I also use it to avoid redundancy. Eg, "I am an upcoming author. My debut novel Asenath..." sounds much better than "I am an upcoming novelist. My debut novel Asenath..."
But I am still happier with "novelist." By the way, I totally have nothing against the "author" term, it's just that "novelist" fits my personality better. Dreamy. Poetic. Romantic (ahem, not in the "love" sense - though I do appreciate romance - but in the imaginative, visionary sense).
That's all there is to it.

Historical Fiction Galore

2011-07-27T16:59:00.005+10:00

Yesterday, I went with my sis to run some errands. Afterwards, I wanted to check out the local library in that area. I had browsed through their online catalogue before and it seemed that they had a hefty collection of historical fiction. The libraries near my place don't have much historical fic.
However, I never really went to the aforementioned library before cuz it's kinda far and out of the way. Furthermore, I felt I couldn't be bothered travelling all the way there in case the catalogue I saw wasn't accurate. Hey, it does happen - at least in my local libraries.

But yesterday, since I was already in the area, I thought I ought to seize the opportunity. And I was impressed.
Yes, the catalogue proved correct (whew).

The place had soooo much historical fiction. Oh, before I continue, let me just clarify that I am specifically referring to ancient historical fiction and Biblical fiction. There are many, many kinds of historical fiction, but the aforementioned are my faves. So without further ado...
The lib had nearly all the books of Pauline Gedge, half of the Chloe and Cheftu series by J. Suzanne Frank, many of the novels of Judith Tarr (though I know she writes a variety of genres, not just historical fic), secular Biblical fiction by Rebecca Kohn, Marek Halter and India Edghill and even an inspirational Biblical fiction by Angela Elwell Hunt, The Shadow Women. And so, sooo much more - goodness I couldn't possibly remember them all.
Well of course, the lib had the novels of Wilbur Smith and Christian Jacq. But then, they're all over Australia so they don't count much. Not that they're bad books (Wilbur Smith's novels I love except for The Quest, Christian Jacq's I find so-so) but....

Which brings me to this point:
I was duly amazed and impressed because I have never seen this much historical fiction in one place (my house doesn't count). The libraries near my place, as I mentioned, don't have much of those. Aside from the standard supply of Wilbur Smith and Christian Jacq novels, there aren't that many.
Even in bookstores - even in the large bookstores - I don't see much ancient historical fic.

So yesterday's experience was like finding a goldmine. Needless to say, I am so gonna go back there.

Anyway, I did spend quite a while there, even told my sis to leave me there. I borrowed The Shadow Women, Egyptian / Biblical fiction set during the time of Moses. It's told from the point-of-views of Miriam, Moses' adoptive mother Merytamon (the daughter of Ramses II) and Zipporah, with each chapter alternating between the three women. This is of interest to me not just cuz of the subject matter but because I am planning my next novel to be set during the time of Moses but told exclusively from the POV of his adoptive mother. I suppose since my first novel is set during the time of Joseph, it would be natural that I would set the second in the time of Moses. But I honestly didn't plan it that way, it just... happened. However, more on that another time.

I also browsed through J. Suzanne Frank's Reflections in the Nile, though I didn't borrow it. I've been curious about it because from what I heard, the Cheftu character sounded rather, um, interesting. ;) And he was indeed interesting (and hot), but the female lead seemed too perfect. I don't really like main characters who are so perfect.
Still, I love the idea of time-travel to ancient Egypt. I'd like to write about it, but I don't have any fresh, unique ideas for such a story. Most likely if I wrote one, it'd be a clone of the J. Suzanne Frank novels. Also, most likely, it would be reminiscent of a Mary Sue.

But wouldn't that be fun, to wander among the ancient Egyptian ruins and suddenly find yourself transported into the real Ancient Egypt. If that happened to me in my recent trip, I would've been over the moon.

By the way, going off-topic: I recently partnered with the National Year of Reading 2012, a program dedicated to spreading literacy and love of books in Australia. Their button is on the right side of my blog.

Joseph's Tomb

2011-07-25T21:18:00.003+10:00

I came across this article about an archaeological park opening in Shechem also known as Nablus (the latter name I only discovered recently).

In long-isolated Palestinian city, diggers uncover an important Biblical ruin

This is very significant to me because Joseph's tomb is in Shechem. For those of you who don't know, the Israelites brought his remains with them when they left Egypt with Moses. Later, Joshua laid the patriarch in his final resting place in Shechem.
(The article mentions this.)

I ought to mention btw that the exact spot which is marked as Joseph's Tomb (Kever Yosef in Hebrew) is a traditional site. Meaning, it may or may not be where Joseph is. As I've learned with the Middle East, there is no black-and-white answer a lot of the time, if not most of the time. Nearly everything is grey. However, my friend Alfred D. Byrd thinks this is likely the site.

But whether or not it is, I still really want to go! Alas, when I was in Israel, I could not. I asked the tour guide about it though, and he informed me that Shechem is closed to tourists as it's not safe. In fact, he said, the week before I came, three Jewish boys were shot and killed while on their way to Joseph's Tomb.
This reminds me of some video I saw, wherein Israelis on a pilgrimage of some sort had to sneak into Joseph's Tomb in the middle of the night. That's kinda scary.
In addition, I suppose they're not letting tourists go to Shechem because not too long ago, Joseph's tomb was tragically attacked and vandalised. How heartbreaking! Fortunately, I think people are doing things to restore it. I believe Joseph's coffin even got a new ornate cover. Good for him. :)

And with this new archaeological park opening soon, I hope Shechem will soon become more visitor-friendly. When it does, I am so gonna make it a point to return to Israel.

I soooo want to visit Kever Yosef!

More info about it here. In case you're wondering at the site address, "Yosef HaTzaddik" means "Joseph the Righteous." 'Tzaddik' is 'righteous' in Hebrew. I studied Hebrew at uni and while I can transliterate, I can in no way translate. My Hebrew vocabulary is lamentably limited.

Anyway...

Now if they could find Kever Asenath... though that might be a bit impossible. As far as I know, we don't know where she lies. We don't even know where Manasseh and Ephraim are. Heck, we don't know the graves of a lot of Biblical people. Or Ancient Egypt people for that matter.

Oh, when I was in Bethlehem, I passed by the site that was said to be Rachel's tomb but I didn't go to it (our focus was the Church of the Nativity). In Jordan, near Petra, the guide also pointed out Aaron's tomb. But again, I didn't get to go to it.

In other news, last week, I finished the edits for Asenath. It was a lot of work. And I mean, a lot.

Slave of Dreams

2011-07-23T23:31:00.001+10:00

I just remembered a movie an acquaintance recommended to me not too long ago: Slave of Dreams. If you're thinking, "that sounds like a movie about Joseph," well it is. It focuses on the Potiphar's wife episode.

The lady was even kind enough to post screen caps.... here. Oh, given the theme of the movie, I ought to mention that the photos are, ahem, PG-rated. Just mentioning this to be on the safe side, for whatever reason.

I want to see that movie. Alas, it is not for sale on Amazon. Neither can I find it on youtube or anywhere else for that matter. It seems to be one of those little-heard but very intriguing films. (sigh) I hope one day.

Basically, from what I heard of the movie, Mrs Potiphar apparently wants a child. Only, she is unable to have one with her husband. So when Joseph enters the picture, she figures he is the one who will be the father of her child.

Mrs P is named Zalikha in the movie, as in my novel and in a medieval Persian retelling of the Joseph story. I first heard about the name in, believe it or not, DreamWorks' Joseph King of Dreams. At first I thought that the film makers picked some random name for Potiphar's wife. Later though, I came across the Persian epic Joseph and Zuleika, and also some muslim sources calling Mrs Potiphar by that name. If DreamWorks got the Zuleika name from there, then they surely do very good research on their movies.

As for me, I chose to name Mrs Potiphar as Zalikha (with an altered spelling) in my novel, simply as a nod to my all-time favourite Joseph: King of Dreams. (I lost count of how many times I've seen that movie.)

Er, but back to Slave of Dreams. If anyone can tell me where I can get my hands on that movie, I would be forever grateful. Thanks.

I WANT TO WATCH THAT MOVIE.

P.S. I found another site for Pauline Gedge here.
P.P.S.What a coincidence: not long ago, I wrote about this really pretty Bible I got. Not long after I made that post, I got a catalogue from Koorong about the different kinds of Bibles they're selling. I'm really tempted to get this Bible:

Puppy mummies!

2011-07-22T21:49:00.002+10:00

I saw this article on puppy mummies not too long ago.
Right here.
Though I've known about animal mummies for the longest time (uh, I just mentioned them yesterday), this caught my interest because of the mere fact that I am a dog lover.

I am so happy that one of my favourite ancient cultures were dog lovers. Actually, the ancient Egyptians liked pets per se. So cat lovers will be pleased to know that the people of the Pharaohs liked cats too. I believe the popular pets in ancient Egypt were dogs, cats, birds and monkeys!
Someone told me too that Ramses the Great had a pet lion. A lion. Can you imagine?

Anyway, the ancient Egyptians cherished their pets so much, they even included them (the fur babies) in portraiture and statues. You might have seen one of those tomb paintings of people playing with their dogs and cats. And as mentioned above, when the pets died, they were mummified. I seem to recall hearing that great funerals were held for some pets as well, though the exact details escape my mind at the moment.

Hence, I sure wouldn't have minded living in ancient Egypt. For not only were women there respected and treated well, at least in comparison to many other ancient cultures (even though Egypt was a patriarchal society), it was a pet lover society.

This fact, btw, was very beneficial for me in the writing of Asenath. You see, I put a bit of myself in the main character (the novel is written in a first-person point of view, btw), and having her as a pet lover was not only reminiscent of me, but also historically accurate. She has one cat and one dog in the novel.

And now, photos of my dogs.

Me with my dog during my author photo shoot (courtesy of my mum, who takes pretty good pictures.) I was out in the garden posing, when the dog ran up to me and my mum said, "Why don't you have a picture with your dog?" Why ever not?

In loving memory of my dogs who crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

Egyptian Exhibits

2011-07-21T22:09:00.003+10:00

Because I can't be in Egypt everyday (but wow, that would be fun), the next best thing are Egyptian exhibits in my vicinity.

Coincidentally, not long before my trip last April/May, I heard there was a King Tut exhibit in Melbourne. I grew worried, because I thought they had brought all of King Tutankhamun's treasures to Melbourne, just as I was about to head off to Egypt itself. I was even looking forward to seeing the famous mask. (My friend btw told me that they brought the mask to Sydney years ago.)

Fortunately, when I was in the Cairo Museum, I saw the mask along with all of the boy-king's toys were there. Phew. The mask, btw, is smaller than I imagined it to be. But still so opulent. So gold and shiny and elaborate. And I saw all the other good stuff - furniture (beds, thrones), the Pharaohnic emblems of the crook and the flail, statues, and... wow... all this other gold stuff. I believe there is even a section of the museum exclusively for Tut.
I also passed by a section for Akhenaton btw. Alas, we weren't given enough time there. But I sneaked me and my mum in for a bit.

So far, I have never been to an Egyptian exhibit that disappointed me. Maybe I'm being biased, but it's true. I have enjoyed every single exhibit I've been to.
A few years ago, there was an Egyptian exhibit here in the Australian Museum. It focused mostly on funerary stuff. So I saw sarcophagi, stelae, shabti, mummies and all the goodies the ancient Egyptians included in the tombs such as jewelry and scrolls of The Book Of Coming Forth By Day (more commonly known as The Book of the Dead).
Oh! There were a few animal mummies there as well! There was a cat mummy, an ibis mummy and believe it or not, a shrew mummy! I seem to remember in my Egyptian Religion class, a shrew might have been one of those aninmals sacred to Re. Something to do with regeneration...? Correct me if I'm wrong. But heh, I remember when I mentioned this to my author friend Alfred D. Byrd, he said, "I can imagine a priest holding up the mummy and saying, 'Bow before the sacred shrew!'"

And there were these really, really tiny statues of the gods. I saw one of Neith, the goddess who Asenath was named after (her name means "belonging to Neith").

I remember btw the exhibit was having one of those commercial venues (sigh), which included "Come dressed as an Ancient Egyptian and win a prize!" My sis jokingly recommended that to me - yes, walk around the city, dressed as an ancient Egyptian. I would really like to dress as an ancient Egyptian, but if I went around like that, er, well.....

Way before that, in 2006, there was a huge Egyptian exhibit in Canberra, featuring treasures from the Louvre. Good thing I discovered a Macquarie Uni group going there, so I joined them (and I made friends with an Egyptologist, Dianne Herbert. How cool is that?). Anyway, it was extraordinary. It even had the long scroll of the Book of the Dead. And I remember being fixated by the statues, for some reason. They were so intricately carved, and the expressions of the faces were so mysterious. You can't help wonder about the person they were based on. I spent a long time staring at those statues.

In my alma mater, there is a small ancient history museum which includes one mummy. Yes, a mummy right in my own backyard.
The University of Sydney also has a museum which is way bigger than Macquarie's (and I hear their library collection is more extensive, too). I remember sometime before my trip, I was in the area around Sydney Uni, so I decided to swing by the museum for anticipation's sake. Alas, there was a school group there so I didn't stay very long.

Btw, my Egyptologist friend was present on my graduation day and she and I decided to show my family the museum. It was closed, but she opened it for us. Wasn't that nice of her? So we had the ancient treasures all to ourselves.
While we were looking around, a teenage girl came in, assuming the museum was open. Ms. Herbert then told her she was welcome to have a look around but the place would be closing soon. She spoke kindly to the girl, making her welcome. What a nice and accomodating lady. She both literally and figuratively opened the doors to ancient history, sharing it with everyone.

Well, until I return to Egypt, I hope I come across another Egyptian exhibit again soon.

Gushing

2011-07-16T19:36:00.000+10:00

This will just be a short post for today as I am finishing up the edits for Asenath. But I just had to mention:

A couple of days ago, my publisher gave me a preview of the novel's cover!!!!!

I was over the moon.

It is gorgeous. More gorgeous than I expected.
There's an interesting little story behind it too. Some months ago, I made this post about this lovely artwork of Asenath that I came across. Because Imajin Books, being the cool, cool publisher that it is, lets their authors to have input on the cover, the back cover text and... well, a lot of things... I then thought to show this to my editor Cheryl Tardif for what it was worth. She too liked it and said that she would contact the artist and ask if they could use it for my book.

Cheryl told me that if ever they would not be able to use it, then at least it would give the graphic designers some ideas. And that was cool with me because it would be interesting to see what they would come up with. Going off-topic a little bit, I am so glad authors DON'T have to provide the cover for their book because I have little to zero artistic inclination. When I was in school, I tried my hand at painting/drawing but the results were miserable. Anyway...

Then a few weeks ago, Cheryl emailed me with the good news that they would be able to use that very picture! I was enthralled! And I really do love it so because it looks so.... Egyptian. And the model is gorgeous. She very well could be Asenath - she is pretty in a dignified and innocent sort of way, not a "sexy" way. So yeah.

I will be showing it off soon. For now, I ought to get back to work.

Oh, I have also seen the back cover text and the elevator pitch. It sent chills running down my spine. Good chills, that is.

I cannot believe I am typing all this btw, this must be some wonderful dream. If that is the case, I don't want to wake up from it.

Bright Eyes

2011-07-13T12:59:00.001+10:00

I love music. I can't live without it. I need it everywhere, all the time. Though I am not into the high-tech glitz and glamour of the 21st century, I have to admit that the mp3 player is one of the greatest inventions ever.

This song, for some reason, plays in my mind everytime I'm driving:

Is it a kind of dream
Floating out on the tide
Following the river of death downstream
Oh, is it a dream?

There's a fog along the horizon
A strange glow in the sky
And nobody seems to know where you go
And what does it mean?
Oh, is it a dream?

Bright eyes
Burning like fire
Bright eyes
How can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes

Is it a kind of shadow
Reaching into the night
Wandering over the hills unseen
Or is it a dream?

There's a high wind in the trees
A cold sound in the air
And nobody ever knows when you go
And where do you start
Oh, into the dark

Bright eyes
Burning like fire
Bright eyes
How can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes

Bright eyes
Burning like fire
Bright eyes
How can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes

That is the theme song of Watership Down, btw.

Most Frequent Comments / Questions...

2011-07-09T17:33:00.000+10:00

.... I get about Asenath. And I'm referring to the person herself, not my novel.

1. "Ah...what/who?" Or, "Who's that?"
2. "I didn't know Joseph had a wife!"
3. (if spoken) "How do you spell that?"

Poor Asenath. Hardly anyone knows you. Even I didn't know you until my college years.

Oh well. Hopefully that will change soon... maybe...

The Book Of Genesis Illustrated

2011-07-08T16:27:00.002+10:00

I was at Kinokuniya today (for those of you who don't know, it's a large bookshop here in Aus) and saw something interesting: The Book of Genesis Illustrated, by R. Crumb. It's Genesis in comics form... but what makes it different from other Bible comics I've seen (I even owned one back in the day) is that
a) It contains the text of the Bible word-for-word. Not sure which translation though
b) Its illustrations are graphically detailed

So yes, it's not something to show to the kiddies, unlike the Bible comics I had. As a matter of fact, Genesis Illustrated's cover has this warning (paraphrased): "Graphically detailed, with nothing left out! Parental advisory required."

Ahem. Anyway...

Of course, I knew who was going to be featured in the book and was very eager to check out how he was portrayed. Well, it was interesting though I did not really like how the artist drew Joseph's face. For that matter, I don't like how the artist drew the characters' faces per se. He made them all look, um, scary? And the women kinda looked like men. Maybe that is the artist's style, but it didn't click with me.
However he illustrated the historical details, such as the Egyptian setting and costumes, pretty well. In fact, in the part where Joseph sees his brothers again and pretends not to understand Hebrew, the artist drew a speech bubble with hieroglyphs! Talk about going for authenticity!

And as for the book's promising that nothing would be left out: the Potiphar's wife sequence was pretty graphic. Not extremely graphic though. But not child-friendly either. By the way, my novel's depiction of the Potiphar's wife sequence is of a similar degree.

A huge plus point to the artist for including Asenath! In my Bible comics from the past, she was totally ignored - as usual. But here, not only did the artist acknowledge her existence, he even drew a scene of Joseph+Asenath's wedding. (Sigh) He had Joseph+Asenath kneeling before a priest pouring drops of possibly Nile water on them. Oh, and Pharaoh and the Queen were standing behind the happy couple. :)

This is actually similar to the wedding scene in my novel. I, too, have Joseph and Asenath kneel while Pharaoh and the priests conduct the rituals.
I made this comparison btw because there are actually no known wedding rituals/ceremonies of the Ancient Egyptians. We are unclear on this. As my friend always says, anything to do with the Middle East and Ancient History has a lot of grey areas.
Some say that the bride was given a dowry, then she and her would-be husband simply moved in together. From there, they were already considered married. Some say that they may have thrown a feast with their friends and family.
The wealthy, however, most likely had grand ceremonies. Especially the Pharaohs, knowing them. ;) So since Joseph was pretty high up, it is likely that Pharaoh would have given him and Asenath a wedding of epic proportions.
In my novel, I made the wedding rituals up, although I did have inspiration from The Egyptian, River God, Legacies of the Ancient River, as well as some stuff I read on modern Egyptian weddings (you never know if they may be similar to the ancient ones).

Anyway, back to the comics: there was also a brief scene with Manasseh and Ephraim. Even though I didn't like the way the characters were drawn, I loved seeing a family portrait. The little kids were so cute.

By the way, the Judah and Tamar sequence was included as well, told right before the segment of "Joseph in Potiphar's House." So as you can see, these comics really followed the Bible to the letter. For that matter, you know how the Bible has these massive geneaology lists? The comics even includes that and draws a face for each and every name! Wow!

I found an Amazon listing for it here, if you want to check it out.

Twins... sort of

2011-07-03T19:48:00.005+10:00

Kind of a follow-up to my previous post on Biblical fiction.

I almost got these two books mixed up. As you can see, their covers look so similar.

I saw the Martha novel first, a long time ago. Just recently, I saw the Esther novel, completely forgetting how the Martha novel's cover looked like. Later, when I saw the Martha novel again, I first thought it was the Esther novel until I zoomed in on the cover. Huh? What was going on? I thought it was Esther. But hadn't I already seen this cover somewhere before?
Sort of.

I wonder why the covers look so similar. I wonder, too, what's with the orange colour - if it's supppose to signify something. For me personally though, there is nothing wrong with books having similar covers. But it does make things a bit confusing.

The covers are nice though. And the models are so pretty, it makes me jealous.

While I'm on the topic of this, I just remembered seeing these two novels of Rahab that use the same picture. However, the covers don't look alike.

I wonder if that picture of Rahab is a classical painting of her or something.

I have read none of these novels, by the way. But I will someday.

The fun that is Biblical Fiction

2011-07-02T02:10:00.004+10:00

I learned something interesting about Biblical fiction when I was writing Asenath. An author acquaintance told me that there are two kinds of Biblical fiction: secular and religious/inspirational. Secular Biblical fiction is simply a retelling of famous Bible stories. In fact, mainstream publishers apparently publish a whole subgenre about Biblical women. Inspirational Biblical fiction is a retelling as well, but it also aims to promote and express spiritual beliefs/teachings. And now that they mention it, I realise that while secular Biblical fiction still mentions the faith of the characters, it's totally different from the way inspirational fic does it. Secular mentions it in a.. how can I put it.. matter-of-factly way? I mean, they acknowledge that is what the characters believed in, but they don't imply "thus, we should do this and that, etc"..... Or something.
These differences should have been pretty obvious to me, but I never realised this until now. I mean, I would see Biblical fiction being sold in both mainstream and religious bookstores, but I guess I never paid attention to all these details (secular v inspirational), as important as they were.
Until now, that is.
The interesting things you learn about publishing!

Well FYI, Asenath is secular Biblical fiction. I have to admit though that in the early drafts, the novel was sooo preachy, like some poorly written 7th Heaven episode. When I returned to the drafts, the preachy-sweetness made my teeth hurt.
But hopefully, in its nearly final shape (I am currently doing the edits), it's better now. After all, I want it to be enjoyed by people regardless of their religion / faith / beliefs. People from all walks of life enjoyed novels like The Garden of Ruth and The Gilded Chamber, not to mention movies like The Prince of Egypt and Joseph King of Dreams (ahem). So surely, they can enjoy Asenath!

Although I have written a secular Biblical fic, I have nothing against their inspirational counterparts. I like to read both inspirational and secular Biblical fiction, even if the former can be preachy a lot of the time, and even if the latter says some stuff I don't totally agree with. Because overall, Biblical fiction is fun! Fun to both read and write.
However, I will veer away from inspiration Biblical fic that is peppered with preachy-ness, and I will veer away from secular Biblical fic that, well, makes me uncomfortable. One secular Biblical fic that I will never read is The Last Temptation of Christ. My friend told me that he tried to read it, and I like what he said about it (paraphrased), "By page 10, the author still wasn't sure if the sun had fully risen." In other words, it was truly a poorly written book, in more ways than one.

Btw, some examples of secular Biblical fic would be, aside from the abovementioned: Queenmaker, Delilah, Wisdom's Daughter, Seven Days to the Sea, the novels of Marek Halter... and the most famous would be The Red Tent. It (Red Tent) was an interesting read although I wasn't too keen about the portrayal of Joseph.
Oh, there was also Jezebel by Alan Gold, an Australian author. For some reason, it's not on Amazon.
Examples of inspirational Biblical fiction would be the Wives of King David series (Michal, Abigail, Bathsheba), Journey to the Well, Legacies of the Ancient River (another Joseph fiction), The Centurion's Wife, One Night With the King, He Who Lifts the Skies, and A Pearl In The Sand.
I haven't read all of these. But one day, I will read 'em all!

Oh yes, the interesting things you learned while researching about publishing. I even learned about qualifications for genres... but I'll go into that another time.

Age 30

2011-06-28T22:08:00.003+10:00

I just made an interesting observation. The highlights of a lot of Biblical characters' lives occur when they reach age 30.

Joseph became vizier at 30. (Genesis 41:46)

David became king at 30. (2 Samuel 5:4)

Jesus commenced His ministry at (about) 30. (Luke 3:23)

There may be more I am not aware of. If I had one of those fancy electronic Bibles (though I am not dying for one), I would probably do an "age 30" search.
I wonder, too, if 30 is a significant age for males, or if there were Biblical females who had their "debuts" at 30 as well.

This is very een-teh-res-teeng.

And what's this?

2011-06-26T01:15:00.001+10:00

The Top 7 Biblical Ways to Get a Husband
(taken from here)

1. Take a bath naked on a rooftop in public - BATHSHEBA (2 SAMUEL 11:1-5)

2. Find a woman who can't have a baby. Hang around her and hope that she gives you to her husband - HAGAR (GENESIS 16:1-2)

3. Be ugly; have a good looking sister. Have her get married and substitute yourself in her place - LEAH (GENESIS 29:15-30)

4. Find someone who God told "marry a prostitute" and become one - GOMER (HOSEA 1:2-3)

5. Go to the threshing floor, find a man asleep, lie at his feet and wait for him to wake up - RUTH (RUTH 3:1-7)

6. Go to a water hole; find a guy with lots of camels, give him and his camels water - REBEKAH (GENESIS 24:11-14)

7. Have a husband who is a jerk. Be nice to his enemy, who is a nice guy. Tell your husband. When he has a stroke and dies, marry the nice guy. - ABIGAIL (1 SAMUEL 25:2-34)

They could have added: "Be the daughter of a wealthy and prestigious family but keep a low, low profile."
(Like a certain daughter of a high priest who we hardly know anything of...)

The Top 15 Biblical Ways to Get a Wife

2011-06-25T18:55:00.004+10:00

Saw this on someone else's blog (and also here) and thought this was classic.

Don't try this at home.

1. Find an attractive prisoner of war, bring her home, shave her head, trim her nails, and give her new clothes. Then she's yours. - (Deuteronomy 21:11-13)

2. Find a prostitute and marry her. - (Hosea 1:1-3)

3. Find a man with seven daughters, and impress him by watering his flock. - Moses (Ex 2:16-21)

4. Purchase a piece of property, and get a woman as part of the deal. - Boaz (Ruth 4:5-10)

5. Go to a party and hide. When the women come out to dance, grab one and carry her off to be your wife. - Benjaminites (Judges 21:19-25)

6. Have God create a wife for you while you sleep. Note: this will cost you. - Adam (Gen 2:19-24)

7. Agree to work seven years in exchange for a woman's hand in marriage. Get tricked into marrying the wrong woman. Then work another seven years for the woman you wanted to marry in the first place. That's right. Fourteen years of toil for a wife. - Jacob (Genesis 29:15-30)

8. Cut 200 foreskins off of your future father-in-law's enemies and get his daughter for a wife - David (I Samuel 18:27)

9. Even if no one is out there, just wander around a bit and you'll definitely find someone. (It's all relative, of course.) - Cain (Genesis 4:16-17)

10. Become the emperor of a huge nation and hold a beauty contest. - Xerxes or Ahasuerus (Esther 2:3-4)

11. When you see someone you like, go home and tell your parents, "I have seen a ... woman; now get her for me." If your parents question your decision, simply say, "Get her for me. She's the one for me." - Samson (Judges 14:1-3)

12. Kill any husband and take HIS wife (Prepare to lose four sons, though). - David (2 Samuel 11)

13. Wait for your brother to die. Take his widow. (It's not just a good idea; it's the law.) - Onana and Boaz (Deuteronomy or Leviticus, example in Ruth)

14. Don't be so picky. Make up for quality with quantity. - Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3)

15. A wife?...NOT? - Paul (1 Corinthians 7:32-35)

The list could have also included: "Interpret a ruler's dreams. Not only will he give you a wife but also a top prestigious job position, a palatial home fully equipped with servants, and a grand parade around the city in your honour."
(Ahem...)

The Prettiest Bible I've Ever Seen

2011-06-23T18:04:00.001+10:00

I suppose this would be relevant to Asenath since it is based on a Bible story, after all. (And you gotta admit that regardless of your faith / belief / religion, the Bible is a fascinating read! But anyway...)

Anyway, some months ago, I saw this absolutely gorgeous Bible at the Koorong bookshop. Immediately, I knew I had to have it.

And this is what the Bible itself looks like, removed from the box:

Isn't it beautiful? And I love that it's purple too. As you can see from the graphics of my blog, purple and all its relatives (violet, indigo, lavender, orchid, etc) are my very favourite colours.

I'm so happy to have it. It suits my personality too. Although I've seen (and been given) some nice Bibles, I never came across one that was so... me. Until now.
Hence, I got this right away.
And by the way, it was the last one in stock.

The translation of this, by the way, is the International Children's Bible. It's not a kids' Bible storybook, but a very, very simplified English translation of the Bible. Which is good for me, because sometimes the NIV, which I normally read, eludes me. And the King James Version is way out of my league. (Er, I mean to say, it's too difficult for me. I sometimes get confused with the usage of "way out of my league" phrase.)

I was given a Precious Moments Bible a few years ago, and while it was cute, the translation was New King James Version. So again, a bit too difficult.
So, this Princess Bible is perfect.

There was also a pink Princess Bible. While it was pretty, I chose the purple one for reasons stated above. I'd choose purple (or any of its relatives) any day.

Then sometime later after I bought my Princess Bible, I was in Koorong again and I saw there was a lavender one! Same box as mine, but the Bible inside was lavender. And it was NKJV. Strange how they make some childrens' Bibles in the NKJV, as if the lil' ones will be able to understand that.

(And now I know what Alfred was talking about: when I told him about my new Princess Bible, he looked it up on Amazon and asked, "Is the one you're calling purple this lavender one I see here?" I was confused! As far as I know, I am not colour blind, and I was 110% certain the one I had was purple! But the Bible I saw listed on Amazon was lavender so... I was way confused. I wondered if, maybe, the "purple" Princess Bibles sold in the US were lavender.
But now I know. Confusing, these merchandising tactics can be!)

I just love my Princess Bible.

While we're at it, this is the beautiful fairy mug I bought from the Medieval Fayre a few years ago:

Not surprisingly, it's purple too.

Early Exodus, Late Exodus

2011-06-22T23:30:00.168+10:00

When I was writing Asenath, my author friend Alfred D. Byrd, who was also my mentor, told me about the Early Exodus v. Late Exodus theories (he is a walking encyclopedia, btw). You see, in the early drafts of the novel, I hadn't yet set the story in a particular historical timeframe. That is to say, in the course of Egyptian history, I hadn't planned yet which Pharaoh's reign to set Asenath in.
Because the way I do it, first I develop the plot itself, and then I do historical research. (Plus, in the beginning, I wasn't even sure if I was going to take the novel to the next level.)
Thus, in the early drafts I would, say, refer to Pharaoh as simply "Pharaoh." Not Pharaoh Akhenaton, Pharaoh Tuthmosis, Pharaoh Sesostris, etc. And all the Egyptian stuff was written from my stored and somewhat rusty knowledge.

Alfred then told me about the aforementioned theories. The Early Exodus theory has Joseph's story occurring during the Hyksos invasion, and the Exodus during the reign of Tuthmosis III (thus having Hatshepsut as the princess who rescued baby Moses). The Late Exodus, meanwhile, sets Joseph in the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaton, and Moses during Ramses II - the latter being highly popularised, as we all very well know, having seen it in movies like The Ten Commandments and The Prince of Egypt. These are just one of the many theories, I believe.

I also heard about some other theories that place Joseph in the Middle Kingdom, during the reign of one of the Sesostrises. This guy named David Rohl wrote about it in a book From Eden To Exile (which I have).
He wrote a lot of interesting things about Joseph, by the way. He mentioned that there was this canal found in Egypt called "The Waterway of Joseph" which Joe had built in preparation for the famine. Heck, he mentions finding a spot where Joseph's palace might have been! And in one of his documentaries, he mentioned discovers a faceless statue which he believes might have been a statue of Joseph!

I just remembered also hearing about this really peculiar theory that claims that Joseph was a Pharaoh. Someone pointed it out to me before in this website domainofman.com. In fact, if I recall correctly, the website says that Joseph, Moses, and even Joshua were Pharaohs. (And now that I mention this, I remember hearing about a novel of Judith Tarr that has Moses and Akhenaton as the same person!) But it seems a bit strange... I mean, would Moses have been slapping his own wrist and yelling at it, "Let my people go!"

But going back to the issue of Egyptology timeframes: for some weird reason, considering how much I love the story of Joseph, I haven't really given this much thought, and thus haven't formed my own opinion on the matter (another reason I didn't have a Pharaohnic rule in mind when I began writing Asenath). And now I'm ashamed.

But I think it is plausible to set Joseph during the Hyksos period, as the Hyksos were apparently despised by the Egyptians. Thus, after they were expelled, the Egyptians enslaved the Children of Israel (as Alfred so beautifully refers to them) since their ancestor was vizier to the Hyksos Pharaoh.
Many of the fiction I've read of Joseph puts him in this period, btw.

Equally plausible too is having Joseph as vizier to Pharaoh Akhenaton. The latter, so impressed by Joseph's interpretation of his dream, might have been inspired by the idea of one god.

So I don't really know what to think. There are so many possibilities, not to mention that anything to do with the Middle East has a lot of gray areas....

But then, Alfred suggested setting Asenath during the reign of Tuthmosis I. Thus, we get to meet Hatshepsut as a little girl. :) I'll probably be spoiling some things if I go into detail, so I won't elaborate further. But for some reason, when Alfred mentioned this to me, the idea just stuck. And I realised I was enamoured with it completely.

So, for the first half of the novel, the story takes place during Amenhotep I's reign. Then, Tuthmosis I. Hatshepsut makes an appearance, and I probably would have given her more screen time... er, page time (?)... but there wasn't enough opportunities, plus it didn't really move the story forward. Anyway, so much has been written about her. Now, it's Asenath's turn to be in the spotlight.

But after much encouragement from Alfred, I have been considering a possible sequel to Asenath. By then, Hatshepsut would have already been Pharaoh. There are so many highly interesting ideas to play around with...

But before that, I have to finish my current WIP, which is still far from the final draft. Oh, and before that, I have publication preparations for Asenath. Eeeeeeee!

I haven't done these silly things in years....

2011-06-21T23:16:00.003+10:00

... But well, this survey / questionnaire / meme / whatever-you-call-these things is about writing anyway. And it is admittedly kinda fun. A guilty pleasure, if you will.
Nicked it from here.

1. When did you start writing?
Oh my. That's a tough question. Although I always knew I had an inclination for writing, in the past, I only wrote on a (very) sporadic basis. I guess in the more accurate sense of the term, I only really started writing when I began Asenath, shortly after New Years' 2008.

2. First drafts: Handwritten, typed, or some combination?
Now, typed. But before, handwritten. These days, I don't have the patience, plus my words and thoughts seem to come together more easily when I'm typing.

3. Do you keep any kind of notebook or writer's journal, and if so, what kinds of things go into it?
No... Oh, well does this blog count?

4. Do you set any quotas for your work (number of words per day, number of hours per day, etc.)? Why or why not?
No. I don't really know why. I guess I'm more comfortable being spontaneous.

5. Are you most comfortable writing short stories, novels, or something else?
I'm actually pretty flexible. I have written short stories and poems in the past, though right now, I'm brimming with ideas for novels.
My poems are a bit cheesy though, plus I don't feel writing in verse is really "in" me (if that makes sense). So between prose and poetry, I would choose the former.

6. What's your favorite kind of story to write?
Something with lots of heavy drama. Even more fun if it's in a historical setting (ahem). You see, when I became a history lover, it amazed me that these people who lived in an exotic time and place were not that different from people today. Their concerns, feelings, emotions were very much the same.

7. Talk about a story of yours that was easy to write and one that was difficult to write, and why.
Um, the only thing I've written that's worth mentioning is Asenath. That was both easy and difficult. Easy because I was writing about topics I loved. Difficult because seeing as this is a historical novel, I had to do a ton of research to make the "flavour" (as my editor calls it) as authentic as possible. In addition, there were some highly emotional/dramatic scenes which I tried to convey to the fullest.

8. Which of your characters is closest to your sense of self? In other words, who do you most identify with in your own work to date?
Um... maybe Asenath? Because I wrote from a first-person POV with her as the speaker, I guess I kinda put some of myself in her: her outlook on life, and her love for the arts and animals.

9. What work are you most proud of right now?
I'll give you ten guesses. ;)

10. What do you feel your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer?
Strengths: I stick with a project I started all the way to the end. And while looking for publication, I learned to be resourceful. Weaknesses: too many to mention.

11. Name a few writers who have influenced you or your work in some way.
Arthur Golden, Amy Tan, Wilbur Smith

12. Talk about something you've written that you later found embarrassing for some reason.
My awful, awful poems from my teen/college years.

13. Talk about the earliest stories you remember writing. What were they about?
When I was about 8, I wrote and drew a picture book about a girl named Ann (not named after me, promise!) who had magical, multicoloured hair. She was like a superhero of some sort. In the "sequel," she then got a magical, multicoloured dress. I never finished the sequel though.
Another time, I wrote about a girl who wanted to be a fairy. She wished and wished for that, and when she woke up one morning - POOF! - she had wings. I also wrote another fairy story, can't remember exactly what happened but the fairy's name was Love.
I also wrote about a girl (contemporary, realistic setting this time) having an extremely busy day: Madeleine's Busy, Busy, Busy Day or something. I never finished it though.
(I was more creative in my childhood than I was in my teen years.)

14. If you knew you would be successful, what would you most like to write?
Always, drama. Especially historical drama.

15. What inspires you?
My great love for ancient history and the Bible.

16. How many projects do you tend to work on at once?
Only one. I am not that brilliant that I can work on so many things all at the same time. I envy those people who can.

17. Who reads your work before it's released to the public? Do you have beta readers, a critique group, etc.?
Yes, my author friend. God bless him. :)

18. When you're not writing, what do you do for fun?
Read, watch TV/movies, listen to music, amateur photography (though I haven't done any in ages), play with my pets (dogs)

19. Advice to other writers?
Um... follow your dreams and reach for the stars? Eh, I don't know! I'm not very good at giving advice.

20. What are you currently working on?
My second Egyptian novel, which takes places hundreds of years after the events of Asenath. As you may have guessed, it's set in the time of Moses.
I know it may seem instinctive that after writing a novel of Joseph, the next one would be of Moses. But I honestly didn't plan it that way. It just popped up in my head, quite unexpectedly! Just like Asenath...

21. Share the first three sentences of a work in progress.
When I was fourteen, I beheld a young god. He was not a god the way Father was though - Pharaoh, Lord of the Two Lands, and the Living Horus. But to me, this man was the world I dwelt in, the Nile that flowed throughout the land, the glorious sunlight, the floating lotus blossoms in my water garden.
(I know it sounds like a romance, but it's actually more of a family drama. There is still a bit of romance in it, but it's no longer one of the main themes, unlike in Asenath.)

Banned from the Bible

2011-06-19T02:13:00.003+10:00

Well, speaking of the Bible: a couple of years ago, when I was in the nth draft of Asenath, I found this History Channel documentary called Banned from the Bible. Basically, it was about stories of Biblical characters that didn't quite make it into the Bible for various reasons.
Asenath was mentioned - in fact, there is a whole segment dedicated to her. (And yes, finally, someone acknowledges she existed!) You see, there was this 1st century Greek text entitled Joseph and Asenath which basically deals with her conversion to Judaism. Some rabbis apparently weren't very happy about their patriarch marrying a non-believer, hence they made this story.

I plan to talk more about Joseph and Asenath in a future post. But for now, have a video, which will be able to explain it better than I ever could.

Watch the part of Asenath...

Here (though this clip starts with a discussion of the story of Lilith, Adam's supposed 1st wife)....

And here.

But I encourage you (or whoever is reading this, hehe) to watch the entire thing. It's really, really interesting. Btw, there is Banned from the Bible and Banned from the Bible II; Asenath is in the latter.

Oh, the actress portraying Asenath is quite pretty, even though she's not how I pictured her to be. I always imagined Asenath tanned with a look that was "innocent pretty" rather than "sexy pretty."
As for the actor playing Joseph, he is a far cry from how I pictured him to be. He (the actor) sports facial hair. In Ancient Egypt, men were clean-shaven. I'm sure Joseph may have had some facial hair during his Canaan years. But definitely not in Egypt - and most certainly not when he met Asenath.

Writing Musings

2011-06-18T23:33:00.005+10:00

Last night, in an email conversation with a writer friend, I suddenly recalled another reason why, unlike many writers you hear of, I did not write much in my younger years. I know it may sound silly for me to not have known this straightaway, but I guess it's cuz since it's been so long...

But anyway, when I was writing Asenath, I heard some writer/s' advice (paraphrased): "Write because you like it, not because you want to get published, rich, and famous." I can't remember who said it, or where I heard it from, but I would hear it time and again, in writers' message boards, websites, etc. And I realise that there's wisdom to that. While every writer would undoubtedly like to get published, the primary motive for writing should be because you like it. You enjoy it. You thrive on it.
So the way I understand it is: first, write because you like writing. And then, strive to get published.

Alas my mistake in my younger years was that I skipped right away to the second step: writing only to become published, well-received, and famous. Not only was that erroneous on my part, but as I mentioned before, I didn't even know what I wanted to write: prose, poetry, journalism, YA, love stories (ha!)... I had no clue. There was no passion involved. Which thus made everything impossible.
Thus, writing came to me more as forced labour than plain and simple enjoyment. So after trying to force my way through some works outside of school assignments - mostly really awful poems, clones of popular YA books, and some pathetic attempts at journalism for the school magazine - I gave up.

Subsequently, I thought writing was out of my league. I'd see these people scribbling out stuff effortlessly, producing massive portfolios, and being praised for their efforts. I envied them so much, and I then thought that since I couldn't write like that (I mean, at the drop of a hat), all the more writing wasn't in my destiny. Sure I could accomplish it if I had to, but it wasn't my future.

So I am still astounded that today, I am a soon-to-be published novelist. I have to emphasise "novelist" because while scrambling around trying to find my writing niche (before altogether giving up), I thought that perhaps I could be a poet or maybe even a short story writer. But never, ever a novelist. I thought novels were just too intricate, and too difficult, plus I didn't have the patience or smarts to write one.

But wow, writing Asenath sure was addictive. And now, I'm even toying around with ideas for my second novel, which is also set in Ancient Egypt but hundreds of years after the events of Asenath. More on that another time.
(I haven't touched the second novel in a while though, as I'm pretty busy with the publication preparations for Asenath. Questionnaires to be filled out, edits to be made... and I am sure there's heaps more coming. It's both scary and fun.)

I guess I've come a pretty long way.

And I'm so glad I've found a niche in historical / Biblical fiction. In the far future, a contemporary drama might be interesting to tackle. But I have more fun writing historical stuff. I guess it's because I like to escape to another time and place, since I see contemporary stuff all the time anyway. But we'll see.
For now though, I'm immersed in history. Especially Ancient Egypt and the Biblical times.

"I think books were my salvation, they saved me from being miserable."
-Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club

Susan Boyle

2011-06-16T18:24:00.004+10:00

I remember a couple of years ago, I heard about this new singer named Susan Boyle. Well of course, today, she's not so new anymore - in fact, she's a pretty big hit.
I know she was discovered on Britain's Got Talent, and while I am not into those talent/reality (or whatever you call them) shows, I have to say I was inspired by her story.

From what I heard, she came from really humble beginnings. She had a pretty difficult life, in fact. Additionally, because she didn't exactly have supermodel looks, she was often teased about her appearance. Lots of people looked down on her. And when she appeared on Britain's Got Talent, everyone was still making fun of her.
That is, until she began to sing.

I heard about all this when I was writing the nth draft of Asenath (when it was still far, far from publishability), and Ms. Boyle's story really inspired me. She is a classic example of overcoming all odds. She did not allow the travails hurled her way to stop her from doing what she wanted - and eventualy achieving her dream.
Even more amazing is how she is recognised for her (no longer) hidden talent. This truly makes her stand out in a world where people are focused on the superficial: the beautiful, glamorous, wealthy...

At the risk of sounding like some cheesy, old-school motivational anecdote: if she can do it, anyone can.

I know there are a number of miraculous success stories going around. But for me, what makes Ms. Boyle's story exceptionally unique is that she came from a background with practically nothing to her name. For that matter, people often said her name with disgust and ridicule. For a long time, she was the butt of jokes. The village idiot.
Until her inner talent began to shine, overcoming that what she lacked.

So everytime I heard about her debut album I Dreamed A Dream, I would be motivated to continue writing.

Fantasy Art

2011-06-13T22:33:00.003+10:00

Some years ago, I discovered fantasy art. I had never heard of such a thing until then simply because there aren't any paintings or even memorabilia / merchandise of it in my neck of the woods. Never saw it in shops or wherever, never saw people toting it around.

And I am amazed this is so, because fantasy art is uniquely lovely. Well, I suppose it's a bit of an avant garde thing, that's why I haven't seen much of it around. That, by the way, is precisely why I like it - avant garde. It appeals to my unusual, avant garde sense of aesthetics.

These are some of my favourite fantasy artists:

Josephine Wall - IMO, the prettiest art of them all
Jim Warren
Jonathon Earl Bowser
Jessica Galbreth
Kagaya

Dear me, I am sure there are many more that I'm forgetting right now. While we're on the topic of art though, I have to add that while this painter is not a contemporary fantasy artist, I love the works of John William Waterhouse. Even better, he incorporated mythology themes into his artwork! (And for that matter, so do some of the abovementioned artists.)

Back to contemporary fantasy art: a few years ago, at the Winterfest Medieval Fayre (yes, they spell it that way, which I think is pretty cool) here in Sydney, I discovered a local artist named Selina Fenech. She does have some pretty nice stuff as well. I especially love her fairies and unicorns. Her style is varied: she also does some very simplistic stuff, though I prefer the, er, "fancier" art.

Btw, the Medieval Fayre will be held again in a few weeks, on the first week of July according to their website. I'm not sure if I'll be going this year, as I already went three consecutive years in a row, from '07-'09, and in the times I went there wasn't much variety. It was mostly the same things. And in fact, I daresay it became kind of low-key. It might be fun to check out again in a few years or so, though.
So, I shall pass again this year... unless someone invites me to come along, hehe....

I do like checking out all the pretty fantasy items for sale though. That's always fun. Mostly they're nice to look at rather than buy (especially the really heavy stuff like swords and dragon figurines), although I have bought a few stuff from Selina Fenech's booth cuz I find her merchandise the prettiest. The last time I went though, I didn't get anything. She ran out of her cool shirts. :(
But yeah, this year I won't go since I already went thrice before. Er, I would go though probably if it was free, but there's an entrance fee so... erm... Anyway, I'll just check out her (Fenech's) website to see if she has anything new.

Backtracking a bit, look, Jonathon Earl Bowser did a painting of Isis:

See the larger version of it in his website here and also read his retelling of the legend of Isis here.

(Oh, and if this image is not suppposed to be here, please notify me and I will take it down immediately.)

I ought to mention that in my novel, Asenath is given the opportunity to portray Isis in a royal play. Not to boast, but I think that was a pretty cool part.

Desert Wonders

2011-06-08T17:51:00.002+10:00

Not long ago, I was very blessed to be able to go on a trip to the lands of the Bible. I went to Cairo, the Sinai, Israel, and Jordan, in that order. It was for 15 days.
I went with my mum. We did the group package tour thing, and though I'm not really a fan of travelling in groups (though our tourmates thankfully turned out to be nice), I was admittedly glad to do so in the Middle East because it's not exactly easy navigating the desert by yourself, you know? I mean, I'm pretty independent and good in directions but... well, because it's a totally new and different environment there, I'd rather someone do it for me. I do get lazy sometimes.

Anyway, the trip was wonderful, out-of-this-world. The only bad thing I can say is that our time in Egypt was way too short. We were only there for like 2 and 1/2 days. Most of the trip was in Israel, and the last 3 days or so were in Jordan.*
But we'll be returning to Egypt soon. Not now though, because I'm still absorbing the recent trip, plus I have some other plans for next year (God willing). But one day!
Nevertheless, I still had heaps of fun on the trip. And besides, I really should check out Israel since that is where Joseph is originally from (oh, well what do you know, I already did!).
Not to mention I also wanted to see the places where Jesus Christ lived and walked.

And might I add, it's always nice to have something to look forward to - I mean, future trips. And other things too (whatever they may be).

I like what my mum said too, "Having a thorough Israel trip first, and then a thorough Egypt trip later is actually just like Joseph's life."
She does have a point. Absolutely.

Anyway, in Egypt, we were in Cairo for only, like, 1 day. We arrived in the evening, then left the following day at noon-ish for the looooong 7-hour drive to Sinai. (And then the day after that, we then went on to Israel.)
I knew Heliopolis, Asenath's hometown, was supposed to be somewhere near Cairo, and when I asked the tour guide where it was exactly, she informed me it was only five minutes away from the airport!
Five minutes!
I was only five minutes away from where Asenath walked and lived! Ahhh! Well, God willing, next time I'll get to actually see it. :)

I will be talking about the other sights and wonders in the trip in future posts - and yes, of course, I did get to see the Giza Pyramids and also the Egyptian Museum (the latter all too briefly). More on that later too. And I definitely have to mention the monumental climb of Mt Sinai!
But for now, I want to mention travelling through the desert to Sinai.

The desert is beautiful. I never imagined it to be so, but it is. Rolling sand dunes, perfect rock formations, and majestic cliffs beneath a clear, blue sky. It's even better than what I've imagined from the historical / Biblical movies and books that I've read / watched. But there were three things in particular that struck me.
First, I remember seeing a lone camel out in the desert. It had no saddle, no Bedouin accompanying it, and it certainly wasn't in one of the tourist areas. It was out there, out in the desert, all by itself. I wish I took a picture of it, but alas, the bus sped by too fast. Still, I am just awestruck by the image of that lone camel. I felt that seeing it verified that I was really there, in the Middle East, in the lands of the Bible. This was no set-up for a movie, no tourist gimmick (well, we were out in the middle of the desert, where there was barely a trace of civilisation)... It was the real thing. And may I add, it was just like how it was thousands of years ago.
The camel, by the way, was walking along the cliffs that you see pictured here. The above picture is not my own, btw, but from the public domain. Nevertheless, it is where I travelled. (Bear with me, but I am a bit lazy to get my own pics right now.)
Then, when we were walking towards Mt Sinai at the astonishing hour of 1:30am (because we were going to climb and watch the sunrise from the top), I looked up and saw the sky was brimming with stars. Usually, the skies I look upon don't have that many stars, probably because it's obscured by all these modern city lights and stuff. But there, in Sinai, the sky was full of them. Everything is as the way it was before, with no modern buildings and houses and skyscrapers, thus the beauty of the night sky shone forth gloriously.
This is the way it was thousands of years ago. This is how it must have looked like when Abraham was told that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. This is how it must have looked like when Joseph was travelling to Egypt, when the caravan that brought him stopped to rest for the night.
I was there, a modern woman looking up at an ancient sky.
And when we were coming down from Sinai at 9am (yes, we were there that long!), again, I was struck by the sky - and it is only now I realise I've been awestruck by the sky twice in one day, as during the actual time, I was dead-pooped as it was quite a climb! More on that later. But I saw the sky was a deep, clear blue. I have never seen a sky that blue. Again, probably because there is no trace of modern life in Sinai (the Bedouin still live as their ancestors did thousands of years ago), that is why the sky is so perfect, so unobscured by pollution, city lights, etc. Yes, the sky there was so... perfect.
And I remember reading that the skies of Ancient Egypt were a deep, clear blue. What I saw in Sinai thus was probably the closest I'll get to how Ancient Egypt was like.
And if I hadn't been so darn tired from the long (but fruitful) climb, I would've taken in how... Middle Eastern my surroundings were. Soarding golden desert cliffs. Camels. Herds of goats trotting on the mountains. Bedouin children coming up to me, trying to get me to buy their wares.
And a perfect, clear blue sky.

I know I am a sentimental fool, rambling on about these little things, while everyone will talk about the grander things like the pyramids and the mountain and stuff. But I can't help it. I was just... awestruck.

And now, whenever I watch Biblical movies set in the desert, I can't help thinking how familiar it all looks. I was actually there.

*I'm not griping about having only a few days in Jordan though, simply because I don't know too much about it. I haven't read on it as extensively as, say, Egypt and Israel. In fact, it was only some months before the trip that I heard about Petra.
Thus, I'm pretty content with what I've seen of Jordan - Petra, Amman, and swimming in the Red Sea (!). Btw, our hotel by the Red Sea, Movenpick, was the best!

How Joseph MIGHT Have Looked Like....

2011-06-06T22:36:00.005+10:00

....At least in my humble opinion.

Some years ago, I discovered this movie called In The Beginning. It is apparently one of Hallmark's period movies. I was surprised I had never heard of it before, because I'm normally abreast with Hallmark's movies. Or so I thought. Oh well.
Anyway, for those of you who haven't heard of it, In The Beginning is a movie montage of the Biblical stories from Abraham to Moses, and also includes brief scenes of the Creation, Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel. I was pretty much looking forward to it, especially as Hallmark usually does a good job with their historical movies: Cleopatra, Jason and the Argonauts, Dreamkeeper... and I have yet to see Arabian Nights, but I was told that was good, too.

Back to In The Beginning, I was looking forward to seeing the portrayal of Joseph as, quite obviously, his story is one of my Biblical favourites.
And I was duly impressed, to say the least.

Because the first thing I thought when I saw the movie's portrayal of Joseph was, "Wow. This is probably the closest to how Joseph must have really looked like."

Check it out. What do you think?

In In The Beginning, Joseph was played by Eddie Cibrian, who until then I was vaguely familiar with. I believe Mr Cibrian does more TV than movies, and I'm not really into TV shows so that's probably why. But man, I wish I knew more about him earlier because he is just so unbelievably, astoundingly, insanely, shockingly, mind-bogglingly, ridiculously, overwhelmingly perfect for the role of Joseph. It... it.... to use a cliche (as the perfection leaves me with no words!!)... it fits him to a T!
He looked so perfect, it was jaw-dropping.
Groundbreaking.
Breathtaking.
Exhilerating.
Hallmark has the BEST casting ever, I swear.
So yeah, the second I saw Eddie Cibrian as Joseph, I thought, "Oh my goodness. Oh my GOODNESS. That is Joseph, no doubt."
Sorry, I know I'm repeating myself, but I can't help it. I am just so awed. And impressed. And overwhelmed. His looks and physique are just so.... insanely perfect .... and just as importantly, he played the role very well too.
As you know, the Bible says that Joseph was "well-built and handsome;" the King James Version so beautifully says something like "perfect in form and appearance." Thus, the image I had of Joseph was that of an indescribably handsome face and a tall, athletic profile. In other words, what 21st century people would call a hunk.
Alas, for a long time, I had not seen a movie that had done my image justice. Until In The Beginning. And this movie gave it more than justice. It breathed life into it.

Er, sorry, I know I'm gushing. Yes.

But I can't help it. It's just... stunning.

Thus, it was that image above that I had in mind when writing about Joseph in Asenath. I had already seen the movie when I began the very first draft, so everything in terms of character visualisation fell perfectly into place.
(Oh, but I have yet to find a face for the title character. Any suggestions?)

And did I mention he played the role well? He played it so well, it was sensational. He was so naive as a 17-year-old dreamer, so regal and dignified as the Vizier of Egypt... and the reunion scene with his father reduced me to tears.

Amusingly, spurred by the abovementioned film, I then began checking out Cibrian's other shows. Though my initial - and sole - intention was to see him, I actually ended up liking some of the shows for themselves: Ugly Betty (I even bought the white "BE UGLY" tshirt, oh goodness), Samantha Who, Invasion, Not Easily Broken... and probably some others I'm forgetting.
I haven't kept up lately though. But I am still very much - and always will be - into In The Beginning.
Duh.

Alas, as you may know, Cibrian's offscreen life has been the subject of much controversy as of late. Sigh. But well.
Besides, whenever I see him in In The Beginning, I don't see Eddie Cibrian. I see Joseph.

Pauline Gedge Interviews

2011-06-05T03:22:00.002+10:00

I recently came across a few interviews with Pauline Gedge here, here, and here. Though I've been hearing about her works for the longest time, ever since I first got into historical fiction, it was only recently that I actually got a hold of them.
And I loved them! So far, I've read Child of the Morning and The Twelfth Transforming, which were both very good, even far better than I expected (and a big thanks to author Alfred D. Byrd for perenially plugging in Child of the Morning to me... until I actually read it). Oh, I also read Lord of The Two Lands and while the writing was still beautiful, the plot wasn't as engaging as the abovementioned two. Now, I look forward to the House books, The Twice Born, and Scroll of Saqqara, which I have here waiting to be read.

Anyway, I was wondering how her interest of Egypt came to be, as it was never mentioned on her website. I later learned about it through these interviews. Apparently, one day, a teacher of hers showed the class some pictures of the treasures found in King Tut's tomb and from there, she (Gedge) was hooked.
I got interested in history the same way. Ironically for someone who's writing historical fiction, I grew up hating history. I thought it was excruciatingly boring. All it meant to me was the tedious, pointless memorisation of dates, names, and places, only needed in order to pass a class.
However, in my second year of high school, I had a wonderful history teacher who was more like a storyteller. She painted vibrant pictures with her words, drawing us into worlds of long ago. She took us through snowy mountains, scorching deserts, and the thick of battles. She did not make us memorise anything either.
Even more so, she was a lovely person, a kind and gentle soul who spent time getting to know each and every one of us, chatting with us and encouraging us. I was really so blessed to have her.
Eventually, I found myself developing an interest in history. It was no longer as dull as I thought it was - quite the contrary, it was colourful and full of life. Not always pleasant, but still an interesting read.
Then later on, I found myself gravitating specifically towards ancient history. I still appreciate history per se though. But for me, what makes ancient history so especially appealing is that it's so far removed from us, shrouded in mystery and magic. For me, the more enigmatic something is, the better.

Anyway, back to the interviews: Ms. Gedge also mentioned that in historical fiction, one gets to explore (and imagine) the emotional depth, the heart and soul, of a character. In class, lecturers will simply tell you, "This statue was built by Pharaoh So-and-So, in this and that year." But in historical fiction, one can explore what were the motivations for building the statue. Why was this so? How must the Pharaoh have felt while undertaking this?
I love how she said this. She hit the nail right on the head, too. I was looking for the exact words on what drew me to writing historical fiction, why this appeals more to me than, say, a research/teaching career (though I wouldn't mind working in a university one day, as it's a pleasant place to be, but anyway...).
I can imagine and venture into the character and emotional depth. And especially with ancient history and the Bible, where there are so many gray areas and so many things left untold, this provides plenty of rich opportunities for imagination and storytelling.

On a side note, I admire too how Victorian and eloquent Gedge conducts herself. She says, for instance, "I am lamentably lacking in the knowledge of any language but English."
So refined.

Anyway, really interesting, the things she discusses about. Have a read through the interviews if you haven't already.

Short today

2011-05-26T23:51:00.054+10:00

I forgot to mention yesterday: I just signed a print contract with my publisher. Meaning, Asenath will now be going to paperback format as well as ebook! It will be out a couple of months or so after the latter, or so I've been told.

I am ecstatic about this. While I know ebooks are the "in thing" right now, I still like reading the traditional way. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but that's what I honestly prefer. I love the feeling of actually holding a book in your hands, not to mention it gives my eyes a break from the computer's radiation. But more importantly, there's just something so... nice about holding and reading an actual book.

Hence, I was hoping Asenath would be released in paperback format. And now, it will be. I'm so excited! I can't wait to hold it in my hands.

However, I am still glad that it's being released in both ebook and paperback formats, because then it will be able to reach out to a broader range of readers, giving them options. I know some people who prefer ebooks, so at least they too will have a chance to read Asenath. Meanwhile, the old-fashioned people like me will be happy with our paper copy.

I was about to write a much longer post, but I am feeling a bit under the weather, so more next time. For now, I'm gonna go rest.

Dark, dark, dark

2011-05-25T23:58:00.002+10:00

I remember the first time I realised I ardently wanted to write a novel was many years ago, when I saw the Walt Disney movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I used to keep up with those Disney movies of the 90s, and I was astonished - and impressed - at how different Hunchback was from its predecessors. It was sombre, dark, and heavy. I was hooked from the opening scene. True, it wasn't an easy story to tell, and that was precisely what I liked about it. Lots of heavy drama.

I then sought out to read the original Victor Hugo novel, and was even more impressed with how tragic it was. From then on, even though I still didn't know what to write, I knew I wanted to write something dark, dark, dark.

When I shared this thought with some of my teachers though, they freaked out and said, "No, you should write sunny novels instead." I thought there was something not quite right about this.

Years later, I discovered I may have been on to something after all. A piece of advice I've heard from some writers is that in order to tell a good story, you must keep the character in hot water. Do not be afraid to let him/her suffer.
My friend the author Alfred D. Byrd worded it well, "Readers are bored with a bluebird chirruping merrily in a field of daffodils, but add a hawk swooping down on the bluebird and the readers will perk up their evil little heads."

How very true, indeed.

Well, I'm not sure if Asenath could be as classified as dark as Hunchback. It is probably best not for me to say whether the ending is tragic or not. But for sure, I don't take my characters on a walk in the park. Joseph's life, as you know, was wrought with difficulties. Asenath's (at least, my portrayal of her) is, too.

Lovely Artwork of Asenath

2011-05-24T22:49:00.000+10:00

No, I don't have my book cover... yet.

I like surfing DeviantArt. It's such an interesting website - interesting to see what people can come up with. Though I am not at all an artist, I still can appreciate art (I tried my hand at art before but failed).

Anyway, I came across this really beautiful artistic depiction of Asenath over..... here.

Isn't it just gorgeous? Because my publisher lets their authors have input on their book design, I showed this to my editor, for what it was worth. And believe it or not, she actually contacted the artist, asking if it would be possible to use her work as my cover!

It would be nice if that ended up as my cover, because it is really stunning artwork. But if not, then at least I hope my cover comes out that gorgeously..... Egyptian.

Why Asenath?

2011-05-23T22:29:00.005+10:00

Before anything else, I have to mention that Asenath is now officially announced in the Upcoming Releases of my publisher's website! Check it out here!

Now, onto today's topic: why write about Asenath?
I mean, after all, she is a pretty obscure Biblical character. It's ironic that she is though, seeing how famous her husband is. I mean, ask any 5-year-old and they can tell you who Joseph the dreamer is. But mention Asenath and the response you will most likely get is, "Who?"

As a matter of fact, some people have even commented to me, "Joseph had a wife? I didn't know that!" Truth to be told, neither did I, until much later on in my life. Amusingly enough, I first heard about Joseph's wife through the DreamWorks animated movie Joseph: King of Dreams. Amazing what we can learn from cartoons. But DreamWorks' movies seem to be pretty well-researched. But more on that another time.

Back to Asenath: the mention of her is so obscure, that if you blink while reading the account of Joseph, you would most probably miss her name. She is mentioned only thrice (I think), and all we know about her is that:
1) She was the daughter of the high priest of Heliopolis (which the Bible calls "On," probably deriving from the original Egyptian name for the place "Iunu")
2) She was given as a wife to Joseph as the latter's reward for successfully interpreting Pharaoh's dreams
3) She bore Joseph 2 sons, Manasseh and Ephraim (who would later become the double-tribe of Israel)

And these, btw, are the verses that mention her:   Genesis 41:45 , Genesis 41:50, and  Genesis 46:20.

So, why Asenath?

To begin with, I have been fascinated by the story of Joseph for many years now. It is a powerful and moving drama of strength, faith, hope, and perseverance. Then as I delved deeper into reading about Joseph, I became curious about the woman who was his wife. Who was she? What was she like? What was her lifestory?

I then researched, but found nearly nothing on her. Well, I found some a few stories, but they were all fictional - epic poems, the Apocrypha, midrashic stories, and so on. But even those didn't elaborate on her who life. On, say, her childhood, her life before Joseph, and the later years of her life with Joseph, everything is silent.
This then paved the way for imagination. My interpretation of her is based on both what I've read, and my own personal perception on her.

In my novel, I have her as someone who has endured a lot in life, quite like her husband and also some literary heroines I have a fondness for, such as Jane Eyre and Chiyo/Sayuri from Memoirs of a Geisha. I like to imagine that she and Joseph might have had a lot in common, especially if she was to be the woman he was going to marry. I like to imagine that they would have been able to relate to each other - that even though their marriage was arranged, as so many marriages were in those days, they still had a happy and fulfilling relationship. I like to think Asenath was a strong woman.
Some contemporary fiction I've read about her portrays her as a spoiled, aristocratic brat who changes for the better after her marriage to Joseph. Others have her as a neglected trophy wife, left in the house all day while Joseph goes out to work. We may never know what kind of a woman she really was, but at least, I like to imagine that she wasn't like the abovementioned - that she was a strong woman, and that she did have a happy relationship with Joe.

Hence, Asenath.

I have to add that I've wanted to write about her for the longest time, too. I've wanted to write about her for about a decade. In the early years, I scribbled out a few rough (incomplete) drafts, never with the intention of taking it to the next level. I just wanted to... release the ideas floating around in my head.

Today, I continue to scour through bookstores (both brick-and-mortar and online), looking for fictional portrayals of Joseph and Asenath. I love seeing how different people perceive them to be. So if you know of any fiction about these two, do tell. I would love to know.

Introduction

2011-05-20T17:47:00.007+10:00

Salutations, and welcome to my blog! My name is Anna Patricio and I am a soon-to-be published author. My debut novel Asenath is an Egyptian historical fiction about the little-known wife of Joseph (the dreamer - this should be pretty obvious from the Egyptian setting). It is expected to be released sometime later this year by Imajin Books.

I honestly never thought I would write a novel, let alone a historical novel. Unlike most writers you hear about, I do not come from a prolific writing background. The reason is simple: in the past, I did not know what I wanted to write about. I did not know what motivated me. I did not know my passion, my niche. There were lots of interesting ideas floating around, but none that really... enamoured me.
Thus, I only wrote on a very sporadic basis, which was mostly for school. And though I received positive feedback, I still was not motivated as I did not feel passionate about what I had written.

Oh, I tried writing a few times outside of academia requirements. But it felt quite forced. Furthermore, to use a cliche, it did not come from the heart - something very crucial to writing.

In my teenage years, I developed an interest in ancient history. Not long after, an acquaintance introduced to me my first ever historical fiction, River God by Wilbur Smith. I was taken by how the author brought this lost, mystical world to life. From there, I fell in love with the historical fiction genre - especially ancient historical fiction. Especially if it was set in Egypt or Biblical times. (I still keep myself open to all genres though.) However, I still did not consider writing historical fiction as it entails lots of meticulous research and plots - something I imagined I wouldn't be capable of.

When I got to university, I chose for my degree - surprise, surprise - ancient history. About a year after graduation, the idea to write historical fic appeared in my head. I don't know how and why this came to be,m exactly. But whatever the reason, the idea latched itself to me and wouldn't let go. I then decided I had nothing to lose.
I took the plunge.

Once I started, I could not stop. Two months later, the first draft of Asenath was born.

I was not planning to take the novel to the next level. I was just happy to have been able to... produce something. But after the first rough draft, I found myself returning to it to hone it into a second draft. Then a third draft. Then a fourth draft. And so on.
And nearly after 3 years of writing, researching and rewriting, Asenath was finished. It was hard work, but fun too.

And of course, now, after nearly a year of searching for publication, it is about to be released. :)

So why write about Asenath? Ah, that's another topic that deserves an entire post all to itself. For now, I shall pen off. Feel free to post a comment or drop me a line anytime!