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This week’s topic is writing while travelling and how we
accomplish the feat.
I don’t.
For various reasons, travel takes a lot out of me and if I’m
required to travel, I’m going to be concentrating on the mechanics of the trip
and the accomplishment of whatever I went for. I take a pad of paper with me in
case I get a really killer plot idea or want to take note of something, but
only once have I ever actually written a
few words of prose. It was less than a page, about a character known as The
Renegade, and I’ve never done anything else with that particular snippet. I did
use the character in a small but pivotal role in Star Survivor. He’s an intriguing guy so he may still get his own
book in the future.
So that’s a short and not especially illuminating or useful
discussion. I thought about not even posting today, rather than waste your time, but then I thought I could at least give you a passage about travel from one of my books.
Here’s an excerpt from Magic
of the Nile where the heroine, High Priestess Tyema, is sent on a journey
by the Crocodile God she serves. Tyema and I share a reluctance to travel but
at least no one asks me to take along a live crocodile!
Magic was a ‘Hearts
Through History Romancing the Novel’ Contest Winner….
The Excerpt:
The journey from her temple to the small port that was Ibis
Nome’s only formal access to the Nile took three days by donkey cart. Tyema
grew increasingly nauseous and short of breath the longer the journey went on,
even though she was surrounded by her kinsmen, her temple workers and her niece
Renebti and scribe Jemkhufu. All of them did their utmost to make her
comfortable, especially Renebti, who was a gentle soul and obviously distressed
to see her aunt in such turmoil. Usually Tyema did a good job of hiding her
symptoms but in the close quarters of the cart, and the tent the two women
shared at night, she feared her problems were all too obvious.
Infant
Seknehure was well behaved, watching the world go by from the safety of a sling
Tyema wore. He was her solace. Taking care of his simple needs, snuggling him,
breathing in his sweet baby scent all calmed her and enabled her to shut out
the world. Even when he was fussy and she had to walk beside the cart, trying
to soothe him, the activity relieved her symptoms as well.
But her
dread of the river voyage ahead came rushing back in a dizzying wave as her
small caravan wound its way through the crowded, smelly harbor town. People
stared at her since the High Priestess of Sobek was legendary in the province, rarely
seen. Tyema held her head high, feeling her blushes staining her cheeks, and
tried to smile. It didn’t help that she was wearing a simple traveling dress
and cloak, not her ceremonial robes and crown. Nothing to hide behind.
The
nomarch’s private ship, the Swift, was much larger than any other vessel in the
choked harbor. Comparing the tiny inlet to the sweeping peninsula she and
Sahure had surveyed, Tyema could certainly see why Pharaoh had sent him to
investigate the possibility of building a new port for the increased trade he
was contemplating.
Captain
Djedefhor was waiting to greet her on the pier, dressed in a simple white
shirt, dyed blue kilt and matching nemes. Around his neck he wore two amulets,
one of Sobek and the other of Ra, the sun god who sailed the sky and the
Underworld. Djedefhor bowed as she dismounted from the cart and shook out her
skirts. “It’s my honor and pleasure to convey you to Thebes, Lady Tyema. I hope
my poor ship will meet with your approval.”
“I’m
not used to traveling on ships at all, captain,” she answered honestly. “It’s
very kind of the nomarch to lend me his vessel for the journey.”
Djedefhor
smiled broadly. “We’ll set a high standard for you to compare all other ships
to in the future. The nomarch’s orders were to ensure your every comfort while
conveying you to Thebes as fast as possible.” His easy manner toward Tyema
bordered on flirtation, his glances at her appreciative. “Are you ready to
board?”
“I must
see to the comfort of my crocodile before I can worry about myself,” Tyema
answered. “This is my crocodile keeper, Hotepre.”
As the
grizzled older man came forward, the ship’s captain frowned. “Ah yes, the
crocodile. I must confess I prefer taking you on as a passenger over inviting
one of the Nile beasts onto my deck,” Djedefhor said with disarming honesty.
Tyema liked him all the more for his candor. “I don’t suppose we can put it in
the hold?”
“Not
before I’ve died and gone to the Afterlife,” Hotepre said, hands on his hips.
His two underkeepers crowded behind him, ready to defend their crocodile.
Djedefhor
surveyed the crate on the last donkey cart. It was rocking side to side and
much clawing and noise could be heard. The harnessed donkey was wide eyed,
sidling nervously while the driver held the bridle tight.
“I can
order the animal to walk onto the ship,” Tyema said. “Our idea was to chain him
by the hind leg to the mast, or perhaps the rail at the stern? One of my men
will watch the crocodile at all times. We’ll have to catch fish to feed it
periodically during the voyage.”
Djedefhor
had apparently not heard anything she said after the part about walking the
crocodile onto his vessel. He swallowed hard. “For the sake of my crew, can you
bring it aboard in the crate? I’ll agree to let it travel on deck, as long as
I’m satisfied with the restraints, but I’d rather not risk having such a
dangerous animal walk freely.” He glanced at the massive crate again. “I
expected to treat the beast as cargo, not a passenger.”
“This
animal was personally selected by Sobek, to honor Pharaoh. I assure you Sobek
has given me the power to command his creatures,” Tyema said. Deciding she
didn’t want to push the point and incur the captain’s hostility before the
voyage had even begun, she went on in a more positive tone, “But we can
certainly load him onto the ship inside the crate and then allow him to have
the fresh air. The box is constructed to come apart easily. Hotepre, can you
take care of this for me?”
“Well,
then it’s settled,” Seeming pleased, Djedefhor offered her his hand to ascend
the wooden gangplank. “It’s a bit tricky for nonsailors. And of course you have
the baby to balance as well. “
Trying
to decide if the captain actually was trying to flirt with her, Tyema allowed
him to escort her onto the Swift.
Renebti and Jemkhufu brought up the rear. The deck was reassuringly wide
but flashes of the day she’d been carried aboard a Hyksos vessel as a terrified
prisoner came and went in her mind. Tyema froze, clutching the baby so tightly
he cried. Her vision was narrowing and she knew she was going to faint. From a
distance she heard Renebti’s voice asking if she was all right and the
captain’s deeper tones as he said something, but she couldn’t stop the
escalation of her terror. Someone tried to take Seknehure away from her and as
she was resisting the attempt, backing away, she tripped.
There
was a flash of pain in the back of her skull and the world went black.
The
Story: She’s a priestess, he’s a proud warrior … is love enough to bridge
their differences?
When the high
priestess of an Egyptian temple falls in love with a captain of the royal
guard, their bond is tested by the intrigue and peril of their duties to the
gods and Pharaoh.
Tyema serves Sobek the
Crocodile God as High Priestess of his Nile river temple. But despite her
beauty, grace, and the power she wields, the shy priestess lives as a recluse
in the remote temple grounds. For though Sobek rescued her from a childhood of
abuse and neglect, and healed her crippled foot, her dark past haunts her
still.
When Sahure, a dashing
captain of Pharaoh’s guard, arrives to ask her help for Pharaoh, Tyema’s
wounded heart blossoms. The captain is captivated as by her well … until
Pharaoh orders him to the dangerous frontier, far from Tyema. He rides away,
bound by duty and honor, leaving Tyema with even more secrets to bear.
Heart-broken, Tyema
returns to her lonely life … until the Crocodile God reveals other plans for
his priestess. For Pharaoh’s life is threatened with black magic, and only one
who wields the power of a god can unmask the sorcerer. Tyema must brave court
life, and somehow withstand the pressures of swirling gossip, intrigue and
danger. And she must hurry, before ancient evils overcome all her efforts.
But when Sahure
returns, is he there to help or to hinder? Will love lead them to common
ground, and a future together … or will their differences tear them apart
forever?
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