Every Story Is a Journey
After writing for twenty years and publishing eight books, I finally figured out my brand—journeys. A road trip across country, a trip back in time, or a peek into a character’s mind, words take us on journeys. We don’t always know where we’ll end up, but sometimes we sit back and enjoy the journey.
The Pharaoh and the Librarian started as a prequel to a series. I rewrote. And rewrote. Along the way I asked for critiques. Editors said many nice things and some things I ignored. I sent the last version to my dream editor through Reedsy. She told me the same things. And finally I listened. She said the manuscript had an intriguing theme and series of events with an episodic life story kind of feel. And that it wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
I told her that her comments mirrored my life as well as my writing and, if I hadn’t been so shocked at the revelation, it would be funny. Yes! Intriguing theme? Series of events? Check. If I drew a map of my life it would be a maze of cross country travels. Yet episodic worked for me. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Looking back, I see each of my books as a journey. I even included some maps to help the reader follow along. Recovered, the third in my shapeshifter librarian series, my favorite and the most episodic, featured villains chasing my protagonists across the country. Looking even further back, my first romance novel “Hearts in the Vortex,” had a traveling-around-Sedona episodic feel.
So what’s next? It’s time for me to pull out a manuscript that’s as close to autobiographical as I’ll ever write. And, no surprise, my protagonists jump all over the country living episodic lives. Over a 20 year period they stop at many of the places I loved on my own cross country adventures, not knowing the other is also there. (Yes, I do believe in coincidences.)
What’s most fun about a journey? Sharing the beloved places with friends and readers. Hope readers will join my two Egyptian girls and their journeys to a new world.
Blurb:
What if Cleopatra faked her death and escaped on a pirate ship? While her sister sailed for Wales with the most valuable ancient books from her Library of Alexandria? And they both landed in an imagined new world filled with crypto-creatures and historical humans?
Trekking to the desert of 1st century New Mexico, Cleo from the Yucatan and Alex from Nova Scotia, they’d need bravery and help from friends and lovers to evade inner demons and determined villains across an uncharted wilderness.
Alternate history- Fantasy-Romance – Adventure!
Excerpt:
When Alex emerged from her hut the next morning, Dylan lay in wait. She looked up into his glowering countenance. “What do you want?”
“My sister told me you plan to accompany your books on the voyage? She must be mistaken.”
“She is correct. That is my plan.”
“Are you mad?”
She shrugged and walked on, facing forward, ignoring the giant Druid at her heels. “Perhaps.”
“Alexandria, wait. The journey is long and dangerous. And very cold.”
“So be it.” She kept walking.
He grasped her arm and made her stop and face him. “I’m not talking about ordinary danger. Entire ships do not survive the three-month ocean journey. The crossing is treacherous. Filled with hardships. A ship is no place for a woman.”
Her body stiffened. “No place for a woman! You told me Viking women captain ships.”
“You are no Viking.” He stepped back and rubbed his head.
Her face reddened. “I am Alexandria Ptolemy of Egypt. I will accompany the most valuable library in the world to its new home. If you refuse to go, then stay.” Alex turned on her heel and marched to the caves to continue preparations for the journey. She might not be as courageous as Cleo, but she could be as stubborn.
***
Months later, Alex furrowed her brows against the bitter cold wind. If this was what Vikings called spring, they were truly mad. The ships she’d purchased with Egyptian gold had arrived. Her library, now well-protected inside shells and sealed in skins, was packed into their holds. And, with word that the ice had cleared from their chosen route, Dylan and the Viking captain Skrymir, a giant man with a mustache curled like the horns of a wild mountain sheep, were ready to sail.
Gwynne led them, blue cape furling, to the standing stones for a Druid ceremony. Alex smiled, for the Druid queen no longer appeared ferocious. Her friend’s blue-stained face was lined with kindness and concern.
“Are you determined to make this voyage, dear daughter of the pyramids?”
Alex nodded. “I must go with my books to see them to a safe land.”
“Dylan is an adventurer, but a good sailor and navigator. Many have trusted their lives to him.”
“My library is more important than my life.”
Gwynne embraced Alex. “I have enjoyed your company and wished for you to stay here in Wales, but I understand your dedication. I, along with my librarians, will fight off the Roman wolves as long as we can, so none will know you have left. We have our swords, shields, and magic caldrons. My second, Boudicca, is most formidable. And Y Draid Goch, our Red Dragon, defends Wales.”
Alex held her friend tight. She would miss the Druid Ovate. She’d learned much from her and spent many days with books and tea of lemon balm and peppermint, and many evenings with mead and stories.
Gwynne’s eyes closed. “I have seen a vision. Your books safe in a valley where you will build a new library.”
“Thank you. I will do my best to make that happen.” As comforting as Gwynne’s vision had been, fear of the unknown filled Alex’s heart. Cleo had often called Alex an obsessive introvert who shunned life. Now she must prove Cleo’s words wrong.
Gwynne stepped to Alex and removed Alex’s cape. Then with a flourish took off her own blue cape and placed it over Alex’s shoulders. “May this keep you warm and safe with Druid magic.”
Alex felt the weight of the cape like a comfort and her eyes teared with gratitude. Through the blur she saw Gwynne point to the sky. She looked up and saw a crimson flash soar over the standing stones, then circle back. Flames burst from the dragon’s jaws. It flapped its sharp forked tail. The people below cheered.
“There is one more gift.” Gwynne waved Dylan to her side. “Come to the Circle.”
Alex and Dylan followed Gwynne to the center of the standing stones.
Gwynne’s eyes shone with tears as she took Alex’s left hand and placed it in Dylan’s right. “Alexandria of Alexandria, daughter of Pharaohs, I give you my most precious gift, my brother Dylan, Prince of the Anglesey Druids, and Lord of Ynys Môn.”
Alex’s mouth opened letting in a gulp of frigid air. “What do you mean?”
Dylan squeezed her hand. “My sister is giving me to you.”
Gwynne smiled. “My brother understands it will be a long and dangerous voyage. With Dylan as your husband, you will have protection.”
“No,” Alex protested, attempting to pull her hand back from Dylan’s warm grasp. “This cannot be. I have vowed never to wed.” She looked into Dylan’s sea-blue eyes. “Tell your sister she is mad.”
Dylan held Alex’s hand fast. “I bow to the authority of my Druid queen. Gwynne, make haste with the ritual. My bride and I sail with the tide.”
Alex opened her mouth to protest but only a very un-royal sputter escaped.
With that, Gwynne spoke quickly in the dialect Alex had not yet mastered, and in minutes Dylan had transferred a gold ring from his finger to hers and clasped her in a warm embrace. She stood stunned when Gwynne ordered, “Now circle the stones. Then all will be complete.”
Dylan’s voice was gentle. “Come with me three times around the stone circle and it shall be done. I promise you shall not regret what my sister has decreed.”
Available: Amazon print and ebook
Bio:
Amber Polo, constantly asking “What if…?” has a hard time writing in one genre. Best known for The Shapeshifters’ Library urban fantasy series which asked what if librarian dog-shifters faced book-burning werewolves, she shares her love of libraries and fascination with creatures and places, real and not-so-real, in The Pharaoh and the Librarian.
Author of award-winning fantasies and Arizona romances, Amber relaxes stressed writers and readers. Her book, Relaxing the Writer offers a catalog of suggestions and simple exercises while her calming CDs help almost anyone relax and find restful sleep. Heads in the Clouds won Best Romance in the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards and her essay “Trick or Treat” won the national Story Circle Network Susan Wittig Albert LifeWriting Competition.
To learn more about Amber and her books, find her at:
Cynthia Terelst is a project officer by day and a writer by night. She is a contemporary romance writer who likes to share a little bit of history, some Australian scenery and a whole lotta love. Cynthia does not shy away from difficult topics, as she feels that they should not be ignored.
I don’t think I’ve consciously given a thought as to why I normally create my heroines as slim or slender. I don’t think I purposely avoid the full-figured heroine, but maybe in some way I do. It’s definitely something I will consider in the future. The fact is, full-figured women are as beautiful as slim women.
Curvy is great. Curvy is good. Know why? Because beauty comes from within, not at the makeup table or on the scale. It comes from loving yourself and being happy with who you are.
What about you? Does it bother you to write (or read) about a woman who isn’t a size 6?
In my first book, 
hourglass figure are her assets, and she’s very aware of that when eloping to the American colonies. When everything she trusts deserts her, Sarah must sell those assets to survive – and in that mirror, every day, she sees a loathsome harlot in a gambling club. It’s not until Neil McAllister, who by the way has a damn good body, investigates her for possible bank fraud, that she has the courage to see herself as she once was.
I used to think that creating a character for a book would be easy. After all, we all know a bunch of people. Just make a character like one of them. But the people we know are already true, full people (though I have to admit, I know a lot of people who could use a little more work). To take a concept, a thought of a person you want to play a part in your story involves developing every single facet of personality, appearance, habits, quirks. It can be daunting! Consider the difference between buying a house that needs to have the walls painted to starting from ground zero and building the whole house from scratch.
be a little short of what it takes to make a character real. Kayelle Allen provides character interviews for authors who post on the