The Next Big Thing Blog Event: Escape from Ancient Egypt

I was invited again to participate in this fun activity. This time I was tagged by fellow fantasy author A.M. Day who wrote Throne of Olympus.

On the last occasion I talked a bit about Book #3 Black Hand Vacation, but this time I decided to back up and talk about book #2 Escape from Ancient Egypt instead of moving along to Book #4 since it will be released pretty soon sometime this month or in Jan.

Here we go!

1) What is the working title of your book?

Escape from Ancient Egypt

2) Where did the idea come from for your book?

Somehow or another a splice of two movies–Back to the Future and The Ten Commandments, but then my own thoughts added in other angles: How would this situation look in the reverse (if many tried to free one), and what if the cause of the situation was a lot more personal than just some group of people overstaying their welcome (fighting him over someone he loved rather than for people he cared nothing about)? If the Hebrews had such a hard time, how would it be for Indians considering their track record in addition to the former scenario? Just how big would the problem of being stuck in the past be of Ramesses was directly involved? How would react to some barbarians (his word choice not mine) told him he couldn’t have someone he wanted in his own turf where he had absolute power? Case in short–this wouldn’t go over very well and the situation would be hard one.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

MG/YA fantasy/sci-fi adventure

4) Which actors would you choose to play in your movie rendition?

The Twins Sito and Tito: Native American twin brothers

Mactalon: Native actor

Panthero: Native actor

Neiko: Green eyed native actress

Francesco: Gilbert Gottfried– covers his annoying voice and small lanky frame

Nefertari: Courtney Cox

Ramesses II: This guy is a hard one to find an actor for to cover his complex personalty–people portray his tough and sometimes unrelenting and unfriendly side very well, but they often forget his soft, suave side. The closest fit that comes to mind is Ralph Fiennes or Russell Crowe due to their voice (when Ramesses is calm and not ticked off) and ability to morph into characters, but they look nothing like him even with a tan. Hugh Jackman is a nice candidate, but he likes characters with lots of hair, so I wouldn’t know if he would relish the thought of shaving this head completely bald, lol.  He too can morph into characters and he covers some of Ramesses’ complexity. The only one who came really close in looks is no longer living–his voice didn’t fit IMO. He will be the fun one to find an actor for!

5) What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Neiko and four of her friends are trapped in ancient Egypt during the time of Ramesses II the Great and must get back to the future or many consequences will occur…

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It will be self published. The digital book will be produced by Telamachus Press and the print by Mill City Press in 2013.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

A little over a year. I wrote this book as a teenager and I had to work around school, bed and bathtime. I wrote it right after Neiko’s Five Land Adventure. It took many years to work on publishing it since self publishing as we know it didn’t exist, and for a long time didn’t think anything about publishing it.

8)  What other books would you compare this story to?

It can be related to the other books of the Neiko adventure saga as well as any number of books about ancient Egypt, but there are few of them where characters of the present day transported back in time there–I can’t think of any off the top of my head. However I don’t know of any stories where Native Americans visit this ancient world.

9) Who or what inspired you to write the book?

The what– long fascination with ancient Egypt. Time travel. What would it be like for Native Americans of the present day to roam this ancient world? I don’t think they would be received very well–they weren’t by invaders of their home turf, so this makes for an interesting mix. This time there is no time machine–magic from another world and the vengeance of a scorned villain is what is responsible for the trip. A new twist on some of the time travel stories–how would it be different to be stuck in time outside of your control and under someone else’s ulterior motive to destroy you by sending you to the past?

The who-Native Americans meet the ancient Egyptians. Choosing the right pharaoh to cause trouble for our native heroes was a little of a challenge. I didn’t know the people I know now at 17. Back then I only knew Tutankhamen or Ramesses II and barely heard of Thutmose III, but I didn’t know enough about him–the other two I had bumped into a lot since first grade. Tutankhamen wouldn’t cut it–he wasn’t intimidating or strong enough to buffet our native heroes or exert his will on a strong female warrior to the point she could break, so Ramesses it is. After the research began he became the more than perfect fit, and his history is interesting in itself.

10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Time travel sans the time machine. Trying to get back to the future when the enemy has the way home. Neiko’s battles against Ramesses are not fought with or can be solved by locking blades with him–he tries to force her to stay in a place and time that is not her own. The vendetta Ramesses has against her friends has a more personal angle which really can turn up the heat. Innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfire. What happens here can have implications on history and/or the future…

Next week on Dec 26 be sure to stop by and visit this other author who I’ve tagged to talk about their next big thing!

Natasha Larry