Grea Alexander
For my most recent published book - Amarna Book II: Book of Hawara I got ideas from The History Channel. (laugh) Seriously, I read and watch a great deal of non-fiction. Real life is often far more interesting than a lot of things people make up.
Hearing the myth of the Curse of Tutankhamun when I was young, I wanted to know more. So, I researched King Tutankhamun which lead to me learning about his sister-wife, Ankhesenamun which lead to me learning about their father which lead to me learning about their parents, Ay, Horemheb, etc, etc. As I worked my way through this particular portion of history, I found it interesting how after “King Tut’s” death (when he was around 18/19) the throne jumped around eventually (basically) ending up in the hands of the military and commoners. That made me say, hmmmm. Thus, the original concept for the series was born.
While digging deeper into the aftermath of Tutankhamun’s death, I discovered the whole Prince Zannanza fiasco which lead to researching about his father King Suppilu then learning about Mursili II who I found deliciously fascinating. That this whole colorful Hittite History not only was going on at the same time as the King Tut drama but was actually historically linked at several points throughout history was the icing on the cake. I decided to write Mursili into the series and to deepen the link between the two civilizations.
While I've dramaticized and put my own spin on some things in this series, it's about 95% historically accurate. The overwhelming majority of the characters in this book DID exist in real life. In fact, the only fictional characters in these books are the minions - Ida, Galeno, Nacamakun, Esnai, Clizi etc.; their offspring; and Lord Bietek.
Unbelievable as it may seem, I’d say about 90% of what I wrote regarding the actual historical figures’ actions in this series comes from actual historical fact (AKA what the people clever enough to have recorded it and lucky enough for their recordings to be found’s version of the facts). For instance, the section of prayer included in Book II credited to Mursili II is a real excerpt of a prayer actually written by Mursili II. Even the mention in Book I of the rebel leader who sent out his mother to plead with Mursili for his life REALLY happened.
While most of my historical novels are set in the past and do contain nods to actual historical events, customs, etc., the Amarna series goes far beyond that. It is by far the most historically accurate series I’ve written to date. The true story was just too good and had just too many possibilities for me to want to do anything more but fill it out and have a conjecture field day. It was a challenge to be sure – working within so many pre-set parameters but I really enjoyed writing this series.
I hope to finish the final book in this series - Amarna Book III: Book of Raia by the end of this year.
P.S. My favorite book set in Ancient Egypt that is not one of mine is The River God by Wilbur Smith.
Hearing the myth of the Curse of Tutankhamun when I was young, I wanted to know more. So, I researched King Tutankhamun which lead to me learning about his sister-wife, Ankhesenamun which lead to me learning about their father which lead to me learning about their parents, Ay, Horemheb, etc, etc. As I worked my way through this particular portion of history, I found it interesting how after “King Tut’s” death (when he was around 18/19) the throne jumped around eventually (basically) ending up in the hands of the military and commoners. That made me say, hmmmm. Thus, the original concept for the series was born.
While digging deeper into the aftermath of Tutankhamun’s death, I discovered the whole Prince Zannanza fiasco which lead to researching about his father King Suppilu then learning about Mursili II who I found deliciously fascinating. That this whole colorful Hittite History not only was going on at the same time as the King Tut drama but was actually historically linked at several points throughout history was the icing on the cake. I decided to write Mursili into the series and to deepen the link between the two civilizations.
While I've dramaticized and put my own spin on some things in this series, it's about 95% historically accurate. The overwhelming majority of the characters in this book DID exist in real life. In fact, the only fictional characters in these books are the minions - Ida, Galeno, Nacamakun, Esnai, Clizi etc.; their offspring; and Lord Bietek.
Unbelievable as it may seem, I’d say about 90% of what I wrote regarding the actual historical figures’ actions in this series comes from actual historical fact (AKA what the people clever enough to have recorded it and lucky enough for their recordings to be found’s version of the facts). For instance, the section of prayer included in Book II credited to Mursili II is a real excerpt of a prayer actually written by Mursili II. Even the mention in Book I of the rebel leader who sent out his mother to plead with Mursili for his life REALLY happened.
While most of my historical novels are set in the past and do contain nods to actual historical events, customs, etc., the Amarna series goes far beyond that. It is by far the most historically accurate series I’ve written to date. The true story was just too good and had just too many possibilities for me to want to do anything more but fill it out and have a conjecture field day. It was a challenge to be sure – working within so many pre-set parameters but I really enjoyed writing this series.
I hope to finish the final book in this series - Amarna Book III: Book of Raia by the end of this year.
P.S. My favorite book set in Ancient Egypt that is not one of mine is The River God by Wilbur Smith.
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