My apologies for my mistake on Saturday – I clicked the send button instead of save a draft! This is the revised version with links that work!
Tomorrow, Shadow of the Sphinx will be available as an eBook on Amazon. I hope you will all agree that it was worth the wait. Over the last six months, I’ve wondered if this day would ever come.
A year ago, I still had dreams of being able to launch the paperback on our Baltic Cruise in December. Then, my editor returned my first draft with a suggestion which resulted in a major rethink and rewrite. By the time I’d dealt with that, I was also struggling to complete my guest speaker talks for the cruise. PowerPoint presentations always take twice the time to put together than you expect, even when all the research is done.
January and February of this year were a disaster. I caught flu which turned into bronchitis which totally sapped my energy and resulted in another twelve-week writing break. Even after all my wonderful beta readers (you’ve done an excellent job) had helped me fine tune the manuscript, my problems weren’t over. My usual proofreader wasn’t available to give the book it’s final polish and finding another was no easy task. Good proofreaders are in great demand. One recommended by a writer friend was booked up until summer 2027! However, her replacement has done a brilliant job.
A big, big thank you to all my advanced readers. Please don’t forget to post your reviews tomorrow on Amazon and Goodreads. Do let me know when you’ve posted your review. I’d like to make a personal thank you and send you a short story, so do send me the link to your review.
Regular readers of my Aunt Jessica mysteries will know that the opening chapter involves Harry making a pre-holiday visit to his mother and her two older sisters. Once I’d finished the first draft of Shadow of the Sphinx, I realised that though life was changing in the Hamilton household in a remote Norfolk village where Harry grew up, unlike the first three books where the visit was integral with the story, this chapter added little to the plot. I was loath to discard it all together (I so enjoyed writing it), so if you’d like to catch up with sharp-tongued Aunt Maud, disapproving Aunt Edwina and his loyal mother, Constance, send me your review.
We first visited Egypt many years ago to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and my fascination with the country, its architecture and particularly the myths and legends of its many gods have continued to grow ever since. A Nile cruise seemed the perfect setting for another book featuring my ex-archaeologist Jessica and her hapless nephew Harry, and my husband took no persuading when I suggested a research trip to Egypt. I expect many of you have been to Cairo and taken a Nile cruise, and I hope reading the novel will bring back some happy memories.
Seeing some of these amazing sites through Harry’s eyes may make you appreciate these experiences in a new light. The things that will linger in my mind include Tutankhamun’s mask – though no photo can ever do it justice –, the sphinx avenue leading to Karnak Temple (like Harry, I felt like some ancient Egyptian pilgrim approaching a holy shrine), the temple at night, and the atmospheric Son et Lumiere at Philae.
Each day brought new excitement, (yes, I really did have to kiss a crocodile), but if I have to choose my favourite visit of the holiday, it would be the visit to Nefertari’s tomb in the Valley of the Queens. The detail of the carvings and their vibrant colours were simply jaw-dropping.
Before I close, I need to say a huge thank you to Joanne, my editor; beta readers, Gail, Jay, Lisa, Henry, Alexia, Phil, Carol, and Helen; Peter my proofreader and – in advance of tomorrow – to all my pre-publication readers. You are stars every one of you!
Leave a Reply