Elizabeth G: Eye of the Beholder

Truth to tell, I’m deep into writing the final chapters of the latest book in my Pharaohs Rising series and couldn’t come up with a single idea for this blog.

Then, as I was sitting at my computer today, occasionally glancing out the window at the forest behind our house and the flowers spilling out of the large terra cotta pots on the back deck, I happened to glance down at my feet.

Eureka!

Let me tell you, folks, inspiration can come from anywhere. Even from my big, bare, freckled feet. (I love alliteration.)

So with tongue planted firmly in cheek, with a wink and a nod and a hint of self-deprecating humor, I am going to interview myself.

EG: I couldn’t help but notice you’ve got dark circles under your eyes. Are you getting enough sleep?

Self: Hello! What part of writing-my-butt-off-all-hours-of-the-day-and-night-as-I near-the-end-of-a-book don’t you understand? Of course, I have dark circles under my eyes.

EG: A little touchy on the subject, aren’t we?

Self: I assume that’s a rhetorical question.

EG: So, how’s the book going?

Self: Peachy keen.

EG, smacking herself alongside the head: What could I be thinking of? You never like to talk about the progress of a book until it’s finished, finalized, and FedExed.

Self: The three F’s.

EG: Ah-hem, maybe we should take this interview in a slightly different direction.

Self: Excellent idea.

EG: What about your hero and heroine? You’re a lifelong romantic who believes in the concept of one man, one woman, destined for each other and for all time.

Self, perking right up: I love the hero and heroine of this story! They’re my kind of people. He’s an ancient Egyptian prince who was next in line to become pharaoh after his brother was assassinated. She’s a museum curator who discovers a mysterious sarcophagus in the deepest, darkest recesses of the museum cellar.

EG: I’m captivated.

Self: Of course, you are. You’re my captive audience. Anyway, there are some really weird things about the ancient coffin — and we’re talking "woo-woo" weird here. First, it’s covered with strange hieroglyphs. Second, it’s too massive and heavy to be supported by the museum floor above, so it’s been left to gather dust in one of the storage rooms in the vast basement below. And, third, it appears to be carved from a solid block of granite.

EG: In other words, no lid.

Self: Yep. No way in and no way out.

EG: What happens next?

Self: Well, Keira – she’s our heroine— is startled, puzzled, and more than a little frightened when she goes down to the basement one night and finds the sarcophagus standing wide open . . . and empty.

EG: Woo-woo, indeed. So, what’s the title of the book?

Self: NIGHT HUNGER. I love the title, but I can’t take any credit for it. NIGHT HUNGER was suggested by my brilliant editor at Berkley, Cindy Hwang.

EG: Publication date?

Self: You’ll be the first to know. I’d guesstimate sometime in early 2009. (As you also know the book had to be postponed due to unexpected medical problems we ran into this past year.)

EG: What’s up next?

Self: Book 3 of Pharaohs Rising. The working title is NIGHT FIRE. Ideas are already clamoring for our attention, so we’ll start writing NF like a house afire in July.

EG: By the way, what did your feet have to do with inspiring this blog?

Self: Our feet. Well, I’d considered writing a humorous and over-the-top blog about our best physical feature. But then I quickly realized it’s not our feet. It’s not our hands. It’s not our naturally curly hair because we’ve always been of two minds about the curly part. It’s certainly not our elbows. It’s not our ankles. It’s not our—

EG, interrupting not a moment too soon: Whoa! I think we all get the idea.

Self: Are you getting enough sleep? I couldn't help but notice you've got dark circles under your eyes.

EG: Our eyes.

It's June. It's almost summer. It's time for frozen popsicles and a little levity. So Inquiring Minds want to know: What's your best physical feature?