Today we are celebrating! For on the first Wednesday of the month, Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) day, we check in with other writers, offer support, and cheer on our various writing projects. But this month, we are celebrating the 15th anniversary of IWSG! Thank you, hosts for the September 2 posting! Please visit Kate Larkinsdale, SE White, JS Pailly, Olga Godim, and Natalie Aguirre and try to visit at least 12 others. You can visit the IWSG home page here.
IWSG's September 2 question is: Do you have a favorite character archetype you tend to gravitate toward in your writing? That's perhaps too easy for me to answer. All my books involve the hero/heroine struggling against seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve justice of some kind, most likely related to my childhood (and that's a story for another time!).
And here's another reason to celebrate. This week, Honeymoon in Egypt went live!
Just before retiring from teaching English at Linn Benton Community College in Oregon, I went on Sabbatical to Egypt. Allen and I had such an amazing time there, spending a month exploring and researching Egyptian culture -- from the museums to the pyramids, the bustling streets of Cairo, and visiting quiet cafes to sip hot mint tea.
Sandra and Neil, yes, you might remember them from The Seventh Tapestry, travel to Cairo on their honeymoon. As a favor to Neil's boss, they stop at the Egyptian Museum to meet the Director. Imagine their surprise when the Director asks them to look into what might be causing missing priceless artifacts.
----I've often heard friends joke that they should travel to some exotic location for vacation and then write a book about it so they can "write it off"... like that somehow makes it free, or like writing a book is SO easy. There's only one problem: not many of them, if any, can write like Beth Camp.
Camp weaves together a mystery with a mastermind criminal, the wonder and tension of traveling in a foreign country, the thrill of discovering culture and history, and the satisfaction of doing it all with a life partner. All of these threads are equally important in real life and she treats them as such in this novel.
What stood out above and beyond all else was her ability to convey a sense of place. The components of the mystery might have been able to work anywhere but they had a special edge to them in the ancient place that is Egypt, and Camp made me feel like I was right there, sweating and discovering, investigating and surviving. That's what you want in a good novel -- to believe and be transported. Highly recommended. --Frank Scalise
----I had the lucky opportunity to beta read Honeymoon in Egypt. It is a superb continuation of the Art Crimes Mysteries that began with The Seventh Tapestry by Beth Camp. Investigators Sandra and Neil find themselves embroiled in the theft of Egyptian artifacts while on their honeymoon in Cairo. Due to the size and quantity of missing artifacts and numerous unexplained deaths invading their not-so-peaceful getaway, the stakes have never been higher. Until – Sandra is kidnapped and buried alive in an Egyptian tomb.
The settings and characters captured me from the first chapter. Brilliantly told and marvelously described, the story of the two newlyweds’ honeymoon cruelly interrupted by their own personal Moriarty, Cochrane, is a must read.
Pack your bags, grab your passport, and be prepared for a scenic transport to Egyptian pyramids and cultural museums. When you arrive, take a quick moment for a cup of tea and a croissant. Excitement and adventure await. --Kevin Hostbjor
May your writing -- and these first precious days of fall -- bring you joy.
