Thursday, February 1, 2024

Fact in Fiction - Part 5 of 5


The Nile Conspiracy
Book 5 of the Legends of the Winged Scarab Series



Love the cover (if I say so myself). It’s part of an original photograph taken in Morocco’s desert by Canadian poet Jim Bennett. 
(Do check out Mr. Bennett's wonderful poetry here)
I approached Jim if I might use part of it for The Nile Conspiracy’s cover as it so aptly portrayed Egypt’s fight for water. He generously granted me the rights.

The main gist of the novel centers around the (real) Grand Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam – and Egypt’s grave and most real concern about the Blue Nile (from where the country receives 85% of its water). Could the Nile downstream turn into a trickle once the gargantuan dam reservoir starts to fill (supposedly taking up to five years). In the novel, Egypt sets out “to do something” about it with the "help" of one of my bad boys, Vergil. (Hopefully NOT to become a reality).

Read "An Interview with A Pirate" here on this blog:



Check out an Excellent BBC YouTube clip about the Nile’s Journey, entitled:
The Grand Renaissance Dam| Why Egypt Will Go To War with Ethiopia

When I stumbled upon the idea of using the Dam in my novel, it was supposed to be opened in 2016. I never imagined that it would become such a controversial project for Ethiopia, Egypt and the Sudan.
In July, Ethiopians were in shock and in a state of disbelief following the tragic death of Semegnew Bekele, chief engineer of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam who oversaw the multi-billion dollar dam project. Officially, his death was ruled a suicide due to mounting pressure about the dam’s delays and cost overruns. There is also an unconfirmed belief that he was murdered. So sad. He was a good man and a dedicated engineer.

Interspersed in the book are many other trials and tribulations my protagonists (and their adversaries) must face – along with a treasure hunt through the real Lost Labyrinth of Egypt
 
While The Nile Conspiracy brings the Legends of the Winged Scarab series to an end, there might be a prequel about Ancient Crete – way before the Minoans. Following a prehistoric eruption of the volcano Thera, could those survivors have become the first Egyptians of 7000 years ago? We’ll just have to wait and see if this writer can get off her ... well, you know.
For now, however, I hope your curiosity was peaked to pick up some of these historical fiction and adventure novels.
 Check out the entire series starting with Book 1, in Khamsin's Ancient Egypt, to modern-day adventures in Books 2-5.



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