The “Other” Sirocco

I knew there were several books out there with that title. (There is even a 1951 Humphrey Bogart movie.) Still, to come face to face with another contemporary Sirocco was a bit startling at first. Naturally, and because of its beautiful cover as well as reading the ‘Look Inside’ on Amazon, I was intrigued enough to buy “the other” Sirocco written by Danielle A. Dahl.

I am so glad I did.

http://www.amazon.com/Sirocco-French-Comes-War-Torn-Algeria/B00HQ693S6/

While our two stories are completely different (Danielle’s being a delightful yet heart-wrenching memoir and mine a pure archaeological adventure fiction), we both use the fierce Mediterranean wind as a symbol of foreboding.

I asked Danielle about her life other than what I read in her Sirocco, and she tells us this:

“A voracious reader, I cultivate my passion for the power and magic of words. When asked, ‘Who's your favorite author?’ ‘Steinbeck,’ is my straight-from-the-heart answer. For love of languages, I speak French—but of course. English—indubitably. And Spanish—por qué no?’

“On my time away from writing, I like to paint, take photos, bowl, and hike. Ah, oui! Last, but not least, I'm raving mad about dark chocolate.

“I am a member of the South Carolina Writers Workshop, Sisters in Crime, the National Association of Memoir Writers, the Southern Indie Booksellers Alliance, and the Seneca Writers Critique Group.

“I am also a member of Le Cercle Franco-Americain and The French Underground, both in Greenville, SC.

“Sirocco was finalist in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

1) In the Historical Non-Fiction category,

2) In the Historical/Legacy category.

“Two of my creative nonfiction stories appeared in the 2011 and 2012 Petigru Review Literary Journal.

“I won second place in the 2011 Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Awards for nonfiction.

“Lastly, I was semi-finalist in the 2011 William Faulkner Wisdom Competition for a novel-in-progress as well as for a short story.

“At present, I am translating SIROCCO to French and am writing the first draft of MISTRAL, SIROCCO's sequel, depicting the struggle, which I, my family, and over a million others like us, faced after we fled Algeria and searched for new places to call home in France or across the globe.”

Thank you, Danielle, for letting us look deeper into your past. Actually, it struck me that our paths might easily have crossed at some time, as I was an au pair student in Paris in 1962, and then also lived in Chicago until the late 1960s after my job transfer there from Austria.

What a pity. I would have liked to have met you then; but am glad I am doing it now (at least via the Internet through our mutual passion for writing).

Back to Sirocco: A French Girl Comes of Age in War-Torn Algeria.

The following is my Amazon Review of this coming-of age memoir:

Delightful and ForebodingNaturally, the title intrigued me. Danielle A. Dahl’s Sirocco starts out with the day-to-day recollections of an adolescent girl growing up in Algeria during the early 1960s. Her French parents and four siblings are happy with their lives. While having to be frugal, they are respected members of the community comprised of other Pieds Noirs (all French expressions are made beautifully clear throughout the book), as well as their Arab neighbors, friends and colleagues.When Algeria’s desire to self-rule rears its head, it all changes. The family is given a choice: To leave their home with a suitcase; or to stay in a coffin. Such is the heartbreak behind any revolution; the price to pay by those who had made a foreign country their home.Ms. Dahl’s writing comes straight from the heart, yet without sentimentality or rancor; in short, it is delightful, insightful, humorous and sad all at the same time - a wondrous window into a world most of us know little about. I highly recommend this beautifully written memoir.                     Inge H. Borg, Author of Sirocco, Storm over Land and Sea

                                                                   

Most of us are not familiar with the city of Constantine nor might you be aware of its dramatic setting. I certainly wasn’t. Danielle’s website features astonishing and hauntingly beautiful photographs. Sitting as it does atop a formidable rock, the city overlooks deep chasms connected to the outside world by death-defying bridges and roads.

I could almost feel the echo of the howling sirocco; an inescapable portent to those wrecked lives during the 1960s.

I would urge you to check the blog out here: http://www.dadahl.com/#!page4/cfvg

Ms. Dahl’s writing has been described as “lush, richly evocative, bittersweet and brilliant” by other readers, and I wholeheartedly agree.

Ms. Dahl is already working on her next storm, the Mistral, where she and her family come to face as they find refuge in an inhospitable France.

In keeping with my own stormy theme, I almost chose that title for Book 3 of my Legends of the Winged Scarab. Eventually though, I settled on a world After the Cataclysm (as the story takes my protagonists into the South Atlantic, well away from Mediterranean storms – to which they only return in The Crystal Curse and The Nile Conspiracy). If you feel this is a shameless little plug for my Sirocco, you are not wrong...

However, do yourselves a favor and read Danielle Dahl’s book. I found it a brilliantly-cut diamond among the pebbles:

http://www.amazon.com/Sirocco-French-Comes-War-Torn-Algeria/B00HQ693S6/

And Talking about Predictions

     This might be an interesting idea for a new Historical Fiction yarn.
Or a horror story, depending on your outlook:

 Amerigo, The First Reich

     Once upon a time, there was a powerful republic consisting of many states with autonomous powers. People were prosperous and relatively happy. They also said what followed could never happen to them. But it did. Everybody’s life went into the toilet, except for Kaiser Reginald’s and those who sidled up to his ample derriere. He marveled at his successful coup, often reminding his subjects as well as the rest of the world who was in charge now.

     “I created the First Reich of Amerigo, and I made it great by building a yuge wall,” he pouted at his hand-picked press corps. His cheeks puffed out, rosacea blotches replacing their usually unhealthy pallor. Although deemed fearless, he flinched as a sudden gust from the open palace window played with his careful comb-over, briefly revealing a shiny pate.

     “Hail, Kaiser Reginald,” the press corps members cried in unison, throwing furtive glances around, wondering if they were being recorded by the KRSS, Kaiser Reginald’s Secret Service. Those muscle-bound hounds were hand-picked and duly cowed as they jostled to stay at their master’s beck and call, as well as his feeding trough.

     Reginald’s well-oiled propaganda machine churned out one rousing slogan after another. He personally flung them at the masses, often contradicting his own last version with flair and impunity.

     “How could this have happened,” the people moaned.
Apparently, they had not studied their history lessons in school.

     Anybody remember Napoleon, et al? The Corsican soldier entered politics by taking up the common cause for a new French Republic. The restless proletariat believed and supported him wholeheartedly.

     That went well ... until he crowned himself emperor.

How dare I say this? Been there, done that during the "et al-period" mentioned above...that's how.

What if a Story Turns Real?

When I published Sirocco, Storm over Land and Sea, Book 2 of my historical fiction series, in August of 2012, near the end I wrote this:

“In bustling Mexico City, no one pays heed to the sigh that floats up from Popocatepetl as it rumbles its distant triplet cousins Thera, Sakros and Cape Riva awake in their Aegean cradle. But on Santorini, the cats leap from whitewashed perches to hide under hollow steps; and the wolves of Yellowstone stop tearing at their kill.”

 I wrote this to foreshadow the premise of Book 3 - After the Cataclysm - where I have the Yellowstone Supervolcano explode - with dire consequences, I admit.

From today’s NBC News, we learn that Mexico's second-tallest volcano, Popocatepetl, woke up in a bad mood this morning, as it looms over Mexico City.

www.nbcnews.com/video/mexico-s-second-tallest-volcano-erupts

And From Associated Press comes this:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A volcano on Alaska's Aleutian Islands erupted Sunday afternoon and sent ash 20,000 feet into the air, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Pavlof Volcano, one of Alaska's most active volcanoes, is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula.

www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/pavlof-volcano-erupts

I am a novelist. I make things up.

Heaven help us if our present political rumblings should suddenly take a backseat to what Mother Earth might have in store for us.

As I said, I make things up; I surely don't want to predict!

Water Wars intensify between Egypt, Ethiopia

 Controversy continues to swirl around the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, with conflicting reports emerging about how soon Ethiopia will begin storing water there.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/03/egypt-ethiopia-renaissance-dam-water-storage-nile-dispute.html#ixzz424aXh6L1

The basis of my novel, The Nile Conspiracy, is becoming eerily real. No, don't say 'forboding.' It's a novel...

However, I also just read President el-Sisi (whom I sort of 'replaced' in my novel) is cracking down (well, jailing, actually) novelists for reasons only known to him and his henchmen...

I guess, I better not schedule a trip over there right now! But that shouldn't prevent you from reading Book 5 of my Legends of the Winged Scarab.

‘Gods of Egypt’ (The Movie)

 Rarely have the lesser gods of Hollywood produced a decent (believable) movie about Ancient Egypt – and this one seems to be no different. In the words of Cecil B. DeMille: "Creativity is a drug I cannot live without." Problem: One needs to take the right drug, or all mayhem breaks loose.

 The following is an amusing  partial  Review by MANOHLA DARGIS as featured in the New York Times Section of the Egypt Monitor:

       Bosomy damsels and brawny slabs; cheering digital crowds; a lachrymose sphinx; a bedazzled Geoffrey Rush; a galactic cruise ship; an Egyptian god played by the Dane Nikolaj Coster-Waldau; the sword-and-sandals enabler Gerard Butler; a smoky monster that from one angle looks like a fanged doughnut and from another an alarmingly enraged anus — “Gods of Egypt” attests that they do make them like they used to, or at least like the King of the Bs, Roger Corman, once did, except with far more money.

If “Gods of Egypt” were any worse, it might be a masterpiece. 

A glowing threat in “Gods of Egypt.” Credit Lionsgate

It is instead a demented entertainment, an embarrassment of kitsch riches that, in between inspiring giggles and snorts, incites you to consider imponderables like, who greenlighted this, and why? Is there really still a market for would-be spectaculars with cartoonish effects and self-parodying dialogue delivered with “Downton Abbey” drawls?

How does a cast like this take shape? Did Mr. Rush sign on first and the others follow like lemmings? And how did Mr. Butler, with his furred musculature and marble-mouthed Scottish accent, become a standard-bearer for midlevel exploitation cinema?

Perhaps, before you head to the movies, you may want to read the entire Review here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/26/movies/gods-of-egypt-review.html

Or, you can spend half the money and read a good novel about Ancient Egypt. 

I just happen to have one for you:

Amazon-US

Amazon-UK

Genre–Bound?

     When I started reading early on in my life, I read pretty much everything I could get my little hands on, mostly with my parents’ acquiescence. Although, there were those times when I hid some frowned upon sci-fi pulp—handed to me under the table by no other than my grandmother!—under my mattress, only to find the cheap pamphlets in my school-book drawer. So much for trying to deceive a mother.

     It didn’t seem there was such a thing as strict “genre” then; one was more likely to follow an author rather than a set subject matter. Well, except perhaps the book club offerings my mother had subscribed to about the pampered mistresses of Europe’s kings. Madame de Pompadour, Madame du Barry, Lola Montez, Désirée. Yes, even Cleopatra got a bad rap as a courtesan. It was mild 1950s ‘heaving-bosom eroticism’ foisted upon a romance-hungry readership needing an escape from their trying post-war struggles or--as in my case--a girl's awakening curiosity.

     These days, it seems writers need to package themselves neatly into specific genres in order to aspire to some measure of loyal followers. Anything else they might produce is apt to fall by the wayside. And – heaven forbid – if several genres are combined under one hat, writers are apt to be chided or – worse – abandoned; although, the imaginative and curious reader might laud them for not producing cookie-cutter sequels, one after the other, siphoning off from a first success.

     

     My Legends of the Winged Scarab series, for instance, spins Historical Fiction into a modern-day thriller, to continue with post-apocalyptic adventure, ending with international intrigue - only to loop back to the mysticism of Ancient Egypt.

Then, under the same author name, up pops the sweetest-ever cat together with his animal shelter buddies.

To confound things even more, a book of poems and short stories gets thrown into the fray.

And let's not forget about Edward, Con Extraordinaire, a small "teaser" of things to come for the versatile Brit who keeps popping up in the Legends.

The marketing pundits might say "not smart."

But what’s a writer to do who writes from the heart and not necessarily the head?

     I would love to hear how readers feel about it all.

     Then, I lastly must admit, there is a novella of perhaps literary pretense. In order to make it more visible (or palatable) the poor thing has endured several title and cover changes. 

And just for reading all of the above:

It is On Sale for 99c just for you - February 25 - 29, 2016

Amazon-US

Amazon-UK

Is the Nile Running Dry?

 An interesting clip about Egypt's struggle over the waters of the Nile.
 It also talks about Mubarak's failed Toshka Project
 (mentioned in The Nile Conspiracy).

Ethiopian Dam Still Under Construction

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam,

previously scheduled to be finished in 2015,

is still only 50% completed.

The dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the waters of the Blue Nile forms the backdrop of 

The Nile Conspiracy

Available now for Kindle and in Print at 

Amazon-US

Amazon-UK

My Favorite Bad Boy - FREE

 February 13 - 17, 2016

 on Amazon.com

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009BQZ1JY

 Edward Guernsey-Crock became such an important character that several reviewers mention him in their Reviews of The Legends of the Winged Scarab series. (Alas, as time and the series progress, the delightful Edward turns a lot less ‘charming’ and increasingly villainous; I enjoyed writing about him. I guess, even good girls become fascinated with bad boys.)

From The Nile Conspiracy (Book 5):

"Not only has Borg published four [five] full length books, there is a novella that enlightens us about one of the main protagonists, Edward. I haven’t read it yet, but I did buy it, for it seems key to grappling with this vital character."

"Borg's narrative is eloquent, witty and stylish; her characters are memorable and there is a great balance between ironic detachment and powerful dramatic involvement."

* * *

"Borg takes her characters and story to different types of adventures and genres."

From The Crystal Curse (Book 4):

"Are there other books by this author that might also be helpful? An intriguing novella, Edward, Con Extraordinaire, Stories of Deceit nicely deals with one of the main characters and, due to its brevity, provides a nice relief."

* * *

"A few characters [Edward] from the previous books also make an appearance here to add to Jonathan and Naunet's discomfort."

From After the Cataclysm (Book 3):

"Borg's characters all grow in this book, some in ways more pleasant than others." [Oh, yeah. Edward is becoming slimier by the day.]

From Sirocco, Storm over Land and Sea (Book 2):

"Edward convinces Naunet to join him for lunch and the adventure begins... He and Karakurt have taken two of the tablets. They need Naunet to clear and translate them. She is kidnapped."

*

Several Reviewers could see Edward played by David Niven ("at his most cheeky"); In a movie-version (don't I wish) I see my Brit dashingly portrayed by a younger Charles Dance (as in White Mischief, or Pasquale's Island). What do you think?

Festival of Drunkenness

 In today’s newsletter from an interesting site called Ancient Origins  (- Check it out on the web -) one of the articles is titled, 

“Provocative Yet Sacred: The Ancient Egyptian Festival of Drunkenness.”

http://www.ancient-origins.net/ festival of drunkenness

Those Ancient Egyptians knew how to live.

Note the Scarab -

My "Legends of the Winged Scarab" fit right in with this story.

(Public Domain)

Rowing Across the Atlantic

 In today’s news, an intrepid group of men is setting out to row across the Atlantic from Portugal all the way down to Venezuela. Not in a comfy yacht or even sailboat. They are hoping to accomplish this audacious feat in an open rowboat!

 Team Essence practices off the coast of Portugal. Photo: Tobi Corney

Their projected route is of particular interest to me since I am describing almost the same route (in reverse) in my novel, After the Cataclysm, Book 3 of the Legends of the Winged Scarab series. 

Except, I am giving my protagonists a little more protection against the elements in their 34-foot Pilothouse Fisher, a sturdy sailboat (they make it, too).

The Route my "Esperanza" took in "After the Cataclysm," took her from Venezuela to the Canary Islands - and then into the Mediterranean.

Quite a difference, isn't it?

As a sailing enthusiast, my best wishes go with these men.

I will be following Team Essence on their progress to their hopefully successful completion all the way.

You too can follow them on Twitter: @teamessencerow 

using hashtags: #Atlantic #Mainland2Mainland #ihaterowing

FREE Read & Review - Starts Feb 3rd

 Still Ongoing: 
The Nile Conspiracy 

will be available from 

February 3rd onward for FREE 

through the 

Read and Review Program 

from 

The Choosy Bookworm 

https://choosybookworm.com/select-free-ebook-read-review/

Sign up and look for The Nile Conspiracy in the Suspense Category.

The Mobi-File will be sent directly by the Author.

Christoph Fischer's LUDWIKA

This is a great opportunity either to continue to enjoy another of

Christoph Fischer's

sensitive treatment of difficult times in history,

or to acquaint yourself with this exceptional writer.

Until January 22

AMAZON-US Ludwika

AMAZON-UK Ludwika

Looming Conflict over Water

     Potable water is becoming scarcer all around the world. Today, The Economist has an interesting article about Egypt’s growing concern over the scheduled 2017 completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Map below from the Economist.com).

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa

     Comments to the article reveal both sides of the border.

     This very dam is the basis of Book 4 of my Legends of the Winged Scarab, 

The Nile Conspiracy.

     While it is of course a fictional account of the looming conflict between the two countries, one can only wonder about the future of the Blue Nile; and with it, the future of Egypt.

The Crystal Curse - ON SALE

In Celebration of publishing The Nile Conspiracy, Book 5 of the "Legends of the Winged Scarab"

The Crystal Curse (Book 4)

is 
ON SALE 

for $0.99 (down from $3.99)

From January 8 through 12

While characters from the previous books continue their quests in search of the Golden Tablets, as a story, this latest Adventure/Thriller can stand alone.

Of course, it is always preferable to read the previous stories from at least the modern-day sequels:
Books 2 and 3.

* * *

Unscrupulous profiteers implement a New World Order. Millions are to be ‘neutralized.’

Pitted against them are Egyptologist Naunet Wilkins, her scientist husband Jonathan. They are kidnapped onto a ship carrying a ton of ancient golden tablets bartered away by former Cairo Museum director Jabari El-Masri.

At a conference on Malta, the power mongers hammer out their diabolical agenda. El-Masri lies about wondrous crystals on Crete. He finally admits they only grow deep within the Lost Labyrinth of Egypt. There, El-Hanash, the Crystal Snake, coils for those who dare defy the Crystal Curse. Who will live? Who will die?

Get your copy from my Amazon Author Pages:

Amazon-US

Amazon-UK

Khamsin - A Sandstorm and A Novel

 KHAMSIN - On SALE

99c

JANUARY 7 - 12

Amazon-US

Amazon-UK

The ferocious Saharan sandstorm forms the basis of my Historical Fiction Novel, Khamsin, The Devil Wind of The Nile.

Metaphorically speaking, this is a storm within an ancient ba.

"This reawakened soul, an essence that had lived through paradise and cataclysms, was destined yet to live through many other storms for it was a sinner's soul that had not yet found atonement on this earth."

The "khamsin" or "khamasin" or "khamseen," is a vicious sandstorm having devastated Egypt periodically for thousands of years.

The name actually means "Of Fifty Days."

Lucky for modern Man, it rarely lasts fifty days now - but its destruction is equally great in modern times as it was in Ancient Egypt.

THE NILE CONSPIRACY

THE NILE CONSPIRACY

Book 5

Legends of the Winged Scarab

http://www.amazon.com/TheNile Conspiracy/B01A8XW308

Imagine the mighty Nile running dry due to human interference.

Impossible?

Only too soon, this very threat may become a devastating reality.

Riveting adventure and international intrigue find Naunet and Jonathan Wilkins back in Egypt where the construction of The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam portends a catastrophe of biblical proportions.

Amidst their struggle to save an ancient site, the archaeologists are caught up in a dangerous conspiracy. Their explorations become a death trap when the desperate Egyptians decide to turn a huge secret underground labyrinth into an emergency reservoir.

Will the combined recklessness of two governments explode into the annihilation of its people?

In The Nile Conspiracy, several characters, good and evil, from the series’ preceding volumes are once again pitted against each other, the elements, and time. The novel captures the struggles of an economically depressed Egypt by combining the challenges of an post-apocalyptic world with the awe-inspiring legends of an ancient culture.

Amazon-US

Amazon-UK

A Celebration

A New Year Worth Celebrating

Coming January 6th

Amazon-US

Amazon-UK

Where is the Source of the Nile - Part 2

Interesting history about Control over the Nile:

The Exploration of what is today known as the White Nile and Lake Victoria,

and the Blue Nile flowing down from the Ethiopian Highlands.

Today, we know that 80% of the water flowing into Egypt comes from the Blue Nile out of Lake Tana in Ethiopia. At the end of this tape, the Egyptians still feel safe and proclaim that "there are no project at this time to dam the Blue Nile...."

They have been proven wrong. The construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (said to go online in 2017) in south-western Ethiopia, close to the Sudanese border, is a rude awakening for downstream countries as it will drastically decrease the flow of the Blue Nile for Sudan and Egypt.

Struggle Over the Nile - Part 1

The Nile Conspiracy

Book 5 of the Legends of the Winged Scarab

This new novel takes the struggle between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Blue Nile waters

as its basis for more action and adventure

to be overcome by Naunet and Jonathan Wilkins.

Available January 6th from Amazon

An Unexpected Award

We all love receiving an award. It is, however, especially thrilling to get one unexpectedly from a much respected and successful colleague.

This morning, I woke up to The Crystal Curse having been chosen for Christoph Fischer's roster as

"Best Dystopian Novel of 2015."

And I feel good crowing about it!

Check out Christoph's blog

for more great books - 

including his own highly acclaimed novels

https://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/2015/12/20/christoph-fischer-awards-for-romance-poetry-ya-fiction-dystopian-fiction-and-anthology-2015/

Christoph Fischer delves into Another War

A New Novel from Christoph Fischer

Ludwika:

A Polish Woman’s Struggle To Survive In Nazi Germany

now available for pre-order
and will be released on Dec 14th

It’s World War II and Ludwika Gierz, a young Polish woman, is forced to leave her family and go to Nazi Germany to work for an SS officer. There, she must walk a tightrope, learning to live as a second-class citizen in a world where one wrong word could spell disaster and every day could be her last. Based on real events, this is a story of hope amid despair, of love amid loss . . . ultimately, it’s one woman’s story of survival.

Available Now in Print Format at the CreateSpace eStore: 
https://www.createspace.com/5897536

Reblogged from Mr. Fischer's own blog - writerchristophfischer
Read the fascinating background for this story in his own words.