Ancient Poetry or Argh! She used the same poem!

Well, I decided to dive back into reading a colleagues book. I've been very bad about reading lately, mostly because I can't seem to shut my brain off. All my current problems are running back and forth in a game of zoomies. If you are a dog owner you will understand what zoomies are. If not, well, it's when your critter runs full tilt boogie back and forth, round and round until they drop from exhaustion. It's fun to watch when it's your fur baby but awful when it's "what if" scenerios in your brain.

Well, back to the book. It had been waiting with baited breath for Stephanie to write her book on Hatshepsut, why? Because she is a PanHistoria alumnus and one of her writing identities was Hatshepsut and she did a bang up job. So of course I wanted to read her novel when it debuted. Unfortunately, when it appeared on Amazon it was also the start of my Greek Tragedy of a life. I thought that purchasing the Kindle version would help me disappear from my reality but, alas, my "sh@t" was too strong.

Anywho...now that my life is evening out I decided to pick up her book and lo and behold, staring me right in the face was this awesome poem.

In my WIP it is titled: The Lay of the Harpist. It's so fitting as a tribute to a doomed King's Son. But now I must find another verse. Hey, life happens when you're a reluctant author.

"...revel in pleasure while your life endures

And deck your head with myrrh.

Be richly clad in white and perfumed linen;

Like the gods anointed be;

And never weary grow

In eager quest of what your heart desires--

Do as it prompts you too..."

Sigh...

Different Decisions

Two different novels, two different feelings, one decision. OK, which is the better book? Which do I like better, whose characters do I feel more sympathetic towards? Ack! I need advice and know not where to turn. I feel that I am imposing on anyone when I ask advice. When I read my work to my mother she scrunches up her face into this tight fist and acts as if I am speaking in a language better left for dogs. Also, the story is not about her so why should she listen after the first sentence anyway? Even when it is about her she seems distracted with her own memories. *Sigh*

Lauren Haney is the author of a series of mysteries set in the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Her main character is Lt. Bak. She was lucky enough to have a mentor in Dennis Forbes the publisher of KMT magazine. I wish he were my mentor... Another wonderful person is Stephanie Thornton. She just recently had her book picked up by a publisher (actually several publishers bid on the right to publish her books! Woo Hoo! Steph!!!) and she would be a good person to read my tomes, but alas... I feel that she is reluctant due to the fact that she has had to suffer through my writing on Panhistoria. Suffer through... yeah, I don't think much of my writing, do I?

Last but not least is another Panhistoria chum. But I feel he has too many eggs in his basket as it is, adding my omelet would be too much to ask him. Hmmm, there might be one more person to ask. Hey, what is the worst she can say? No?

I just recently dumped a chunk of my Amarna book on an unsuspecting writers forum. I got two critiques, one from a lover of Ancient Egypt and the other by a man who knew not what the heck I was writing about. The first liked my style but thought the chunk needed a chunk of work. The other didn't like my main character and thought the story was hooey. So, there you are, two opinions. *Sigh*