This
brand new release is coming on March 28th, but for now you can enjoy a
little teaser by checking out the blurb and excerpt below. Also be sure
to add The Forgotten Pharaoh to your shelf on Goodreads and join us over on face book for the release party where we'll be hosting tons of mini giveaways as we count down the hours until the release!
Some secrets are meant to be buried.
Julie
Gerber isn't thrilled to be pulled out of school her senior year to
follow her parents halfway around the world to unearth a lost pyramid.
However, when the cute British guy and the mysterious financier of their project both fight for her attention, things start to get interesting.
The
pharaoh known as Djedefre was cursed for the murder of his eldest
brother. The work of the archaeologists brings new secrets to light,
ones that prove the fallen god-king wasn't the villain history had
painted him to be. Can they prove his innocence?
As
the team digs deeper into the mystery, members of the party vanish or
end up dead. Someone is determined to keep the truth hidden at all
costs, even 4,500 years later.
Excerpt
True fear unlike any other suddenly gripped Djedefre’s
heart. It overshadowed even the horrendous pain and drove him to his knees. At
last he realized where they’d taken him for this unfair trial. Djedefre
recognized the hieroglyphics etched into the walls and the face on the many
sculptures he’d commissioned. Each one of the effigies bore his likeness. This
was his tomb, one of the many chambers within the confines of his great
pyramid—the place where his body was supposed to rest so his soul could be
reborn. Only it was obvious his well-laid plans were about to be upheaved, as
well as the magnificent structure he’d spent the whole of his reign creating.
One by one, the priests of Ra seized each of his statues and
smashed them against the walls, shattering them to fragments. Other officials
chiseled away at his visage on the paintings upon the wall. Each strike was an
assault far more painful than the gaping wound on his side, for this was an
attack upon his very soul. To destroy his image was the greatest offense that
could be done to any man. Every blow erased part of his spirit and robbed him
of an afterlife in paradise. Only Khafre cast his eyes away from the
destruction of his brother’s sacred burial grounds. The young prince recoiled each
time he heard the granite shatter while their sister Hetapheres wailed her
grief with her arms outstretched to the heavens, as though begging the gods to
intercede. Still no divine aid came for the fallen pharaoh.
“No,” Djedefre pleaded. “No, you cannot do this. Leave me
here to die, but leave my soul to the mercy of the gods!”
The priests ignored his pleas and beside him the newly
awakened Manetho appeared to have lost what was left of his mind. He cackled at
each new strike through bruised and swollen lips while Djedefre and his family
wept at the heartless defilement. As if to prove madness had claimed him
completely, the lay priest went so far as to use his tongue to lap up the blood
pooling upon the limestone floor.
“Djedefre, you are disgraced. Since you are unable to prove
your innocence, you are henceforth stripped of the title of Pharaoh.” Djedefre
flinched at the new wave of pain that washed over him when the priest yanked
the golden ankh from around his neck and discarded it amongst the piles of
fragmented effigies. “You have no right to bear the sacred symbols of Egypt.
You are no son of Ra. Stone by stone, your pyramid shall be torn to the ground,
but your body will remain imprisoned, left here to wallow in the blood you have
spilled, trapped between life and death for all eternity.”
“Bound to this earth until all wounds are set right.
Forbidden to walk in Ra’s holy light,” the other priests chanted along with
their leader. “Soiled blood has sealed your fate, until your heart relinquishes
hate.”
“Your name and your tomb will be lost to the world,” the
ancient leader intoned even as his subordinates continued to chant. “Henceforth, you will be known only as the
Forgotten Pharaoh.”
About the Author
Laura “Luna” DeLuca lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with
her husband and four children.
In
addition to writing fiction, Laura is also the editor of a popular review blog
called New Age Mama.
Her works include
romantic thrillers, paranormal fiction, contemporary romance, and young adult.
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Posts
SM “Frankie” Blooding lives in Colorado with her pet rock, Rockie, and Jack the Bird. Jack has refused to let her to take up the piano again, but is warming to the guitar. It might help that Frankie has learned more than two strings. She’s added a few more Arabic words to her vocabulary, but don’t invite her into conversation yet—unless, of course, you’re willing to have a very . . . slow . . . conversation.
She’s dated vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, weapons smugglers and US Government assassins. Yes. She has stories.
She’s also an investigator with a local paranormal investigation group, Colorado Paranormal Rescue!
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