In this sweeping tale of ancient Egypt, Terrance Coffey magnificently evokes the turbulent reign of Amenhotep IV, the controversial pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty who single-handedly launched a religious revolution that nearly destroyed Egypt and was later challenged by his own son, King Tut.
After the untimely death of his older brother, six-year-old Prince Amenhotep IV becomes the unlikely heir to the Egyptian throne, the most powerful kingship in the ancient world. By the time he becomes pharaoh over a decade later, the growing influence of the wealthy and corrupt Amun priesthood threatens to undermine his sovereignty. Desperate to maintain power, Amenhotep outlaws the Amun religion, renames himself Akenaten, and proclaims himself the living incarnation of a single, all-powerful deity – the Aten, or sun. With the help of his headstrong mother, Queen Ty, and his beautiful wife, Nefertiti, Akenaten erects a new capital in the desert and entices thousands of citizens to uproot their lives and join him there. But the magnificent new capital harbors a host of new threats: betrayals, curses, conniving relatives, murderous jealousies, plagues, famine, hidden heretics, and foreign enemies.
Inspired by the actual Hittite and Amarna letters of the 14th century B.C.E., Valley of the Kings: The 18th Dynasty is a novel of intrigue, passion, and betrayal, resurrecting the thrilling story of a singular leader whose beliefs were both visionary and disastrous.
Interview
Welcome to my blog Terrance. Thank you for taking the time to answer a few
questions about yourself and your latest book. We appreciate your work and views, particularly in these times of uncertainty.
Your Name |
Terrance Coffey
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Your contact info
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E-mail: terry@terrycoffey.com
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Book Title
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Valley of the Kings:
The 18th Dynasty
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Available at
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EG5NGFA
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Blog/website URL
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www.TerranceCoffey.com
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Video URL
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Q:
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Tell us about your
latest work—title, genre, etc.
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A:
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'Valley
of the Kings' is an historical fiction book series
that chronicles the turbulent lives of some of the most known and sometimes
lesser known pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Told in story-form, it’s a fictional
biography based on historical facts and events. The 18th Dynasty is Book 1 of the trilogy which
recounts the reign of pharaohs in that particular dynasty. The next
installment is The 19th
Dynasty that will focus on the pharaoh Ramesses and the pharaohs that
followed his reign.
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Q:
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What draws you to
your genre(s)? Why is this type of story compelling to you?
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A:
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Since early
childhood I shared a genuine love for history and historical biography. Real
people of the past who have experienced real-life tragedies and triumphs I
find fascinating and relatable.
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Q:
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What is your writing
process like? Do you map the whole thing out or do you just let it unfold?
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A:
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I’m an avid believer in outlining because I like
the idea of having a roadmap that will carry me from the beginning to the end
of the book. It’s what keeps me
focused. I first write each chapter by hand in a notebook then write it again
in MS word making necessary changes as I transfer it.
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Q:
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What kind of
research was involved?
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A:
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I actually started researching the story for Valley of The Kings in 2001, after
stumbling across a televised biography about king Tut. Though the bio focused
mainly on the young pharaoh, I was more intrigued by the story it wasn’t
telling—the story of his father, the pharaoh Akenaten. The untimely death of
the young pharaoh Tut was ominously tied to the life of his father who at the
time of his reign was considered a heretic and it was his actions and
decisions that almost destroyed the Egyptian superpower. I was fascinated by
just the little I knew of his story and from that spark, I really got into
researching the history of the 18th and 19th
dynasty pharaohs. After two years of research, I wrote a fifty-page outline
for a television mini-series based on my story and from that I wrote a
one-hour pilot episode. I then put the whole thing away and would
periodically update it whenever new information or recent discoveries in the
tombs of Egypt were documented. I did this up until I actually began writing
the book in 2014.
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Q:
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How much of YOU
makes it into your characters?
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A:
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Probably very
little. I’m more or less an introvert and most of my characters are
extroverts who are unhinged and very clever.
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Q:
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How do you balance
the need to have time to write with the needs of family, work, etc.?
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A:
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Most of my career
I’ve worked as an independent consultant through my own company, so I’ve
always been able to set my own working schedule so that it wouldn’t detract
from my writing.
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Q:
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Have there been any
authors in particular, that inspired your writing?
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A:
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Yes, Richard
Matheson, Rod Serling, George RR Martin and Alice Walker.
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Q:
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What is the story
behind how your book came about?
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A:
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I asked a friend to read and then give me
his comments on a television series pilot script I wrote back in 2003. He loved it but felt the story deserved to
be told in its entirety first, and suggested that I write a novel based on
the series outline. At first I didn’t take the suggestion seriously because I
had never written a book before, but because he was so tenacious in his opinion
that it would make a great novel, I decided to give it a try. Once I started
writing it in early 2014, I literally couldn’t stop. I worked on it at least
6 days a week, spending 5 to 8 hours on it a day. It was as if the characters
were telling the story themselves. It took me about a year to actually
complete the first draft and an additional six months for the 2nd and 3rd
drafts. The editing took a total of five months before I passed the final
manuscript on to the publisher.
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Q:
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What other projects are
you currently working on or about to start?
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A:
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I’m working on the sequel to my debut novel Valley of the Kings called The 19th Dynasty and also a
sci-fi thriller called “Something
Happened to Maggie.”
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Q:
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Could you share some
of your marketing strategies? Which ones are the most effective in your
opinion?
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A:
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Though Amazon does
the major part of the marketing for my book, I try to do something everyday
to help market the book myself. I advertise my book links on related facebook
bookclubs, twitter ads and other social media sites. I can’t really tell
which strategy has been the most effective. For me, marketing is not fun at
all but very necessary if you want your book to stand out. The challenging
aspect is deciphering what information or marketing technique(s) are best and
most effective for your particular book.
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BIO
Terrance Coffey is an author, screenwriter,
composer, and Winner of the 2016 International Pacific Book Award for Best
Historical Fiction. With a predilection for Egyptian history, he has written numerous
short stories, screenplays, television pilots, and even Coca-Cola music
jingles. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Terrance now lives in an ambitious little
town near Atlanta, Georgia, where he constantly dreams of ancient Egypt.
Website: www.TerranceCoffey.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/terry_coffey
Excerpt
DESPITE THE QUEEN and the pharaoh’s
somber mood, their royal reception hall brimmed with military captains and soldiers
eager to celebrate their victory over the Nubians with a commemoration to
Montu, the god of war. For the special occasion, Amenhotep requested the most
agile dancers and gifted musicians from the faraway land of Byblos to dance and
parade around the reception hall like domestic animals, begging to please their
masters in prostration to the Amun god—a ridiculous ritual in the eyes of Queen
Ty.
Four
female musicians from Egypt were chosen to join the others. They sat on the
floor playing indigenous music on double-reed pipes, harps, sistras, and
tambourines.
In
the center of the hall, at the head of a massive slab that stretched the length
of the room, Amenhotep hosted the festivities garbed in his new war armor.
Queen Ty sat next to him dressed in her best silk and jewels. On the other side
of Amenhotep sat Lady Lupita, Amenhotep’s secondary wife, the sister of
Artassumara—king of Mitanni.
The
remaining seats in the reception hall were filled by military officers and
palace officials shouting over the music boisterously. Victory banquets were
the types of events the queen could do without. If she had not been told that
Lupita would be attending, she would have remained in her palace chamber, away
from the debauchery of the soldiers and their desire to be surrounded by nude
female servants with oversized breasts, catering to their every whim. This was
beneath her, but she could not allow her husband’s secondary wife to be seen
there without her in attendance. It was necessary for the high-ranking officials
to witness her consuming a meal with her husband as a symbol of their unity.
Queen
Ty forced a welcoming smile at Lupita who returned her gesture with the same
disingenuousness.
The
girl was strikingly beautiful and was just fourteen years of age when she
arrived a year earlier in Thebes to marry Amenhotep, accompanied by three
hundred and seventeen maidservants. Though Queen Ty easily matched
Lupita’s number of attendees, she could not compete with her youth. The young
girl’s olive toned skin was perfectly kissed by the sun, and her eyelashes were
naturally long and curved above the hazel pupils of her eyes. She had dimples
in her cheeks that made her smile even more inviting. Her breasts were perky
and her hips appeared overly developed because of her tiny waist. Every one of
the young girl’s physical features appeared to be molded by the hands of a
master sculptor, and what was even worse for the queen was that Lupita’s
disposition was humble and kind, the abundance of which, along with her femininity,
had enchanted Amenhotep. It all made for an alluring combination impossible for
Queen Ty to outdo.
The
smile she shared with Lupita shifted into a stare of contempt when the young
girl turned her attention away from her and toward her animal. Lupita caressed
a white cat perched on her lap. His name was Bastian, and he had sea-green eyes
and a solid gold collar fitted with a ruby medallion that glistened around his
neck. The queen loathed Lupita’s cat as much as she secretly envied her. Its
presence at the banquet served as another entity united against her right to
happiness with her husband.
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