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As a child I was drawn to ancient civilisations, especially Ancient Egypt. I’ve never grown out of this fascination, and I collect reference books that I use when researching my fantasy and children stories. There is plenty of information available online, but for me nothing compares to balancing these tomes on my knees as I ferret out useful facts or concepts. I record the snippets in note books – later to be excavated for inclusion in other worlds I’ve created. Writing fantasy gives me plenty of scope to mix and match from multiple cultures or concepts.
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I unearthed a book gem, most of passages are in French (well beyond the strain of my school girl French lessons – talk about ancient history – my le’s and la’s are rust encrusted). Despite the language challenge, I knew this book was destined for my book shelves.
Thousands of drawings from Bonaparte’s foray into Egypt in 1798 – lotus columns, wildlife, fauna and flora, construction designs – history captured on the pages. This French Campaign gave birth to Egyptology – the Western world’s fascination with this unique civilisation.
Note to self: bring bigger suitcase next time.