Rai Aren's Blog, page 288

Hello Goodreads friends,

We are having a great week with two recent stellar reviews of Secret of the Sands! I thought I would share them here with you:

reposted from Amazon:

5-stars: "Tell all your friends about this Secret", May 9, 2009

"Secrets, deceit and lies can make almost any novel exciting. But, add to that, two stories simultaneously told then throw in some romance, science fiction and a power struggle and what do you get? A true page turner that takes you on one heck of a journey.
Rai Aren and Tavius E. have masterfully intertwined a story about a modern day archeological dig in Egypt with a story that took place at the same exact location in ancient times.
Enjoy digging through the pages as you meet archeologists, Mitch and Alex as they unearth an extremely powerful artifact. Then fall back into ancient times and learn how and why King Traeus hid this same strange artifact 12,000 years ago.
In these two completely different stories, it is fascinating to see the differences, yet, even more so, the similarities of how true power effected people in ancient times as it does today.
While power, deception, and lies run concurrent in both stories. So do honor and integrity.

Not having much interest in ancient Egypt, I was somewhat skeptical at the beginning of this tale, but I was quickly won over by the wonderful characterization and scenes. I also really enjoyed the transitions between modern and ancient stories. Secret of the Sands is an enjoyable, fun to read novel that has me looking forward to the authors' sequel, Destiny of the Sands.

Very nicely done, Ms. Aren and Mr. E."

Michael Balkind
Author of Sudden Death & Dead Ball


Our second review was posted on a very cool book blog, The Book Girl Reviews, here is our link:

The Book Girl Reviews: Secret of the Sands

I thought I would also share that review here:

May 10th, 2009: "This book is about two archaeologist who uncover a secret from 12000 yrs ago. The book goes back and forth between the past and present day.
The past deals with the Kiernan people and the royal family who ruled them, and how the family suffered and coped with their decisions dealing with the secret that Traeus has been keeping.
The present deals with Alex and Mitch uncovering this secret and how they handle what they find. Also how they're handling the person trying to undermine them and they must find out who is secretly helping them and why.
The sequel should have the answer to all and am really looking forward to see how all turns out.

This book was very good. I thought the humor dispersed between the archeologist helped to get through the technical facts you need to know to fully understand just how much research and detail they have to go into to arrive at their conclusions. I really felt an emotional pull to the royal family they were researching, and got caught up in the excitement every time Alex and Mitch found out something new. The way the book was written kept you moving right along and descriptions of events made you feel like you were right there with them. I was thoroughly immersed in the royal family's story and suffered right along with Traeus. I am anxiouly awaiting the sequel, Destiny of the Sands, and expect it will be even more exciting to see how Traeus will go on and what Alex and Mitch will do next about reviving the secret. Until then, I wait expectantly."





As always, I am deeply grateful for these wonderful reviews and to know that our story continues to resonate with our readers. The sequel, Destiny of the Sands, is coming along smashingly!!

Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands

I am so thrilled to share that Secret of the Sands is again an Amazon BESTSELLER!! Our Amazon.com kindle edition reached #87 in the kindle-fiction-historical fiction category today!!!

Below is the link to our Amazon.com kindle page:

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-of-the-S...

This wouldn't be possible, of course, without our AWESOME publisher, Maine Desk/Bristlecone Pine Press!





If you are a reader who likes a good mystery and is intrigued by ancient Egypt, I hope you will give us a try!

Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands

I wanted to share another of our latest 5-star reviews for Secret of the Sands:

(reposted from Amazon.com):

This book has "Summer Blockbuster" written all over it. Mr. Bruckheimer, are you paying attention?

Amittedly, it has all the elements I love--action, suspense, the metaphysical world, Egypt, archaeology.... Yes, it brings to mind my hero, Indiana Jones. This book is as close to Indy's equal as any novel or film will ever get.

The pacing is flawless, the characters well-defined, the history thoroughly researched. The authors have done their homework, and I can't wait for the seuqel.

A note to the reviewer who criticized the authors' grammar, etc.--bear in mind that this is not meant to be a textbook. It's entertainment. The best novelists learn the rules of good English, then break at least half of those rules. The objective is to tell an exciting story, not give an English lesson.

I would enthusiastically recommend this novel to anyone who wants a real page-turner!

Norma Beishir
author, Chasing the Wind

I wanted to share our latest & totally fantastic 5-star review. It's been posted right here on Amazon & in the Apr-09 edition of Sonar4 Science Fiction & Horror Ezine, a very cool publication. In their own words:

"We are a Free Science Fiction and Horror Monthly Ezine that accepts submissions all year long of Short Stories, Flashes, Micros. We also do reviews and author interviews."

Here is the link to their website, be sure to check out all of their cool content!

Sonar4 Science Fiction & Horror Ezine



At the end of the review, I have included an author's comment, which I thought important to share.

We are also being checked out by Hollywood for a future movie version of the book, so we hope to see you on the big screen in the not-too-distant future! (in IMAX & 3D!!)

Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands





Reposted from Amazon & Sonar4 (note: some spoiler alerts):

An Egyptian "What If?"

Every story is a "what if?" Writers are continually writing alternate histories of the world even if they seem identical to the world we inhabit. Ancient Egypt wavers in our minds between knowledge and imagination, fact and fiction, like waves of heat coming off the desert, is what we see real or mirage?

Secret of the Sands by Rai Aren and Tavius E has two stories running concurrently and that mirror each other. The first story is the of ancient Egypt before the Pyramids but not before the Sphinx. The "what if" in Secret of the Sands embraces the theory that the Sphinx is older than accepted dating based on the evidence that parts of the Sphinx show that at one time rain flowed over its body indicating that the Sphinx must have been built at a time when the Egyptian weather was much milder and wetter approximately 12,000 years ago. We're introduced to the kingdom of King Traeus and Queen Axiana and the extended royal family that lives in the palace. Traeus and Axiana are beloved rulers and the country is at peace. Traeus has plans to build what will become the Sphinx in honor of a legendary lion that saved an ancient king, it is to be a gift from the royal family to his people. Traeus is taken aback when at the Spring Ceremony, which honors the harvest, some of his subjects stage a protest and demand that Traeus reveal all of his plans to the people. There is also strife within Traeus' own household, Traeus' brother Prince Alaj and his wife Zazmaria are dissatisfied with the status quo of the lack of power Alaj has within the family, and the slights and deceit they perceive from Traeus. Zazmaria is easily seduced by the powerful enemy of Traeus, Lord Draxen. But the intriguers aren't wrong, Traeus himself does have a secret that he is hiding from everybody. He is building a secret chamber under the Sphinx (also rumored in our day and age to exist) to house some kind of machine called the Pharom. Traeus wants to harness the power of this machine to the benefit of his people.

The concurrent story is set in our world, the world of Mitch and Alexandra, they're lifelong friends and colleagues who are doing their field work on a dig near the Sphinx to earn their doctorates. They work for Professor Dustimaine a vainglorious man more interested in taking credit for the work and discoveries of others than doing any actual field work, except to berate the doctoral students into working harder and longer. One afternoon under the Egyptian sun Alex(andra) falls asleep and has a dream of an ancient chest with strange markings. The dream upsets her so much that she jumps up and runs until she trips over something in the sand, they dig it up to discover it's the chest Alex was dreaming about. Inside the chest they find two scrolls made of metal from a time that predated the iron age. They take the chest to their friends in the lab Jack and Bob, who provide the comic relief but they're skilled lab technicians and if they don't have the equipment they know other doctorial students who do have the right equipment. Together they discover a Rosetta Stone for the two scrolls found which are written in an ancient language and parts of it written in an archaic but more modern form of ancient Egyptian. Together they decide to keep the artifacts and their discoveries away from Professor Dustimaine until they can verify their findings, but each time they make a new discovery it pushes them on to a new discovery until they find the Pharom and activate the powerful machine.

I really enjoyed this book, the authors have a very natural style, that lets the reader feel as if they're witnessing the events as they unfold, it takes a certain amount of confidence and skill that usually takes a lifetime of writing to develop. The writers have the confidence to trust in their story to let the tension build, drawing the reader farther into the story and investing themselves into the outcome, and lets the reader discover things on their own. The writing fully involves the reader and you'll find yourself cheering the heroes, and wanting the villain(s) to get their comeuppance. The characters are vivid and palpable, especially Mitch and Alex, the camaraderie displayed by the two characters feels as if you're getting to know two real people. The same can be said for the descriptions, at times you can almost hear sand scrapping against rock.

I know there's a tradition in science fiction stories of not telling too much about technologies or tools that would be used everyday by the inhabitants of the world described. But I think the Pharom should have a little background on how it came to be in Traeus' possession, what he thinks it will do to benefit his subjects, and how he knows how to use the power. We are told the Pharom is given to man by an alien race, but we never see how that contact was made and why the aliens would give such a machine to a King of a primitive society. The Pharom is alien to Traeus and his people and would naturally invite explanation, these questions need answering, some are alluded to but that's mostly left for the reader to fill in the blanks. I think it's a little obvious throughout the book that a lot of things are being set up for a sequel, and that may be a little unfair for the reader because we're being intrigued and beguiled by elements that we aren't going to see brought to fruition by the end of the book. There's a planned sequel to Secret of the Sands but even a book with a planned sequel should give some answers to the reader be satisfied some of their questions and really to whet their appetite for the next book. But these are minor quibbles compared to all the overall quality and strengths of the book.

This is a beautifully written book and I enjoyed reading it very much, and that I would readily recommend to anyone looking for a good story to read.

--Jym Cherry, staff reviewer for Sonar4 Science Fiction & Horror Ezine

Author's note on this review (additional spoiler alerts): the comment on why aliens gave this technology to the King - this is not the case, the technology was developed by the King and the aliens are not a 'separate' part of this story... ;)





"Rai Aren and Tavius E. have crafted a fast-paced, exciting novel overflowing with mystery and intrigue. The tension is constant. The characters fully developed. And the plot gripping. Ancient history and present day relevance are so expertly intertwined, that you might forget you are reading a work of fiction." -- Thomas Phillips, author of The Molech Prophecy

"A deep probing mystery riddled with prophecy and danger, Secret of the Sands uses Egypt and her mythology as a backdrop to delve into the meanings of life and religion." -McNally Robinson

We are proud to have Secret of the Sands listed in the World Public Library, through the Shadow Forest Authors. I am a big believer in the importance of literacy and the vital role that reading plays in our lives :)

Here's the link to our listing in the World Public Library:

Secret of the Sands listing in the World Public Library





"When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young."
— Maya Angelou


Happy reading always, my friends!

Rai

We have been approached by Hollywood film producers (the real deal!) on the movie option for Secret of the Sands , they indicated the book seems to have "BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE POTENTIAL" - very exciting!! In the meantime, check out which actors Rai has cast in the lead roles on Storycasting.com.

Here's the link:

Cast the movie version of Secret of the Sands on Storycasting.com



Feel free to cast your own votes! Have fun :)





Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands

I am a HUGE fan of the Oscars, I watch it every year. To me, it really represents the journey of creative people and dreams fulfilled. I reflect on the years of hard work that it took to get that actor, film, or screenplay to that point. It inspires me :)



If you want to check out the list of Oscar nominees, you can visit my MySpace blog:

Rai's MySpace page



I hope you are inspired to pursue your own dreams, whatever those may be...

Rai

Hey Goodreads friends,

I recently started happily tweeting away on Twitter. It's fun, short & sweet :)

Here's the link to my Twitter page:

Speak Tweet with Rai



Hope to see you there :)

Rai