By the Light of the Silvery Moon

Carole TowrissThankful Alphabet 1 Comment

F is for flowers. I like flowers. I don’t know much about them, can’t identify too many of them. Roses. Carnations. Sunflowers. That’s about it. But they make me happy. Sometimes I add the $4 bouquet of carnations to my cart the grocery store when I’m buying food. They last forever and they make my kitchen a brighter place. I think John …

Join Me on a New Adventure!

Carole TowrissBook Reviews, In the Shadow of Sinai, Research, Writing 1 Comment

This year I’m embarking on a new adventure with some very dear friends, and a couple new ones. Tanya and Jennifer are fellow writers for Christ to the World Ministries, a group that writes dramas that are then translated and broadcast to 32 countries around the world. Eileen, Diana and Delia are friends of friends! Together we are starting a …

A Forever Family for Ahmose

Carole TowrissIn the Shadow of Sinai, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Enjoy this excerpt from In the Shadow of Sinai when Bezalel takes Ahmose home from the palace after he has been beaten. Ahmose was asleep by the time Bezalel stepped inside his house. He hated to wake him up, but he knew his back must be tended to. Imma came out to the main room from the kitchen beyond it, …

Help me, Mama!

Carole TowrissAdoption, In the Shadow of Sinai, Parenting Leave a Comment

Mutter (German). Mère (French). Majka (Serbian). Mat’ (Russian). Madre (Spanish). And in Hebrew: Imma. In any language, mothers are special. They are who we run to whenever we are in trouble. Even Bezalel. Bezalel considered his choices as he hiked home. He knew severe punishment awaited any slave who ran away, but he could not leave Ahmose behind. A seven-year-old …

Meri – from Captive to Cherished

Carole TowrissIn the Shadow of Sinai, Writing 2 Comments

This is the first scene where Bezalel actually is able to speak to Meri in In  the Shadow of Sinai. Meri was forced to be a concubine in Ramses’s harem. He took in a sharp breath. She was even more beautiful than he remembered her. Without her heavy kohl makeup, her deep brown eyes seemed to take up her whole …

Meet Ahmose

Carole TowrissAncient Egypt, In the Shadow of Sinai, International Adoption, Writing Leave a Comment

This is Ahmose. An orphan-slave in Ramses’s palace, befriended by Bezalel, in Sinai he finds his forever family. He returns in By the Waters of Kadesh. Below are excerpts from some of our first encounters with him in Sinai. It was late in the evening, long past the time he normally went home, but Bezalel had stayed a little later …

Meet Kamose

Carole TowrissAncient Egypt, By the Waters of Kadesh, In the Shadow of Sinai, Writing Leave a Comment

This week I’ll introduce you to Kamose—or you can catch up with him if you met him in Sinai. Kamose was the captain of the guard in the palace in Egypt. He escaped with the Israelites in the Exodus. Kamose brushed the dust from his face, dust kicked up by hundreds of thousands of sandaled feet, hooves, and wooden wheels. …

So What’s Next?

Carole TowrissBy the Waters of Kadesh, In the Shadow of Sinai, The Walls of Arad Leave a Comment

I thought I’d take today to let you know what’s happening in my writing life now that Sinai is well on it’s way. First, In the Shadow of Sinai has been nominated for the Christian Small Publisher Association’s Book of the Year Award. Unlike most book awards. this one is decided by voters, not judges.  So I could really use your …

When is an hour not an hour?

Carole TowrissAncient Egypt, In the Shadow of Sinai, Research Leave a Comment

Keeping track of the passage of time was crucial to the ancient Egyptians, especially to the astronomers and priests who were responsible for determining the exact hour for the daily rituals and sacrifices. They divided the day into two equal periods of twelve hours each. However, due to the revolution of the earth around the sun, the length of the hours …

What’s a “naja haje”?

Carole TowrissAncient Egypt, In the Shadow of Sinai, Research Leave a Comment

The Egyptian cobra, also called a “naja haje,” is most likely the snake the magicians in Pharaoh’s court used in their duel with Moses. It is the most dangerous and one of the largest cobras of the African continent. When disturbed, cobras have the ability to raise the front quarter of their bodies off the ground and spread their necks …