Aloha to Fiona Ingram and THE SECRET OF THE SACRED SCARAB

When I was a 'tween, King Tut and his entourage toured the United States. He made a brief stop in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he enchanted me with his treasures. Egypt fascinates all ages and all nations - Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte and Fiona Ingram, children's author of THE SECRET OF THE SACRED SCARAB. From Fiona's bio,

I used to walk down to College House with one foot in the gutter of the path, so that I could continue reading and not walk into a tree or something. 

I'll have to remember that trick! Please join me in welcoming Fiona Ingram!

Kim:  We appreciate international travel at my blog ... tell us about where you live in South Africa - your favorite sight, smell, and sound.

Fiona:  I was born in Durban which is a seaside city on the east coast of South Africa. I am quite a globetrotter and was lucky to go overseas for fun several times while still a University student. I then won scholarships to study in London and Paris, so by the time I got back home it was quite alien to me. It was hard to settle down. I now live in Johannesburg which is a huge city and not at all like Durban. However, it is very cultural with many international shows to enchant an ex-performer like me. It is also an incredibly green city and I love the number of trees everywhere. I love the smell of rain on the grass, and the birds calling – we seem to have so many birds here! Possibly because (clever little creatures that they are) they know all city dwellers are big softies and will always put out fruit and bread for them. South Africa has fantastic weather, vast open spaces, many beautiful landscapes and such a variety of scenery. From golden beaches to craggy mountain tops, to rolling savannah plains, it seems we have it all.

Durban's coast
South Africa Tourism Board

Kim:  I am curious about your time in London and Paris - what did you learn from Drama and Mime that you can apply to journalism and fiction?

Fiona:  I began my literary and drama career aged ten when my four brothers and I would adapt stories into plays which we would perform for my obliging and long suffering parents. From then on words and images seemed to be intertwined for me. I saw the story as I read, and I became an incredible bookworm. I discovered drama at University and won an amazing overseas scholarship to study drama in London and mime in Paris. Performance is essentially creating a visual story that comes alive and plays itself out for an audience. In the same way, writing a fiction story captures all those movements, sensations and emotions, and compresses them into words. The magic about all this is that each reader will experience the sights, sounds and emotions in their own way. I also love film and find when I write I can ‘see’ each scene unfolding as if I am watching a film of my own work. In journalism you have to move your readers to an opinion, an action or an emotion. Without diving into the intensity of the story, be it political, social or economic, how can one move the readers to action or a decision? Life is a drama that plays out every day. One cannot be indifferent to it.

Mime in Paris
Paris Tourism Board

Kim:  What are the rewards and challenges of journalism?

Fiona:  The rewards come when you write about an injustice that is ultimately righted, or a person in need is rescued at last, or someone who has achieved is finally recognized. The challenges come in trying to get something done about all these things. There are so many people out there with problems or situations that need correcting that it is hard to get a foot in the door and say, ‘My story deserves to be printed.’ I have covered some very interesting topics and find that my experiences in investigating issues are good grounding for research in writing my books.

Egyptian sunset
Egyptian Tourism Board

Kim:  What inspired you to focus on juvenile fiction?

Fiona:  It was a complete accident. I went to Egypt with my mom and two nephews and decided to write a short story for them to remember their trip. The short story ballooned into a book, The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, which exploded into a book series, Chronicles of the Stone. I have written other books, historical fiction. However those are for fun. The main focus of my writing is my juvenile book series, and since I have recently signed a movie option with a British movie company, I am forging ahead with the remaining books in the series.

Kim:  Tell us about The Chronicle of Stones series.

Fiona:  As I wrote the first book, I created the mythology around the Seven Stones. These ancient stones, having been set as fine jewels would obviously have been destined for the hands of rulers, either as weapons or decorations of office. The First Stone of Power has been found and is drawing the others towards it. Each stone carries a particular history with it, relating to the place where it is discovered. For example: the sacred scarab belonged to the Egyptian Scarab King; the second stone was set in a sword, Excalibur, which finally ended up in the hands of Arthur, the Dark Age warrior and hero-king of Britain. Each stone is almost frozen in time, its place of discovery being the last place it ended up before being lost. After their adventure in Egypt and the discovery of the First Stone of Power, it is inevitable that Justin and Adam embark on a series of journeys to locate the remaining Six Stones of Power that have been scattered and lost throughout the ancient world.

Tintagel Castle - legendary birthplace of King Arthur
Cornwall Tourism

I did not know there would be a sequel until I neared completion of Book One. By then the mythology and prehistory of the adventure had solidified. I chose seven books because seven is such a mystical number. In Book Two, The Search for the Stone of Excalibur, the heroes discover ancient clues that they are able to use to begin to see the path their quest will take. The boys discover a strange inscription and a picture that helps them create a spiritual and physical map for what faces them. They are also joined by a girl, about their own ages, who is being fostered by their aunt. This also changes the relationships in the subsequent books and creates many interesting angles.

Edzna archaeological site in Campeche,
Mexican Tourist Board

Naturally there must be an end in sight and there is. The heroes travel to seven different locations which involve them in finding each Stone of Power, but embroil them in a secondary plot that relates directly to the country e.g. in Book Two (The Search for the Stone of Excalibur) the ambitious Florian Boldwood, Keeper of Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has a hidden agenda that draws him into Dr. Khalid’s plans, and places Britain in grave danger. In Book Three, set in Mexico (The Temple of the Crystal Time-Keeper), they come up against a madman bent on holding the world to ransom by threatening ecological destruction. There are always underlying, important issues that complement the plot. The heroes already know that their arch-enemy Dr. Khalid is not the main player in the whole scenario. He is merely the hatchet man. Their adversary is far bigger and more sinister than they can imagine. It is only in the final adventure, which takes place in Timbuktu, a haven for the preservation of hundreds of thousands of ancient scrolls, that they are faced with the final showdown. They must prevent Dr. Khalid and his master uniting the Seven Stones of Power with the Stone of Fire, thus opening the Book of Thoth and discovering the secrets of the universe … can they do it? (Or should I be asking … can I do it? I am about to begin Book Three and cannot wait to jet off to an exotic and mysterious location filled with ancient monuments and lost cities…)

Mahalo, Fiona, for sharing your world with us!   I am giving away a print copy of THE SECRET OF THE SACRED SCARAB to one randomly selected commenter:

Cousins Justin and Adam are ecstatic about accompanying their aunt to Egypt. Both love adventure and know the work of James Kinnaird, an archaeologist searching for the tomb of an ancient Egyptian ruler, the Scarab King. Some dismiss the tomb as legend, but Justin and Adam believe differently.

From the moment their plane lands, Justin and Adam bounce from one mysterious event to another, starting from the moment a street peddler gives Adam an ancient scarab. Dr. Khalid, head of the department of antiquities and research at the Egyptian Museum, shows excessive interest in the cousins and their relic. Then, when the boys learn that James Kinnaird is missing, they realize something sinister is afoot.

Kidnapped and taken across the desert, the boys are plunged into serious danger and chased by ruthless enemies. Dr. Khalid will stop at nothing to discover the Scarab King's tomb and claim its treasures. But he has underestimated the boys' ingenuity.

Join Justin and Adam as they evade their captors and unravel the secrets of the Scarab King. Relying on their wits, courage, and each other, the boys must solve the mystery of the sacred scarab and rescue James Kinnaird before time runs out.

Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara
Egypt Tourism Board

To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about Egypt - what fascinates you about it?

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, January 21, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, January 22.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

To learn more about Fiona and her books, check out her website at www.fionaingram.com.

Read my review of THE SECRET OF THE SACRED SCARAB  at this link.

This is one of my favorite photos on the Internet -
a female Marine on camel!
akinoluna.com