His Egyptian Queen is the tale of Marcus, a Roman commoner, who is thrown into the world of the Roman upper class. While trying to navigate unfamiliar territory he meets Meri and quickly falls for her. Their positions in life prevent them from being together. Marcus must decide to pursue the opportunities that have been presented to him or to pursue Meri. He does not see a path to have both.

I have always had stories in my head. Over the years I would make changes or adapt them in my mind. As I was sitting at home one day unable to go out and do my normal job due to the pandemic and my kids doing school from home I looked into how to self publish a novel. It turns out that it is very easy to self publish. The next step was putting my stories on paper. Honestly I thought I would write a few chapters then get bored and move on to another project. Before I knew it I was 30000 words in and the next chapter was writing itself.

His Egyptian Queen is not a story I had in my head. My debut novel, as well as my second and third novels are all works of erotica. These are the stories that I have found I can write easily. This is how His Egyptian Queen came to be. I have a good friend who has tried multiple times to write a short story with the hope of entering it into a contest. She does not want to write for fortune or fame, just for pleasure. She has always struggled to convey her stories on paper and gets frustrated and gives up. She was amazed that on my first attempt at writing I completed and published a novel. My friend is not an erotica reader. In fact she blushes when a book goes into even the vaguest description of a sexual encounter. Her preferred romance novels are set in Elizabethan times and have steamy scenes that are more likely to be found in Pride and Prejudice than anything in my first novel. Her intrigue and curiosity got the better of her and she decided she would read my debut novel.

On her first attempt she made it to page five before she had to put it down. To her credit she did finish the book. She credited my character development and plot line but she may never look at me the same. I promised her I would write her a book that was better suited for her taste, and that is where His Egyptian Queen was born. I have always been a fan of the ancient Roman times. I enjoy learning about their history and customs so I naturally set the novel there. This was by far the hardest work I have completed to date. I developed a basic outline of the story in my head and quickly put it down on paper. As I wrote the story changed significantly more than my previous works. I found myself rewriting entire sections of the story as I progressed. I have never had to do research for a novel like I needed to in order to make the story accurate.

In the end it was a great experience. I know that going outside of my typical genre will make me a better writer and it may be the perfect cure for the temporary writers block we all face from time to time. I would suggest to any writer who feels stuck or in a rut to take a break from their work in progress and write something they have never envisioned themselves writing. Hard work pays off.

If you check out the book I hope you enjoy it and I welcome your feedback.

If you are interested in my other works you can find them here at my Amazon Author’s profile.

If you want an occasional laugh follow me on Twitter @Michael_erotica

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