Editor’s Note: This exchange is part of a series of brief interviews with emerging writers of recent or forthcoming books. If you enjoyed it, please visit other interviews in the I’ve Got Questions feature.
- What’s the title of your book? Fiction? Nonfiction? Poetry? Who is the publisher and what’s the publication date?
Dead Egyptians is the first of seven books in my historical fantasy series (also called Dead Egyptians). It came out in August of 2024 through Black Rose Writing!
- In a couple of sentences, what’s the book about?
Dead Egyptians contains the seeds for two conflicts, both of which will take seven books to fully resolve. The first is Egypt’s conflict – they have been under foreign rule for over 2,000 years in 1902 when the story opens, and revolution is on the horizon. The second is my protagonist’s conflict – Albion Stanley has a lot going for him, but until he passes seven spiritual trials, he will be trapped in a reincarnation cycle. Which might be frustrating for the dead Egyptians to watch – they want him to pass these trials so that he can be like them. There is, of course, a love story to keep you entertained while I get the reader through all of the history and spirituality.
- What’s the book’s genre (for fiction and nonfiction) or primary style (for poetry)?
Historical fantasy. The protagonist is queer, but it was written as proper fantasy that should appeal to anyone who loves fantasy, or Egypt, or magical thinking.
- What’s the nicest thing anyone has said about the book so far?
Many readers have said marvelous things. One of the passive-aggressive reviews I got, which is ultimately very flattering, was something along the lines of, “In the hands of another writer, this would be a garbled mess, but in the capable pen of Del Blackwater, it actually works.” I believe this is a reference to the fact that I write about modern Egypt and Ancient Egypt simultaneously. The two Egypts could be at odds, but they aren’t. They’re both the real Egypt, if you will.
- What book or books is yours comparable to or a cross between? [Is your book like Moby Dick or maybe it’s more like Frankenstein meets Peter Pan?]
My book is a cross between E.M. Forster’s Maurice and Joan Grant’s Winged Pharaoh. Two books that have nothing in common, but without which, Dead Egyptians could not exist. Maurice came into my world first – I saw the Merchant Ivory movie in the 90s, and it immediately became one of my top three films of all time. When I graduated to the book, I was in tears because the language was so beautiful, and also because it’s the first time in literature when a gay couple was not depicted as doomed, or tragic, or perverse.
Winged Pharaoh came into my life in a very magical way. I had read all of the academic materials about Ancient Egypt, and I still felt really unsatisfied. I knew I had not yet found the thing I was looking for – I wanted to know what the priests and priestesses actually learned in the temples. Winged Pharaoh was on its side in a bookstore, I picked it up largely just to re-shelve it, and nothing was ever the same again. It is a past life account from a woman who claimed to remember her life in the Old Kingdom, where she did train in the temples. It really shocked me to my core, because it lined up perfectly with established history, which would not have been easy to do in the 1930s when the book came out. Egyptology was still incredibly inaccurate at the time. But her story has survived, and should be talked about, whether or not you believe her story.
- Why this book? Why now?
I was very physically unwell when I began to write this book, which was about ten years ago now. I felt that the moment had come to say what I had to say. It turns out the things I have to say are variations of, ‘Egypt matters’ and ‘Being a good person doesn’t mean living like a monk. You can enjoy life and still be a moral person.’ Which, incidentally, is a very Egyptian concept – both ancient and modern Egyptians excel at living well while also holding things sacred. They never sacrifice one for the other.
- Other than writing this book, what’s the best job you’ve ever had?
I am blessed to work in Information Technology in state government. The blessings have been many, and it was this position that allowed me to afford five research trips to Egypt. I knew as soon as I started my current position that I was one of the lucky ones.
- What do you want readers to take away from the book?
There is treasure in Egypt, and it’s not the treasure. It’s the knowledge.
- What food and/or music do you associate with the book?
Funny. This book pairs well with the band Cigarettes After Sex and/or Depeche Mode, depending on whether you’re in the sweet parts or the dark parts.
- What book(s) are you reading currently?
I am reading Wordsworth in Bogota by Scott Sundby, which just came out recently and is a delightfully absurd comedy that takes the reader to some very unexpected places. The word choices are unpredictable and stunning.
I am also reading Pebble in the Pond by Suzanne Groves, which has not yet been released, and is a delightful Southern tale. Not Southern Gothic, more like a Steel Magnolias type story where human psychology and relationships take center stage. I laugh out loud all the time, and I feel like I know these women. It does have a touch of tragedy to it as well. You can’t have one without the other in Stuart’s Landing.
Learn more about Del on her website.
Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
Buy the book from the publisher (Black Rose Writing), Amazon.com, or Bookshop.org.
