Englishman Christian Hewler travels to 1920s Egypt as the man Friday to an eccentric American millionaire, hoping to make history and establish his name in archaeology. What he doesn’t count on is meeting brash hired gun Eric Lawless, an American cowboy working for a rival team, or the paranormal mystery that draws them in and has them facing down crazy archaeologists, dark entities, and even ancient gods.
From dark tombs to the burning-hot desert of the Egyptian landscape, Christian has to prove his mettle. During this dangerous game of cat and mouse, the reluctant partnership between Christian and Eric blossoms into more—maybe even a love that can last beyond the deception and terror hidden deep in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings.
First Edition published by Torquere Press, October 2006.
Title: Tomb of the God King
Author: Julia Talbot
Release Date: May 11, 2018
Category: Historical (TBC)
Pages: 142
Amazon
Dreamspinner Press
Hey y’all!
I’m Julia Talbot, and I’m here to talk about Egyptology and Tomb of the God King, which is a book I wrote a while back and that Dreamspinner is being kind enough to re-release for me.
I have an exclusive excerpt for y’all today, and it’s worth noting that this is my only long piece in first person.
Hope you love it!
***
“You are indelicate,” I said. “Some of these children might be the mayor’s.”
“Then he should see to it that they have something else to do.” Lawless rolled his shoulders. “’Sides, I’m not the one who leaves a man right after the loving.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake!” I threw my hands up, whirling toward the stall that held pots, knowing they would need them for milk and water. “I knew it. I knew you could never be civilized about this. I cannot fathom why I even thought you could.”
His hand clamped on my shoulder like a vise. “Tell me, Christian. Tell me what scared you off.”
Fully intending to give him a glorious speech, I turned and opened my mouth, only to have it fall even farther open when I saw the figure behind Lawless.
Dressed in tattered beggar’s robes, the thing had the gaunt, swarthy face of an Egyptian, complete with fly-ringed eyes and yellowing teeth. But the hand the man held out was not human; it was a great claw, scaly like a slithering snake, and as I backed away, it extended toward us until I thought it must surely snatch Lawless and rend him limb from limb.
It did not.
Lawless yelped as the scaly appendage touched him and was suddenly at my side, facing the beggar with his six-gun drawn.
“What the hell is that thing, Chrissy?”
“I haven’t a clue.” Really, I was so addled I could hardly even register the insulting nickname.
The thing shambled toward us, and I could see Lawless about to squeeze the trigger when something dropped on the ground before us and the beggar’s hands turned into those of a thin man, nothing but dirty nails to fear from them at all.
My eyes felt on fire, and I blinked just enough to make sure I did not have sweat in them, distorting the image.
The beggar turned away, leaving us in a stunned tableau until finally Lawless broke the silence by clearing his throat. “Was I imagining things, buddy?”
“If you were, I had the same hallucination. How very… odd.”
***
Thanks for reading, y’all!
XXOO
Julia Talbot
This was really a fun read! It takes places in 1920s Egypt — I mean, how often do you get to read an m/m (or any??) romances set there? Tomb robbing (or is it archaeology?), murder plots, greed, Egypt, mummies curses. Fun! Also? There is like a ton of sexy times in this book (which is never, ever a complaint from me.)
Christian is an English archaeologist hired by a wealthy American; Eric is the hired gun for a rival excavation. The two fall into bed almost right away, but honestly Eric seems a little clingy to me at first. Christian is likewise wary, but as the dig progresses, the two continue to find themselves thrown together. They encounter creepy messengers, dig accidents, and a possible curse and grow closer in the process.
This was an easy fun read with laughs, some suspense, lots of sexy times (did I mention that already?). It’s told from the POV of Christian, and I kind of like him even though he can be sort of uptight at times. There were also a few spots where the relationship between the two heroes was spoken of so openly, I couldn’t imagine that would happen in real life? It didn’t take away from the book for me, though.
3.5 pieces of eye candy
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