Posts Tagged ‘history’

Who was the Virgin Mary? Really?

Wednesday, December 17th, 2014

The identity, personal diary, and genealogy of Mary of Nazareth and her son, Jesus, are expressed in the first two novels of the Justine Trilogy: the award-winning, The Cairo Codex and The Italian Letters (release, October, 2014). Perfect Christmas presents. The third in the trilogy, A Rapture of Ravens, will be released in June, 2015.

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Posted in Books Inc., Egypt, Family, Fiction, genealogy, history, imagination, Italian Letters, trilogy, writing | No Comments » | Leave a Comment

Why a Trilogy?

Monday, December 16th, 2013

I am often asked: Why a Trilogy? Why not just write the first book and see how it goes? I’m sure my publisher has asked himself the same question. So I decided to answer this question as a set of “trilogy rules,” or—when you’re ready to write a trilogy.

You are on your way to a trilogy…

  1. You have a fierce obsession with some big themes, like the history of the Roman Empire, the transition of Egypt from a dictatorship to heaven knows what, the progression of a people or tribe, your characters must grow up and transform… You have a great deal to say and just can’t keep it under 400 pages.
  2. You have a lot to say about the evolution of an individual who is representative, iconic, symbolic of a particular group, e.g. women, a political or religious figure, men, ice skaters, explorers, etc.
  3. You are inventing/creating a voice and actions for a historical character, e.g. Mary of Nazareth, Jesus, Tolstoy, Hemingway, etc. Such a reinvention benefits from a trilogy since it takes time to alter the reader’s sensibilities and experiences.
  4. Novel Number 1 is doing so well that you receive fan letters demanding to see the next novel.
  5. Numbers 1-4 above are true for you, but you need a breathing space in between.

Linda

 

 

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A Remarkable Holiday gift chronicles the Flight into Egypt

Monday, November 25th, 2013

Flight into Egypt

Flight into Egypt

Whether the object of your affection is Christian, Jewish, Muslim–or none of the above–The Cairo Codex is the perfect holiday gift. This riveting historical novel explores the world of Egypt in the year 2 and modern times. The codex discovered by anthropologist Justine Jenner is found to be the diary of Mary of Nazareth, mother of Jesus. The compelling first-person account sets forth the illuminating struggles and strengths of women through the ages and answers haunting questions: Why did the flight into Egypt really happen? Who was Mary and how did she become literate? If she was the primary teacher of her remarkable son, how did she teach reflection and social values? What would current day Christians and Muslim do to keep such a diary from coming to light? Discover these answers and more in this provocative new novel.  Linda Lambert

 

 

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Posted in Arab press, Egypt, Family, Fiction, history, Travel, Uncategorized | No Comments » | Leave a Comment

The Personal Meaning of John F. Kennedy

Friday, November 22nd, 2013

In the fall of 1959, I was an officer in the Young Democrats and a student at Pittsburg State College in Kansas, when the radiant, youthful man sprinted down the stairs of a small plane at the local airport. The crowd split in half as John F. Kennedy moved confidently into our midst, his eyes scanning the crowd, resting momentarily on each student and local politician. As our eyes met, I felt the heat of recognition. He spoke for less than five minutes, answered a few questions, turned—then he was gone.

Those mesmerizing moments were a turning point in my life. Since I had marched in a campaign for a Democratic governor when I was in the third grade, I can’t say it was the moment I became politically conscious, but it was the instant in which I felt and deeply understood the role of government in a great nation and my responsibility to it. His confidence was contagious, his vision compelling. I, with others, watched as his vision manifested itself in the Peace Corps, the space program (with a moon landing in 1969), a nuclear test ban treaty, an end to segregation in interstate travel and federal housing (by executive order), creating the Medal of Freedom, and bringing the arts into the White House. In October 1962, the world watched breathlessly as he avoided a nuclear tragedy in the Cuban Missile Crisis. His actions captured the essence of his vision and set forth the path ahead. –then he was gone.

With Kennedy’s assassination, on this day 50 years ago, a great sadness appended itself to my being. I felt the fragility of life and history, the naïveté of “happily ever after.”

Linda

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