Murder in the Black Land received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Resa Nelson.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Murder in the Black Land was published on August 21, 2022.
What’s the book’s first line?
“I fear,” said the elderly royal magician, “that something terrible is about to happen.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
If you had to choose between love of your family and love of your country, what would you do?
Murder in the Black Land blends the history and mythology of ancient Egypt with today’s world. Queen Angelique rules in place of her late husband (the Pharaoh) and plans to name her son the new pharaoh once he comes of age. As much as she loves her son Penaware, Angelique sees how his training has made him blind to the needs of the people he will someday rule. During her reign, Queen Angelique has become beloved by the citizens of the Black Land, because of all the things she has done to make their lives better. Once Penaware takes over, all of that good will be undone. Queen Angelique faces the most difficult choice of her life: either allow her son to rule to the detriment of all people who live in the Black Land or defy tradition (and the powerful priests) and declare herself pharaoh.
She must also consider the prophecy made by the royal magician that someone is planning to murder Queen Angelique.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I wrote this book as a prequel to an existing book called Our Lady of the Absolute, which was first published several years ago. I was heartbroken when some readers appeared to judge one of the main characters, but once I delved into finding out why that happened, I realized that I hadn’t presented enough context to help readers understand where that character is coming from or why she does the things she does. I thought that character and her situation were complex enough that I needed to write another book that sets the stage for Our Lady of the Absolute.
I spent years thinking about a prequel but couldn’t come up with a story that felt worthy of a novel. Finally, I gave up and decided to create the audiobook version of Our Lady of the Absolute. I thought it would let me kill two birds with one stone. I’d been wanting to create the audiobook for a long time, and I thought that I could take notes while recording it, because I hadn’t read it in years and had forgotten many of the details. While I was in the process of recording Our Lady of the Absolute, it became obvious that there is a backstory in the book that ties all of the characters together. I knew I needed to explore that backstory and write it as the prequel. What amazes me is how this possibility had been staring me in the face for years, but I couldn’t see it. I heard it when I recorded the audiobook.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
It depends on why you like to read. If you like to read for pure entertainment, Murder in the Black Land is a page-turner loaded with twists and turns. If you like to read to be exposed to things you might not normally think about, this book might make you wonder what you would do if you were in Queen Angelique’s shoes.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Queen Angelique is consumed with the desire to do the right thing – she just has to figure out what that is, which means she needs to consider the situation from all angles.
It wasn’t until I was recording the audiobook version of Murder in the Black Land that I realized how much Queen Angelique reminds me of myself. That wasn’t my intention when I wrote the book. It just happened. I see it in her sense and sensibilities, as well as in her habits. For example, I begin my day by going to a local pool and swimming a mile. I swim the American crawl non-stop at a marathon pace for an hour. It’s how I work out problems, and it’s often when I do the best writing in my head. Queen Angelique thinks through her problems in the same way.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I began writing fiction as soon as I learned the alphabet and how to spell words and put sentences together. Even before then, every night when I went to bed, I’d make up stories for myself in my head.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
No. Murder in the Black Land is my 23rd novel. I attended the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop decades ago, and I’m a long-time member of Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I’m fortunate enough to write full-time. In my earliest days, I worked as a student librarian, switchboard operator, and meeting planner. Most of my life, I worked as a technical writer in the software industry and a journalist.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I typically write about an hour a day. However, I spend years thinking about my novels before writing them. That means I spend a lot of time thinking, often while swimming. Once a novel comes together in my head, it doesn’t take long to write it.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part is the ability to make decisions that I couldn’t make when my first several novels were published by a traditional publishing house. I understand why that was necessary, but the bottom line is that some of the publishing house’s decisions made selling my books incredibly difficult. Once I regained the rights to those novels (and wrote new ones), going indie was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
The hardest part is finding my audience. I don’t think my novels fit neatly into categories, and that makes it difficult to figure out how to find people who would enjoy them.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Always work at your craft. I’ve been writing for a lifetime, and I’m always learning something new.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I don’t know. It would depend on the publisher and the terms.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
When I was a teenager, I wanted to become the first female manager in professional baseball. I worked really hard at that goal but ultimately realized it was for the wrong reason — because I wanted to become famous. Luckily, I learned at a very young age that fame is meaningless. Working toward a goal requires stamina, and the desire for fame doesn’t provide stamina – but love does. I’d given up on writing, and my baseball epiphany led me back to fiction. I realized that I needed to spend my life pursuing something that I loved so much that I wouldn’t mind doing it for free.
Along those same lines, I’m not interested in fortune. As long as I have a roof over my head, food to eat, and a little extra to go to movies and plays, I’m fine.
When I was a little girl, I read Alcott, Twain, Dickens, Austen, Doyle, Christie, Wilder, and many other authors. Some books entertained me, while others made me think. I’d love to do the same for others. That’s what motivates me.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Jane Austen. I appreciate that she showed us how restricted women’s lives used to be, while at the same time showing the importance of living one’s life as a decent person, for example, being kind and compassionate and considerate of others.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. It’s a novel about a grad student whose coursework includes time travel to go back in history, and everything goes wrong. For me, the book is about learning respect for those who have lived centuries before us instead of having the arrogance to think we’re better than them. I cried nonstop during the final 50 pages of that book.