A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

REGARDING TUT …

In 1976, I hopped on a big yellow school bus and headed off for a field trip to the King Tut treasures at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Sure, there had been tons of press about the boy king, including articles in Newsweek and the must-hear song by celebrity Steve Martin. But as a six-year-old, field trips for me were just another day out of the classroom. Having grown up near D.C., I was spoiled. The Smithsonian was on my doorstep. It was no big deal. And then I saw the exhibit.

To say the King Tut treasures left a lasting impression on me is the understatement of the millennium. I couldn’t imagine all that shiny gold buried under the sand, undiscovered for thousands of years. And the questions that were left unanswered. How did the tomb remain hidden for so long? What brought about the death of the boy king? Was the curse of King Tut real?

I was hooked. On mythology. On ancient civilizations. On King Tut.

When I started writing Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life, pieces from ancient history and mythology began to fall into the story. I spent copious amounts of time reading books and searching the Internet to make sure I got these pieces right. And once I had all the facts, I twisted them, just a bit, to make my story unique. It’s one of the most fun parts of being an author.

REGARDING GILGAMESH …

First Gil showed up. In Tut, I don’t spend much time on Gil’s back story, because this book is not his tale. If you want to know more about Gil or ancient Mesopotamia, check out the Epic of Gilgamesh. You’ll find that Gil was a king. His best friend died. And he searched for immortality, which he may or may not have found. It’s the stuff of legends … and possibly the premise for another book.

REGARDING HOREMHEB AND AY …

Ancient history talks of the boy king having two main advisors, Horemheb and Ay. The idea makes perfect sense. A boy who inherits the throne at nine-years-old is most likely going to need a bit of guidance. History also suggests that both these advisors may have ruled as pharaoh after the boy king’s demise. I’m willing to disregard Horemheb on the throne because the idea of him locked in a tomb for three thousand years is so much more fun, but if you’re curious about Egyptian pharaohs either before or after King Tut, do a little research and see what you find.

REGARDING AKHENATON …

King Tut’s dad, Akhenaton, caused a huge religious upheaval. He made it illegal to worship any Egyptian god except his favorite one, Aten, who was represented by the disk of the sun. People were not happy. Priests were not happy. Egypt was in utter chaos. And when Akhenaton died, King Tut had to clean up the mess. It’s easy to glance over this religious pandemonium as just a small footnote when reading about Egypt, but this was a major deal. And possibly a dangerous time to be pharaoh. What do you think?

REGARDING HORUS, SET, AND OSIRIS …

Horus, though a cat in my story, is most often seen as a falcon. He’s also the son of Osiris and Isis. Mythology is filled with crazy stories about why the sun crosses the sky, how the earth was made, and where thunder comes from. There’s also a crazy story about how the Egyptian god Set killed his brother Osiris. And an even crazier story of how Osiris’s son, Horus, then came into being after Osiris was already dead. Take a few minutes to read about it on the Internet. You may realize how lucky Horus was to be missing only an eye.

REGARDING THE CURSE …

People have a weird fascination with dark and terrible things, and the curse of King Tut tops the list. Since the tomb’s discovery back in 1922, King Tut’s curse has been the topic of debate. Was the curse of King Tut real? Was it caused by a fungus? Was there really an inscription above the tomb? Was the curse responsible for the death of not only a bird and a dog, but also eleven people? You decide.

REGARDING THE MUMMY …

Here’s my challenge question for you. If King Tut was immortal, like in Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life, then who was the mummy that archaeologists found in the tomb? It’s definitely a story for another day!