Some of the books I read to research The Lost Valor of Love ....

...and even more books I read / museums I visited to research The Lost Valor of Love !

The view from the suite at the Luxor Meridien (now the Steigenberger Nile Palace) where I spent a week in 2006 completing first draft. (The range of hills in the background is the Valley of the Kings where many pharaohs and queens were buried, including Nefertari)

❃ Photo above taken of me in 2003, I hadn't even begun to write the book yet, although it was after this particular visit the story came to me in a dream ❃

In 2006, this was the desk where I completed the first draft of The Lost Valor of Love. I moved the desk so it was in front of the left side of the big window. Apart from one day I spent in Karnak and the Temple of Sekhmet, I worked from dawn until dusk, just writing and having food sent up. A wonderful, magical, unforgettable experience.

In the image below you can see where I worked, indicated by the white arrow.

If you are ever in Copenhagen, Denmark, you can see these statues at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum which were either commissioned by, or made to represent Ahmen, Sethi and Paser during the reign of Ramesses II!

Statue commissioned by Amen-om-onet of his father Wennefer, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark

Statue of Vizier Paser, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark

Statue of Commander Sethi, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark

For those of you who like astronomy, here is a shot from Stellarium of the night Urhi-Teshub was in Kadesh washing himself in the temple pool when he saw the shooting stars. This was what the sky looked like that night from Kadesh. I used coordinates for Homs, Syria (20 km distant) since there isn't one for Kadesh.

The route to Kadesh as marched by the four divisions of the Egyptian army. The fifth Na'arn division came via the coast and over the mountains. Although this is only an image, it is actually an interactive map I made to keep everything straight whilst I worked out the logistics of the battle scenes. I have publicly shared it so if you are interested to drill down into the map to see more of what happened where, just click on the link in the comment beside it and it will take you straight to the map where you can zoom in and out and look at all the details to your heart's content. Enjoy!

And here is what a khopesh looks like, only the curved part of the blade was sharpened.

The Eye of Horus - a powerful symbol of protection in ancient Egypt.