I LOVE seeing a new cover for the first time! How about you? A good cover often conveys the mood of the book before opening that first page.
Cover Celebration Contest
So today’s post is a celebration! I wanted to thank the folks at Waterbrook/Multnomah for the FABULOUS cover of The Pharaoh’s Daughter!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Is the woman on my cover how you imagined The Pharaoh’s Daughter, or does your mind’s eye still see the woman who played Moses’ mother in the Cecil B. Demille’s version of the Ten Commandments? Or maybe you’re more of a Disney’s Prince of Egypt fan?
Keep reading to find out how you can enter to win your choice of one of those fun DVDs!
Fact or Fiction
It’s hard to let go of the images we’ve held for years to explore new thoughts, new theories, new possibilities. But it’s also rewarding to dig into Egyptology, to discover hypotheses of learned men and women who are trying to understand one of the world’s most ancient civilizations.
How can I describe the thrill when Egyptian historians unwittingly affirm the Truth of God’s Word? How can I communicate the joy that fills me when I find a research tidbit that connects historical fact to biblical Truth? It’s an AH-HAH! moment that’s a little bit of heaven on earth.
Who is Pharaoh’s Daughter?
We know the biblical story from Exodus 1:1-2:8, don’t we? Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives to throw all newborn Hebrew males into the Nile. But a Levite man and woman hid their son for months–until it became clear they can hide him no longer. They set him adrift in a pitch-covered basket, and he was found by Pharaoh’s daughter–who named him Moses–and she raised him as her own son.
Egyptian history tells a parallel story of kings and princes, of wars and trade and treaties–and babies thrown into the Nile. Recorded on the walls of Egypt’s Karnak Temple is one of those interesting tidbits I mentioned.
A relief show an army commander named Mehy, fighting alongside Pharaoh Sety. Mehy had no recorded genealogy, and Rameses II (Sety’s heir) attempted to erase all evidence of Mehy from Egypt. Sounds like a great candidate for our Moses of Scripture, eh?
History also tells us King Tut had a sister named Meryetaten-tasherit, who would have been deemed Pharaoh’s Daughter because she (like Tut) was a child of Pharaoh Akhenaten.
In the story (my fictional license), I changed her name from Meryetaten-tasherit to Anippe (you’ll have to read to find out why, but aren’t you happy I gave her a simpler name?). Anippe wants an heir and finds the Hebrew baby floating in the Nile. Can she raise Mehy to the throne of Egypt, or will someone hear the wet nurse call him Moses and destroy everything Anippe holds dear?
Your Turn!
It’s my delight and privilege to research characters’ historical backgrounds and then create believable personalities and plot lines. Would you like to try it?
Look closely at the woman on the cover of my book. (You can click on the image to enlarge it.) What can you tell about The Pharaoh’s Daughter from her photo?
- Is she shy or bold?
- Is she strong or weak?
- Is she happy or sad?
- Is she __________ (you fill in the blank)?
Leave your comment below, describing who YOU THINK Pharaoh’s daughter might have been, and you’ll be entered into this week’s contest!
Enter To Win!
Yep! All you have to do to enter this contest is write a comment below, answering Today’s Question!
The Prize is Your Choice!
If you’re the winner, I’ll contact you through email, and you can choose ONE of the DVDs below as your prize!
- The Ten Commandments – 1956, starring Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner
- The Prince of Egypt – 1998 (animated), voices by Val Kilmer and Ralph Fiennes
(DVD prizes for US and Canada residents only. International residents may enter but will receive a book of choice–of equal or lesser value–from http://www.bookdepository.com/. Deadline for entries is Thursday, October 2, 2014 at 6am PST. Winner will be notified by email only and given 24 hours to respond.)
Tweet-A-Licious!
- A big thanks to the designers at Waterbrook/Multnomah for THE PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER cover!
- Leave a comment describing Pharaoh’s daughter, and be entered to win a DVD choice.
- See the cover of Mesu Andrews March 2015 release, THE PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER!
Today’s Question:
- Who was The Pharaoh’s Daughter: her hopes and dreams, her personality, her joys and sorrows, etc.?
Comments 47
I think that pharaoh’s daughter looks a bit shy. Not weak, really, but definitely sad.
I see her as a shy, lonely young woman who needs someone to love.
Beautiful, deep thinker with a fear to allow anyone to get close.
I think the Pharaoh’s Daughter is she lovely and needing someone to love.
I think shy and sad are both right, but I also think there may be more to it. I think she has a core of steel, stronger than she thinks she is. She is also less concerned with the trappings of royalty than with matters of the heart. She has been badly hurt at some point and sees herself as unable to give or receive love.
So do I see too much, more than is there? Who knows (Mesu knows), I just love the nuances of nonverbal communication.
I think she is possibly sad but I think she is in thought about her life.She is probably wondering what her life will hold.
To me see seems sad. but determined
Author
LOVING your answers, gals!!!! Very intuitive! Keep ’em coming! 😉
A woman of quiet purpose
I think Pharoah’s daughter is beautiful, pampered & spoiled. Like most women, she wants a family but knows any marriage will be arranged…so will she find love! I think she is strong on the inside & brave–how else do you explain bringing a Hebrew child home to your father the Pharoah! She also appears to be intuitive rather than impulsive. Oh Mesu, this is fun and I could go on & on but I guess that’s enough for now. I do love the cover and you are correct, sometimes the cover draws you in before you even read the back to see what the book is about. Thanks for the opportunity to win! Linda
She is shy. She is sad. she is strong. she is bold.
She seems kind of sad, like she’s longing for something, and lonely. She’s strong inwardly, has a lot of spirit (fight- but that doesn’t seem the right word). 🙂
She looks like a beautiful, well cared for, young lady who on the outside looks like she has all she needs for happiness, but her soul is aching for what she really needs. She seems sad, shy, and strong in spirit.
Is she in deep thought? Looks like she is really thinking or praying.
Blessings
Diana
joeym11@frontier.com
Author
I love your thoughtful answers. Almost all of you have agreed she must be strong on the inside. I thought so too. 😉
I think she is strong but melancholy. She is deep and needs someone to draw her out. That would require someone who would earn her trust.
I think she was strong, shy and sad.I think she is overwhelmed by her responsibility. Amazing character. kristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com Thank you.
I think she is devoted – to her country, to her family, and to her image of herself.
I think Pharoah’s Daughter is looking for her way to make a difference in her kingdom. She wants to make her mark in history.
Is she: sad & praying… I think she is thinking of how her life is going & praying to be strong enough to stand up for how she believes.
I think she is shy, but strong. She is sad because she desires to have a child, but she can’t. I believe she was special, because I don’t think our God would put Moses in the hands of someone is selfish and mean. Remember God chose her to be the to find Moses, so He obviously saw something special within her.
A woman of honor who is courageous, strong, determined and compassionate.
She’s lonely and contemplative.
The first that comes to mind when I saw her picture is pensive. She looks deeply thoughtful, almost sad, and possibly praying. She is strikingly beautiful and appears to be pondering the deep things in life. Is she wondering what her future holds? Does she question the gods of Egypt? Has she heard about the God of Israel who inspires her to rescue a Hebrew baby and give her the courage to do it even at the risk of her own life? I can’t wait to read her story.
Isn’t it fun to contemplate a character from Scripture and give her motivation, personality, and dreams? Y’all are getting a glimpse of the fun I have while writing these biblical stories, and you’re doing a great job! I love your answers! I’d never thought about this cover model looking like she was praying, but she does! You’re awesome!!! 😉
Shy and very deep in thought. Kind and considerate.
She looks like she’s thinking, maybe worried a little. And I agree. Somebody in the comments said she looked a little sad, and I think that too.
I see Anippe as an inherently strong young women trapped in a palace filled with intrigue and deception. She lacks other women that she can be her true self with and she’s searching for something more in her life. Finding the baby in the basket gave her new purpose.
I think she looks quiet but strong when she needs to be, very contemplative and reflective on life and love, lonely and wishing for love. Someone like me…:)
Author
I think Sherri hit on an important concept that we find in lots of book characters…”someone like me.” I seem to find a little bit of myself in many of the heroines–and villains–I write and read. That’s what makes reading so enjoyable. Placing ourselves in the story. I think that’s what opened up Scripture to me so many years ago–when God’s Word became more than a manual for how to live. It became a retelling of people’s lives…lives and people who struggled in many ways just like me. 😉
I think she was lonely. She had all the luxury she could ask for, but few meaningful relationships. Who wouldn’t want a baby to talk to & keep her company?
i think she holds a lot of hidden secrets. Possibly no hope for her own children Moses was her answer from the Nile God
Pharaoh’s Daughter is holding a secret close to her heart that she cannot share; leaving her loved and heartbroken at the same time
Author
Oooooh, you gals are so insightful! Few meaningful relationships, the Nile god, loved and yet heartbroken–have you already read my manuscript? 😉
What have you been using for your research? I’ve been trying to find information during that period and the Exodus, but can only find Josephus’ book.
Other than the Bible I mean. 🙂
Author
Haha! Did you get my email? I sent it with links to some of the research books I’ve used. Let me know if you got it! 😉
Yes I did. I just sent an email back. 🙂
She looks quiet, thoughtful and reflective
To me she appears resigned ……….yet if someone offered her hope she would blossom.
Spoilt, loved dearly, pampered princess, but lonely in a weird way.
From the photo alone I would say that she looks pensive. Absorbed in her thoughts with perhaps a sense of longing or loneliness. A strong, beautiful woman who is perhaps contemplating her purpose in life or clutching at an ache in her heart – an emptiness inside her.
Isn’t it fun to look at a picture and dream? That’s why I try to find pix of all my characters before I begin writing the book–I stare at the photo and imagine who that character might have been… Y’all are great at this! 😉
I think Anippe is reserved…saving her inner strength for the things to come in her life…She is kind and compassionate…strong and bold…but knows that in her culture…she needs to be cautious…
Pharaoh’s daughter looks very pensive in this picture. The inner beauty that shines forth, depicts her as charming, sensitive, caring, and virtues young lady. The traits of a compassionate and heroic women.
An ancient Christian writer named Origen had a fanciful allegorical and it kind of fits the cover of this book. And it goes like this:
• Pharaoh’s daughter represents the church, and gives refuge to Moses – who represents the law
• The waters of the Nile represent the waters of baptism
• When we come to the waters of baptism and take the law into our heart – the royal palaces – then the law grows up into spiritual maturity
Author
WE HAVE A WINNER, Y’ALL!!!
CONGRATS TO bn100! She was randomly chosen (www.random.org) and picked the TEN COMMANDMENTS DVD. Enjoy the movie!
Thanks to everyone for your comments! Loved your insights! 😉
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