Ruth I. Kern: From My Pen
Hello. Welcome to my new blog that will feature my historical novel series and other writers of historical fiction.
I've been writing since I was in elementary school. During the summer I put out a weekly newspaper - The MacDonald Street Journal. Since there was no computers or copy machines available, I used my dad's old manual typewriter and carbon paper. This little newspaper became very popular since I (innocently) included tasty tidbits (gossip) about the neighbors using initials, not names. I then branched out into writing poetry and keeping a diary. Reading was my passion too. Until you were twelve you weren't allowed to select books from the Adult section in the library, which of course I wanted to do, so my ever patient mom would check out the books I wanted. What a thrill it was to finally get my own Adult library card.
Then I discovered ancient Egypt when my mom took my siblings and me to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City where I saw a replicated pyramid, mummies, ancient jewelry, and hieroglyphics and my imagination went wild. I began reading everything I could find on Egypt and made a vow I would go there some day.
I waited many years for that day to come but I finally got there - four times - living there on my own for over a total of eighteen months. The first visit was a three week tour. For the rest I stayed in an apartment in Maadi, Cairo. I visited the pyramids, temples and tombs of the ancients, but by this time I had become fascinated with the discovery of a jar of ancient writings near Nag Hammadi, Egypt in the south of Egypt. Who buried these manuscripts is unknown but they were probably buried to keep them by being burned by the Roman church. These books finally came to light in the 20th Century. I went to the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo and in a heart fluttering moment saw some of the original books. In case you don't know, the Copts are Egyptian Christians, that according to Coptic history, converted to Christianity in the first century A.D when St. Mark came to Egypt. I ended up traveling from one end of Egypt to the other by train.  |
| Nag Hammadi Library |
The thought of books being destroyed, for any reason, horrified me. The story of these books and this time period in history became my passion. I read the books and learned all I could by attending lectures on Coptic history, attended a Palm Sunday worship service, visited monasteries in the Wadi Natrun, traveling to Alexandria,was taken to an underground prison where Copts were held for not giving up their Christian beliefs and accepting the Roman one.
In between visits to Egypt I wrote to Marvin Meyer who sent me his dig reports on these precious writings. I read his books, James M. Robinson, Elaine Pagels and so many others it spiraled out-of-control and I now have a library of way over a hundred books on Ancient and Roman Greco occupied Egypt and loads of files.
Since I had been published as a writer of magazine articles, short stories I decided to create a historical novel, The Secret Codices, about these books and how I thought they came to be buried in a jar in Nag Hammadi. I have stayed as close to the facts as possible including the real leaders of the church and empire. The time and locations are as accurate as I could get them.
This historical novel has been a work of love and passion. It is NOT a religious book. It is the story of saving books that would have been destroyed by those calling these books and other books of history, mathematics, and philosophy, heretical. I firmly believe all books should be preserved for posterity. If we don't like a book we have the privilege of refusing to read it.
Why an historical novel instead of a history? I love history too. But a well-researched novel makes history a great read. A good historical novelist will not twist the history out of shape, nor the setting, nor the real historical characters true nature. Instead they use their research and their talent to breathe life into the time and people they are writing about. History told this way seems to stick better in our heads then lists of dates and times or plain facts.
I hope you enjoy this historical novel. At the urging of my editor, Andrea, I'm writing two more books in this series I've called, The Children of the Light.
In the next blog (November 30, 2017), I shares my travels in Egypt and my adventures researching locations, riding camels and sailing on feluccas to understand what it was like in Egypt in the fourth Century A.D. And a peek into where Volume II is going.
I will also include another historical fiction writer I consider the "mistress of the historical novel."
Please join me. You can also send me e-mails about any author of historicals or histories you love. You can e-mail me at: ruthkern3@mindspring.com.
This BlogSpot is: ruthikern.blogspot.com
Happy reading, Ruth
The book is $15.00 with a 20% discount and $3.50 Shipping and Handling. You can also purchase it at: Amazon.com. So far the book reviews are positive.
I would love to hear about your favorite historical or history authors and of course remarks about my book.
