The Isis Knot (50 page)

Paranormal Romance: The Elemental series

LIQUID LIES
(The Elementals #1)

A TASTE OF ICE
(The Elementals #2)

DROWNING IN FIRE
(The Elementals #3)

UNBOUND – the novella “No Surprise More Magical”
(The Elementals #1.5)

Contemporary Romance: The Highland Games series

LONG SHOT

THE GOOD CHASE
(December 2014)

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The
John Barry
was a real hulk that carried British convicts to New South Wales, Australia in 1819, but the
Remembrance
is fictitious, even though it is true that separate retired naval frigates transported female convicts to the penal colony.

A great deal of the background, setting, and history within
The Isis Knot
is fact, but this is ultimately a work of fiction (it is time travel, after all).

I read the following books for research, if you’re curious about exploring deeper into Australian history and Egyptology:

The Fatal Shore
, by Robert Hughes

Convict Love Tokens
, Michele Field and Timothy Millett, eds.

The Floating Brothel
, by Sian Rees

A Cargo of Women
, by Babette Smith

Anchored in a Small Cove (A History and Archaeology of The Rocks, Sydney)
, by Max Kelly

Temples of Ancient Egypt
, by Richard H. Wilkinson

The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
, by Richard H. Wilkinson

Ancient Egypt
, by Lorna Oakes and Lucia Gahlin

DEDICATION

This story is for Holly McDowell, who has always been there for it.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book has been around the block. Not once, not twice, but at least five times. Maybe even more.

I started writing
The Isis Knot
while I was part of the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. It has been years and years since then, and unfortunately I have lost all my notes as to who critiqued it in its earliest, crappiest, most confusing incarnations. So I will just throw out a blanket “Thank you so much!” to everyone who might have given me their two cents along the way, along with a “Isn’t it so much better now???!!” for good measure.

The Aphrodite Writers, for continual emotional support. Ann Marie Bauer suggested the cover tagline, which I adore.

Eliza Evans, as ever, was a fantastic beta reader and helped me clear up much. She gave it a good spit polish and pushed me to be my best.

I had two formal editors, without whom this novel would still be a giant pile of goo poisoning my computer.

Rhonda Helms gave me developmental editing advice early on. She read a fairly rough version, saw the bigger picture, and pointed out all the places the plot and the characters had to change in order to make it a viable story. It changed everything. Perhaps even the world.

Deb Nemeth took my (massive) rewrite and read it line by line. It is a cleaner, more cohesive book because of her and her insight. I daresay I have a better understanding of sentence construction and the English language because of her.

THE ISIS KNOT

ISBN: 9780990493402

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author.

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

Cover Art by The Killion Group, Inc.

Digital Formatting by Author E.M.S.

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