Tosca Lee's Blog - Posts Tagged "legend-of-sheba"
A Surprise for Readers
I wanted to do a little something extra for my readers. So here it is: Ismeni: the FREE eShort prequel to The Legend of Sheba.
A mysterious beauty, a destiny set in the stars. Born under an inauspicious sign, young Ismeni is feared by her own people. The single thing she prays for: to live an invisible life. But that is not to be for the young woman who has captured the attention of the king’s youngest son. A story of love, passion, and twists of fate through the eyes of the woman who will one day give birth to the legendary Queen of Sheba.
Submerge yourself in the 10th Century BC world of Sheba early--and then read on to the Prologue and complete First Chapter of The Legend of Sheba!
Ismeni is available to download FREE now from your favorite retailer.
Enjoy!
A mysterious beauty, a destiny set in the stars. Born under an inauspicious sign, young Ismeni is feared by her own people. The single thing she prays for: to live an invisible life. But that is not to be for the young woman who has captured the attention of the king’s youngest son. A story of love, passion, and twists of fate through the eyes of the woman who will one day give birth to the legendary Queen of Sheba.
Submerge yourself in the 10th Century BC world of Sheba early--and then read on to the Prologue and complete First Chapter of The Legend of Sheba!
Ismeni is available to download FREE now from your favorite retailer.
Enjoy!
Story of a Release, Part II
I'm thumbing through my first copy of Legend of Sheba--it just arrived on my step an hour ago. This is always a surreal moment for me. Here's why: there's a story I tell myself when I'm staring at the blank computer screen wondering how I'm going to fill it. I tell myself, "It's not really now. It's really the future. You're standing in the kitchen, reading this book right now. The words are on the page, and some of them are familiar, and some you forgot you wrote, but they're there, printed on the page. You're thinking back to this moment, wondering how to write this story. But in fact, the book is written."
I used to do this same trick when I played the piano. I was a competitive concert pianist in my teens. The only problem: I was terrified of performing. When I gave my first solo recital at age fourteen, I was certain I would be the first fourteen year old in the history of mankind of die of a coronary. I remember standing backstage, saying to myself, "It's not really now. The concert is over--you're only remembering back to this moment." And of course, at a near point in the future and ever since, that has been true.
Yes, it's a mind trick, but in a way, it really is true. The book is already written. Time is not a straight line as we know it. And honestly, even after manuscript is turned in and committed to print, it's not really finished; no art ever truly is. It's just captured at a moment in time when it's as near complete as it can be at that moment. Sometimes we get the chance to go back and reprise a performance or revise a story (I'm having my second shot at this with Demon and Havah as they are getting released for the third time this coming year from Simon & Schuster.) Other times we let that snapshot stand, even as the art continues to evolve, unobserved.
I used to do this same trick when I played the piano. I was a competitive concert pianist in my teens. The only problem: I was terrified of performing. When I gave my first solo recital at age fourteen, I was certain I would be the first fourteen year old in the history of mankind of die of a coronary. I remember standing backstage, saying to myself, "It's not really now. The concert is over--you're only remembering back to this moment." And of course, at a near point in the future and ever since, that has been true.
Yes, it's a mind trick, but in a way, it really is true. The book is already written. Time is not a straight line as we know it. And honestly, even after manuscript is turned in and committed to print, it's not really finished; no art ever truly is. It's just captured at a moment in time when it's as near complete as it can be at that moment. Sometimes we get the chance to go back and reprise a performance or revise a story (I'm having my second shot at this with Demon and Havah as they are getting released for the third time this coming year from Simon & Schuster.) Other times we let that snapshot stand, even as the art continues to evolve, unobserved.
On Writing Legend of Sheba
Why write about the famous Queen of Sheba? My on-screen answers have to do with wanting to explore this rich, pagan queen who impressed the authors of Kings and Chronicles so much that they included what amounted to her endorsement of King Solomon in their narratives. But my first reason was that I wanted to be a girl again. After writing the first-person characters of Clay in Demon and Judas in Iscariot, as well as numerous male characters in the Books of Mortals, I missed the female voice I had so enjoyed in Havah. And, being set nearly a thousand years before the time of Christ, the queen’s story would be much easier to research with more room for speculation than, say, Iscariot, right?
Wrong.
If Iscariot proved difficult for the sheer volume of material available on first century Israel, The Legend of Sheba proved difficult for the opposite reason. Scholars don’t even agree whether Almaqah, the primary god of Sheba (probably present-day Yemen) was a moon or sun deity. Never mind the involvement of the mysterious Ark of the Covenant and all the conspiracy theories surrounding its disappearance and hidden location. Once again, I consulted the experts: missionaries who had served in Yemen—a place too rife with conflict and kidnapping for me to travel for research—history professors, doctors of archaeology and the Hebrew Bible.
This time, I did not overwrite the story, but kept the heart of it forefront in my mind: the ideas of love, possession, and the desire to be truly known.
I had, by this time, begun to date a single father of four—a land developer and farmer who lived an hour away from me. (How we met is another story—one I will tell you if you ask me in person.) I set up shop on sunny days at his kitchen counter when my office became oppressive, a pillow wedged onto a wooden barstool, toes curled round the rungs. The banquet chapter and the bulk of Sheba and Solomon’s letters were written there in the country, out of reach of my cell phone service. I fell in love with a second man during that time—the queen’s loyal eunuch, Yafush, whom I shamelessly modeled after Karen Blixen’s butler Farah in Out of Africa, one of my favorite movies of all time.
The Legend of Sheba took several months longer than expected—about a year and a half—to write. It released September 9, 2014. Four days later, at my home Barnes & Noble book signing, my boyfriend proposed. (See the stories and photos on my website.) By the time my next book releases, I will be getting married (you won’t mind if I forego book tour in lieu of a honeymoon, will you?)
From March 2-15, 2015, The Legend of Sheba eBook is available for just $1.99.
Wrong.
If Iscariot proved difficult for the sheer volume of material available on first century Israel, The Legend of Sheba proved difficult for the opposite reason. Scholars don’t even agree whether Almaqah, the primary god of Sheba (probably present-day Yemen) was a moon or sun deity. Never mind the involvement of the mysterious Ark of the Covenant and all the conspiracy theories surrounding its disappearance and hidden location. Once again, I consulted the experts: missionaries who had served in Yemen—a place too rife with conflict and kidnapping for me to travel for research—history professors, doctors of archaeology and the Hebrew Bible.
This time, I did not overwrite the story, but kept the heart of it forefront in my mind: the ideas of love, possession, and the desire to be truly known.
I had, by this time, begun to date a single father of four—a land developer and farmer who lived an hour away from me. (How we met is another story—one I will tell you if you ask me in person.) I set up shop on sunny days at his kitchen counter when my office became oppressive, a pillow wedged onto a wooden barstool, toes curled round the rungs. The banquet chapter and the bulk of Sheba and Solomon’s letters were written there in the country, out of reach of my cell phone service. I fell in love with a second man during that time—the queen’s loyal eunuch, Yafush, whom I shamelessly modeled after Karen Blixen’s butler Farah in Out of Africa, one of my favorite movies of all time.
The Legend of Sheba took several months longer than expected—about a year and a half—to write. It released September 9, 2014. Four days later, at my home Barnes & Noble book signing, my boyfriend proposed. (See the stories and photos on my website.) By the time my next book releases, I will be getting married (you won’t mind if I forego book tour in lieu of a honeymoon, will you?)
From March 2-15, 2015, The Legend of Sheba eBook is available for just $1.99.
Behind the Scenes: On The Legend of Sheba
Why write about the famous Queen of Sheba?
My on-screen answers have to do with wanting to explore this rich, pagan queen who impressed the authors of Kings and Chronicles so much that they included what amounted to her endorsement of King Solomon in their narratives. But my first reason was that I wanted to be a girl again.
After writing the first-person characters of Clay in Demon and Judas in Iscariot, as well as numerous male characters in the Books of Mortals, I missed the female voice I had so enjoyed in Havah. And, being set nearly a thousand years before the time of Christ, the queen’s story would be much easier to research with more room for speculation than, say, Iscariot,
Wrong.
If Iscariot proved difficult for the sheer volume of material available on first century Israel, The Legend of Sheba proved difficult for the opposite reason. Scholars don’t even agree whether Almaqah, the primary god of Sheba (probably present-day Yemen) was a moon or sun deity. Never mind the involvement of the mysterious Ark of the Covenant and all the conspiracy theories surrounding its disappearance and hidden location. Once again, I consulted the experts: missionaries who had served in Yemen—a place too rife with conflict and kidnapping for me to travel for research—history professors, doctors of archaeology and the Hebrew Bible.
This time, I did not overwrite the story, but kept the heart of it forefront in my mind: the ideas of love, possession, and the desire to be truly known.
I had, by this time, begun to date a single father of four—a land developer and farmer who lived an hour away from me. (How we met is another story—one I will tell you if you ask me in person.) I set up shop on sunny days at his kitchen counter when my office became oppressive, a pillow wedged onto a wooden barstool, toes curled round the rungs. The banquet chapter and the bulk of Sheba and Solomon’s letters were written there in the country, out of reach of my cell phone service. I fell in love with a second man during that time—the queen’s loyal eunuch, Yafush, whom I shamelessly modeled after Karen Blixen’s butler Farah in Out of Africa, one of my favorite movies of all time.
The Legend of Sheba took several months longer than expected—about a year and a half—to write. It released September 9, 2014. Four days later, at my home Barnes & Noble book signing, my boyfriend proposed. (The story in photos is on my website.) By the time my next book releases, I will be getting married (you won’t mind if I forego book tour in lieu of a honeymoon, will you?)
My on-screen answers have to do with wanting to explore this rich, pagan queen who impressed the authors of Kings and Chronicles so much that they included what amounted to her endorsement of King Solomon in their narratives. But my first reason was that I wanted to be a girl again.
After writing the first-person characters of Clay in Demon and Judas in Iscariot, as well as numerous male characters in the Books of Mortals, I missed the female voice I had so enjoyed in Havah. And, being set nearly a thousand years before the time of Christ, the queen’s story would be much easier to research with more room for speculation than, say, Iscariot,
Wrong.
If Iscariot proved difficult for the sheer volume of material available on first century Israel, The Legend of Sheba proved difficult for the opposite reason. Scholars don’t even agree whether Almaqah, the primary god of Sheba (probably present-day Yemen) was a moon or sun deity. Never mind the involvement of the mysterious Ark of the Covenant and all the conspiracy theories surrounding its disappearance and hidden location. Once again, I consulted the experts: missionaries who had served in Yemen—a place too rife with conflict and kidnapping for me to travel for research—history professors, doctors of archaeology and the Hebrew Bible.
This time, I did not overwrite the story, but kept the heart of it forefront in my mind: the ideas of love, possession, and the desire to be truly known.
I had, by this time, begun to date a single father of four—a land developer and farmer who lived an hour away from me. (How we met is another story—one I will tell you if you ask me in person.) I set up shop on sunny days at his kitchen counter when my office became oppressive, a pillow wedged onto a wooden barstool, toes curled round the rungs. The banquet chapter and the bulk of Sheba and Solomon’s letters were written there in the country, out of reach of my cell phone service. I fell in love with a second man during that time—the queen’s loyal eunuch, Yafush, whom I shamelessly modeled after Karen Blixen’s butler Farah in Out of Africa, one of my favorite movies of all time.
The Legend of Sheba took several months longer than expected—about a year and a half—to write. It released September 9, 2014. Four days later, at my home Barnes & Noble book signing, my boyfriend proposed. (The story in photos is on my website.) By the time my next book releases, I will be getting married (you won’t mind if I forego book tour in lieu of a honeymoon, will you?)
Legend of Sheba eBook Just 99 Cents!
The Legend of Sheba: Rise of a Queen is on sale for just 99 cents--just in time for national Read a Book Day!
I so loved writing the story of this savvy young queen who has inspired Old Testament authors and Hollywood alike. Grab it on sale in the format of your choice here: https://toscalee.com/product/the-lege.... And while you’re at it, don’t forget to download Ismeni—the FREE eShort prequel to The Legend of Sheba: Rise of a Queen here: https://toscalee.com/product/ismeni/.
From the back cover:
Her name is legend. Her story, the epic of nations. The Queen of Sheba. A powerful novel of love, power, and the questions at the heart of existence by the author of the award-winning “brilliant” (Library Journal) and “masterful” (Publishers Weekly) novel, Iscariot.
In the tenth century BC, the young Queen of Sheba has inherited her father’s throne and all its riches. But now new alliances to the North threaten the trade routes that are the lifeblood of her nation. Solomon, the brash new king of Israel famous for his wealth and wisdom, will not be denied the tribute of the world—or of Sheba’s queen.
With the future of her nation at stake, the new queen undertakes the journey of a lifetime in a daring bid to challenge the king. But neither ruler has anticipated the clash of agendas, gods, and passion that threatens to ignite—and ruin—them both. An explosive retelling of the legendary king and queen and the nations that shaped history.
“An epic masterpiece.”
-Michael Napoliello, Radar Pictures
“Another winner by Lee.”
-Publisher’s Weekly
I so loved writing the story of this savvy young queen who has inspired Old Testament authors and Hollywood alike. Grab it on sale in the format of your choice here: https://toscalee.com/product/the-lege.... And while you’re at it, don’t forget to download Ismeni—the FREE eShort prequel to The Legend of Sheba: Rise of a Queen here: https://toscalee.com/product/ismeni/.
From the back cover:
Her name is legend. Her story, the epic of nations. The Queen of Sheba. A powerful novel of love, power, and the questions at the heart of existence by the author of the award-winning “brilliant” (Library Journal) and “masterful” (Publishers Weekly) novel, Iscariot.
In the tenth century BC, the young Queen of Sheba has inherited her father’s throne and all its riches. But now new alliances to the North threaten the trade routes that are the lifeblood of her nation. Solomon, the brash new king of Israel famous for his wealth and wisdom, will not be denied the tribute of the world—or of Sheba’s queen.
With the future of her nation at stake, the new queen undertakes the journey of a lifetime in a daring bid to challenge the king. But neither ruler has anticipated the clash of agendas, gods, and passion that threatens to ignite—and ruin—them both. An explosive retelling of the legendary king and queen and the nations that shaped history.
“An epic masterpiece.”
-Michael Napoliello, Radar Pictures
“Another winner by Lee.”
-Publisher’s Weekly
