A Delta Pearl Extra
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
[image error]Scarab pectoral belonging to Tutankhamun Wikipedia
Wait a minute — the steampunk riverboat is here? Well, dash my wig! Welcome my chuckaboos! Don’t worry, you aren’t arfarfan’arf or boiled owl. It really is Wednesday. Today I’m doing something I rarely do — posting a revision. A few people commented that they had to look up “scarab.” Most of the time other people know a lot more than I know. However, once in awhile the opposite is sort of true. Like I always say – I’m just not wired right.
[image error]1961 ad for Sarah Coventry costume jewelry, featuring Egyptian theme
Anyhow, I’ve been fascinated by gemstones and even costume jewelry since I was five years old, if not before that. I remember a lady who had a scarab bracelet. Every link was carved as a scarab, each one was a different color. Very young me was amazed!
Carved scarabs were prominent in ancient Egyptian art. So many people in the Victorian Era loved such things that they called it Egyptomania. What better clockwork creature, particularly one with dubious intentions, than a scarab?
While I occasionally make changes to the manuscript, I don’t usually post them. Although this is already a rewrite, so why not? It’s more fun than just defining scarab.
Serializing a novel gives me a couple thousand beta readers, so I take these things to heart. Eliza Needleman was the perfect character to explain the scarab. I’m sharing the revision to Chapter 34 – Scrabble (link to full episode before revision).
Here are a couple of links for those of you who enjoy that kind of field trip.
Scarabs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarab_(artifact)
New Excerpt from Chapter 34 – Scrabble
[image error]Pixabay
“Ah! There’s the sign for the gallery at the top of the hill,” Randall Needleman enthused.
“The one that looks like a green insect? Is it a beetle?” Victor asked, squinting.
“Precisely. It’s called The Green Scarab,” Randall answered. “Eliza is quite fond of Egyptomania. In fact, that’s what brought us together,” he added and gave his wife such an affectionate gaze that I was envious.
“Oh yes, the Pharaoh Diamond,” Victor replied.
Randall cleared his throat awkwardly. Victor blushed furiously when he realized he’d brought up a delicate subject. The flush made the blue topaz earring in his left ear seem brighter. He adjusted his spectacles, a nervous habit I had noticed.
The missing gem caused quite a stir aboard the Delta Pearl. Yet, after the initial shock, the Needlemans had been most civil about the matter.
“Yes, my chuckaboo. Scarab is another word for beetle, but it’s also associated with Egypt. Randall and I met there. What an amazing place!” Eliza began in the tone of a fond memory. “The ancient Egyptians loved to use scarab beetles in amulets, jewelry, and seals. Some were created for political or diplomatic purposes. Others advertised royal achievements. While others protected their beloved mummies!” she added playfully and nudged my arm. “Although most were meant to be worn by the living.”
Looking up toward the sign, an idea occurred to me ― a notion that I didn’t like at all! I quickened my pace, moving ahead of the others.
***
I’ll meet you at the riverside this weekend for an all new chapter of The Delta Pearl. Until then, have an easy coast down the other side of this midweek hump, my chuckaboos!
This is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 and 2020 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene
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