How did I fall in love with Sobek,  the Egyptian Crocodile God? Why did I decide I needed to tell his story in Priestess of the Nile?

I was dealing with a pesky plot problem in another WIP set in the same paranormal universe and I needed help resolving an issue between two pharaohs – the rightful ruler and the woman who usurped his throne.  In the course of doing research on ancient Egyptian beliefs, I came across the delightful nugget that Sobek could protect pharaoh from black magic. That was one of his duties, along with housekeeping the Nile. In some legends Sobek was even credited with creating the world from chaos but clearly along the way he fell out of the ranks of the most powerful gods, since Osiris and Isis and others were at the top of the pantheon in the later years of Egyptian glory.

So I wrote Sobek into one brief scene in the WIP, solved my plot problem and moved on. But I kept thinking about him.  There were definitely interesting elements in his backstory. So powerful originally, yet overtaken by flashier newcomers? Subject to commands from the later arriving gods, Sobek still faithfully tended to his duties keeping the Nile navigable and flooding as it should. Does he resent his labors? Does he wish for more, for something or someone that belongs to just him?

Sobek is always depicted as either crocodile or half man/half crocodile but one day I had the flash of insight – he was a shifter. Bingo, so therefore he could take human form if he wanted to. The ancient Egyptians just never saw him do it! But I, as his modern day biographer, could tell his full tale (if you’ll forgive the pun).

And most importantly for a paranormal romance writer, he could fall in love with the right human woman. Who would attract the attention of the Crocodile God? As with any love story, the moment and the locale had to be just right. I could see the scene – late afternoon along the Nile, an abandoned temple on a deserted beach…and a young woman with a singularly beautiful voice, singing a paean of praise to – the Crocodile God. Songs he had not heard sung  by anyone in a very long time…ah, but falling in love with Merys, and she with him, was the easy part. And the adventure begins there!

Drawn to his abandoned temple on the banks of the Nile by an enchanting song, Sobek the Crocodile God is even more captivated by the sight of the singer herself. Appearing to her as a man, he learns she is Merys, a descendant of his last priestess. Though filled with lust, Sobek believes Merys deserves to be more than just his mistress. But the rules that govern the Egyptian pantheon forbid anything beyond a physical joining of a Great One and a human.

Merys is attracted to the handsome stranger, who arouses passions in her that no man ever has. But with no dowry and no hope of ever leaving her village, she dares not dream of the future—or love.

Sobek takes every opportunity to visit Merys, taxing his resolve to leave her pure. When he saves her life, their mutual desire must be sated. But can a love between a human and an immortal survive the ultimate test of the gods?

Priestess of the Nile is now available from Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble.

Veronica Scott lives in sunny Southern California with her daughters, a grandson and two cats. You’ll always find her writing or reading when she isn’t commuting to and from the day job on the challenging freeways!

You can find her at her blog or on Facebook page and she is very active on twitter as @vscotttheauthor

Tags: Crocodile God, Egypt.Nile, Sobek

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 11:15 am and is filed under Authors, Books, Carina Press. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.