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Monday 26 May 2014

Blog Tour Promo Post & Giveaway - Son of Set (Descendants of Isis #2) by Kelsey Ketch




Release Date: 05/02/14

Summary from Goodreads:
“. . . the Sons would never just let him go—alive.”

Seth O’Keefe has broken the laws of his god. He never thought he would sacrifice his own future to protect a Daughter of Isis. But when the Sons of Set discovered Natti is the Secret Keeper, he had no choice. Now, Seth and Natti are on the run from his father, who wants nothing more than to see Seth dead. With no allies, Seth turns to the Daughters of Isis for help, hoping they would protect Natti. But when they meet the Daughters, he discovers a secret that puts both their lives in more danger. Low on options, Seth sees only one possibility for survival. He must help Natti solve an ancient puzzle and find the secret name of Ra.

Natara “Natti” Stone is having a hard time swallowing the truth. She can’t believe what she has learned in the past twenty-four hours: Seth is a Son of Set blessed with charm; she is a Daughter of Isis blessed with a sliver of Ma ‘at; the locket her grandmother gave her holds an ancient Egyptian secret linking to Osiris and Isis. That along with being tortured and brutalized by the Sons of Set, she can hardly hold herself together. Thank God for Seth’s touch! That warm, tingling sensation that drowns it all out. Yet her heart struggles to stay focused. She must quickly embrace her destiny before the secret name of Ra falls into the wrong hands.

*Note: Content for Upper YA*

Buy Links:



Daughter of Isis (On sale for $.99 during the week of the tour)

Book One in this series:
(linked to Goodreads)


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Integrating a Dead Language

*Disclaimer: I am not an Egyptologist. I am not a linguist. I’m not even a historian. But I am an author and scientist, and I do take my research very seriously.*


To bring certain characters and written texts to life, authors have to use language, communication, and slang. And I’m not just talking about American English vs British English. I’ve seen French, German, even Latin used in many YA novels. For Daughter of Isis and Son of Set, the language that brings Seth’s spells and Isis’s clues to life is Re-en-Kam: the speech of Egypt.

But here’s the problem: much like the locket which Natti is attempting to translate, Re-en-Kam is a puzzle in itself to figure out. No, really. It’s almost like a word scramble compared to the English language. For example, it’s the verb that comes first, not the noun. So instead of saying “I love you” it would be more like “Love I you.” Also, one word in Re-en-Kam may translate into several very different words in English. Plus, there’s a difference in reference, gender, and gender plural.

Merut: beloved woman, sweetheart, love           Merit: love, desire, wish
Hemet-netjer: high priestess                               Hem-netjer: high priest
Hemut-netjer: high priestesses                           Hemu-netjer: high priests

On top of it all, Re-en-Kam has been a dead language for thousands of years! The only thing available is the hieroglyphics left behind in the tombs and temples of Egypt, and unfortunately, hieroglyphs don’t include many of the vowels that would have been used in speech. So, really, no one actually knows what the language sounds like.

Of course, a few Egyptologists have speculated how the language might be vocalized, such as E. A. Wallis Budge, who wrote an entire dictionary of hieroglyphs. I particularly found his work useful in creating my spells and clues of the Descendants of Isis series along with a few other research books which I acknowledge.

However, once you understand, or get an idea, the language you wish to use, how do you portray what your character is saying?


-What’s he saying?
-I have no idea.

Well, every author has their different style. For me, I prefer taking advantage of the multiple points of view in my series. If it were Natti alone, the reader would be hearing exactly what she would be hear, which would be the sound each word or sentence makes. But in Seth’s mind (being that Re-en-Kam is his first language ;) ) the language is automatically translated. So from his point of view, the reader can get a direct translation of the conversation taking place in Re-en-Kam.


Natti: Bonniewae; Seth: Very Good

Again, I’m not claiming to be an expert, but this is an example of what challenges authors can face when writing. This is why I’m a firm believer in research. Without it, my Re-en-Kam wouldn’t sound half as impressive, and in my personal opinion, neither would the spells or clues I put together of my novel. It’s a lot of work, yes. But well worth it!

Kelsey; Hieroglyphics.net


About the Author
During her high school years, Kelsey Ketch could always be found tucked away in a little corner of the hall or classroom, writing her fantasy worlds and creating illustrations and maps. Today is no different, except now she’s writing in the break room at her office building or at the tables of the Barnes and Noble CafĂ© in Cary, North Carolina. She is also an avid reader, a part-time book blogger at Ketch’s Book Nook, and lives with her two orange tabbies and awesome and humorous flat-mate.Daughter of Isis is her debut novel.

For more information, please visit her site at 
kelseyketch.com.


Author Links:



***GIVEAWAY***

One lucky winner will get a was scepter pendant (created specially by SilverspotStudio), a hieroglyphic tote bag, and a Son of Set journal (INT).


Blog Tour Organised by:

2 comments:

  1. This is so much fun! I love when authors take that extra step to incorporate reality into their fictional worlds. Thanks for the fun post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. well ,I really love the cover , it looks amazing :D I actually never heard of this series before, but I will definitely check it out

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