KATIE HAMSTEAD
Pharaoh Akhenaten reigned during the 18th Dynasty of
Egypt. He is famous for being the "heretic King" because he abandoned
the traditional religion for monotheism and worship of a minor god, the Aten.
Akhenaten is the Pharaoh which Naomi/Kiya is forced to marry in Kiya: Hope of
the Pharaoh.
1. What do people notice first about you?
My appearance. My physical deformities are pronounced,
and make people avert their eyes so they do not stare. I sense my wives'
disgust with me, even if none of them say it.
2. What one physical attribute would you change?
My long fingers and toes.
3. What are you most afraid of?
Betrayal. As Pharaoh, every day I must keep vigilant
for those who would have me dead. Even people closest to me could turn at any
moment.
4. What's the most important thing in your life? What do you value
most?
The most important thing in my life is my loyal wives
and children. I love each of them, but the ones who give me their allegiance in
return are my favorites. Loyalty is a rare commodity in a royal household.
5. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Where everyone is happy, and no one lives in fear. That
is my vision, why I built my city, so all could start anew under the wise and
gracious Aten.
6. What is your most treasured possession?
Nefertiti and our daughters, but Kiya is also rising in
my graces as she holds a strong loyalty to me.
7. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Loyalty, charm, grace and fertility.
8. What do you most value in your friends?
Again I would say loyalty. I have very few friends as a
Pharaoh. Most men wish to use me for my power,and give me their daughters for
treaties and trade agreements. Finding loyalty among such circumstances is
difficult, so when I find it, I hold it close to my heart.
9. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it
be?
My health. Although I am Aten's offspring, my body is
weak. I am terribly limited as a result, and sense that I will not live to old
age.
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Oh yes, Kiya. Make him love you, make him hold you in
his highest regard....
When Naomi’s sisters are snatched up to be taken to be
wives of the erratic Pharaoh, Akhenaten, she knows they won’t survive the
palace, so she offers herself in their place. The fearsome Commander Horemheb
sees her courage, and knows she is exactly what he is looking for…
The Great Queen Nefertiti despises Naomi instantly, and
strips her of her Hebrew lineage, including her name, which is changed to Kiya.
Kiya allies herself with Horemheb, who pushes her to greatness and encourages
her to make the Pharaoh fall in love with her. When Akhenaten declares Kiya will
be the mother of his heir, Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy
Kiya.
Kiya must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a
silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown.
If she does bear an heir, she knows she will need to fight to protect him, as
well as herself, from Nefertiti who is out for blood.
Introducing - Katie HamsteadBorn and raised in Australia, Katie's early years of day dreaming in the "bush", and having her father tell her wild bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing.
After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.
She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing. She is currently at school studying English and Creative Writing.
Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as a Clerk with a lien company in Arizona to help support her family and her schooling. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.
* ********** *
Thank you Katie, it was an honor to have the Pharaoh visit today!
Congratulations!
