Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Secret of the Sands is suitable for kids and adults, anyone ages 12 & up. It’s got the fun, silly, light-hearted aspects of movies like The Mummy and Indiana Jones series, paired with deep, underlying meaning & messages…Our intent in writing the story was to make it accessible to a wide audience, in the same way our favorite stories and movies are. If your kids liked Harry Potter - then they can certainly read our story.

Q: What is the book about?
A: Secret of the Sands is a mystery novel exploring the origins of ancient Egypt, a pre-pharaonic time, and it has a dual, intertwining storyline between Egypt’s past & present… For 12,000 years a dark and deadly secret has been hidden deep below the Great Sphinx of Giza. In present day Egypt, a frightening, yet awe-inspiring story unravels as archaeologists race against time to decipher an ancient truth…

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: My co-author and I have been fascinated by ancient Egypt since we were small children. We also share
a love of epic stories, so much so we had to create one of our own. In addition, I (Rai) was a member of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities for many years and I have taken two (non-credit) university courses in Egyptology. Further, I have always held certain beliefs about the Great Sphinx of Giza. That coupled with a program I saw on The Discovery Channel many years ago, where they were talking about how the actual age/origin of the Great Sphinx is still a topic of debate today, fueled my fire to write this story.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: It has a dual intertwining storyline throughout the novel - as mysteries are discovered in present-day Egypt, a window to the past opens and the reader learns the origins of the mysterious artifacts. Each jump back in time sheds more light on the present and the truth of the discovery. In addition, this story presents an alternate (fictional) historical account of ancient Egyptian history. Our book touches on many speculations out there today…

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: It is a repeated Amazon.com Bestseller in the category of “Books, Religion & Spirituality, Fiction”. We are also in the process of making Hollywood connections to have it made into a feature film one day. Filmmakers - give us a call, we have a future summer blockbuster for you!

To learn more visit: www.secretofthesands.com and our MySpace page:

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: The intended audience is definitley not children. It’s no more violent or “in the gutter” as, say, a Stephen King novel, and the book’s aimed toward that audience. I’d say 18 and up can give it a go. But I had no “intended audience” in mind while writing it. If people think it sounds like a good read, then that’s the intended audience.

Q: What is the book about?
A: The novel is all about hope. Yes, there’s a wide-spread power outage, mass hysteria and what can best be described as zombies running around (there’s your gore), but that’s just the story. It’s all about how these people in this one small town find hope during a situation when there appears to be none.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: I’m neither the best nor the worst person to tell this story - I just happen to be the one that jotted it into my computer and put it out there. I wrote it not seeking fame or fortune - something like that happens very seldom for an author.

I wrote it because I’m a storyteller and always have been. I tried this story as a screenplay for years, and that just never worked. If you want to see examples of some bad writing, you should see those pages. Not good. Luckily they’re long gone. But once the idea hit me to give it a try as a novel, everything fell into place.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: I don’t know if it’s different, but rather an extension of disaster and zombie movies/stories, a different take on those two genres slammed together. The “zombies” aren’t zombies - I don’t really care for that term myself - but they are indeed part of the undead family. They think, they plan, they’re really just the characters that end up being the undead in a different light: the worst of people. And within their heads, we get to see what they’re thinking. Some of them fall into the trap of violence and hate while others fight for the hope that is the soul of the book. It’s actually through some of these undead folks that we see the best of people.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: This book was a labor of love, as is the one I’m working on now. Although the ending seems open for a sequel - and I’ve been asked about one - there will be no sequel. Those characters have been through enough, I think they deserve to live out the rest of their lives in a good way. Plus, I have too many other stories I want to tell before I end up in a grave. There’s also the fact that I simply have no idea what would happen in a sequel. I think Moonlight ended up being a real good thing, and I do my best to not screw up a good thing.