Egyptian Dreams
Why ancient Egypt features so prominently in my books?
People often ask me why ancient Egypt features so prominently in my books.
The answer is a winding path—one that began with dreams, led me to the library and bookstore, eventually took me all the way to the temples of Luxor, and inspired me to study Egyptology on an academic level.
It all started with a series of vivid dreams about ancient Egypt. They were so striking that I wrote them down and felt compelled to find out more. Back then, before I owned a computer, my first stop was always the local library or bookstore. I’d search for anything that might explain the names and images I’d seen in my sleep. To my amazement, I often found real historical details—especially about figures like Hatshepsut—that matched what I’d dreamed.
Years later, I traveled to Egypt with my husband. Standing in Luxor Temple, surrounded by ancient hieroglyphs, was the moment I knew I wanted to study Egyptology in depth.
I enrolled at the University of Manchester and spent seven years immersed in academic research, eventually earning my MA in Egyptology. What fascinated me most wasn’t just the monumental history or the famous pharaohs—it was realizing how much the people of ancient Egypt were like us. Their hopes, dreams, fears, and emotions felt so familiar. Across the centuries, the human experience remains the same. While we know the most about royalty and elites (thanks to their tombs and monuments), it was the lives of ordinary people that truly captured my interest.
All the while, I had always written stories. So it felt only natural that these two passions—my love for storytelling and my fascination with ancient Egypt—would eventually merge. Egypt became not just a backdrop, but a living, breathing part of my fictional worlds.
That’s how my books came to be: a blend of imagination, scholarship, and a lifelong curiosity about the people who lived, loved, and dreamed along the Nile so many centuries ago.
Speaking of: I’m now doing the final read-through of the last book in the Nephilim Quest series! The cover is ready (full reveal coming soon!), and those on my newsletter list will get the chance to grab the book before it's officially released.
If you’d like to experience a little bit of ancient Egypt through the eyes of my characters, you can find my books here: store.leenasbooks.com. I hope you’ll join me on these adventures!
A reader lives a thousand lives.
— Leena 😊