The Curse of the Pharaoh

Excerpt from The Curse of the Pharaoh

Slowly Ramona got up, hardened herself against the darkness and opened her eyes. It was pitch-dark around her. She struggled with her tears and finally managed to fight them back. Then she tried to find her way in the grave.

Ramona fumbled along the wall trying to get out. The wall suddenly opened and she immediately fell down a stair.

"But there were no stairs here", Ramona exclaimed in surprise while rubbing her aching knee.

The next moment she shut her mouth and stared with horror into the darkness. A flickering light was slowly approaching. Her heart started pounding wildly again.

Ramona quickly went through her alternatives. Either the power was off and she had somehow got lost in the grave, and this was a guide walking around with a flashlight to see if there were any tourists left, or she had – a frightening thought – she had traveled in time without Theo.

Flashlights don't flicker, Ramona thought.

Ramona wasn't happy to admit it, but she realised that the natural explanation was that she hade made another time travel. The person approaching could be a guard checking the grave for intruders. She had to hide! But where? Around her were only flat walls and pillars. She carefully crawled behind one of them and peeked out towards the light.

The darkness didn't feel so heavy when the light from the torch lit up the room. The boy entering the grave was only dressed in a loincloth. His upper body shone in a dark brown colour. He was about her age. On his head he wore the sign of divinity, the striking cobra! The sign of a Pharaoh!

Without being able to control herself, Ramona let out a surprised gasp. The boy stopped, lifted his torch and looked around in the room.

"Who's there? Step forward!" he said with a demanding voice.

He didn't show any sign of fear. Ramona's legs, on the contrary, were shivering where she sat, not knowing if she should answer.

When the boy didn't get any reply he started walking around the room to light up every corner. He came closer to the pillar where Ramona was hiding. For a moment she thought of sneaking over to the next one, but it was too late. The darkness around her dissolved and she found herself in an island of light.

What the reviewers had to say about The Curse of the Pharaoh:

"The strength of the story is the accurate and captivating description of ancient Egypt, both socially and geographically. The author weaves together historical facts and flowing imagination in a manner that hold the reader in suspense from beginning to end." BTJ, publishers reader Lars Rask.

"A thrilling story, very well written and with a genuine feeling of presence." BLT, Johanna Rundgren.

"The idea to make history available in this way and let interact with our own reality gives the impression that the world belongs to all of us and our lives carry a history in common." Åbo Underrättelse, Finland, Siv Illman.

Kim M. Kimselius writes her books for children and teenagers, but parents and grandparents enjoy her stories immensely (if they manage to get a hold of them)!

After the blockbuster success with her first book, Back to Pompeii, in December 1997, Kim Kimselius has entertained and thrilled readers of all ages. Her stories are accurate in historical facts and full of details and she mixes the facts with fiction in a captivating way. The reader can't put the book down until the last pages are read and the adventure has come to an end. 2016 Kim has written over 40 books.

Readers of Kim's books enjoy a couple of hours of suspense and gain knowledge to last them a lifetime.

Back to Pompeji was elected as one of the best youth books of the year by the booksellers on Iceland 2009

Read an interview done with Kim http://kimselius.se/startpage/home/about-kim/interviews-that-matter.html