Description: The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt figure prominently in fiction. However, the ancient Indus Valley Civilization - 3300-1300 BCE - has fallen by the wayside as a site for crimes of passion! With Veiled Murders, I hope to place this long-neglected civilization once again on the world map. During a visit to the National Museum in New Delhi, I discovered the 'Dancing Girl, ' a bronze sculpture made approximately 4,500 years ago, thanks to British archaeologist Ernest John Henry Mackay who unearthed it in 1926. Archaeologists found evidence of a Priest King whose allegiance to the phallic god Anu defined societal norms. I transformed the "Dancing Girl" into a priestess queen and named her Sai-an-ki. In my imagination, she destroys the phallic order of the priest king and establishes a benevolent form of matriarchy. She then creates an entire cult calling themselves the Great Adorers of Inanna, the ancient Sumerian goddess of love, sensuality, fertility, procreation, and war. Veiled Murders: Mound of the Dead traces the life, loves, and violent death of Priestess Queen Sai-an-ki.
