The Anubis Chronicles: The Council by Y. G. Zaher
Looking for a thrilling shifter romance with fierce alphas, fated mates and unique mythical creatures? Told through multiple perspectives, Y.G. Zaher’s The Anubis Chronicles: The Council (BookBaby) takes place in a world where supernatural creatures of all kinds exist — werewolves, vampires, shapeshifters, dragons, demons, witches, elves and more. What makes it stand out, though, is its inclusion of creatures based on the Egyptian god Anubis — including the main love interest, Asim, a direct descendent of the god.
As the right hand to Anubis, Asim helps run a secret council hidden within an ancient temple in Egypt that oversees the protection of humanity. From the shadows, these ancient beings maintain the delicate balance between humans and the supernatural, dealing out Anubis’s justice whenever needed. And when multiple human women show up dead in the deserts of California, the council takes notice, and Asim and his colleagues are sent to investigate the pack of werewolves responsible. But when he shows up, the last thing Asim expected to find was a poor young she-wolf tied up helplessly in the cruel alpha’s bedroom. He’s even more shocked to discover she’s his lost mate reincarnated!
Read more to hear from the author herself about the behind-the-scenes of the book — like how a trip to Egypt fundamentally changed The Anubis Chronicles series, and what Zaher next has in store for her readers.
Q: What first inspired The Anubis Chronicles?
A: I originally planned on writing a simple werewolf romance novel. While researching something else, I came across information regarding the Egyptian god Anubis not being a dog as everyone believes him to be, but in actuality an ancient black wolf. Then, coincidentally, while looking into a trip I would like to take from Cairo to Aswan, I came across the city called Lycopolis which literally translates to “city of wolves.” My imagination went crazy from there. Instead of writing a story about a common werewolf, why not write about an ancient all-powerful Wolf descendant from the God Anubis himself?
Q: Your narrative sets mythological and supernatural creatures in the modern world. How do you decide what to include in your story, and how to adapt them to this new setting?
A: This is going to sound crazy to some people because it felt crazy to me. Once I decided what I thought I was going to write about, I sat down and wrote. I never thought about what or who was going to be in the story, it literally took on a life of its own.
Q: Your author bio mentions that you’ve studied philosophy, sociology, religion and spiritual healing for most of your life. How to these aspects of your own life show up in your writing?
A: Yes, learning about different cultures, philosophy and religion along with spiritual beliefs very much plays a role in my writing and my life. Without my understanding that everything has its purpose, when the universe took my mobility away from me, making me disabled at the age of 59, I would have given up, but I did not. Instead, I started writing.
Q: What’s your writing process like? How do you keep your complex world-building organized?
A: This is a question that is also almost unbelievable. I don’t keep track of anything because my writing is not something I think about. I just sit down and write. I truly believe that this book was given to me by some unworldly force. For what purpose, I do not know, I think I channeled it. I do not say that easily but there is no other explanation. I did not write a draft or put my thoughts on paper, I just wrote.
Q: Along with being an author, you’re also a playwright. How are the two writing approaches different, and do you find similarities between them as well?
A: I absolutely find writing my short stories and plays completely different from writing The Anubis Chronicles. I have to sit and think before writing a play or short story. I write and rewrite, whereas the book just naturally flowed through me.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from your story?
A: I hope that people see veiled truths. Magic is everywhere, and sometimes you find universal truths in the most unexpected places. I want everyone to find their magic!
Q: This is only book 1 in The Anubis Chronicles. Is there anything spoiler-free that you can share of what’s to come in book 2?
A: Yes! Book II will be titled Origins, and that is exactly what it will be about. Where did all magic beings come from? Read the book Origins and you will find out!
I would like to let everyone also know that there will be a companion novella on one of my favorite characters, coming out very soon, titled Vengeance: The Countess Victoria Saint Germain’s Story; An Anubis Chronicle Novella. It will be out by the end of this year.
About Y.G. Zaher:
Yvonne Garcia Zaher was born in San Antonio, Texas and raised in a barrio in Southern California. She has studied philosophy, sociology, religion and spiritual healing most of her life. If she is not meditating she is writing. Currently, Yvonne is an author and playwright who has had two plays produced at Casa 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights, California. As a young girl living in a barrio where tragedy through gang violence was a common occurrence, she found solace in reading fantasies that took her away to a world of magic and wonder. One of her greatest joys is giving that world of magic to others through her imagination and storytelling.
Visit her website for her upcoming companion novella, Vengeance: The Victoria Saint Germain Story, along with all her other stories and books.
