E’steem: The Sands Of Time Easter Eggs

E’steem: The Sands of Time was originally written to be a stand alone story that gave readers a look at E’steem’s past and show readers what kind of heroine she was before she became the she-demon.

Continuity wise in the SJS DIRECT Universe, E’steem: The Sands of Time takes place before the events of the eBook Baptism of Blood: TheOrigin of E’steem.

The story for E’steem: The Sands of Time was inspired by Disney Princess movies like Little Mermaid, Beauty And the Beast and Frozen. With E’steem: Sands of Time I wanted to write a story to show it was possible to write a story in the Disney Princess model featuring a Black Princess and tell a story of Black-On-Black love that transcended time.

Yeah, I know Disney made a movie featuring Black Disney Princess The Princess and the Frog. But Princess Tiana isn’t from a royal bloodline like E’steem is. Nor does she have a Black prince as a love interest like E’steem has.

 In The Sands of Time, E’steem is a Princess from the Royal Katian Bloodline who has been adopted by the Egyptian gods. So she’s a real Princess. And her prince John Haynes will grow up to become The CEO of Morris Phillips known as The Man Who Rules The World in her era. That’s as close to a king as you’ll get in America.

I wrote E’steem The Sands of Time to show Black perspective of Ancient Egypt. Every Egyptian character in the story is designed to be BLACK. And I wrote all the characters I imagined BLACK actors as the characters.

Princess E’steem is inspired by actress Salli Richardson-Whitfield. Whenever I write E’steem’s narrative and dialogue I always hear Salli’s voice as E’steem’s.

Salli was the voice of Elisa Maza in Disney’s Gargoyles in the 1990s, and from her work on that show and the strong performances she’s given in the numerous films she’s done over the years like How U Like Me Now, Posse, A Low Down Dirty Shame, Pastor Brown and I Will Follow, show she definitely has the acting ability to her play a Disney Princess.

With Sands of Time I wanted to show how Ancient Egyptian women had significant roles in the Egyptian empire and how they contributed to society. What many don’t know is Ancient Egyptian women had lots of rights in Ancient Egyptian society and could get educations and work in jobs at the side of men. And I wanted to show how women had job prospects in Ancient Egyptian society by showing how Princess E’steem aspired to become a priestess in Pharaoh, Osiris’ temple.

The Suitors Baka, Dartrius and Ma-Sil in E’steem’s past are inspired by the thirsty guys I’d see in my South Bronx neighborhood back in the 1980s. With the suitors I wanted to show how thirsty dudes are something that transcend time. If guys didn’t holla at females civilization wouldn’t go on!

E’steem’s suitor Baka is named after the Master Builder character the late Vincent Price played in the 1956 Cinematic classic The Ten Commandments. And the reason why working for one of the builders is to pay homage to that film.

E’steem’s suitor Dartrius is play on the name Darius. I thought the name was Egyptian enough for a guy.

E’steem’s Suitor Ma-Sil is inspired by actor Dondre T.Whitfield, Salli Richardson Whitfield’s husband. Whenever I heard Ma-Sil’s dialogue I always heard Dondre’s voice as Ma-Sil. I always thought Dondre had an amazing range as an actor from his roles like Robert on The Cosby Show, Terrance Frye on All My Children guest spots on shows like Girlfriends and Second Time Around. I thought he’d be great to voice over the suitor who was the most aggressive in his pursuit of E’steem.

The-Name Ma-Sil is a homage to Ka-El Superman’s Kryptonian name. It’s a homage to comic books, the place where I learned how to read and write.

I originally planned a chapter for the jealous girls E’steem said bullied her in E’steem: Ascension to be featured in Sands of Time, but just couldn’t fit them into the story.  Maybe in the next flashback story.

The 14-year-old John Haynes in this one is based on myself back in the days of the 1980s. I drew a lot from my freshman years at Park West High School to write the 14-year-old version of John Haynes. A lot of the problems I had were his and a lot of the routines John participated in back then were things I actually did growing up in the South Bronx. Story wise The John in this story is coming off the breakup he had with his first girlfriend Tisha that was mentioned in The Temptation of John Haynes and is trying to move past the bullying and harassment he endured in Junior High school. I wanted to give a glimpse of who he was in 1987 and how he would grow into the man he is today.

The run in with Durrell Kelly in John’s opening chapter of The Sands of Time is actually based on a real life experience I had with guys I used to go to school with at IS 148. Whenever they’d run into me on the train when I was going to Park West back in 1987 they’d love to bring up many of my past fights in Junior High. Back then I wanted to get a fresh start in High School and show people I could be an achiever who got good grades in school. Unfortunately, people back then didn’t want to see who I was working to become and kept trying to throw the past in my face.

The scenes of John Haynes in the 149^th Street 3^rd Avenue Train station at the start of The Sands of time were actually part of my routine when I was attending Park West High School. Back then I’d ride the 55 bus to the train station and take the 2 train to 72^nd Street to get a 1 train to 50^th Street to go to school.

On Fridays, I’d take the 2 train to 42^nd Street and Times Square to get comic books from the newsstand there before taking a 1 train back up to 50^th Street to go to school. Afterschool, on some Fridays I’d get a Two slices of pizza and I’d be ready to start my weekend watching Saturday morning cartoons.

14-year-old John’s outfit in Sands Of Time reverses the colors of his adult clothes. While the adult John wears a Forest green shirt, black jeans and Chelsea boots, the teenage John wears what teenagers wore back in 1987, a black mock turtleneck and his pants are olive surplus BDUs. He also wears Reebok Ex-O-Fit high tops like I wore back in my Park West days. 

The comic books John picks up were usually released on the Friday of the fourth week of the Month in 1987. Usually Batman, Iron Man, West Coast Avengers and Captain America came out at the end of the month in the late 1980s.

The TV Shows and movies John talks about Star Trek The Next Generation and Back To the Future 14-year old John talks about are Stuff I used to watch as a teenager. Back when my family used to rent videos in the 1980s I watched Back to the Future over a dozen times and that film and 1984’s The Terminator was the foundation for everything I learned about Time Travel Stories and the time travel story paradigm.

The Pharaoh Osiris is inspired by actor Samuel L. Jackson. Whenever I write Osiris I always hear Sam Jackson’s voice as the Pharaoh. Samuel L. Jackson has played everything from the hitman Jules in Pulp Fiction to Mace Windu in Star Wars prequel Films to Nick Fury in Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. If there’s anyone who could play Egypt’s First Pharoah, it’s him.  

In The Sands of Time we see how close Osiris is to E’steem. The way E’steem playfully banters with her father in this story is a contrast to the bitterness she has for him in the first Isis. Osiris has big dreams and big expectations of E’steem and he wants to see her achieve them as a Child of the Gods.

Queen Isis is inspired by actress Angela Bassett. Whenever I’d write Queen Isis’ dialogue I always imagined Angela Bassett’s voice as the Queen. Angela Bassett has a regal presence like an Egyptian Queen, and I always wanted to see her play that role in a film.

In E’steem: The Sands of Time Queen Isis is concerned about E’steem’s well-being. She sees the pressure all of Osiris’ expectations are putting on her and just wants E’steem to enjoy her youth before taking on the adult responsibilities of becoming a priestess.

Both Queen Isis and Osiris’ subplots foreshadow the events of the storyline of Baptism of Blood- The Origin of E’steem and hint at E’steem’s future.

E’steem’s mentor Mamnet is inspired by actress Suzanne Douglas. Suzanne Douglas played the Mom in The Parent Hood. Whenever I’d hear Manmnet’s dialogue in my head I’d hear Suzanne’s voice. And her warm kind performance would be perfect for a High Priestess who was making efforts to prepare a young eager princess for the priesthood.

Mamnet is another name I took from the 1956 Cinematic Classic The Ten Commandments. However, this time I wanted to show how she was a servant of the Pharaoh, and not some bitter old crone like in the movie.

The villain of the story Decadia is inspired by actress Jada Pinkett Smith. Seeing Jada’s work in numerous films like Matrix Reloaded, Set It off, and Gotham I know she has the chops to play a high-tech villain.

 Decadia’s 1980s leather outfits and braided hairstyles are partially inspired by 1980s fashions and Jada’s leather outfits when she played Niobe in The Matrix Reloaded. Her futuristic leather outfits are meant to be a contrast to the Ancient Egyptian attire and John’s 80’s fashions.

The chapter where John is transported to Ancient Egypt is was inspired by a scene in the Canadian Animated series Class Of The Titans from Nelvana. In that animated series Herry, the descendant of Hercules is sucked down in the sands of a hourglass from our time to Ancient Greece. I thought that kind of visual effect would be fun way to bring John into Ancient Egypt and have his first confrontation with Decadia and her Chronosoldiers.

Lucifer is inspired by actor Keith David. Whenever I write Lucifer’s narration and dialogue I always hear Keith David’s voice as Lucifer.

The Chapter where John Plays Whitney Houston’s How Will I know is inspired by a scene in the movie Back To The Future Where Marty McFly is in the 1950s and plays Van Halen to wake up his future Dad to give him the message to ask his mother out. With that chapter I wanted to show how music brings people together

I chose Whitney’s How Will I know because it’s a fun perky song and captures the spirit of the 80s. It encapsulates the innocence of teenage love, and makes us ponder how will E’steem know if she loves John.

The Chapter where Esteem washes John’s feet is based on a tradition in Ancient Egypt. Usually when a traveler was a guest in a wealthy man’s home his servants would wash their hands and feet. For a Princess to attend to a man and wash a man’s feet is a sign that he is an honored guest in their home. And that the Princess has a thing for him.

The bedroom encounter between teenage E’steem and John is meant to contrast events that transpired in Chapter 102 of The Temptation ofJohn Haynes. Both scenes are meant to show how consistent E’steem’s character is as related to her moral beliefs and principles. It’s that dedication to her beliefs that lead E’steem to make hard choices regarding her relationship with John in both stories.

The love story of The Sands of Time isn’t just about John and E’steem falling in love, but showing how much they love those who don’t love them. John and E’steem are two misfit teenagers who the world has shown no love in either of their eras. And even though they have found love with each other, they selflessly sacrifice their relationship to save a world of people who haven’t shown them any love. What makes E’steem and John heroes in this story is the courage they have to let each other go and the faith they have in God knowing that He’ll let them find each other again when His time is right.

I was working on E’steem: The Sands of Time when my father passed away in December of 2017. I think I was writing around Chapter 32 or so when I got the news.

I stopped work on E’steem: The Sands of Time to go to his funeral in North Carolina and didn’t return to work on the book until January. Even though I grieved his loss I committed myself to finish the story.

E’steem: The Sands of Time and The Legendary Mad Matildawere the two books I was working on when I found out about my father’s health issues in 2017. They’re two books that mean a lot to me because they’re the last two books I was working on when he was alive.

I originally planned to release E’steem Sands of Time as part of the Spring 2018 catalog as a standalone with Isis: Escape From Transylvania and John Haynes: A Conversation With Death. But Bill Walko wasn’t available to do the cover in June.

 So I postponed the book until the fall when he was available making it a part of Fantasy Flashback Fall with another delayed book 2016’s Isis: Imitation of Life. And Bill gave me a MASTERPIECE of a cover in October. If I ever made an animated version of Sands of Time, Bill would be the artist I’d hire to do the designs and lead the animation team!

The response to E’steem: The Sands of Time has been extremely positive. Since its release in October 2018 it’s been the best-selling E’steem series book EVER. It’s received critical praise from readers and is seen by many as a heartwarming love story on the level of Disney’s Princess movies.

Will I do another story about teenage E’steem? Only time will tell.