by Zane
We are inside an art museum looking at a display about Menelek II, the King of Kings of Abyssinia, who lived from 1844-1913. He was considered one of the great leaders of world history because he was able to unite several kingdoms that had fiercely opposed each other. He was baptized as Sahle Maryam, but later was given title of emperor. All of that was well and good but could not explain what Jasmine and I were looking at. It was a portrait of Menelek II and his wife, Taytu Betul, a noblewoman of imperial blood. While they were dressed in traditional garb with head wraps, there was no denying it. Even with the beard, I was staring into the eyes of my father…and my mother was standing beside him. There was a scroll in her hand and I squinted to make out a few of the words. It said: “Under the consent of the king.”
Zane is the New York Times bestselling author of more than ten titles, the editor of numerous anthologies, and the publisher of Strebor Books, an imprint of ATRIA Books/Simon and Schuster. She is also the executive producer of several television and film projects, including Zane’s Sex Chronicles, an original Cinemax program loosely based on her life. You can visit her online at: www.eroticanoir.com, join her mailing list by sending a blank email to [email protected] or visit her MySpace page at www.myspace.com/zaneland.
