What will Kentucky Book Festival visitors find on your table?

In 2023 I was pleased to publish two books. The Ancient Tradition of Angels (Bear & Co), which is a departure from, or an expansion to, my work  on ancient Egypt. The other new book is the newly reprinted and expanded Awakening Osiris: The Spiritual Keys to the Egyptian Book of the Dead. This was the first book I published back in 1988. It has never been out of print and has become a spiritual classic used by many teachers leading trips through Egypt. A few of my other books (I have 15 both fiction and nonfiction) will also be available. Hieroglyphic Words of Power and Imagining the World into Existence were never at the book fair previously because I moved away from Kentucky during their publication. So I am happy to bring home those two companions.

Whom do you invite to stop by? Who will benefit from reading your book? 

If the mysteries of Egypt, metaphysics and myth intrigue you, you are invited to my table. I will be happy to talk with you if you have ever traveled to Egypt, or want to know about the gods and goddesses, or if you have a question about the angels and the unseen forces of the universe. I love discussing the edge of the known and visible world. Readers will be interested in Egyptian history, the cross-cultural study of ancient religion, and those who are curious about the power of the mind to create reality.

Could you please tell us something curious about you and/or your book?

Curiosity will take you many places in your life that you never intended to visit. For example, when I was getting my master’s degree in English literature, I took a course in translation. We had to work in Spanish and pick another language. I had no third language and so chose to study Egyptian hieroglyphs because I had always been fascinated in the combined form of art and writing. My curiousity led to 10 years of study of Egyptian hieroglyphs, translating and retranslating the Book of the Dead: Papyrus of Ani. With over 70 reference books, and working in 7 copybooks, I copied hieroglyphs and worked my translations of Ani front to back over three times. Each time new material appeared before my eyes. Perhaps true curiosity and intuition led to the conclusion of that book Awakening Osiris and the beginning of a career that has included 15 written books. For the last 35 years my life as been writing and leading trips for the like-minded curious through Egypt, teaching and visiting temples. Exploration is the key.

Now that I have immersed myself in angels, I wonder how far and wide that will lead me. It has already taken me to an exploration of the unity of religions, the mysteries of communication with the angels and the dead, and finally ordination as a Spiritualist minister. Wow! What a life I never expected.

Is this your first time participating in Kentucky Book Festival? If yes – what are
you looking forward to the most? If you’ve participated before – what was your
favorite experience at the Festival?

I am happily coming home to the Kentucky Book Fair, where I have been previously. My favorite experience was in 2000,  listening to Bill Goodman and his KET book club reviewing Sorrowful Mysteries, my first collection of short stories (Yes! I also write fiction.} They were filming live at the book fair.

Normandi Ellis is an award-winning writer, workshop facilitator, and director of metaphysical studies at Chesterfield Spiritualist College. In this in-depth study into the mystery and purpose of angels, she looks at the angelic dimensions of spiritual traditions around the world from the ancient past to present day.