--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For years I've wanted to write a book…" description: "\"For years I've wanted to write a book about mummies, and had been following the science of mummy CT scans when the premise for 'The Keepsake' occurred ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/tess-gerritsen-3102_about_for-years-i-ve-wanted-to-write-a-book-ab_861502.jpg" --- # For years I've wanted to write a book about mummies, and… ![“For years I've wanted to write a book about mummies, and had been following the science of mummy CT scans when the premise for 'The Keepsake' occurred to me: what if an 'ancient' mummy turns out to have a bullet in its leg? How does a modern murder victim get turned into a mummy?” quote by Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/tess-gerritsen-3102_about_for-years-i-ve-wanted-to-write-a-book-ab_861502.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/tess-gerritsen-3102_about_for-years-i-ve-wanted-to-write-a-book-ab_861502.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/tess-gerritsen-3102_about_for-years-i-ve-wanted-to-write-a-book-ab_861502.jpg) > “For years I've wanted to write a book about mummies, and had been following the science of mummy CT scans when the premise for 'The Keepsake' occurred to me: what if an 'ancient' mummy turns out to have a bullet in its leg? How does a modern murder victim get turned into a mummy?” [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A modern murder victim becomes a mummy, blending forensic science with ancient mystery. **In simple terms:** A murder turned into a mummy. Key Takeaway Explore unexpected twists in storytelling. Themes mystery science history fiction Mood intrigued curious Type creative speculative When to use this quote - writing a novel - researching CT scans - creating suspense - blending genres Key Concepts forensic imaging archaeology plot development Questions to Reflect On - How would you integrate real forensic details without overwhelming the story? - What ethical concerns arise when fictionalizing real scientific methods? A Different Perspective Balancing scientific accuracy with narrative drama can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Mummies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-mummies-858393/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Bullet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bullet/) [Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/does/) [Following](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/following/) [Get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/how/) [Leg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leg/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Mummies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mummies/) [Mummy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mummy/) [Mummy Ct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mummy-ct-858395/) [Occurred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occurred/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Premise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/premise/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Mummy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-mummy-858396/) [Turned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turned/) [Turned Mummy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turned-mummy-858394/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [What if](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-if/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [My most successful books, the ones that I feel the strongest about, are the ones that started with a premise that for me was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/my-most-successful-books-the-ones-that-i-feel-the-strongest-about-are/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [Don't stop there. I suppose there are also, what, vampires and werewolves and zombies?" "Of course there are. Although you mostly find zombies farther…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/don-t-stop-there-i-suppose-there-are-also-what-vampires-and/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The Egyptians had a particularly nasty way of getting rid of people they felt had no consequence. Instead of embalming them, they simply constructed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perry-brass/the-egyptians-had-a-particularly-nasty-way-of-getting-rid-of-people/) [Perry Brass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perry-brass/) > [You want to know how Egyptians pulled the brains out of mummies. or built the pyramids, or cursed King Tut's tomb? My dad's your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/you-want-to-know-how-egyptians-pulled-the-brains-out-of-mummies-or/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Haven't I heard of men more dried up than he is, being brought all the way from Egypt in cases covered with pictures?" "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/haven-t-i-heard-of-men-more-dried-up-than-he-is-being-brought-all-the/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [When I go into a museum and see the mummies wrapped in their linen bandages, I see that the lives of men began to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-i-go-into-a-museum-and-see-the-mummies-wrapped-in-their-linen/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When they happen across an Adventurer from Mexico, and the ancient City he has discover'd beneath the Earth, where thousands of Mummies occupy the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/when-they-happen-across-an-adventurer-from-mexico-and-the-ancient/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [Two hundred and fifty mummies covered in gold. Something like this cannot be explained - mummy after mummy covered in shining gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zahi-hawass/two-hundred-and-fifty-mummies-covered-in-gold-something-like-this/) [Zahi Hawass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zahi-hawass/) > [“When Mikolay and Julia are not at school, they usually go exploring and adventuring. Mikolay’s and Julia’s mummies are both witches and are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magda-m-olchawska/when-mikolay-and-julia-are-not-at-school-they-usually-go-exploring/) [Magda M. Olchawska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magda-m-olchawska/) > [All that philosophers have handled for millennia has been conceptual mummies; nothing actual has ever escaped from their hands alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/all-that-philosophers-have-handled-for-millennia-has-been-conceptual/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“In 1855, as the price of paper rose, Dr. Deck proposed to dig up 2 1/2 million tons of Egyptian mummies, ship them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/in-1855-as-the-price-of-paper-rose-dr-deck-proposed-to-dig-up-2-1-2/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“Death is number one on the list of things that we wish were possible to leave behind when we escaped barbarism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/death-is-number-one-on-the-list-of-things-that-we-wish-were-possible/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“He would not now conduct little Nell to the coast; he would not convey her by a steamer to Port Said, would not surrender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/he-would-not-now-conduct-little-nell-to-the-coast-he-would-not-convey/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [“Fine, but if and when the zombies team up with the mummies to take over the world, you can't live in my underground bunker.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-cale/fine-but-if-and-when-the-zombies-team-up-with-the-mummies-to-take/) [Emily Cale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-cale/) ## More by Tess Gerritsen > [There is honor between bitches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/there-is-honor-between-bitches/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“Had she always been so insulated from human contact, like a bloom encased in frost?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/had-she-always-been-so-insulated-from-human-contact-like-a-bloom/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [Fans are always asking me where I get my ideas from. The answer is that I'm very curious, and I get inspiration from everywhere.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/fans-are-always-asking-me-where-i-get-my-ideas-from-the-answer-is/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [After twelve years of living in Hawaii, I'd gotten a serious case of 'rock fever.' I just couldn't live on an island any longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/after-twelve-years-of-living-in-hawaii-i-d-gotten-a-serious-case-of/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [The best heroes in the world are the reluctant ones. Courage isn't fearlessness - it's acting in the face of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/the-best-heroes-in-the-world-are-the-reluctant-ones-courage-isn-t/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“If you don't love him, if you don't even care about him, then seeing him now shouldn't be all that painful. Should it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/if-you-don-t-love-him-if-you-don-t-even-care-about-him-then-seeing/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“My name is Mila, and this is my journey. There are so many places where I could begin the story. I could start in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/my-name-is-mila-and-this-is-my-journey-there-are-so-many-places-where/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“Now we sit and wait,” the woman said, and she settled into a chair, the gun on her lap. “What are we waiting for?”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/now-we-sit-and-wait-the-woman-said-and-she-settled-into-a-chair-the/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [The Christmas tree, twinkling with lights, had a mountain of gifts piled up beneath it, like offerings to the great god of excess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/the-christmas-tree-twinkling-with-lights-had-a-mountain-of-gifts/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [Because I never plan anything out ahead of time, I'm always in the process of learning about my characters. Without a biographical sketch to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/because-i-never-plan-anything-out-ahead-of-time-i-m-always-in-the/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [When you're a fifty-year-old woman, no one really bothers to look at you anymore, much less value your opinion. It's hard on the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/when-you-re-a-fifty-year-old-woman-no-one-really-bothers-to-look-at/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [Mom and I often talked about the trip we'd someday take together to the 'city of eternal spring' where she was born. In Kunming,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/mom-and-i-often-talked-about-the-trip-we-d-someday-take-together-to/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“But human anatomy and human endurance are variable. While the much younger nun had succumbed to her injuries, Ursula's heart kept beating, her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/but-human-anatomy-and-human-endurance-are-variable-while-the-much/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [Where we go depends on what we know, and what we know depends on where we go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/where-we-go-depends-on-what-we-know-and-what-we-know-depends-on-where/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“Some people make choices hoping for the best; Korsak had made a choice simply to avoid the worst.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/some-people-make-choices-hoping-for-the-best-korsak-had-made-a-choice/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) [Explore all 134 Tess Gerritsen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) [Browse all 26,122 About quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For years I've wanted to write a book about mummies, and had been following the science of mummy CT scans when the premise for 'The Keepsake' occurred to me: what if an 'ancient' mummy turns out to have a bullet in its leg? 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