Guest Post and Excerpt from Errin Stevens, Author of Updrift
What if joining your lover's world
meant leaving your own?
meant leaving your own?
GUEST POST
I've invited Errin to talk with us about an interesting and intriguing topic: Mermaids: Myth or Fact?
Every time Animal Planet runs its 2011 mockumentary, “Mermaid: The Body Found,” their web site heaves under all the views they get. It was the most successful series Animal Planet has ever ran, and repeat airings still pull in a crazy level of public attention according to Nielsen.
And if you haven’t checked it out, you should. It’s this fabulous blend of myth and supposition that feels perfectly real, presented in a cinematographic package of wonderfulness. But. Should we all go on a mermaid hunt?
As a writer of stories containing mermaids, my opinion is ‘yes’… but not in the actual ocean, where sharks could eat you or jellyfish poison you or hypothermia cause you to drown. (Picture me wagging a motherly finger in your face and warning you to keep that wet suit in the closet.) Scientific evidence, the fanciful exposition by Animal Planet notwithstanding, is overwhelmingly against the possibility… and again, the research could kill you!
Mermaid MYTHOLOGY is a different proposition, however, and it will not actually deep-six you to consider it. Independent populations all over the globe have rich, developed, gratifying narratives absolutely worth our attention as reader/thinkers. In addition to my own novels – Updrift and Breakwater – there are so many riffs on the theme out there for those interested, from Carolyn Turgeon’s “Mermaid” to the “Of Poseidon” series by Anna Banks; to the classic lore contained in Brazil’s “Sirena” or Guam’s “Lara” stories. Or (of course) the widely read Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale.
So, by all means, be a believer, and happy exploring… but I think we should put our belief in the “true” stories here, which are in books, not the sea.
Check out this video that Errin mentioned:
UPDRIFT
Errin Stevens
Series: The Mer Chronicles: Book 1
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
Publication Date: November 2, 2015
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
Publication Date: November 2, 2015
What if joining your lover's world meant leaving your own?
Kate will have to look hard at her man to determine what is real, what is illusion, and how, if ever, she can get back home.
Kate will have to look hard at her man to determine what is real, what is illusion, and how, if ever, she can get back home.
Ever since her father died, Kate Sweeting’s home life has been in the pits, her well being on life support. Her future looks desolate, too, until she and her mother make another plan: abandon their shriveled existence for more promising prospects on the coast, where Mom can play small-town librarian/bachelorette, and Kate can figure out what’s up with that secretive Blake family from the beach.
Everyone is eerily captivated with Kate and her mother, and Cara is the first to figure out why when the man of her dreams arrives all dripping and devoted and closed-mouthed about what he intends. Kate is willing to go along with their subterfuge for a while, but eventually makes a charge for the water to learn what her mother is hiding. Gabe Blake is there waiting for her… and so is someone considerably less friendly. By the time Kate navigates her way home, everything will have changed for her – what she feels, what she wants, and what she will risk to be with the man she loves.
"Best mermaid book I have EVER read? Updrift by Errin Stevens."
- Ben Alderson, voted leading vlogger by Teen Vogue and The Guardian
- Ben Alderson, voted leading vlogger by Teen Vogue and The Guardian
Purchase Links
"Stevens is a treasure to be found in today's cluttered literary market."
- Peachy Keen Reviews
- Peachy Keen Reviews
Excerpt
The pleasure cruiser floated on billowing waves a mile off the Atlantic shore, its small group of passengers reclined in various stages of stupor on the modest deck. The sun, white-hot and high in the June sky, pummeled the seafarers with its heat, penetrating and dulling the attention of even the most preoccupied until all were calm, quiet, and drunk on their own leisure.
To her disappointment, Kate was the only child in the party, but she was used to solitude and entertained herself as she often did with a game of imaginary play. For this interlude, she lay on her stomach, her chin resting on crossed arms as she peered over the boat’s edge into the sapphire water. Her lips moved as she whispered, hoping to conjure a sea turtle or dolphin to play with, although nothing swam her way.
She became hopeful when a long, silvery blue fish appeared. It paused just past the depth where she could determine what, exactly, it was, and it swayed to catch her attention.
It’s teasing me.
At which point, it vanished. Kate strained closer to the ocean.
Too soon a brilliant, turquoise-colored fluke startled her from just below the water’s surface, the body attached to it out of sight under the boat. The tail rippled out and back again, gossamer and fantastic. Come, it beckoned. Kate reached down to touch it and slid noiselessly into the water.
Other Books by the Author
Be sure to also check out Book 2 of The Mer Chronicles.
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BREAKWATER
Series: The Mer Chronicles Book 2
Breakwater continues the story of Updrift focusing on other characters. The narrative follows the lives and loves of a group of sirens in the fictional town of Griffins Bay, North Carolina.
"If you are a fan of Mermaids and Mythical creatures, UPDRIFT and BREAKWATER need to be a must read for you. I promise you will enjoy them, and grow attached to the characters, just like I have."
- Tracy Thomas, blogger/owner of The Pages In Between |
Giveaway
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Contest runs from May 22 - June 3, 2017.
About Errin Stevens
Errin Stevens writes paranormal suspense/romance from her home in Minnesota, where she lives with her husband and son. When not wrestling with unruly narrative – or reading everything from mythology to contemporary romance to literary novels – you’ll find her swooning over seed catalogs (winter), or digging in the garden (the other three days of the year). Visit her blog site at http://errinstevens.com for release updates and random essays on writing and mothering.
Official website: http://errinstevens.com
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