Horrors (and Myths) of the Sea

(See below!)

I don't know about you, but I've always been fascinated with faery folk. They're so mischievous, alluring, and bizarre. Especially the ones who dwell in or near water.

Everyone has heard of a Banshee. Did you know I have a character whose gifts are based on one of those? (Shh. It's a secret.) They're associated with water, and were often seen as women weeping near a body of water. If you heard one, either you or someone close to you was going to die very shortly.

Nymphs. Who hasn't heard of these? Usually they're associated with trees, but there are also water nymphs AKA Naiads, Oceanids, Nereids, and Undine. Their close cousins are Water Sprites. These spirits could take on corporeal form, but were believe to be the embodiment or spirit of a body of water. Cross them, and you could look forward to a nice drowning.

And finally, there are mermaids, which brings me to our Writerly Wednesday feature for the day.

Ready to guess the lie and win a book? 

Last week, Patricia Lynne shared BEING HUMAN with us, along with two truths and one lie. Those who guessed the lie correctly were entered into a random drawing for the chance to win her eBook.  

Patricia's game: 

1. In high school, Patricia enjoyed doing the high jump in track and field.
2. She can't crochet to save her life. She can make a biiiiiiiig, loooooong chain and that's it.
3. A hobby she recently got back into was jigsaw puzzles. She can do a 500 hundred piece jigsaw puzzle in a few hours.

And the lie is:

#1. Patricia was in track, but she liked doing hurdles, even though she wasn't really good at them. She got second place once but it was her and one other person. She quit because the meets took time out of biology and she didn't want to dissect animals by herself the next day.

Way to guess those of you who got it right! And the winners are:

...DRUM ROLL...

Liz A
Kristin Smith

Congrats, ladies! 

And now to today's feature:

Sharp, sleek, and golden. Like the dagger she has worn since childhood, eighteen-year-old Aeva is all three of these things. But there is something else that this mermaid and her prized weapon share – they are both hunted. 

Hidden within the caves off Iceland’s dark shore, Aeva waits to take her place as the next ruler of the Mermaids. But when Aeva uses her potent and alluring song to save a drowning human, she disrupts a delicate balance. Realizing she has unexpectedly bound herself to Gunnar, Aeva is torn between duty and love. 

Aeva severs one life to begin another, and soon finds herself not only rejected by the sea, but also stalked by an old enemy. As the worlds of myth and man intertwine, Aeva will challenge fate to protect her own sacred relic and the man she loves. 

But legend and lies cast an intricate net. With time and safety quickly unraveling for Aeva and Gunnar, there is only one clear course: Find and defeat Delphine before she can shift again. 

Get your copy HERE.

Lyndsay Johnson grew up in the wide expanses of Texas, where the only thing stronger than the accents was the state pride. An over-active imagination, tale-telling father, and an encouraging librarian mother lead to her love of all things creative.

When it comes to books on her bedside table, young adult lit has always been a favorite (Blue Balliett, Libba Bray, and JK Rowling, to name a few). But it was actually an old, yellowing copy of Scandinavian Folk and Fairy Tales that planted a particularly relentless seed. Shapeshifters and sea nymphs began forming an idea that would eventually grow into Lyndsay’s debut novel, Fire of the Sea.

When she is not writing, you can find Lyndsay spending time with her family in the Rocky Mountains of Utah. She enjoys dark ¬theaters, gluten-free recipes, low-lying clouds, and secret naps.

Regarding cheese... Lyndsay can no longer eat cheese due to a long and tragic story, which involves Greece and about ten new food intolerances. But she used to LOVE cheese. Quesadillas with Monterey Jack, Smoked Gouda and apples, Brie on olive-oil-grilled sourdough with chocolate and basil (it’s amazing). Quel fromage…she meant dommage. (*The cheese names have been capitalized out of respect to this superior food group.)

Lyndsay gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for a chance to win an eBook of FIRE OF THE SEA! 

You have until Tuesday, October 21, at 1 p.m. EDT to guess--and be sure to come back for the answer on October 22.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. Lyndsay was in training to be on the US Olympic Equestrian team, but was thrown from a horse and broke her wrist before the qualifying rounds.

2. She once spray-painted the concrete wall behind her house with what she envisioned to be a gorgeous mural. Turns out fluorescent orange isn’t the best color for a budding graffiti artist… Also, who knew you could buy spray paint remover?
3. She used to drive a 1986 Volvo Station wagon. Teal with tan interior. She hated it, but now wishes she’d kept it.  

   

Now follow the SOULLESS blog tour for a slew of amazing features:

Krystal Jane at The Narcissistic Rose learns how I reacted to holding MOONLESS for the first time. (You maybe shocked.)

Kristin Smith at Swords and Stilettoes shares an amazing excerpt

M. Pax is also sharing an EVEN DIFFERENT excerpt

DL Hammons asks me stuff, and I actually reply! You'll love it.

Sarah Foster at The Faux Fountain Pen shares a DIFFERENT, but equally awesome excerpt

And be sure to enter the 

Rafflecopter

for your chance to win some amazing prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now see the pony? He's so stinkin happy because he decided to follow the blog tour. You can be happy too. Just follow after him!

Which is the lie? (Guess for your chance to win.) Do you love water myths? What is your favorite mythical creature? 

And You Thought Stopping Time was Impossible...

You know when you want to be witty and fun and snarky and amazing...but all you have left is...well, a headache? That's kind of me today. Call it a sick kid, call it a pregnancy, but sometimes we really just have to take it easy if we want to keep going. I've been working hard toward my book release ON MONDAY!!! *gulp* And if allergies and exhaustion don't get me down, everything will even be done on time. So, since we're talking about time, how about some funnies?

Source

Source

And join with me in celebrating, because on Monday... 

Source

(Book release, FREEBIES, and giveaways.)

Ready to guess the lie and win a book? 

Last week, Nicole Zoltack shared THE TEST OF TIME with us, along with two truths and one lie. Those who guessed the lie correctly were entered into a random drawing for the chance to win her eBook of MASKED LOVE.  

Nicole's game: 

1. Nicole is a better shot than her husband.

2. She likes to collect dragon, unicorn and horse figurines...and swords too.

3. She just tested for her yellow belt in Karate.

And the lie is:

#3. Nicole wishes. She would love to take karate, but actually, her oldest son just received his yellow belt. He can't wait to be able to try and break boards! He talks all the time about wanting to be the highest degree black belt there is.

Way to guess those of you who got it right! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Lori L. Maclaughlin

Congrats Lori! 

And now to today's feature:

Love, love, LOVE this cover!

For Tommy, there is only one thing he needs to do: survive. 

Only surviving isn't that easy. The hunt for blood can be tricky when humans know to fear the night. Desire sits on the edge of his mind, urging him to become the monster humans think he is. Vampire Forces, a special branch of police, is determined to turn every vampire to ash. Tommy included. 

The only human Tommy can trust is his twin brother. A bond connects them, and with Danny's help, Tommy starts to understand the human world he struggles to survive in. He'll learn what friendships means and feel the sting of betrayal, find that sometimes the worst monsters are very human, and come to understand that family means more than blood. 

Tommy just wants to survive and he knows what he needs to do. But with the number of humans that mean more to him than a meal growing, Tommy learns there's more to life than simple survival. He'll discover being human doesn't mean being a human.

Get your copy HERE.

Patricia Lynne never set out to become a writer, and in fact, she never considered it an option during high school and college. She was all about art. On a whim, she wrote down a story bouncing in her head. That was the start of it and she hasn't regretted a moment. Patricia lives with her husband in Michigan, hopes one day to have what will resemble a small petting zoo and has a fondness for dying her hair the colors of the rainbow.

Her favorite cheese is Mozzarella. It goes good on anything! Or alone. Although, she hasn't eaten many cheeses, so her palate is very limited.

Patricia gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat, and TWO people will win an eBook of BEING HUMAN--Just in time for HALLOWEEN! 

You have until Tuesday, October 14, at 1 p.m. EDT to guess--and be sure to come back for the answer on October 15.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. In high school, Patricia enjoyed doing the high jump in track and field.
2. She can't crochet to save her life. She can make a biiiiiiiig, loooooong chain and that's it.
3. A hobby she recently got back into was jigsaw puzzles. She can do a 500 hundred piece jigsaw puzzle in a few hours.

Which is the lie? Which time travel device would you take? Are you picking up any vampire reads for October? What are you wishing you had more time for?