February 25th, 2010 — D-F, Guest Blogger, Merman/Mermaid
by Judi Fennell, guest blogger
Back in 2004 when I joined Romance Writers of America, I had one manuscript (in sore need of craft workshops!) and the dream.
I had nothing else. Not a clue how to do this, not another story idea, no industry knowledge. Nothing. How could I ever expect to get a book published - especially once I got my first contest entry back and saw that I needed a lot of help.
Enter the characters who won't shut up.
And thank God for them. First it was the gypsy who showed up in a re-write of that first story. Then it was Cinda Bella, obviously a Cinderella character but modernized for today's world. Then it was Bella from Beauty and The Best.
And then there was Reel. And Erica. And Chum. And Puffer and Vincent and Chipper and Angel and Harry and the rest of the cast of In Over Her Head. Once those floodgates opened, there was no damming them back up.
In Over Her Head is my debut novel and the easiest story I've ever written - all because of the characters who won't shut up! Even now, as I do the edits on the third book in this Mer series, the characters are all chatting in my head.
Sounds crazy, right?
Crazy keeps me writing. These characters wake me up in the middle of the night. They have parties at 5 am, each one trying to shout the other down. It's insane. I have learned to keep a notebook next to my bed so I can jot down what they're saying - don't want to lose it because they can get a bit stubborn about sharing it with me again. "Not important enough to write down when I'm saying it? Then I'm not going to repeat it."
There's a reason writers call their stories their babies - sometimes they start to act like grouchy teens!
But I love each of them, even the villains. They've given me a lot to work with in the stories and I've been blessed to hear from readers that they love the characters.
Many people have emailed me that they love Reel, laughed at Chum, identified with Erica, but the email I received today was a first.
The reader loved my bubble gum-chewing pelican, Amelia. Amelia only shows up for a bit, but she plays a big part, and the bubble gum just sort of came along with her.
So if you've read In Over Her Head, who's your favorite character? Besides Erica and Reel, who would you most like to hang with? I'd love to know. If you haven't had the chance to read it, please email me once you do (Go to my website for my contact info!).
The characters who won't shut up are taking bets as we speak.
And while you're on my website, (www.JudiFennell.com ) feel free to register to win one of three romantic beach getaway weekends. The Atlantis Inn Bed & Breakfast in Ocean City, NJ (www.AtlantisInn.com) and the Hibiscus House B&B in West Palm Beach Florida, (www.HibiscusHouse.com) have come on board to offer these weekends to celebrate the release of each of the Mer series books.
And the winners can keep an eye out for sexy mermen, or talking fish or even the occasional gum-chewing pelican... Here's an excerpt from In Over Her Head:
Amelia, Ernie's wife, popped by instead, floundering to a pelican's lumbering landing just as they hit the beach.
"Heya, Reel. You are one lucky S-O-M." Amelia was munching on that chewy substance Humans were so fond of. It stuck to everything and they stuck it to everything: the underside of docks, boat hulls, every piece of their refuse. He could always hear her coming from a mile away.
"What's the scoop, Amelia?"
Erica groaned behind him. "Amelia? As in Earhart? Who's next? Captain Nemo?"
"Sorry, chicky, but Nemo's in the Pacific these days. He and Ern had a falling out." Amelia blew a pink solid bubble with that stuff.
That always freaked him out. Bubbles. Solid. Out of water. Pink. Odd, just odd.
"So, what's happening in my luck department, Ame? Krak still chasing the herring?"
The bubble popped all over her beak and she made the mistake of trying to remove it with her wings. Several gooey, fowl-mouthed comments later, the pelican was spun in a web of her own making.
"Oh, for pete's sake!" Erica approached the squawking bird, plunked her cute backside in the sand and started picking the pink gunk off Amelia.
"Thanks, doll," Amelia said when her beak was untied. "I guess I oughta lay off that. If you could do that big feather on the bottom... yeah, that one. It's bending back and pinching a bit... yeah, that's it." The pelican sighed. "So, where was I?"
"About to tell me if we're heading into a trap? You know, just a tiny portion of info that could determine whether we live or die? Nothing too important, Ame," Reel answered.
"Yeah, yeah, keep your scales on-wait. You don't have scales. My bad."
"We're wasting time, Ame. So, did Krak take the bait? Or did his two brain cells rub together enough to generate a spark of intelligence?"
Amelia stretched a freed wing out to its full three-foot width. "I said you're a lucky S-O-M and I meant it. The big, dumb oaf is probably halfway to the Falklands by now."
"Good." Reel pulled Erica to her feet. "Come on, sweetheart, we've got to get moving."
Now more about winning that copy of In Over Her Head
. To enter, leave a relevant comment below about Mers, characters that don't shut up, or ask Judi a question! The winner will be drawn Friday, June 5th, 2009. Open to USA and Canada.
Originally posted 2009-06-03 03:03:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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February 22nd, 2010 — Contemporary, D-F, Fantasy, Guest Blogger, Merman/Mermaid, Seas, Writing Tips
by Judi Fennell, guest blogger and author of Catch of a Lifetime.
Thanks so much for having me again! The third book in my Mer series, Catch of a Lifetime, came out this month, and once again, the puns are out in full force.
The sea-isms were a really fun part of writing this series, and I'd never realized how many sea sayings we use in our everyday language. It made coming up with the sea-based version of the sayings easier.
I hadn't actually started out to include things like that, but when Reel, the hero of book one, In Over Her Head, was talking to his sidekick Chum, a suckerless remora fish, well, I couldn’t help but go down that alley. Chum? For a fish? It just made me laugh.
Then Reel mentions he has a twin brother named Rod, and that was pretty much it. Every sea-themed pun I could come up with decided to end up in the stories.
I'd never realized how many "sea-isms" we actually use in everyday English. Or how much fun it'd be to poke fun at our use and make it seem normal to Mers. But I'm finding that they come really easy to me - and to my readers. I will admit to taking notes on some of the funnier ones people send me, and plan to use them in Mariana's and Pearl's stories (that I'll, hopefully have the chance to write!).
I've been asked about how and why I play with the puns and clichés, because all pre-published authors are told over and over not to use clichés. I know, I was told that, too. But the thing is, if you put your own twist on anything - and other people "get" it - you can pretty much do what you want. That's held true for me with the clichés and groan-worthy puns.
But those puns are also in keeping with how my Mers think. They're not going to say, "Go fly a kite" to someone who's annoyed them. They might, however, tell that person to go toss a skate (skates are like sting rays). It's their frame of reference, much as our American slang is completely incomprehensible to someone learning to speak our language. I mean, if you're a non-native speaker and are translating something as commonplace as "take a hike," you're going to wonder where and HOW to take a hike somewhere? Do you carry it? Put it in a box? A hike is an intangible object.
When creating a world, a writer has to immerse herself in it and see it as the beings in that world do, and then build that world from the inside out. What's going to be commonplace to those inhabitants--and, conversely, what's going to seem odd for a newcomer to that world? Hence, the term "shell-fillers" for breasts. Some readers have liked that term, others notsomuch. But think of the quintessential images of mermaids: they're either bare breasted or have seashells lashed across their breasts. Shell-fillers. It's their frame of reference. Of course, since readers' frames of reference don't include that term, I have the Mers make the jump to the Human reference pretty quickly so I don't lose the reader. But that's also to illustrate the Mers' understanding of that new world.
So how do I come up with these sayings? I honestly don't know other than to say, I try to think like my characters. I try to see things the way they would and put it out there for the readers so they can see it that way, too.
Here's a bit from Catch of a Lifetime with Angel, the mermaid, chatting with Ginger, a flamingo. Two beings of two different worlds interacting in a Human one and having some fun of their own playing with language:
“Ginger?” Great. Just what Angel needed. The laziest and most opportunistic flamingo in the Eastern Hemisphere had just glommed onto her case study. And as for Ginger keeping a secret? Not so much. “What are you doing here? I thought birds of a feather flocked together and all that.”
“Those Orlando chicks are too cliquey. Sometimes it’s nice to be the only flamingo around.” Ginger twirled her black-tipped beak, striking a pose that was ineffectual on females and downright ridiculous for anyone. Even a flamingo. To add insult to injury, the bird looked down from the back corner of her eyes. “So, what do you say? Prawns for silence?”
Angel tossed a swath of hair over her shoulder—so hard to get used to it hanging against her body instead of floating around her like kelp on a current. “I say that blackmail is a filthy practice, and if you’re going to try it, you should first have a clean background. I know what you’re doing with Roger, by the way. I think everyone except his mate does.”
That took the stuffing out of the bird. Ginger deflated back to normal size and quickly set her plumage to rights. “Fine. You don’t have to get snippy about it. I just wanted some prawns. Humans have taken all the good ones around here and I’m not a big fan of fish fry. It gets boring after a while.”
“I know all about Human fishing practices, Ginger, among other things. That’s why I’m here, and I’d appreciate if you’d keep quiet so I have the chance to make a difference.”
“You don’t want your brother to find out, do you?”
“I’d prefer if he didn’t, but I’m a grown Mer. I’m allowed to live my life. If he does, I’ll deal with it. But until then, I’m going to try to accomplish something.”
“Oh? Is that what they’re calling it these days?” The flamingo clacked her beak. “I accomplished something just last night.”
© Judi Fennell, Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2010
Buy: Catch of a Lifetime
I'm working on my new series which hits the shelves next year, about genies, and I'm finding that there aren't nearly as many clichés or sayings that I can twist as there are in an undersea world, but the ones I'm coming up with are fun. But, hey, I'm more than ready to take notes on any you want to shout out. So think magic carpets, genies, talking cats and magic. And let you imagination take flight! (Okay, I'm calling that one…)
Any more?
CATCH OF A LIFETIME BY JUDI FENNELL—IN STORES FEBRUARY 2010!
She’s on a mission to save the planet…
Mermaid Angel Tritone has been researching humans from afar, hoping to find a way to convince them to stop polluting.
When she jumps into a boat to escape a shark attack, it’s her chance to pursue her mission, but she has to keep her identity a total secret…
When he finds out what she really is, they’re both in mortal danger…
For Logan Hardington, finding a beautiful woman on his boat is surely not a problem—until he discovers she’s a mermaid, and suddenly his life is on the line…
The third novel in Judi Fennell's mermaid series, a fresh, exciting, and different entry in romance fiction!
Buy: Catch of a Lifetime
About the Author
Judi Fennell is an award-winning author. Her romance novels have been finalists in Gather.com's First Chapters and First Chapters Romance contests, as well as the third American Title contest. She spends family vacations at the Jersey Shore, the setting for some of her paranormal romance series. She lives in suburban Philadelphia, PA. For More information, and a chance to win a romantic ocean getaway, visit www.judifennell.com.
Giveaway: Judi and Sourcebooks are giving away 2 copies of Catch of a Lifetime. That means 2 winners! Open to US and Canada readers only. To enter share your Arabian and genie themed puns, clichés, or sayings. One entry per relevant comment; multiple entries allowed. Ends: February 28, 2010. Good luck! (Extended to March 10, 2010).
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November 19th, 2009 — D-F, Guest Blogger, Merman/Mermaid, Writing Tips
by Judi Fennell guest blogger and author of Wild Blue Under
Thanks so much for having me here to talk about my latest release, Wild Blue Under, the second of my Mer series.
When I first started writing this series, there actually hadn't been a series. I was writing my "little talking fish story" just for myself. So, when I sold it as part of a series, I had to come up with those other stories and work them into my world.
This shouldn't have been that hard because I actually had started writing a series; just not a Mer series. My first book, In Over Her Head, was part of a twist on fairy tale series. The fourth, actually, after Cinda Bella, Beauty and The Best, and Fairest of Them All. (Beauty and The Best got some cyberwaves air play during the 3rd American Title Contest, so you might have heard of it. But it's still in the drawer, hoping for "some day.")
So, now I sold the fourth book of a series, except that it wasn't the series I thought I'd sell. I worked up a blurb on the next two stories which became Wild Blue Under
and Catch of a Lifetime. And while this sounds great in theory, in practice, it's tough.
Why? Because once your book is in its accepted form within the publishing house, once it's going through all the processes it needs to go through to get to the final published version, you can't really go back and change a World Rule just because it doesn't work for the next story or the one after that. So I was stuck within the parameters I'd created for that one book, which now had to fit two more books (and, hopefully, a few more).
Surprisingly, it wasn't all that difficult. It helps, though, to be writing paranormal and have already set a precedent for Greek gods' involvement in the first story. 
The key is to make your world rules broad enough so that you can fit them to your next scenario - you know, the one you haven't thought of yet? It's all fine and good for me to have set up the fact that, in In Over Her Head, Reel had to get back into the water before two sunsets passed so he could get his tail back, but for Wild Blue Under, Rod has to travel across half the continental US in a car while dodging dive-bombing peregrines and a mercenary albatross who'll go to any lengths to stop him from getting to the coast. Including not letting him get on a plane. Which increases travel time beyond the boundaries I'd already set practically in stone, so to speak. So I had to come up with a plausible way for Rod to keep his legs for longer than two sunsets without endangering his tail because he is, after all, the ruler of their world who's been sent by the Council to bring the lost half-Mer princess back to their world. He's going to need his tail.
Should be a piece of cake, right? Stick him on a plane, tell her she's got untold riches coming to her if she heads to the coast, and voila! He's back in the ocean in no time. Except…
We've already annihilated the plane thing by sticking vulture thugs at local airports to interfere with any plane Rod gets on, and what modern woman is going to follow some guy with a cockamamie story about an inheritance left to her by her deadbeat, take-off-before-she-was-even-born, father? To the ocean, which, as an added bonus, she's allergic to.
Not so many. Matter of fact, not any that I can think of. The evening news is full of reasons why. So, now, not only did I have to work around Rod's tail/legs thing, but also common sense. And we all know that it's far easier to believe a story about mermen than it is to believe a modern woman is going to get in the car with a stranger. That's just too fantastical.
It all worked out in the end with a little help from the bad guys, the good guys, busybody sparrows and the IRS. ["IRS? They're heroes?" you ask. Sorry, I'm not telling. You'll have to read for yourself how that happens. ]
But it did make me realize as I sat down to write my next series (about genies, releasing beginning Fall, 2010), that the broader I make the rules, the more easily I can manipulate them.
And speaking of manipulating…
Val adjusted the rearview mirror to look at the talking bird. “Okay, you guys are starting to freak me out. What are you? Some specialized branch of the FBI? CIA? What?”
Livingston shook his head. “I’m Chief Special Agent, ASA.”
“ASA? Never heard of it.” She looked at Rod.
“As well you shouldn’t,” he said, his eyes hooded—but not in the same way as they’d been during that kiss last night. Those lips that had been so pliant and urgent against hers now thinned to an almost invisible line—
“But you will,” Livingston said. “Air Security Agency.”
“Don’t you mean the FAA?” She pulled her mind back on the conversation—with a bird!—and off the kissability of Rod’s lips.
“No. ASA. I don’t work for your government.”
“You’re a foreign operative? A spy? Oh, hell, what have you two gotten me into?” One of the tires hit a pothole when she half-turned to gape at him.
“Eyes on the road, Valerie.” Livingston turned his attention back to the sky. The clouds were growing darker. “Technically, yes, I am a foreign operative. But not to you. And that’s all the explanation you’re getting from me until I know what’s what.” Livingston readjusted his hold on the seat.
“We need to know who he’s working for, Rod. I’ve been over the lists of known anarchists and I can’t come up with one. We’ve got the top wrasse working on it. They’ve studied those wires, the method of ignition planned, the locations they were stolen from, patterns of known movement among those on the list, and no one fits. It’s got to be someone else, someone new. Someone who doesn’t want you to take the throne.”
“What?” Val yanked the car to the right, almost hitting Mr. Morris’s 1957 Chevy, his pride and joy.
Rod grabbed the wheel, avoiding an accident at the last second. “Valerie, please. You must retain your composure.”
“Retain my composure? Are you insane? Yes. Yes, I think you are.” Val shoved the car into fifth and zipped onto the highway. “Anarchists? Throne? What throne? Who are you? What are you?”
“He’s a prince, Valerie.”
“Really? Whose? England’s? Monaco’s?” The porcelain god’s? She had to be dreaming this.
Rod glared at the bird then turned to her. “While England’s throne once sought to rival the territory of mine, today they don’t compare. As for Monaco, it has acceptable beaches, but the buildings, overabundance of Humans, and many conveyances have ruined the shoreline.”
She gaped at him.
“Watch it, Valerie,” the bird—the bird!—said from the backseat. “You don’t want to catch any flies with that open mouth.”
Wake up, wake up, wake up.
She pinched herself.
Ouch. Dammit. She was awake.
“So you’re really a prince? And I’m going along with the program as if heading off into the wild blue yonder with talking seagulls and royal princes is normal?”
“Valerie, we’ll explain everything later. Right now we need to find a way to go faster. We’ll never outrun JR in this.” Rod patted her arm, and, amazingly, that settled her rattled nerves.
Until she realized what he’d said.
“Are you saying that an albatross—and I can’t believe I’m even asking this question—can fly faster than a car?”
“He doesn’t need to keep up with us,” Livingston said from his regained position on the backseat. “Besides the operatives he’s been amassing, he’s able to find a meal miles away on the open ocean, so I’m sure he boned up on Rod’s scent before embarking on this mission. This damp air is only helping matters, though I’d be surprised if he did anything but report on our progress.”
“Report to whom?”
“That, my dear, is the fifty-thousand clam question. And once we know the answer to that, we’ll know the threat.”
“What threat?” She slowed down to veer around cattle that had escaped from their pasture and had decided to amble down the highway. Mr. Stromer had better check his fence line.
“If we knew why this was happening, we’d stand a chance of figuring out who’s behind it. Until last evening, I was under the impression this was a simple recovery mission.” Rod’s fist thumped the seat.
“Recovery mission? Okay, now I’m totally lost.” Val swiped a trembling hand across her forehead, brushing the hair that had adhered to the sudden perspiration. “Why don’t we just go to the nearest police station and let them handle this? Or the embassy if you really are a prince.” Or the Funny Farm for her…
“Oh, he’s a prince all right,” said Livingston. “You can count on that. As well as the fact that a lot of M—er, people are going to be upset if anything happens to him. And you.”
She pinched herself again—just to check.
Still awake.
The blare of a semi’s horn as it passed confirmed it.
She looked in the mirror. Yep, that most definitely was her. Behind the wheel of her old Sentra, barreling down a two-lane highway with Rod and a talking seagull as her passengers, toothpaste and a cup of coffee only a wish on the horizon.
© Judi Fennell, Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2009
***
So, my question for you all, how many books makes a good series? Do they start to run out of steam after a while? Do you lose interest in them? What keeps the series exciting and fresh, and keeps you wanting more?
WILD BLUE UNDER—book 2 in the Mer Series—in stores November 2009!
The underwater kingdom is his as soon as he claims his queen…
Rod Tritone has the looks and charm to snag any queen he wants for his Mer kingdom, but unfortunately, it's not up to him. As fate would have it, the one woman destined to rule with him is terrified of water…
She lives in land-locked Kansas and has no idea she's a princess…
Valerie Dumere thinks Rod is gorgeous and irresistible—but why does he keep insisting she has another side to herself that only he can show her?
Somehow, Rod has to prove to her who she really is. But when she finds out the truth, will she ever forgive him?
Buy: Wild Blue Under
About the Author
Judi Fennell is an award-winning author. Her romance novels have been finalists in Gather.com's First Chapters and First Chapters Romance contests, as well as the third American Title contest. She spends family vacations at the Jersey Shore, the setting for some of her paranormal romance series. She lives in suburban Philadelphia, PA.
Giveaway: 2 sets of Judi’s book so far are up for grabs. That means two lucky individuals can win a copy of each book: In Over Her Head and Wild Blue Under. Open to US and Canadian readers only. Enter by answering Judi's question about book series. One entry per relevant comment. Multiple entries allowed. Ends November 30, 2009.
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June 5th, 2009 — Author Interviews, D-F, Merman/Mermaid
Hello and welcome to another get into bed author interview here at Love Romance Passion. Today's pillow talk is with author Judi Fennell. Please join me in welcoming her to the blog.
Last time Judi was with us she discussed her chatty characters and we held a book giveaway for her latest release, In Over Her Head. The winner was drawn and the lucky commentator is... #4: Kat Sheridan! Congratulations Kat!
Now onto the interview!
For me In Over Her Head is like The Little Mermaid in reverse. Was that the inspiration for the book or was it something else?
That was it. Just a "how can I twist The Little Mermaid
?" I had entered the story in the First Chapters Romance contest on Gather.com in August of 2007, where 250 of us posted our first chapter for the online community's review. The first person to comment on the fact that it was like The Little Mermaid was one reader's 12 year old son. I found that interesting. Then everyone else started chiming in.
I did tell the mom that she might not want her son to read past chapter 2.
If you only had a sentence, how would you sum up In Over Her Head?
He's a merman and she's terrified of the ocean.
Fisher, Reel, Rod, Chumley--how in the Zeus did you decide on these names?!
They all started with Reel's. When I set out to write this story, I was working on a series of fairy tale twists. Cinda Bella, Beauty and The Best, Fairest of Them All... I wanted to write a twist on The Little Mermaid. So, I decided to make him the Mer. Erica's name was easy because the prince in The Little Mermaid is named Eric, but how do you spin Ariel? I came up with Riel, but figured everyone would pronounce it Ree- el. And then I realized what a pun it'd be to name him Reel.
Chumley, aka Chum, opened his mouth and his name popped out. Same thing with Rod - when Erica was smart-mouthing off to Reel she just asked, "You got a friend Rod around here anywhere?" to which Reel shot back, "He's my brother. He lives in the South Atlantic ." Until that point, I had no idea Reel had a brother, let alone he was a twin or that the twin's name was Rod.
In order for their punny names to be believable, I had to name Fisher Fisher. Their mom, Kai's name means "sea" in Hawaiian. Then, of course, there were the sisters' names and those are explained in the story.
In your book, In Over Her Head, you've created a whole world under the sea. Everything from restructuring common phrases to talking fish to mythology is present. What was the hardest part of world building for you? The most fun?
Hardest part was where to put things in the North Atlantic like Reel's lair and their traveling to Bermuda to make it believable. There is NOTHING in the North Atlantic except a few small rises in the ocean floor off the coast of NY . Thank goodness for Google Earth. I lived on that site for a long time.
Most fun? Atlantis. I took a look at a few pictures of the caves beneath Bermuda online then let my imagination swim free.
Can you tell us more about Mers? What research did you do and what parts did you make to suit your needs?
I took basic mythology and tweaked it to fit my own needs. I've always enjoyed mythology and like mermaids, so there wasn't a lot I had to research. A great thing about writing paranormal is that you can make your world be anything you want it to be. We have vampires now who aren't dead, who can be awake in the day, who don't have to bite people... why not make my Mers do whatever I need them to.
I will say that the question I get most often surprised me. Most people ask, "how do mers have sex?" Honestly, I'm amazed at the question. I don't write beastiality stories, so it's really not hard to figure out. I usually say, "Think of the mythology." If you watch The Little Mermaid, you should have some idea of what I did with the story (but no way am I spoiling it here.)
To suit my needs: I had to give my Mers the ability to breathe both water and air, and make it easy for Erica to, as well. I didn't want to write the story about the mechanics of being able to live under the sea, so I worked it to where all he had to do was kiss the ability into her. I think I've covered all the reasons and wherefores in the story so readers shouldn't have any trouble suspending disbelief.
What's the difference between a talking animal and one that is normal or doesn't talk?
Oh, they all talk. They just don't talk around us. Humans are kind of the bullies in high school to animals. They put up with us, but they don't want to be our best friends. It just so happens we're the top of the food chain, so unless they want to be lunch, they better toe (or flipper) the line.
But they're organized. Make no mistake about that.
Had you the option, would you choose to live under the sea or on land? Why?
Give me land. Why? Because I saw Jaws
at an impressionable age and it left a huge gaping gash in my self-confidence in the ocean.
It's a totally irrational fear. I know that. I used to LOVE the ocean. I would swim back and forth for hours beyond where the waves break. I'd read a book on a raft, getting off only to swim back up the beach after the current had carried me down. Then I saw "the movie."
I know there are no great white sharks hanging off the coast of NJ just waiting for me to get in the water. I know that. But I make sure there are people out farther than me and on either side whenever I go in. I have a "shark meter" in my head. My tension level starts out at my ankles and the longer I'm in the water (or the better the conditions are, say, warmer water, recent sightings), the higher it goes. When it reaches my neck, I'm out of there. Sometimes it gets to that point in 10 minutes, other times it's 45. Never longer.
How does Reel match into your idea of the perfect hero?
One of the reasons I married my husband was because he's the nicest person I've ever met and he can always make me laugh.
Reel is, at heart, a nice person. And he certainly can make me laugh. 'Nuff said.
And, no, my husband doesn't have a tail.
How is Erica the perfect heroine for Reel and why should readers root for her?
What I love about Erica is that she's in a situation that terrifies her and she doesn't give up. It'd be easy to take her lumps (or shark bite, as it were) and give up. She's figuring she's going to die one way or the other, but she doesn't. She struggles til the end.
Then when she wakes up under the sea, she is determined to survive it.
And then when she confronts her original nemesis towards the end, she's a changed person. He can't get away with what he could in the beginning because in fighting for herself, she's become stronger.
I like when people don't give up. I mean, it's your life - what else are you going to do?
A lot of this attitude stems from the time I lived in Spain . I was in college and four of us were going to drive through the south of Spain for Spring Break. I picked up the rental car then went to get everyone else. That's when I found out that no one else knew how to A) drive a stick shift, B) pack for a week at the beach in a 2 door hatchback, and C) read a map. I drove 1300 miles in 8 days, found all the hotels, navigated through all those medieval towns without an accident and got us back alive. Don't tell me there's something I can't do. I guess in infusing Erica with my irrational fear, I also gave her my stubbornness--though I prefer to call it my Can-Do attitude.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
I have loved every minute of writing this book. The characters were some of the chattiest I've ever worked with, and they just made it so much fun. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
Thanks so much, Keira, for having me!
You can visit Judi at her homepage and blog for more fun and hunky Mer sightings.
Buy: In Over Her Head
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June 1st, 2009 — 3 Stars, ARC, Contemporary, Cursed Lead, D-F, Fantasy, Interracial, Kings, Princes, Sheiks, Chiefs, Merman/Mermaid, Paranormal, Sailing, Seas, Survival, United States of America
In Over Her Head is the ultimate beach read. No, seriously, it is. You have talking fish, Mers (only humans would classify them by gender), sea monsters, underwater cities hidden by the Greek gods, heirs, thrones, adventure, a cache of diamonds... there's so much going on in this book.
In so many ways this book is a retelling of Little Mermaid, though I prefer to think of it as the reverse of The Little Mermaid. The hero is a prince, but he's also a Mer. It's the heroine who is human and is afraid of the water. She is petrified to be in the ocean: sharks, sharks, mysterious voices, sharks, and well sharks. It's a wonder she ever got certified to dive.
Both characters are driven by the urge to prove themselves. Erica has been labeled incompetent, useless, and a nutcase ever since the Incident. She’s been struggling to prove to her brothers, who’ve teased her mercilessly ever since, that she is capable and smart and well normal.
Reel, being the second son, is the Spare… as in the heir and the… all his life he’s been a part of the Mer world without any of its perks. As the second son he doesn’t have fins, he has legs. Sure he can breath underwater, speak to fish, but he’s never had respect. The most important race in his life and he was four minutes behind. He doesn’t have the power or the immortality the rest of them do and has been struggling for acceptance into a society that looks down on him. If only his father would get to know him instead of considering him the ultimate embarrassment.
It’s a fish of a tale, pun so intended--bad as it undoubtedly is. If you’re looking to kick up your fins and read a good kelp-turner… yeah, okay I’m done with the water jokes. Judi is much better at these than I am. Well, no I do have one more. Have you ever heard that joke about the Merman, the Kraken, and the Female Human?
Rating: 3 Stars
Classified interracial because of Mer/Human relationship.
Buy: In Over Her Head
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