Category Archives: Giveaway

What is Your Favorite Romance?

Books, Giveaway, mermaids,

Valentines-day-valentines-day-22236757-2560-1600-300x187

We know how to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the Waterworld Mermaid lagoon.  It’s not a one-day thing.  We started on Tuesday by telling why we write romance, and we asked you to tell us why you write or read romance.  Yesterday we asked some industry professionals to tell us their favorite heroes/heroines.  We had a lively debate in the comment section, and several of us have since added recommended books to our TBR pile.  If you missed either of these days, it’s not too late to add your comment.

Today we’re talking about romance again.  Whether it’s a favorite book or a movie that moved you to laughter and tears, we know you have a favorite.

Just like yesterday, it’s hard to limit yourself to one book or movie that pulled at your heartstrings.  Where the characters remained with you like a sneaky shadow for days afterwards.  Where you relived a favorite scene over and over again because it was too delicious to imagine just once.  Where you found yourself discussing the characters like they were family.  🙂

If I absolutely had to pick a favorite book it would be Judith McNaught’s Kingdom of Dreams, but luckily I don’t have to remain faithful to just one book.  When the fancy strikes, I can read about one of Julia Quinn’s Bridgertons.  Or Lisa Kleypas’s Wallflowers and Hathaways.  Or Jude Deveraux’s Montgomery and Taggert men.   I’m fickle that way.

In appreciation for your thoughtful comments and recommendations this week, we are offering a $50 Amazon gift card to one lucky commenter.  That commenter can run straight to their computer to order some of these recommended books or movies.  I know I have Beth Miller’s favorite series–The Black Jewels trilogy– in my cart right now.

Make sure to go back and comment on our Tuesday and Wednesday posts for extra chances to enter.  Why settle for one entry today when you can have three?

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, what is your favorite romantic story? What is your go-to book or movie that grabs you by the heart and won’t let go?

We will randomly select one commenter from all three posts on Sunday and let you know on Monday who will win the gift card.   Good luck!  And Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

EVERNIGHT TEEN 1st Birthday Blog Hop & Giveaway! Jan 24-31

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EVERNIGHT TEEN turns one this month and the Waterworld Mermaids are helping them celebrate during their 1st Birthday Blog Hop!  It’s EVERNIGHT TEEN’s birthday but you get the presents. Enter below for a chance to win a $100 iTunes gift card!

ET BDay BlogHop graphic

 

EVERNIGHT TEEN books feature fresh teen fiction that’s raw, gritty and real. Whether paranormal, contemporary, sci-fi or suspense, EVERNIGHT TEEN stories are about real issues and pack a strong emotional punch. You’ll find cutting edge fiction that today’s young adults can relate to and will keep you turning the pages long into the night. Upper Young Adult titles, include PHOENIX: THE RISING, the first EVERNIGHT TEEN title!

 

Phoenix: The Rising by Bette MaybeePhoenix

 

Every 300 years, the immortal Phoenix returns to Mono Lake to be reborn—but this time it didn’t return alone.  The Nephilim are back in force, trying to keep it from being reborn so one of them can claim its immortality. But first they have to figure out who the Phoenix is—and any red-haired, green-eyed, seventeen-year-old in the area is fair game. And so, the killing begins…

Julie Mason doesn’t believe all this legend crap until she falls for Eli Sullivan, whose hallucination-inducing kiss not only saves her, but makes her the Nephilim’s prime target. But, it’s worth the risk. Her death is inevitable…not even Eli can prevent it.  All she has to do is keep the Nephilim off Eli’s trail until The Rising. Once Eli is reborn and forgets his past life, Julie’s life is over, whether she’s dead or not. At least that’s what she thinks…

14+ for brief violence and sexuality

Phoenix: The Rising by Bette Maybee is now 25% off at Evernight Teen until January 31st!

Leave a comment about Phoenix: The Rising below for a chance to win an Evernight Teen eBook of your choice. Then follow the Rafflecopter (click here) to enter the grand prize of a $100 iTunes gift certificate.

Now be sure and Click here to follow the rest of the hop for more birthday fun and chances to win!

To Evernight Teen, big, squishy fishy birthday kisses to you from all of us girls here in the lagoon.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Mermaid Friend Nicola Cameron Guest Post & Giveaway!

Carlene Love Flores, Giveaway, Guest Post, , , , , , ,

Mermaid CarleneHello Fishy Friends and Happy Friday! Today we are welcoming erotic romance author, Nicola Cameron, to the lagoon and she’s brought a pretty hilarious bit about her muse. Nicola writes in many genres including, wait…let me rephrase that. What doesn’t Nicola write? While her muse may have been on hiatus for most of November, it’s clear she and Nicola have a pretty healthy relationship most days! We hope you enjoy this funny bit. Be sure to leave a comment too! Nicola is giving away a copy of Storm Season, the first book in her paranormal erotic Olympic Cove series, plus a sneak preview of the first chapter of Breaker Zone (Book 2). Winner will be chosen at random from commenters on this post. Take it away, Nicola…

The Muse, She Can Be a Real Bitch

I have to tell you, I had great plans for November this year. The first two days of the month were going to correspond with the last two days of my 20th wedding anniversary cruise, which is a lovely way to kick off a month in any case. After that, I would get home and segue straight into National Novel Writing Month by finishing my historical erotic romance Behind the Iron Cross. If I had enough time left over, I would finish the first draft of Olympic Cove Book Two, Breaker Zone for dessert.

My first mistake was that I announced these plans on various social media sites. Have you ever heard the phrase, fate laughs when you make plans? Because that’s pretty much what happened to me.

See, when we got home from the cruise the Other Half and I both started up with a dry, tickly cough. Two days later we were stranded in bed with what our doctor later diagnosed as bronchitis but I suspect was the opening segue of a particularly nasty flu making the rounds. We’re talking fever, gunk in the head and lungs, muscle aches, dizziness, the whole nine yards.

In my case, I also wound up with a nifty case of vertigo that lasted for well over a week. Have you ever tried to write when you feel like throwing up every time you stood up? When you have to wear a sanitary pad because you’re coughing so hard you pee a little each time? When you’re so hot and listless you don’t even want to read (you, the person who would read in her sleep if she could keep her eyes open)? Continue reading →

Zombies and Mermaids and Goodbyes

Giveaway,

*Grabs a towel from the hot cabana boy who stands guard at the edge of the Waterworld Mermaid lagoon.*

So it seems this was my last dip into the Waterworld Mermaid lagoon and before we get to the good stuff (hello awesome contest!), I wanted to take a moment to say a huge thank you to all my fishy sisters on the site. Y’all are a wonderful bunch of mermaids and I’m so glad to have gotten to hang out with you in the lagoon and in real life. Even though I’m hanging up my fins, I’m happy to buy the next round when we’re all together again. 🙂

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But enough of that, let’s get on to the good stuff!!!

It’s almost Halloween and that means a good zombie read, am I right? Well here’s a fantabulous contest sponsored by one of my favorites, Emma Shortt. Her debut novel, Waking up Dead, and it’s all about the zombies… Of course where the undead roam a zombie slaying kit is so needed, and does she have a fab one for you!

Axe: check

Flashlight: check

Super hunky guy to fight the zombies with: not quite…

You can, however, find that super hunky guy in-between the pages of Waking up Dead, and if you’d like the get-your-slay-on kit too, or a signed copy of Waking up Dead, or even a $25 Amazon gift card enter the competition below. You get extra points for tweeting and extra again for heading over to Facebook and liking Emma Shortt’s author page.

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Here’s a sneak peek of Waking up Dead…

WD posterYou know your life has hit rock bottom when you’re living off cooked rats and showering once every few months—if you’re lucky. But for Jackson Hart things are about to get a whole lot worse. When her best friend, Tye, disappears hunting for food, kick-ass Jackson’s ‘head south to safety’ plan looks like it’s dead before it’s even begun. But then she meets ex-mechanic Luke Granger, who takes her to his bunker, feeds her with non-rat based food, and offers her protection against the zombie hordes—not that she needs it. She knows how to use a machete and isn’t afraid to. 

Jackson was tempted to stay in the city with her rescuer. Food, shampoo and the possibility of finally getting laid, what more could she ask for? But the flesh eaters are getting smarter and the bunker is compromised, so Jackson and Luke have no choice but to make the journey south. 

Luke and Jackson team up to find other humans in a road-trip romance for the ages. They travel for thousands of miles with zombies shadowing their every move. They must utilize every resource at their disposal…and then some. On the way, they discover that even if flesh eating zombies are knocking down their door, there’s always time for sex and even love.

Good luck in the contest everyone and a special shout out to all the Waterworld Mermaids. Fishy kisses, ladies. Fishy kisses.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Giveaway, Kerri Carpenter, , , , , ,

I’m in a great mood this week. I leave for my annual vacation on Friday. Plus, my birthday is next week. (I’m actually not excited about turning another year older but let’s all ignore that, shall we?)

I’ve been a very sparkly busy bee packing all the books I want to take to the beach with me this year. Since this post is all about me – because, you know, I’m the one writing it – I thought I would take this opportunity to give you all a short history of my beach reading interests. Continue reading →

Avery Flynn Climbs the Vine to Tell Us About Jax and the Beanstalk Zombies

Avery Flynn, Dana Rodgers, Giveaway, Interview, mermaids, , , ,

AFlynnHeadshot2Mermaids, friends, and romance readers galore… I have convinced the fabulous Avery Flynn to tell us a little about herself and dish on her latest release, Jax and the Beanstalk Zombies, a zombie-apocalyptic romance published by Lyrical Press.

Don’t forget, Avery is doing a Rafflecopter giveaway to celebrate the release of Jax and the Beanstalk Zombies, so read on for the details on how to enter to win those great prizes are below.

Hello, lagoon! 🙂

Welcome Avery! Can you please tell us a little about yourself?

Let’s see … I drink a lot of coffee. I have an unfortunate addiction to Oreo cookies. I’m a bit of a loud mouth. Stop laughing, there are people in the world who talk more than me. … There just aren’t many of them.

When you were five years old what did you want to be when you grew up?

I have never wanted to be anything other than a writer. OK, I may have wanted to be Wonder Woman, but I got over that. Mostly.

How long have you been writing and do you recall what originally sparked your interest?

I got my first typewriter before I could even spell and I used to write gibberish stories about my stuffed animals. I have no idea what sparked my first story, but I’ve always loved reading or being read to

What is your favorite part of the writing process and what is your least favorite?

That depends on the day. If everything is flowing, I LOVE everything about writing. It is all unicorns and rainbows. On the days when nothing but crap is coming out of my fingers (ewwww, now isn’t that a pretty visual?), I despise everything about writing

What was the inspiration behind your most recent story, Jax and the Beanstalk?

I was on the way home after a July 4 BBQ at Kimberly Kincaid’s house. That means I was well fed and a little tipsy – don’t worry, the Fab Mr. Flynn was driving. I knew I wanted to write a twisted fairytale involving zombies and Jack and the Beanstalk seemed like the perfect candidate.

What was your favorite chapter (or scene) to write and why?

The scene where Jax and Veronica have sex on the magic carpet was pretty fun. I mean come on, how do you top that?

What has been the toughest criticism you’ve received as an author? What has been the best compliment?

Criticism? No one criticizes authors. 🙂 I think I’ve blocked out the worst, but my own aunt did give me a three on Goodreads once. But we’re not really a hold-your-punches kind of family, so I’m OK with it. The best compliment? Really, anytime someone enjoys something I’ve written, it’s the best compliment.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?

Reading. Shopping. Eating. Spending the day in yoga pants with a bottle of wine. Wait, did I type that last bit out loud? 🙂

What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done to research for a book?

I wish I had done something crazy to research a book. Maybe I can work skydiving into a book. I’d need to research that. Of course, I’d have to hogtie the Fab Mr. Flynn to a chair or he’d tackle me before I got out the door.

Please share five random things about yourself.  

  1.   I love shoes, but spend most of my time barefoot.
  2.   I love to eat, but hate to cook.
  3.   I love men who are smart, funny and hot … hello, the Fab Mr. Flynn.
  4.   No one makes me laugh harder than my kids.
  5.   I would rather chew off my own arm than shop with my mother.

 

Thanks so much for letting me hang out with you today, Dana!

No, thank you Avery for taking a break from your crazy, busy schedule to keep us up to date on your latest release. But let’s not let the fun end now.

9781616504717

Jax and the Beanstalk Zombies by Avery Flynn

“I loved this story.” – -Darynda Jones, NY Times Bestselling Author

“4 stars. Snappy, smart, thoroughly romantic.” – RT Book Reviews

“This is Jack and the Beanstalk smexified, zombified and all grown up.” – Elisabeth Staab, Bestselling Author

 

The treasure hunter… Veronica Kwon is determined to be the only person in control of her destiny. After surviving a broken engagement and turning her back on her wealthy manipulative father, she’s started a treasure hunting company and is ready for the adventure of a lifetime.

The ex-fiance… Jax Taylor is a Southern charmer with enough sex appeal to melt the polar ice caps. He disappeared three months before their wedding and swore he’d never cross paths with Veronica again.

The magic beanstalk… Brought together again by their dying mentor, who has found three enchanted beans, Veronica and Jax agree to an uneasy partnership. Together they’ll climb a magic beanstalk to the cloud kingdom, but will their destiny be the riches they so desire, the passion they thought dead…or will the undead get them first? 

Avery Flynn has three slightly-wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband and is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip. Find out more about Avery on her website, follow her on Twitter, like her on her Facebook page or friend her on her Facebook profile. Also, if you figure out how to send Oreos through the Internet, she’ll be your best friend for life.

Now for the GIVEAWAY!

Enter to win a JAX AND THE BEANSTALK ZOMBIES prize pack (including a Shaun of the Dead DVD, zombie hunting license and more) from Avery Flynn and a $25 Amazon gift card!

Fly Your Romance Flag and Win Design Services

Avery Flynn, Giveaway, mermaids

Avery-mermaidIt’s Flag Day (at least for those of us in the U.S.)! And that means it’s time to fly your romance genre flag.

What you didn’t know Romancelandia had its own flag? It doesn’t, it has five. OK, Romancelandia has more than five genres, but come one it’s a lagoon not the ocean. Jeesh.

The uber-talented graphic designer (and one of my favorite people in the world), Elizabeth Babski with Babski Creative Studios, created these flags for several of the genres in romance. We’re flying these flags with pride in our lagoon today and want you to do the same. Pick your genre flag and fly it on Facebook, Twitter and Pintrest (be sure to mention you found the flags at www.waterworldmermaids.com), then enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Read or write in more than one genre? Pick your favorite one.

The winner will receive either one banner ad or a Facebook header from Babski Creative Studios. The design would use your existing cover art and copy you provide, and she will provide background graphics and supporting text effects. You have until midnight EST June  16 to enter.

Pick Your Romance Flag!

Suspense3 Contemporary3 

Paranormal3 Historical3 Erotic3

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Elizabeth Babski co-owns Babski Creative Studios, a full-service graphic design studio in Tallahassee, Fla. Need a custom book cover, web/social media graphics or author swag?  Contact her at [email protected].

MEMORIAL DAY RECIPES – HELP PLEASE! (AND GIVEAWAY!)

Denny S. Bryce, Giveaway, mermaids, , , ,

Denny's MermaidsAs I sit in front of my computer, desperate to come up with an idea for my blog post today, I actually came up with three – as it is GIVEAWAY FRIDAY – and the weekend before MEMORIAL DAY – the first BIG pre-summer holiday, I want you to help me plan my menu for my Memorial Day Family Cookout – (the first in my new place, so it’s got to be a WINNER!)

To be eligible to have your name tossed into the prize winning hat, please share your FAVORITE foodie romance or sexy scene that involves food from one of your favorite romance novels, or even better, that romantic scene involving a soldier or other American fighting hero in honor of Memorial Day!DSC_0094

The winner will receive a $15 gift certificate from AMAZON – where you can buy more books written by your favorite foodie or military romance author!

So open those recipe books (and favorite foodie romances) and comment below.

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Fishy-Sisters-of-the-Heart – Happy Anniversary to us!

Giveaway, mermaids, Robin Covington,

So, this week has been a celebration of the first two years of the Waterworld Robin MermaidMermaids. If you’ve been following along, we all met at the Washington Romance Writers Retreat in 2011.

All newbies.

At varying places in our personal and writing lives.

All different and unique.

But, we came together that weekend and bonded over a love of writing and then. . .over time. . . we grew to love each other.

422075_2768155206794_1345355555_32367836_1771152778_nWebster’s Dictionary defines sisterhood as:

a : the state of being a sister

b : sisterly relationship

 

c : the solidarity of women based on shared conditions, experiences, or concerns
Yes. Yes. Yes.
We are sisters – we hug and fight, cry and laugh, drink and dance, stress out and celebrate. But, we do it together – with each other and for each other.
We do it with a fishy kiss and a flash of flipper.
Happy Anniversary Waterworld Mermaids!
Thank you for being with us this week – make sure you enter the giveaway!
Mermaid Anniversary Prize Pack

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Mermaid Blogoversary: Contemporary Day!

Carlene Love Flores, Conferences, Dana Rodgers, Diana Belchase, Giveaway, mermaids, Robin Covington, Susan Andrews, ,

by Carlene, Dana, Diana, Robin and Susan Mermaid

 

Carlene: Holy abalone fishy sisters and friends!  The Waterworld Mermaids are two years old which means it’s been two years sinceMermaid Carlene what was easily one of the best experiences of our lives—The 2011 Washington Romance Writers Spring Retreat.  Which in turn means it’s been just as long since we made these precious memories at that retreat.  Keep in mind…we were all FIRST-TIMERS!  The Contemporary Genre Mermaids hope you enjoy our trip down memory lane:

Played Romance Jeopardy for the first time…with Roxanne Rustand as my teammate!  I jotted down something beautiful she said at the Unpublished Author Roundtable: “God doesn’t give the desire if he doesn’t give the talent.”

Pitched for the very first time…to Jenny Bent, who was awesome and let me know it was totally okay that my book was driven by the characters rather than the plot.  Seriously important because as a newbie, you’re not sure if these sorts of things are okay or not!  They are!

While attending fellow WRW member Michelle Butler’s “Healthy Writer” session where she referenced Bridget Jones’s Diary, I totally thought she was the real Bridget Jones who the movie was based on!  She looks remarkably like the gorgeous Renee Zelwegger so of course my newbie self jumped to that conclusion!

Cried.  A lot.  Cried even more when I saw that Kristan Higgins was also crying while Sherrilyn Kenyon gave the most beautiful and inspiring keynote speech I will ever hear.

 

Dana MermaidDana: What did I take away from my first WRW Retreat…

 

WRW Retreat was a much more intimate conference than anything I had attended before. I loved having the opportunity to sit down and chitchat with other writers, editors and agents. It was so great finding a group of people who didn’t think I was crazy for having conversations with fictional characters.

I kicked off that retreat by assisting my friend and critique partner, Anita Clenney, at her very first book signing ever at Turn The Page bookstore in Boonsboro, Maryland. I’ll never forget it, because she sold out. I also met Alethea at that book signing. I was awestruck with her glitter princess awesomeness.

I am a huge Sherrilyn Kenyon fan and had a huge fan girl moment when I accidently wound up sitting by her in the bar one night and talking about her car collection. She is apparently as much an autophile as I am.  Then, the next night, Sherrilyn was our keynote speaker. She was so incredibly poignant as she spoke candidly about the obstacles she faced before getting published, and then the long road she traveled and hard work it took to be where she is today. I remember looking around and realizing there weren’t many dry eyes in the place. So now, every time writing gets hard, the words won’t come or some obstacle lands in my path that makes me question what I’m doing, I mentally go back to that night and remind myself of all the reasons to keep writing.

Romance Jeopardy is NOT FAIR! But so much fun!

And the best thing I have taken away from that first WRW Retreat is all the great friends!

 

Diana: I remember feeling totally overwhelmed that I was among such incredible writers and people.  The women at WRW were smartdiana mermaid — I mean Ph.D smart, funny, talented and beautiful.  It was like being thrown on stage at the Miss Universe contest (times 10!) — at the last minute and totally knowing you couldn’t compare.  But, they made me feel so very welcome and I am thrilled to be part of this chapter and this group.  I’ve learned so very much and am very grateful to everyone at WRW.

Hugs!

 

 

Robin MermaidRobin: – Rooming with someone you do not know can be a wonderful experience. I roomed with my soon-to-be fishy sister Pintip and she helped me with my first pitch.

-Everyone at the retreat was so supportive and took the fear out of pitching and submitting your work to American Author.

The speakers were awesome and they taught me that the definition of success is different for each person and you need to find your own definition and make your own goals.

 

Susan: I’m incredibly grateful to be a Mermaid.  How can I be anything else?  This was a pack of newbies, all coming in on their very SusanMermaidfirst conference, many of them new to writing, who bonded over two days and decided it just wasn’t right to let that go.  They even accepted a past-published Mermaid who’d clipped her own fins years back and was finally dipping a fin back into the waters.

They kept writing, not just their own stories, but excellent blog posts and emails to one another and here we are, two years later!  My hat’s off to all the lovely Mermaids who swim in this pond.  Happy Anniversary!

 

Thank you so much for swimming at our party today!  Do you have a favorite contemporary romance book or author?  Let us know, we’re always on the lookout to make new memories.  What better way to do that than with a good, tried and true love story?

 

Mermaid Anniversary Prize Pack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Prize Pack!  Books, A Nightie, $25 Amazon Gift Card and a WWM Bottle!

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