Category Archives: Kerri Carpenter

Why Am I Doing This?

I can’t say much about what’s going on in my writing life lately, but I can tell you that I’ve been working harder than ever. Getting up almost two hours earlier so I can have writing time before my day job, squeezing in a little writing at lunch and even jotting notes down while I watch TV at night. Writing on public transportation, writing during vacations, writing on weekends. Writing. Writing. Writing….

I’m exhausted. Although, I’m accomplishing A LOT.

But something happened recently that I can’t share (damn, I’m full of secrets today) that made me pause and ask myself: Why am I really doing this?  The Diva Kerr-ina Continue reading

Happy Blogoversary to Us!

by Alethea and Kerri Mermaid

Alethea Mermaid

Alethea Mermaid

Alethea: This week, the Waterworld Mermaids celebrate our SECOND ANNIVERSARY of blogging! Can you believe we’ve made it this far? I mean…without killing each other?

Kerri: No!!! It seriously seems like just yesterday we met at the Washington Romance Writers’ Retreat in Leesburg, VA. Fun fact: we met the same day as the royal wedding. So a lot of us (me! me!) were tired from getting up at 4 in the morning.

Kerri Mermaid

Alethea: Some of the Mermaids asked that I talk a little bit about our origin and how we came to be. You can still read my first Mermaid post about it here…but I think what they really wanted me to mention was The FBI List.

Kerri: I told you not to tell people about me being on the FBI’s list!

Alethea: Bwahahaha! Okay, seriously: Back in 2011, before the retreat happened, the WRW released a list of attendees. Now, I’ve been to conferences the size of Dragon*Con, so I can appreciate what a pleasure it is to have your attendance cutoff down around 160. With a list that size, why, a person could easily Google everyone on it and make some notes, so that when they introduced themselves to, say, Aix Rickloff, they would know a little bit about her and her work. I mean, if I had a personal assistant, it’s exactly the kind of thing I would have her do, so she could whisper this vital information in my ear at parties, a-la The Devil Wears Prada.

Kerri: I LOVE The Devil Wears Prada! But the book is so much better than the movie.

Alethea: Gah! Another book for my TBR pile! So what I didn’t take into account was that at an intimate convention like this, they might not be prepared for a princess in possession of information that only the FBI might know. It looked a little something like this:

Princess Alethea's FBI List

So, while *I* was fully prepared, others weren’t. Like Denny Mermaid, for example, who I apparently scared the crap out of, right off the bat. THAT’S a first impression a girl likes to have when trying to make new friends. For sure.

Kerri: Plus, when you bombarded Denny, you totally interrupted our Buffy the Vampire Slayer conversation!

Alethea: I should have been part of that conversation ANYWAY. *pppffft* Happily, Dana and Carlene were *not* scared out of their fins. In fact, Carlene and I had met previously at a Sherrilyn Kenyon signing…and I was so glad she brought that up, because it was killing me trying to figure out where I knew her from.

Kerri: Time to off-road-topic now.

Alethea: ::SCREEEECH::

Kerri: Let’s tell them about how we got the name “Waterworld Mermaids”

Alethea: Heehee…okay, you start.

Kerri: One of the highlights of Retreat is Romance Jeopardy. Trust me, that game gets crazy-sauce real fast (and it’s “not fair“). That year, one of the questions was something about a Kevin Costner movie. Someone shot their hand up and guessed Waterworld. Wrong!

Alethea: The answer was actually “What is The Postman“, which I knew, but I wasn’t on anyone’s team.  Which was probably a good thing, ’cause I’m one of those idiots who actually likes to PLAY games. *snicker* So I was sitting way in the back, next to an editor who was knitting furiously and only half paying attention, and we were heckling.

Kerri: The next person threw their hand up. “What is Waterworld?” Still wrong!

Alethea: I don’t even know if anyone actually got the answer to that question (or, rather, the question to that answer). It started to devolve pretty quickly after that.

Kerri: The next person tries. “Um, is it Waterworld?” Nope, besides being wrong, we are all very bad listeners!

Alethea: I think that last one was Karen Johnston and she was SO CUTE when she did it, we all cried we laughed so hard. At which point, the answer to EVERY CLUE became “What is Waterworld?” It was hilarious. I remember the Romance Jeopardy hosts throwing a LOT of candy at the audience that night.

Kerri: They didn’t throw as much stuff this year. I know this because I like to pick up the candy and throw it at our lovely Avery Flynn, which I’m pretty sure she enjoys as much as me. Ummmm. Maybe?

Alethea: This year it would have gotten stuck in her beard.

Kerri: Anyhoo, the night we got home from Retreat (which would be two days after the Royal Wedding) guess what was on TV? Sadly, not The Devil Wears Prada. WHAT IS WATERWORLD! Alethea and I started tweeting back and forth about it and out of that conversation, we thought it would make a fun blog name. But it needed… something.

Alethea: I just had that feeling. That “almost there” kind of feeling.

Kerri: What goes in the water? Beautiful mermaids. And what are we? Beautiful, talented Mermaids in different stages of publishing, supporting one another and returning each year to Retreat so we can throw candy at Avery Flynn learn to be the best Mermaids ever!

Alethea & Kerri at the 2013 WRW Retreat

Alethea & Kerri at the 2013 WRW Retreat

Alethea: Huzzah!  *glitterbomb*

Kerri: Whether you stop by the lagoon on a daily basis, or just when the fancy strikes your fin, a huge thank you for joining us over the last two years!

Alethea: And a very happy Mermaid Blogoversary to us all!

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Mermaid Anniversary Prize Pack

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

 

J.T. Bock Rocks Our Socks, er, Fins

You’ll never believe this! A scary, ugly sea monster jumped into our lagoon while we were all away having a festive Mermaid party and STOLE our words! Sigh. Well, that happens sometimes. But never fear, I, Kerri-Mermaid, grabbed my cloak of awesomeness and fought the dreaded beast until he gave me this interview with J.T. Bock back. So, without further ado, please welcome (or re-welcome) J.T. Bock to the Mermaid Lagoon.

I am thrilled beyond belief to have recently published author J.T. Bock join us in the lagoon. In fact, I’m so excited that I’m throwing the typical bio out the window. So here goes…

This lady rocks my socks! Not only is her debut novel, A Surefire Way, AMAZING, but she is a fellow Joss Whedon fan, she’s been to Comic-Con, she self-published her book and she is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met! Okay, I won’t make you wait any longer.

In her debut Waterworld Mermaid appearance, please welcome J.T. Bock. Continue reading

Crap-balls, Glitter Umbrellas & Awesomesauceness

The tides are changing in the Kerri-verse. ‘bout time too.

To say I’ve had a bad year is such a drastic understatement that it makes me laugh. And roll my eyes, which are currently bedecked with my favorite blue mascara from Sephora. A nice accent to my knee-high black boots. Sorry, but during a bad year, you can still look really fabulous. But I digress…

RefleDiva-Kerr-ina-avatarcting on my year of craptasticness, I have to admit that the doom & gloom didn’t start last year. Nope. I’ve been living in a life coma for quite some time now. I didn’t realize it, but I think I’ve been sabotaging myself. However, I’ve finally defeated Evil Kerri and have some things to be really proud of in my life, and it’s bringing a whole new perspective.  Continue reading

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Recently, I spent a night with some of my favorite things: wine, pizza and a movie. I watched the 2011 film, Crazy, Stupid, Love., starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Emma Stone.  crazystupidlove

It may have been the wine, but I really, really enjoyed this movie. There was a certain “seize the day,” but in the end, be yourself vibe that I can only describe as awesomesauce.

Of course, being the writer I am, I immediately started thinking about the movie and making it all about myself. So without further ado, here’s what I got: Continue reading

Darlene Gardner Swims with the Mermaids

The Mermaids are thrilled to welcome author Darlene Gardner to the lagoon. With more than 30 books in print, from single-title romantic comedies to emotionally charged family dramas, Darlene is currently self publishing updated editions from her backlist and has a new holiday romance out now. Let’s jump right into it….  (Psst: Giveaway alert at the end of the interview.)

Congratulations on your latest holiday book, Wish Upon a Christmas Star. Care to tell us a little about it?

First of all, thanks so much for hosting me. My book’s a little out of the norm for a holiday romance. Not only is it set in tropical Key West, it involves 9-11. Maria DiMarco is a private investigator who never fully accepted that her younger brother died in the terrorist attack at the World Trade Center. After her brother’s ex-girlfriend gets strange phone calls and letters suggesting Maria’s brother is alive, Maria sees a shooting star and makes a wish. And suddenly she’s in Key West during Christmas week trying to track down her brother. Following her there is her ex-love Logan Collier, who’s not quite as quick to believe in miracles at Maria.  Continue reading

Good Riddance!

2012 is almost over and I, for one, cannot flipping wait! Adios, 2012 and get the hell outta here!

When asked, I often tell people that the best year of my life was, hands down, fourth grade. What a great year! I had a fantastic homeroom teacher, lots of friends and if I finished my computer assignment early I could play Oregon Trail (best computer game ever).

If my life peaked in fourth grade, it’s been coasting ever since. Until 2012. The year of Debbie Downer doom & gloom. For every good thing, there’s a bad thing. For light, there is dark. Up and down, yin and yang, smiley face, frowny face. For glitter, there is … um, poopy brown? Anyway, you get my point. Continue reading

Jewels of the Past (Part Two) by Kerri Carpenter

Molly couldn’t sleep. Not surprising since she was in a new house with all kinds of new noises. Quietly slipping out of her room, she walked down the stairs and out onto the porch. Looking up, she took in the full moon and a sky full of stars.

“Couldn’t sleep either?” Chance asked from one of the rocking chairs, startling her.

Placing a hand over her now rapidly-beating heart, she forced a small smile. “Something like that.” Continue reading