All posts by Alethea

Alethea Kontis: Meant To Be

June 7, 2018Alethea KontisAlethea Kontis, love, meant to be, poetry, romanceAlethea

I’ve always said: Some things are meant to be, and some things are meant to be great stories.

The question most recently posed to the lagoon was this: When did you decide to write romance?

A great question, but one I wasn’t sure how to answer. Because my answer is: always.

My first true love was poetry. As a child, I loved Ogden Nash and Gelett Burgess and Lewis Carroll. My Greek grandmother sang songs to us, recited nursery rhymes, and even wrote a few poems herself. My French grandmother had a few books in her meager library, including Favorite Poems, Old and New and The Collected Poems of Rudyard Kipling. And Shakespeare! Who could forget Shakespeare?

I loved the words and the rhymes. I loved the verbal trickery and subversive turns of phrase. I loved that so much could be conveyed with so little. And I loved that poets LOVED, people, places and things, unabashedly and beautifully, for all the world to see. Poe pined for Annabelle Lee. The Highwayman loved Bess, the landlord’s daughter. Romeo loved Juliet.

I wrote scads of poetry. Reams. Boatloads. To everyone and everything, real and imaginary. I was a True Romantic. I was one hundred percent positive that, one day, the universe would introduce me to my own soul’s mate.

Sure, I had boyfriends, but I did not seek out Great Love. One does not seek Great Love. Great Love finds you. I had my heart broken again…and again…and again…and again…and again…and then I looked in the mirror and realized I wasn’t a little girl anymore, and I wondered what happened.

I was alone.

But not truly alone.

My Great Loves are my friends. My tribe. My teddy bear. All the people that the universe paired me with in the strangest of circumstances. All the adventures I take. All these people and places and things I get to keep in my heart forever.

That soulmate, that invisible half that was supposed to make me whole…that’s who I write about in every story. Every book. Every poem.

Because some of us were meant to be…and some of us were meant to tell great stories!

Crazy In Love With Writing: Alethea Kontis

April 10, 2018Alethea Kontis, Motivationbutt in chair, manuscripts, Oz or Bust, starbucks, storm chasingAlethea

It seems our next blog topic in the Mermaid Lagoon is along the lines of “the craziest thing you’ve ever done to finish a book.”

Now, as my dear Queen Jane Yolen says, the real key to Finishing a Book is putting your BUTT IN THE CHAIR and FINISHING THE BOOK. That’s really about the size of it. No romance involved.

HOWEVER…I will admit. My first novel manuscript was a doozy. I don’t mean HAVEN, that crazy little NaNoWriMo project I spent the next 10 years revising. No…I mean SUNDAY. The book that eventually became ENCHANTED. The first (and so far only) manuscript I’ve finished that clocked in at over 100K words.

Like many a novice writer, I hit the 2/3 or 3/4 mark in the manuscript and started floundering. So I sat down and had a serious chat with myself. I outlined the remaining chapters in bullet points, so I knew what needed to happen when. I told myself that if I finished the manuscript by March 2oth, I could go to Millenicon and hang out with riffraff like Jason Sizemore, Tobias Buckell, Charlie Finley, and John Scalzi.

And in order to make myself do that, I went to Starbucks every night after work.

Now let’s be clear: I did not go home first. I brought my laptop to work and went to the coffee shop as soon as I clocked out. I did not allow myself to go home until I had written at least 1000 words.

Some nights, I only had coffee for dinner.

I met a few interesting people. Overheard some very interesting conversations. But eventually–I forget how long it took–I got that manuscript finished.

Since that first time, I really haven’t done anything more extreme than sitting my butt in the chair to finish that manuscript. But I’ve done that…in the Catskills. On a boat in the middle of the Caribbean. Sick with the flu. With one hand tied behind my back.

And next month, I’ll be doing it while Storm Chasing in Tornado Alley.

Because…well…why not?

Oz or Bust, baby!

Our Little Overachieving Mermaid

February 15, 2018Alethea KontisAlethea

Hello, lagoon! Princess Alethea Mermaid here.

You know…we work and slave and toil and force out all our blood sweat and tears, laboring over a laptop in our PJs until our necks freeze stiff and our bodies fall apart. And then, some magic happens, and suddenly it all comes together. A beautiful book springs forth like a fully-formed piece of art.

Sometimes, release dates are pushed back. Sometimes, things get delayed. Sometimes, the planets align and you have the opportunity to get something out into the world far earlier that you expected! Which means that sometimes, THIS HAPPENS ALL AT ONCE.

That’s right. I have THREE February releases: A novel (that was pushed back a month), an original story in an anthology (that was delayed a few weeks), and a special short-story chapbook that wasn’t even going to be a thing but SURPRISE! I’ll have it available for sale at Coastal Magic at the end of this month.

They may all be coming out at once, but that doesn’t mean I love any of them any less. They were all SO incredibly fun to work on. And JUST LOOK AT THOSE COVERS! I am one proud mama of these book triplets!

e-book and paperback: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

Heather Hayden has everything a young witch could desire: beauty, money, popularity, and exceptionally strong magical powers. Too bad she’s also got a dysfunctional family that couldn’t care less about her and a Head Witch who’s watching her every move. Heather has no idea what she wants. But she’s pretty sure it’s not some low-rent cat shifter boy from goddess-knows-where, despite the fact that their paths keep crossing again and again…and again.

Owen Liddell is in big trouble. A hundred years ago, a descendant of Arachne tricked him into staring into the eyes of the Great Sphinx, leaving him bespelled into the form a cat. Now Arachne’s sisters have found him again and placed one of their own as a substitute teacher at Harmswood. And if that weren’t bad enough, destiny got involved, tangling his heart up with the most popular witch in school: his best friend Kai’s sworn enemy.

Can Owen escape the evil spider sisters, thwart the spell, rescue the girl, save his friendship and pass his finals all before Zombie Prom? It seems unlikely. But unlikely things are known to happen in Nocturne Falls…

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e-book: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Now available for only 99 cents on all platforms! Contains Alethea’s short story “The Goblin and the Treasure,” a fairy tale retelling of Hans Christian Andersen.

Out-of-work soldier Kira Kobold is handpicked by the High Wizard Zelwynn to go on a quest. Her companions? A growly ogress, a surly dwarf, a dimwitted troll, and an overly optimistic goblin. The goal? To find the Lost Treasure of Zelwynn, misplaced long ago somewhere in the Great Mountains. This wasn’t exactly the quest she was looking for…

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…and a bonus surprise cover reveal of my exclusive fairy tale chapbook featuring art by my beloved bestie Bianca Roman-Stumpff: COMING FEB 20!

Preorder e-book and paperback: Amazon | Nook | Kobo | iTunes

On the way to her wedding, brave and clever Princess Sabine falls into a Glass Mountain, where she is trapped with a crotchety, smelly man she calls “Old Rinkrank.” The two form a unique, unlikely friendship while working to escape.

Alethea Kontis’s take on this classic Grimms’ fairy tale is a dark, yet optimistic story of magic, mystery, and love.

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Support Alethea Kontis on Patreon–even a $1 pledge gets you access to exclusive content! https://www.patreon.com/princessalethea

Live Jam Sessions and Thirty-Second Dance Parties

February 6, 2018Alethea KontisAdam Ezra Group, Alethea Kontis, grey's anatomy, indie rock, mikey mason, music, pick me up, sj tucker, thirty second dance partyAlethea

Hello, everyone! Princess Alethea Mermaid here. This quarter, the question in the lagoon is “What is your favorite pick me up when you’re feeling down?”

My favorite pick-me-up when I am down is…music.

WAIT, DON’T GO YET!

Yes, I know, this is like the most obvious answer ever. But when I say music, I don’t mean just turning on the radio and jamming to some tunes while hammering on keys like a monkey until Hamlet comes out. I mean Thirty Second Dance Parties and Live Jam Sessions.

Thirty-Second Dance Parties: Grey’s Anatomy coined the term, but you hereby have this Princess Mermaid’s permission to dance for as long as you like. Push back from the desk, stand up, turn on some serious jam with a heavy beat, and rock out. Wiggle like a four year old on pixie stix. Move every single part of your body. Shake your thang all around the house. Shut off your brain and concentrate only on the rhythm. Get your blood flowing. Lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it, never let it go, you only get one shot…

<ahem>

<grin>

S. J. Tucker, live performance

Live Jam Sessions: I’m also a fan of online live concerts that my friends like Mikey Mason, Jonah Knight, S. J. Tucker, and the Adam Ezra Group perform every so often. This sometimes requires a little bit of preparation—or just some really good timing—but whenever the moment presents itself, I take it.

We live in the twenty-first century. We have the ability to watch live concerts from the comfort of our own home, while we’re in our PJs and/or doing something else. We can (sometimes) interact with the performer as if we were the only one in the room. We can befriend others in the chat, other fans who would be friends if we knew them in Real Life (and some we do!).

I’ve tried writing while Mikey Mason plays for me in the background on my computer screen…no, I didn’t get a ton of words done, but I got SOME which is always more than NONE. When Jonah Knight played for me, I pulled out some paper and colored pencils and let my mind wander as I doodled along with my favorite lyrics.

Last night, Tempest and I watched S. J. Tucker’s fun-super-blood-blue-eclipse-whatever-Imbolc-moon concert. Tempest took the help in chat while I worked on a guest blog for Deborah Blake about my new release (Besphinxed…out Feb 14th!)

These days we have to be doing seven things all at once. Multitasking is everything. But if you plan it right, with a little bit of effort, you can force the odds to be ever in your favor.

I’d love to hear some of your favorite dance jams — feel free to add links in the comments.

Same with indie rock folks–I’d love to add more to my collection!

xox

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Want to hear more about Princess Alethea’s exploits? Click here!
Definitely make sure to follow Alethea on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/princessalethea

The Traveling Mermaid: Alethea Kontis

November 7, 2017Alethea Kontiscomfort food, nashville, NoVA, South Carolina, travel, vermontAlethea

Hello, the Lagoon! Princess Alethea Mermaid here.

For our next round of essays, we discussed covering two possible topics: travel and comfort food. I think the Mermaids ultimately settled on travel…but the combination of the two subjects struck a chord. (I mean, I am a writer, after all…)

When we travel back to those places that we loved, or the places we call home, there’s usually a food item or two on the list that is NOT TO BE MISSED when one takes a trip there.

In my lifetime, I’ve had a home in various states along the length of the East Coast. Vermont (where I was born), South Carolina (where I attended school), Middle Tennessee (where I became a published author), Northern Virginia (where the Waterworld Mermaids were formed), and the Space Coast of Florida (where I live now). And when I go back to visit each of those places, there are certain foods I try not to miss, if at all possible.

Vermont is the big one. Yes, my blood runneth Maple Syrup (the darker the better) and Ben & Jerry’s. A trip to Vermont is not complete without at least one maple creemee (what you folks down south call “soft serve”). These can be found at most gas stations, sugar shacks (where they farm & make maple syrup), and tourist stops.

As I drive through Stowe on my way to see family, there has to be at least one stop at Cold Hollow Cider Mill for hot apple cider, and apple cider donuts. I cannot drink apple juice—it makes my stomach hurt in all kinds of horrible ways. But warm, unpasteurized apple cider with lots of pulp is like sipping a cup of home.

There are more specific places: The Burger Barn, Poorhouse Pies, the Beanies truck…and, once upon a time, Nectar’s and Zachary’s Pizza…but maple and apple cider are definitely tops on the list.

South Carolina: I grew up in Northeast Columbia, not far from Fort Jackson. There’s a local burger chain there called Rush’s. They have amazing burgers, amazing fries, and amazing chocolate shakes. The best in the US, according to me.

The other not-to-be-missed place is The Egg Roll Station (or Egg Roll Chen) in West Columbia. I once drove through town, bought a bag full of pork egg rolls, and took them down to Charleston to present to my family for Christmas. Pretty sure I was the favorite child that year.

Middle Tennessee (Nashville): I could go on and on about hot chicken, or the biscuits at the Loveless Cafe, but my absolute favorite thing is the Black Bean Salad and Boja corn muffins from Calypso Cafe. Sigh…I miss those every day. Second favorite: Taste of China in Murfreesboro. No MSG and the best takeout I’ve ever had. I miss that place every day. Third favorite: Tokyo Japanese restaurant in Smyrna. Be sure to have the Smyrna roll!

Northern Virginia: Nashville had a wonderful diversity of cuisine, but NoVA took the cake. Indian, Thai, Greek…and they all delivered to your house. All the kabob places—ANY kabob places—rocked. They all had gyros along with kabobs…and they serve them in the giant flat naan bread, which is really how gyros should be served. My favorite restaurant is right ext to One More Page Books in Arlington called Chasin’ Tails. Get a pound of the shrimp boil tossed in a mixture of all the sauces they offer, put on a bib and some gloves and go to town (yes, I have even done this while wearing a princess gown). That place always makes me miss my Cajun relatives like nobody’s business.

Florida: Don’t ask. I’m still working on it. Titusville has a few decent restaurants, but nothing to write home about. Publix is probably in the top three restaurants in town. Wanna know the best thing here? My mom lives down the street. Nothing says Mom’s cooking like MOM’S ACTUAL COOKING!

What are some of your hometown favorites?

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Check out all of Alethea’s books here: http://amzn.to/2i609AU
Follow Alethea Kontis on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/princessalethea

Mermaids & Friends: Fiona Roarke

September 29, 2017Alethea Kontis, Mermaids & Friendsaliens, barefoot bay, fiona roarke, mermaids and friends, nocturne fallsAlethea

Fiona Roarke and I have the unique distinction of having written stories in the worlds of both Barefoot Bay and Nocturne Falls.

I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to have someone else around who is as quirky and adventurous a workaholic as me! She’s the SF to my Fantasy. And she also likes to name books after movie titles!

Fiona joined me in the January NFU launch with Close Encounters of the Alien Kind. This week we’re celebrating her third Alien novella, The Alien Who Fell to Earth. (Look for a boxed set coming soon!)

But what can I say…women who love books tend to be drawn to other women who love writing books. Only Fiona writes SO MUCH MORE THAT I DO. Trust me on that! I admire her so much that I invited her into the lagoon to tell us a little about her first novel…

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The first novel or story I ever remember writing was when I was in the sixth grade. I had a crush on a boy named John M., but I was the new girl in school that year and didn’t rate much of his attention. Isn’t that the way so many romances start out? Sigh.

So, at the tender age of eleven, I wrote my very first what if scenario. What if the boy I had a crush on “had to” pay attention to me? What if I controlled the circumstances—like we were lost on an island? What if we were all stranded there together? What if there were four boys and four girls?

That very first story—which I wrote in long hand, with a pencil in a spiral, wide-ruled notebook—stranded me and several of my friends and classmates (without grownups, of course), sort of like a shipwreck. Perhaps I was influenced by Gilligan’s Island. My brother used to make me watch that endlessly when I wanted to watch Star Trek. But I digress.

I matched up the couples naturally. My imaginary “John M.” who found me completely intriguing in this imaginary island realm, chose me to be his girlfriend. We spent the days working together to find water and food and a place to live until “help” came for us, all the while stealing kisses and smiling at each other. We did that quite a lot. (Some things never change. My editor can attest to the vast number of smiles and grins my characters exchange in the books I write these days.)

Though that particular story has never been published, fame came early in my writing career. I won second place in a short story contest at a local library while in my twenties and pregnant with my second child. That was a science fiction piece about a global virus pandemic involving a secret formula that forced everyone to tell the truth. What I mostly I remember about it was that the hero’s name was Jake. (Yes, my love that’s why your middle name is Jake, now you know the truth.) That and that the manuscript was supposed to be ten pages typed. Which it was … mostly. It was also single-spaced and had quarter-inch margins on four sides. Hey, I still won second place.

After hearing the phrase “write what you know,” my first full length novel was a boring basic business and work-related drivel that I’m pretty sure I set fire to as a gift to humanity. You’re welcome!

For my second attempt, I managed to get two hundred pages written before I landed in a gigantic plot paradox. One I couldn’t solve without bending physics or ignoring it altogether. And yet, I still refuse to plot to this day. Go figure.

Maybe it’s because I get totally psyched when I’m writing along and a really great surprise unfolds before me. I grin and then I smile, and write faster with gleeful intent in my heart. The utter joy comes through my fingers to the keyboard. Oh and I love, love, love a great twist that even I don’t see coming until it shows up on the screen. Love it!

Would I have ever shown my first book to anyone? Perhaps if it wasn’t currently a pile of ash blowing in the wind. My second place, global pandemic truth virus short story is somewhere around here. I should look for that.

And in conclusion, I believe those early attempts added to the basic desire I had to keep trying to tell stories because that’s what I love to do, and I imagine I always will.

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Kindle | Nook | Kobo | iBooks

Pilot. Guard. Prisoner. … Stowaway.

Crashed in the Georgia woods, all are lost on a world where aliens are the stuff of science fiction. But what if the locals are far from human themselves, with secrets of their own?

Holden Grigori is lost on an alien world, and his memories are just as lost. All he knows is a beautiful woman says she’s his wife, she loves him and he’d do anything for her.

Security specialist Victoria Greene’s mission is to find the heroic pilot of a downed spaceship and keep him safe while he recovers in a human hospital in the Halloween-themed town of Nocturne Falls, Georgia. Part of her ongoing mission is, as always, to keep the humans from realizing that aliens walk among them, hiding in plain sight.

Pretending to be Holden’s wife is far from a hardship. Falling in love with him is even easier. But what will happen when he gets his memories back and realizes that to him she is … no one.

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Fiona Roarke is a multi-published author who lives a quiet life with the exception of the characters and stories roaming around in her head. She writes about sexy alpha heroes and used them to launch her very first series, Bad Boys in Big Trouble.

Next up, a new Sci-Fi contemporary romance series set in Arkansas. When she’s not curled on the sofa reading a great book or at the movie theater watching the latest action film, Fiona spends her time writing about the next bad boy (or bad boy alien) who needs his story told.

A hearty dose of laughter, each and every day, is required along with lots of coffee first thing in the morning as important parts of her routine.

Follow her on Amazon — http://amzn.to/2yKbAG7

Mermaids & Friends: Mary B. Rodgers

September 22, 2017Alethea Kontis, Mermaids & FriendsAlethea

Mary B. Rodgers and I have been friends for a very, very long time–all the way back to the Codex Writers Group. She’s been my roommate and my date to awards ceremonies…she’s even my legit fairy godmother. Yes, on the eve of my book launch in 2012, I found myself in NYC with nothing but literal rags to wear. “Give me that,” said Mary, and she took the rags. When she reappeared, she had a beautiful renaissance top and full golden skirt for me. I AM NOT EVEN MAKING THIS UP. How could I? You already know my life is a fairy tale.

Mary and I got to spend some long-overdue time together at DragonCon–I even dragged her to be in the parade with me. The parade is not for the faint of heart and has beaten many a friend before her….but my dearest Mary had the time of her life.

And so it is with great pride that I present to the lagoon Mary’s latest novel, Winner Take All! To celebrate, Mary has decided to jump in with her own tale (ha!) of that first novel…

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Imagine a sprawling, adjective-pockmarked portal fantasy featuring a grumpy heroine and some poorly disguised mythological denizens of Irish origin, and you’ve got Vanishing Point, my first clumsy, albeit heart-felt attempt at writing a fantasy novel.

Good Lord, was it awful.

And I loved it. Every cliché-ridden, melodramatic word. Every impossible situation from which I extricated my protagonist by using the Giant Hand Of The Author ™ instead of logical narrative sequence. Every creature I created that miraculously communicated in perfect English, toothy jaws and skull-crushing mandibles notwithstanding.

I still love it.

And it will never see the light of day. ::triple-locks forlorn manuscript into a pirate’s chest and sends it all down to Davy Jones’s locker::

What do we call these things when, kicking and screaming all the way, we allow ourselves to grow up? Ah, yes. “Learning” experiences.

I may have learned, but thankfully I haven’t grown up that much.

I still love to lose myself in magical fantastical landscapes, still root for the brave and much-put-upon protagonist who fights and loses but keeps on fighting, still passionately believe in the power of love and the truth of hard-won happy endings.

And if someday I decide to break open that pirate’s chest and revisit the little world I invented, and send my hapless heroine down a raging torrent into a dangerous and unfamiliar wilderness …maybe with all that time spent at the bottom of the ocean, my story will have “suffered a sea change, into something rich and strange.” Maybe I’ll be able to hear the heartbeat of the land and understand what it’s trying to say to me. Maybe I’ll know how to listen better to the secrets my characters whisper in my ear.

I’m open to most possibilities.

The grumpy heroine is non-negotiable.

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Kindle | Nook | Kobo | iBooks

Hot shot skier and unrepentant party girl Carly Carrington is on top of the world until a disastrous crash destroys her championship dreams. Can she lower her guard long enough to trust the one man who might be able to heal her body…and her heart?

When it comes to sports doctors, buttoned-up Paul Blackburn is the best of the best. But when Carly upends his carefully ordered little world, will Paul fight his one chance at true love, or go for the gold in…WINNER TAKE ALL!

I am so excited about this book; I bought the Kindle version immediately! But if you prefer paperbacks, don’t despair–Winner Take All will be available in print very soon!

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A career performer and storyteller, Mary was the keyboardist and lead vocalist in an all-female rock band for a number of years, and has acted in leading roles in plays and musicals across the globe.

Her first screenplay, Common Ground, was a finalist in the Moondance International Film Festival competition, and she is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild/AFTRA and the New York chapter of Women in Film and Television.

An avid gamer and unrepentant nerd, Mary’s been a fan of romance, science fiction and fantasy novels since she was old enough to hide them between the pages of her textbooks during geometry class in high school. She hopes you enjoy her stories!

Follow her on Amazon — http://amzn.to/2xu9fAt

My First Novel, by Alethea Kontis

August 15, 2017Alethea Kontis, Writingmy first novel, WattpadAlethea

Princess Mermaid Alethea

There are authors I know who would rather die than ever show their first attempt at a novel to the world.

I am not one of these authors.

In the Fall of 1987, my English teacher decided that she wanted our class to write in a journal every day.

I did not like this teacher.

I did not want her knowing anything personal about me, so I announced in my first entry that I would be writing an ongoing story for the duration of the class.

This teacher (whose name escapes me) cared far less about the assignment than I did. If she noticed the speed at which my writing improved and my journal entries lengthened, she never mentioned it. She did not care what I wrote (if she even read it)–it only mattered that there was a date listed beside every entry so she knew where to make her check mark. She never spoke to me about my broken idea of plagiarism, this fear of copying someone (in this case, Lois Duncan and HG Wells) that kept me from writing at full speed until many, many years later.

And yet, despite all that, I thank this teacher. Because, at the heart of it, and though it wasn’t her intent, she taught me how to write a novel.

The Golden Band
Cover Illustration by Casey Cothran, circa 1988

I was eleven years old.

(Granted, I’d already been writing since the ripe old age of eight or so. I read every book I could get my hands on…and saw just about every film that came to my family’s movie theatre…so I had a pretty decent grasp on storytelling, if not proper manuscript formatting.)

In 2013, a fellow author introduced me to WattPad. This site seemed the perfect home for a project I’d had on the backburner for years: to post my original novel, in its original form, complete with Author’s Notes and Teacher’s Comments. (I’ve put those in the comments section below each chapter, for ease of reading.)

The Golden Band is now published there in its original incarnation, as I wrote it in my journal in 1987. It’s entitled The Golden Band (7th Grade Edition).

The 7th Grade edition of this novel only runs through Chapter Seven — at that point, in the summer before 8th Grade, I decided I could go no further until I had fixed certain elements at the beginning of the story that just didn’t fit anymore.

Once I fully entered the 7th Grade Edition, I started posting the new edition: The Golden Band (High School Edition).

Transcribing this latter version got me through my little sister’s spinal surgery a few years ago — I couldn’t concentrate enough in the waiting room to write new fiction, so I set to work on this. However, she came through with flying colors and the project fell by the wayside. Now I just need someone to come over to the house and help finish transcribing it for me!

Any takers?

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Follow Alethea Kontis on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/princessalethea
Peruse the Gallery of Alethea’s Books on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2vxeWwp

My Favorite Writing Spot: Alethea Kontis

June 13, 2017Alethea Kontis, WritingAlethea Kontis, favorite things, home is where the heart is, princess alethea, writing spotAlethea

Hello, the Lagoon!

Alethea Mermaid here! I’m kicking off our latest blog theme, which asks the question, “Where’s your favorite place to write?”

My answer: HOME.

There are many reasons for this, including: a grand library, a hand-me-down couch, a boatload of inspirational quotes, and the petrified body of my first best friend.

Click below to watch the complete video!
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YA Scavenger Hunt–ARE YOU READY???

May 27, 2017Alethea Kontis, Booksscavenger hunt, YA, Young Adult scavenger huntAlethea

In June, the Alliance of Young Adult Authors is sponsoring a massive young adult scavenger hunt. This is a chance to meet some new authors, grab a bunch of free books, and sign up to win a whole bunch of epic prizes!

RULES

Each author will be given a special keyword, which will be bolded and all caps like this: BUTTERFLIES.

All you have to do is visit all the author’s sites in this order, write down the special keywords to discover the short story, then enter the giveaway with the completed secret legend HERE.

There will be one main giveaway for the main prize, but most of the participating authors will also have smaller giveaways for free books, amazon credit and author swag, so make sure you read their post carefully to see what else they’re offering while you’re on their site for the keyword.

THE MAP (participating authors)

Starts June 1st!

Just go through the “treasure map” above to find the keywords and reconstruct the secret legend. Once you’ve got it, enter for the grand prize HERE. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for other giveaways or free books as you search for the keywords, most authors will be offering their own prizes as well.

For rules, updates or trouble-shooting, make sure to check out this main post which will stay updated.

TIMELINE

Authors will post the rules and the full list of participating authors sometime in June, and have their post up and visible on their site/blog, with their keyword, by June 1st. Readers just need to go through the list, find the words, and use the story to enter for the grand prize.