Category Archives: mermaids

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

Giveaway, Guest Post, mermaids, , , , ,

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

Getting My Butt Kicked

Books, generosity, mermaids, Motivation, Publishing, Revision, Susan Jeffery, Writing, ,

Susan-Mermaid-avatar As I’ve always said before, I generally avoid New Year’s resolutions.  This year, for a change, I made several:

–       I will join a critique group

–       I will allow myself to mentor someone, and ask for a mentor

–       I will submit material for publication

At the January meeting of CTRWA, I was right there with the club’s critique group.  We found much to say about each other’s work (both pro and con) and left feeling we’d encouraged each other in the best ways.  Resolution One:  check.

Also in January, responded to the semi-annual offer of matching Yodas and Grasshoppers.  Don’t laugh – our most accomplished writers are called Obi-Wans.  However, with the snag of a badly typed email address, I didn’t make the deadline for getting matched.  The coordinator felt badly for me and offered herself up, saying she didn’t feel she was Yoda status yet, but was willing to try.

Resolution Two: check.  Mentor achieved, and by the skin of my teeth.  But what an experience.  It has already changed my life.

You see, Joy asked an interesting question: what did I want from a Yoda? She had already joined the critique group, so she knew my writing.  (A side-resolution: I would be honest in my answer)

“I want someone to kick my butt.”

She wanted to see the synopsis for the book I was closest to finishing (not the one I was working on).  The next day, I had an email:  “We must meet.  This week.  When are you available?”  We settled on Sunday afternoon.

As luck would have it, I had a car accident on Friday.  Spent Saturday feeling like someone had squeezed all my back and shoulder muscles into one big knot (I’mostly fine now.  Really).  On Sunday, I asked Himself to drive me to the meeting spot in Connecticut, where my mentor was going to kick said butt.

I’d already told him he was NOT to sit with us.  Even though he’s a writer.

Thus, my husband of nearly 34 years found a table nearby, placed his lunch order and opened his Kindle.

Ninety minutes later, Joy said something I don’t remember ever hearing:  “I don’t need to see your chapters.  I already know from what I read in critique group, and from your synopsis, that you can write.”  And she asked a question I’d never had to answer before:  “Why are you writing?”

Oh dear.  A question I didn’t know how to answer.  Did I want to be published again?  Sure.  Was I willing to do what it takes to make that happen?

You’re writing, she told me, because you want to see your book published.  You want to know people can read your book.  You want them to see it and know how amazing this story is.  And the way to do that is to submit.  And the way to submit is to

Finish

The

Book

writing space susan 2010

Amazing, how this women – in less than two hours – cuts though the all the crud of my denial and strips away my excuses.  Since our meeting on Sunday, I’ve read through the first ten chapters of THE LAKE EFFECT.  I see lots decent writing, and some of it is terrific.  I also see disjointed scenes, clumsy scenes, awkward phrases, bad word choices and incomplete sentences.  This, I realize, will be my first second draft.  What an idea!  It’s almost something to look forward to – like a strange and unexpected adventure.

Which brings me to the question:  what scares you most about writing?  What would you discover if you dared?

SusanMermaid

Snow Day!

mermaids, Pintip, Writing,

Since Masha shared with us what she was not in yesterday’s post, I thought I’d tell you what I am. I am the type of person who watches a pot of water boil. No, seriously. (And it actually does boil, believe it or not.)

When we first got fish, I could sit and observe them frolic and swim around for hours. And don’t get me started on babies. Endless. Entertainment. Of course, this is from the mother who still loves to watch her son fall asleep. (Hey, he’s still in nursery school. That statement would be a lot more strange if he were, say, thirty.)

Where I draw the line, though, is watching grass grow. Too damn boring, too damn long. Yesterday, however, I found a similar, albeit more interesting and prettier, pastime: watching snow fall.

1-snow day 1

As the snow fell and fell and fell, I was thinking that the accumulation of these fluffy white flakes is a lot like writing a book. You start with these fragile, insubstantial things — words — that by themselves don’t amount to much. You throw a bunch of them together, and you might get the slightest, barest hint of a story.

1-snow day 2

You keep at it, and pretty soon, you might have a chapter or two or three.

1-snow day 3

 

If the words continue to fall steadily enough, and for a long enough period of time…

1-snow day 4

…then sooner or later, you will have something substantial, something pristine, something you would be proud to share with the world.

To all of our friends in the mermaid lagoon, whether or not the weather is balmy or frigid, I wish you all a very merry Snow Day!!

Xxxx

I am NOT an Alcoholic. Honest. I Swear.

mermaids

With the holiday season in the rearview mirror, I’d like to opine on an interesting phenomenon.   But before I do that, I have to confess I am:

Not pregnant.
Not taking medication.
Not allergic.
Not cheap.
Not a designated driver.
Not Mormon.. or Amish.. or any other religion that eschews alcohol.
Not a teetotaler.
And, definitely not a recovering alcoholic

But I have used every one of those excuses.  Because for some reason, all of them are more acceptable than the truth:  I simply don’t like drinking.   I don’t like beer or wine or liquor.   I don’t like how any of it tastes or how it makes me feel.  But when I say that, I may as well have confessed to unnatural acts with small farm animals.  It’s not less shocking or disturbing and usually leads to:  “C’mon.  Just one drink.  It won’t hurt you”..  “We’re celebrating.. why aren’t you joining in?”.. “Don’t be a party pooper.”

So here’s my question.  Why do you think it’s more acceptable for me to be a recovering alcoholic than to not like drinking alcohol?

 

What’s the Point?

Kimberly MacCarron, mermaids, Writing, , , ,

Our actions should have points to them. Characters in books generally have a point—an arc that shows where they’ve been and where they’re going. But sometimes I feel like nothing has a real point, or we’ve covered the real thing with glitter to hide the underlying problem.
Here are things that I can’t quite understand. What’s the point?

Giving free t-shirts to participants in walks for the homeless. Ummm. Not sure I get this one. I have five kids who have participated for years at their school. They get free shirts and walk around the school to help the homeless. First of all let me say quite clearly that our family volunteers and gives plenty to our local community action center. I’m not being insensitive here. I’m just wondering if we couldn’t serve the homeless a little better by actually giving them plain t-shirts or the money that it costs the companies to make them. Wouldn’t that serve the homeless a little better? I get that it’s publicity, but do the people who actually care about the homeless need the visual reminder?

Putting flyers under the windshield of cars. First of all, I WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING THAT IRRITATES ME. And pulling random pieces of paper out from under my windshield irritates me. I’m wondering what the point of this is? I think that should be illegal. Generally the outcome is hundreds of pointless flyers littering the parking lot and lots of irritated people driving and trying to get the annoying flyer off their windshields.

Breast cancer awareness walks. I know I’m going to get people screaming in outrage for this one, but just hear me out. I’m not a great lover of breast cancer. Almost everyone has been affected by breast cancer in some way or another. We are either a survivor, know a survivor or have attended a funeral of one who didn’t survive. I just don’t understand the solidarity thing of the walk. Where are the pancreatic or prostrate walkers? Where are the walks for brain tumors? And just because someone is walking for a cure for breast cancer doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to be excited to give you money. I can give my own money in my own way for whatever charity or research I want. I don’t really care how many miles you walk for whatever reason. Just go out walk, and I’ll donate where I think best.

Bumper stickers. Who cares where your kid goes to school or if they’re on the freaking honor roll? Who cares if you’re pro-life or pro-choice? Who cares if you’re a vegetarian or a marathon runner or whatever else you think is important? Are you going to have a long-term relationship with the person behind you at a stoplight? No! And don’t get me started with the stick-figure families on the back of minivans. I have a family. That’s not what they look like at all.

Wrapping paper fundraisers. I hate you! I hate the package that comes home from school. I hate the order form and the little prizes the kids can win from making our friends and loved ones buy crappy wrapping paper. Who thought this was EVER a good fundraiser? It’s a waste of paper all around. The amount of trees that this stupid fundraiser kills is just plain awful. Trees for the order sheets and magazines showcasing overpriced wrapping paper. Then the wrapping paper itself. Then the boxes that transport the overpriced products. And then the kids get their fabulous plastic lead-filled toys from China. Woo hoo!  A winning situation all the way around!

Which brings me to my last rant of the day. Writing and publication. Why do people write stories? If we’re in the business as a business and plan to make an easy six-figure deal and glide through the whole process stress-free, then my hats go off to you if you succeed. I always said I couldn’t understand self-publishing. Why do people self-publish if they aren’t good enough for a traditional publisher? Well, I’ve changed my tune on that. It gets back to the point. What’s the point of writing? If it’s so that you can share your stories with others and make them love your characters like you love them, then what’s wrong with getting those books out there so others can enjoy them?

There should be a point to what we do. We shouldn’t get caught up in the glittery wrapping paper of life. Uncover the real points. If you want to get involved with helping the homeless, organize a food drive. If you want to help those with breast cancer, make some meals for the family or offer to help on a personal level in some other way. If you want to support your kids in school, support them with a monetary donation or give your time instead of clogging up landfills with crappy, overpriced and glittery wrapping paper. And if you want your stories to be read and appreciated by others, maybe you shouldn’t wait for that to happen.

What’s the point? Ask yourself.

Is there anything that bothers you or you think is pointless?  Here’s your chance to rant!

 

2014 Social Media Marketing (Yeah, for Books!) – What’s Your Plan?

Denny S. Bryce, Marketing, mermaids, Writing, , , , , , , ,

Denny (PortRoyale)This post has a bit of snark in it so be warned…

And yeah, another title for this post could be: How to Overwhelm and Entertain in 1000 words or less…anyway…:)

I hang out online an average of 90 minutes a day. And no, it’s not 90 minutes that I could have spent writing, or cleaning or doing something else. I am deliberately ‘hanging’ out because the source of information that is most readily attainable is online. It is NOT on TV (well, to me, I hate television news, cable o r network), it is not on the printed page (although, I do miss when back in the day, I’d spend an entire Sunday at a  cool brunch spot on the north side of Chicago, reading the Sunday New York Times and Chicago Tribute – it was so relaxing and so Zen of us:) – and its not only on Facebook (Internet, yes, but not the only source of information left on the planet).

So let me get to the point of this post. I’ve gathered a list of articles from the Internet you should read or at least skim if you intend to have a ghost’s chance in hell (watching way too much Supernatural) of effectively, consistently, and painlessly (or less painfully) using social media tools to sell/market your books and/or your brand.

And yes, if you write books to sell them, you must know and participate in the marketing of your books.

And oh, in case you stumble upon this article, and wonder who in the heck is spouting all of this information as if she knows something? Well, for the sake of credibility, in my other life, I have been a marketing professional for 25+ years – if that doesn’t work for you (I spend 90 minutes a day on the Internet, I’ve got to know something about something, right?)

Authors often look at other authors to get their perspective on what’s going on in the social media marketing arena – which is absolutely fine. We all know romance writers who are doing an exceptional job of marketing and using social media in a smart, straightforward, fresh way. And then there are those like me, marketing professionals who are writing popular fiction, romance or whatever and will be publishing or published by someone at some point, if they aren’t already off and running.social-media-marketing1

But in addition to gaining insights from authors who have great savvy about social media marketing or marketing pros who specialize in the publishing industry, I like to take a look at what the big boys in corporate marketing are doing as well.

Below are a few links. You don’t need to study every word of these articles (as if you would:), but take a moment, see what is being forecast and compare to your current social media marketing plan (and yes, you should have a plan, you don’t have time–hours in a day–to be haphazard). See if there’s something out there that’s new, or can be used differently, or more consistently, to deliver on your bottom line – which is (say it with me) – selling MORE books by finding new readers, and keeping the ones you have HAPPY. (And yes, the best way to do this is to write the best books you can write…but even that doesn’t always guarantee SALES, and/or readers, unfortunately.)

So here goes:

Social Media Marketing (Some links to take a peek at…)

http://www.brafton.com/blog/2013-social-media-marketing-trends

http://socialmediatoday.com/anitaloomba/2035211/top-digital-marketing-trends-2014

http://www.steamfeed.com/google-plus-vs-facebook-g-dominate-2014-marketing-strategy/

http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/2014-digital-marketing-trends_b53891

Okay, to recap…what’s going to be hot IMHO (or at least worth exploring):

  1. Google +
  2. Content continues to be KING (no joking)
  3. Content should include video or at least images (the eye likes a quick fix)

Big News in Publishing (or at least the most recent) and other Kick Ass Stories you May Have Missed!

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/page.aspx/LYRICALPRESS (Why is it Big News? It marks a trend you will see repeated. It’s all about where the readers – and book buyers are – putting all of your eggs in one print basket isn’t the way publishing works anymore, and you’ll see this trend duplicated, again and again. That’s my predication:)…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-c-sansevieri/book-marketing-prediction_b_4394295.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&ir=Books&src=sp&comm_ref=false

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2014/01/5-key-trends-in-self-publishing-for-2014/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremygreenfield/2013/12/26/predictions-for-book-publishing-in-2014-cutting-room-floor-edition/

http://blog.smashwords.com/2013/12/smashwords-signs-distribution-agreement.html

That’s it friends…some food for thought:)!

Happy New Year!

Also, feel free to ask questions, or complain below:)…or let me know if you have a social media marketing plan, and whether you are published or pre-published, are you thinking about your brand, or if you don’t care about marketing, let me know, I’m just curious…:)

It’s a San Diego Christmas!

Carlene Love Flores, mermaids

Hello fishy friends~ The good thing about having the flu is that it’s helping me accomplish my New Year’s resolution of sweating more. 🙂 The bad thing? Brain mush. Yep, my word noodle is about as soggy as the soup I’ve been living off the past week. But looking at the pics from my Christmas trip home to San Diego makes me happy. I hope you like them too as they’re a bit quirky, kind of like me I suppose.

1

Not on my bucket list, but I can now say I’ve seen a size 18 sneaker. I knew my trip was off to a good start when I snapped this one at one of my fave outdoor malls.

45

 Siberian Reindeer at the San Diego Zoo…Inspiration for next year’s Christmas story!

Big saint nicksMy uncle has the best t-shirts and I’m glad it was 80 degrees on Christmas Day so he could sport this one with his shorts: Tattoos & Toys for Bad Girls & Boys

hotrodUncle No. 2 had a new baby to show off and she sure was pretty. Purrs like you wouldn’t believe. Definitely going into a book.

la jolla coveAside from being at the Charger game that put them into the playoffs, this day at La Jolla Cove was my favorite. We saw seals, dolphins, scuba divers and a whale!

popcorn and cranberries

Three generations of the family sat down and strung popcorn and cranberries for the Christmas tree!

Reminder Pants

My dearest, dearest great aunt hosted us on Christmas Eve and I snapped this in her kitchen. I’ll tell you this much, Barona and Viejas are local casinos…Wonder what her New Year’s Even party plans were??? Love her! (Hope she remembered those pants.)

the kiss

I’ve always known we were a romantic bunch and I love that this statue sits right by our beautiful San Diego pier.

And on that lovely note, I wish you all a wonderful 2014. May you be kissed by someone who makes your heart feel that big and full of sunshine.

I heart you San Diego. Thanks for the warm Christmas!

Fishy kisses from afar (don’t want to give you my cooties),

Carlene MermaidMermaid Carlene

So Grateful To Be Joyful

Health, mermaids, Pintip Dunn, ,

Following up on Alethea’s post about Famous Jammies yesterday, I’d like to talk about another short video (also 3 minutes, 45 seconds!) I found on YouTube rpintipecently. This one features Dr. Brené Brown, professor and renowned vulnerability researcher. She is perhaps best known for her TED talks on vulnerability and shame, but in this clip she talks about the connection between gratitude and joy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IjSHUc7TXM&feature=youtu.be

Namely, in her 11,000 interviews, Dr. Brown found that every single person who described his or her life as “joyful” or “joyous” also “practiced” gratitude.

By practicing gratitude, Dr. Brown doesn’t mean feeling or being grateful; rather she’s talking about a very specific and tangible gratitude exercise — keeping a gratitude journal, for example, or articulating something for which you are grateful at a certain time each day.

This relationship between joy and gratitude surprised her. She had gone into the research thinking, “If you are joyful, then you should be grateful.”
She found, instead, that “practicing gratitude invites joy into our lives.”

It surprised me, too. For the last several months, I’ve been keeping a gratitude journal, where I write down five things for which I am grateful about that day. I have to admit, some days are harder than others, and sometimes, if I’m having a bad day or am feeling physically unwell, I skip the journal altogether.

I would think: “Well, that was a crap day. It’s not that I don’t have anything to be grateful for; I just don’t have the energy or the inclination to come up with five specific things right now. Tomorrow, when I’m feeling better, I’ll try again.”

Now, Dr. Brown’s insights make me wonder if I’ve been thinking about this all wrong. Maybe the very fact that I choose NOT to practice gratitude contributes to my bad day. Maybe the times when I  need my gratitude journal the MOST are the tough days, not the joyous ones.

So, instead of avoiding my gratitude journal, I’m going to make a point of writing in it when I’m feeling my worst. In addition, per Dr. Brown’s suggestion, my family and I now practice a gratitude exercise every evening, where we light a candle and go around the circle saying what we are each grateful for. It is another source of joy in my life to see what my kids come up with every day.

We’ll see if Dr. Brown is right. I suspect she is. 🙂

What about you? Do you practice any gratitude exercises? Do you agree with Dr. Brown? What do you believe is the connection between gratitude and joy? What are you grateful for today?

 

What Happened to the Giving?

Kimberly MacCarron, mermaids, , , ,

by Kimberly MacCarron

In the midst of twinkling lights, sparkly trees and holiday music streaming through every department store in America, what happened to giving?

I don’t mean giving in the sense that we’re grabbing crap off the shelves before the next person can snatch it. I don’t mean that panicky feeling of buying anything because we have no clue what someone needs. And I don’t mean buying something for a “Secret Santa” gift that the person clearly lists the three things that would be sufficient.

This year I told my husband not to bother with the Secret Santa farce at his office. You pull a name from the jar, and that person lists three things they want in a specified price range. The three things are generally gift cards to their favorite stores. Then they pick a name and their choices are generally a gift card or a specific item. How about we nix that idea completely and just go buy ourselves what we want???

I’m not trying to be all bah humbug about Christmas. I seriously want the opposite. I want to do something that fills my heart with joy and wonder. Those are things I’ve sadly missed in the spirit of Christmas. Even with young children who love the magic of Christmas, I haven’t felt it for a long time.

When my daughter came home from school with her “Secret Santa” name from among her friends (price range $40), I was annoyed. Not because of the price. Not because I don’t love Christmas. It’s because they all want the same things from the same stores. And they already have the same stuff! I told my daughter that they should pull that money together and give it to a charity. That suggestion was met with something that went a little bit like this…”Whaaaat?”

I would much rather give her $100 to put toward sending a girl to school for a whole year in Malawi http://www.nbcnews.com/id/40558738/. Please see Lawrence O’Donnell’s website. It will make your heart soar. And with even less money than that, she and her friends could provide desks for kids who actually want them.

So, this year, I’ve requested that my friends DO NOT BUY ME ANYTHING. I would much rather pull our money and give to a deserving charity. Any charity. I don’t need anything but a warm feeling in my heart.

I bought a bunch of toys and cold-wear gear for our local community action center and took it to the school for a toy drive yesterday. It was the first time I was actually excited about doing something or buying things this Christmas. In a county where most kids are privileged and spoiled, what do they REALLY need?! I wish that all parents would step back and remember what the season is really about. I wish we could step forward and show our children what it means to give. To really give.

Okay. I’m getting off my soap box now because I have to go shopping. I need to fight someone for a parking space and then push and shove my way into some lines. Then I need to argue with the poor sales clerk who won’t accept my coupon on a certain name brand item. Then I’ll drive home, with my jaw clenched up tight, to welcome my kids home from school.

I hope that this Christmas we all search inside our hearts and discover the real magic of the season.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,  and…Bah humbug! ☺

A Brand New Year: A Brand New Me!

Alethea Kontis, Denny S. Bryce, mermaids

Denny's MermaidsWell, world, here’s the announcement you’ve been waiting for:)! No, not that one. And definitely, not that one (seriously? seriously, I can’t believe you thought that!).

I’m getting a face lift! I know you sit there and wonder what took me so long to make that call? But another no, not that face, I mean Denny Mermaid is getting a face lift! or should I say a new avatar! Look below for the gorgeous new me, courtesy of Lee Moyer (the graphic designer, illustrator, artist extraordinaire) and our own friendly pond-hopping princess, Mermaid Alethea Kontis.

Can you believe it? I was hanging out on Facebook, and Alethea tagged me on a comment and that’s how this love story began. I haven’t met Lee in person yet, but after a few emails, a visit to his website, and of course, his permission to use this gorgeous beauty below, I was hooked. And my new love is here to stay!

The perfect Mermaid goddess, don’t you think? Alethea saw it and thought of me, and since these two mega talents are buddies, he agreed to allow me to use this fabulous image.

And the other fantastic news, Lee also has agreed to an interview here at the Mermaid Pond in early 2014. Look for that extraordinary conversation in the beginning of the new year.

In the meantime, if I used the image below as a book cover, what’s the name of the book, and if she is a shifter who dwells in the sea, who is the hero of her destiny? (And yeah, I’m going to write this book, too). Inspiration!!!! (And I think the story will be rather sexy, too:)! Yeah, that’s what I said!

Denny (PortRoyale)