Mermaid Brain – Dark Depths Release Details!!

When I was a child, mermaids were my favorite thing. I used to watch Disney’s The Little Mermaid every day. All my dolls were mermaids (at least in my mind). My mother could sew, and so she made me a mermaid tail to wear. I loved to sing and I would pretend to be a mermaid at school and on the bus. When in the pool or on those occasional trips to the ocean (rare) I was always a mermaid, and maybe I was happiest then.

So now, spending a lot of time thinking about mermaids again is rather nostalgic — though I never imagined them quite like I have for my latest (finally completed) novel, Dark Depths. The weird thing, I guess, is that I am absolutely terrified of the ocean now. It’s a dark, scary place. So I didn’t have too much trouble building the world that I wanted for my own dark fantasy retelling of The Little Mermaid.

SO, the burning question is: when will Dark Depths be released? I know it seems like a long way off, but I have Dark Depths set for release on June 20, 2017. I wanted it to be earlier, but some unforeseen circumstances have arisen and I want all that to be over before the release. Plus, it gives me a little extra time to perfect the manuscript. 😉

–Cover art not final–

Another thing that I teased to my Facebook friends is that Dark Depths now has TWO BOOKS! (as you can see in the image).

While I was reading and editing Dark Depths (over and over and over again) I began to realize that there was another story that needed to be told. Dark Depths is the story of Nathan and Treasure, told mostly from his pov as he discovers the world of the deep sea nymphs. I didn’t really go into too many specifics about what Treasure’s life is like, her link to Bliss, or WHY Treasure fell for Nathan in the first place. I gave info, but didn’t go into detail. So, that’s what this book is about. This second book is called Daughters of the Deep. It’s pretty short — about 25k (unless I add more. It’s still a bit of a work in progress). But I think it’s an essential piece to really get the full effect of the story. I just couldn’t fit it in with the base novel, so I decided to write it separately.

Daughters of the Deep is a prequel of sorts, but I really intend for it to be read afterward. That’s why it’s getting a release date of July 18th, 2017.

Both books will be available in ebook and print forms. I’m going to start by making them available only through Amazon, and then go from there.

So! That’s that! But there is more!

IN ADDITION! I’m hoping to also release Dark Depths as an audiobook. My first ever! I’m very excited about that. This is an area I’ve been wanting to branch into for a while, and I finally feel that I’m ready. I hope to have that ready for release in August 2017. I just hope it all goes like I plan. I’ll be posting more details about that later.

There is still MORE! Today only (April 15th) all my ebooks are ON SALE on Amazon for only $0.99! That is the lowest price they have ever been, and likely won’t be that way again for a long time. So! If you are missing any of my books, go get them today only!

To recap:

Click the ad to go to the sale!

Dark Depths will be released June 20.

Daughters of the Deep will be released July 18.

Dark Depths is currently available for preorder on Amazon.com! The price is special for preorders and first day sales. Get yours now!

Dark Depths is listed on Goodreads. Add it to your reading list! I’ll be doing some giveaways soon, and you won’t want to miss that.

Big things are happening that I’m really excited about, and I hope you’re excited too! I’m already thinking about what my next project will be, and I really want to get another book out before Christmas, so we’ll see what happens. Of course, I’ll have more news on that later as well.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for news and updates!

Sunday Blues

Many people get the blues on Monday — it’s back to work after the weekend, your time is no longer your own. I understand that. But for me, the down day has always been Sunday. On Sunday, I either feel depressed because my life is not where I want it to be, or I’m in a mad frenzy to fix said life and catch up on all the things I should have done during the week (month, year).

More often than not, I feel pretty down. But my mind is always working on Sunday. I think of all the things I ought to do and haven’t done; I plot about how to ditch the things I don’t like and do things differently. It’s not always about writing. It’s about different aspects of life — about what I’m willing to do and what I’d have to do to get where I want to be.

I guess, truthfully, maybe I’m a control freak. Which is why I am a better writer than a faithful reader. If there is something I don’t about a book (as with life) I want to push it aside.

Luckily, today I’m in one of my frenzy moods, and I’m getting things done — which is probably owing to the fact that I have been very excited about my progress on Dark Depths, but as I wind down my editing and prepare to publish, I feel a hole forming. I’ll need to start a new project soon or I’m going to feel the same way again. I’ve been thinking about what I want to do next…

Today I’m in a ‘go big or go home’ mindset as I think about my next book. I want bigger things for it than I’ve done in the past. Bigger will require putting myself out there on a larger scale than I’m used to. It will mean more money out of my pocket to start, and I can only hope for a return. Then there is the fear. I don’t always feel fear when I publish. It’s encouraging to know that I have fans eagerly awaiting my next book, but as I think of attracting more attention, I worry that those who will find my work won’t be those who’ll like it. Can my work really stand up to to what’s out there? In the front of my mind, I know that it can, but somewhere in the back there is a little nagging voice that says ‘maybe not’.

Maybe this little bit of anxiety is good. It means I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and pursuing something bigger. It’s taking a risk that might play out just as I’d want. On the same token, it might return something I don’t want, but I won’t know it until I give it a try.

I’ll be giving some details about Dark Depths soon, hopefully in the form of a video, announcing the release date and talking about the book a bit – what I intend to do with it. So it’s time to ditch these blues and be excited again. There’s a lot to do!