Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels Blog Tour! and ROW80

ow80 is going well! I'm still editing Druid's Moon on screen, and also managed to read another research book this week, all about Celtic myths (the fact that it was fun reading made it easier, of course). Recently inspired by fellow writers on the Forum, since we're all at relatively the same stage with our novels, and each pushing to finish within the next couple of months!

Meanwhile, I'm posting on Saturday instead of Sunday this week because I've got a treat for you: It's the Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels Blog Tour!

"Just Your Average Teenage Mer-Girl

The only thing that terrifies Jade more than the ocean is dancing at the Fall Formal. Because Jade has two left feet—er, flippers. Who knew being a high school freshman is even more awkward than being a plus-size aqua-phobic mer-girl? At least her only drama is of the human variety...

Or not.

The Mermish Council has just declared that all land-dwelling mers but return to the ocean. Pronto. But there’s no way Jade is going to let her mom, or Luke, her…boyfriend? mer-guy-friend?, disappear into the deep, dark ocean. Again. After all, a girl’s got to have a date to her first dance.

If Jade can stop mer-mageddon, finding a plus-size dress that doesn’t look like a shower curtain should be a piece of cake."

This is the third story in the Real Mermaids series:

I've reviewed the earlier chronicles of Jade's adventures before, and she was nice enough to share her recipe for Chocolate Mug Cake with Raspberries and Whipped Cream!

I also got to interview Hélène!

She was very gracious, answering some of my random questions:

Where do you do most of your writing? What do you need to help you write?

I have young kids so thank goodness for my laptop because it lets me write anywhere, anytime. I've written at the kitchen counter while waiting for water to boil, at the pool during swimming lessons, or on the back deck while the kids jump on the trampoline. Have laptop: will travel.


Day-to-day, what is the most challenging aspect of writing?

The thing I have to remember the most is to be nicer to my authorly self. I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself to get X amount of work done in X amount of time and while I think there is a certain amount of discipline necessary to be a productive writer, I need to remember that sometimes it's better to slow down, pontificate, and let things simmer.

[I should heed this advice!]


Do you have stories that might never see light of day?

Plenty! I have about four novels, four chapter books, and a dozen or so picture books that will probably never be published. For the most part that's probably a good thing but there are one or two of that bunch I'd love to see in print.


Which is the most embarrassing song, book, movie or TV show that you love?

Song: When a Man Loves a Woman (any version)
TV: Bachelor/Bachelorette (any version) Real Housewives (any city)
I can't believe I just admitted that. How embarrassing. *blush*


Tea or coffee?

Coffee but decaf and black.


What's your earliest memory related to writing?

When I was in first grade I was obsessed with being able to write super-long words so I would search through our set of Encyclopedia Brittanicas for the longest words I could find. I got to the 'C's and found Czechoslovakia and practiced it over and over until I could write it by heart.


Do you have a favourite writing-related quote?

"One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better." ― Annie Dillard, The Writing Life


What do you do when you're not writing?

I love to walk and usually clock about 30-40 kilometers each week. I'm also a busy mom so baking, hiking, crafting and hanging out with my family pretty much fills in the rest of my 'free' time.


What was the first image or scene that inspired Jade's story?

The first scene I imagined and wrote was of a girl standing in a dressing room trying on bathing suits. What if that girl couldn't find one that fit? What if she started her first period at that very awkward time? What if that very moment set off a hormonal chain reaction that would eventually lead up to her turning into a mermaid?
Writing involves a lot of 'what ifs'.


Do you think there’ll ever be a story line where the rest of the town or the media find out about Jade? They came so close in the third book!

I'm not sure! That would certainly complicate matters, wouldn't it? ;-)


When you wrote the first book, did you already know that many other citizens of Port Toulouse are merfolk? Or was it a surprise to you as well as Jade?

I knew other mers probably existed in the town but because of their secretive nature it would take something big to 'out' them. The mer characters revealed themselves to me as I wrote each subsequent book so I hope they are as surprising to my readers as they were to me when I discovered their secret natures.

Thanks so much Hélène! I love that writing quote, I hadn't seen it before.

Find Hélène here: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Speaking of Twitter, Hélène recently posted a link to some lovely mermaid gloves! I'm hoping to start this project soon, and will share it on my knitting blog.

Which Middle Grade or Young Adult books have you enjoyed recently?