The Latest in the Real Mermaids Series - Giveaway! and Character Faces for ROW80

ermaids!

But first, we have two winners of Tara's giveaway of Hands-on Therapy: Ella and Brigitte! Congratulations! Please email me your Amazon Kindle contact info.

And now, mermaids!

Teenage girls have to deal with a lot of tough firsts. First zit. First crush. First... mermaid's tail?

In the fourth installment of Hélène Boudreau's breezy, fun and "unputdownable" Real Mermaids series, our favorite mer-girl Jade can't think of a better way to celebrate peace in the underwater mer-world than with a tropical vacation in the Bahamas with her family and BFF.

Soon, Jade is enjoying the tropical sunshine, all-you-can-eat buffet, and island day trips. But when Jade gets lost in the island's famous waterfront Straw Market, something doesn't feel quite right. A body splashes into the water as a cruise ship enters the harbour and a teen boy selling conches from his boat behind the market knows more than he's willing to admit.

With no body, no leads, and no other witnesses, though, the local police don't seem too concerned. Maybe Jade's imagination has been acting up on her, just like Cori said, considering everything she's been through in the past few months. But with Mom and Dad off on a honeymoon excursion it wouldn't hurt to check things out, would it?

Little do Jade and Cori realize, they are about to uncover more secrets about the splashing body, dangerous cruise ship cargo, and more questions than answers lurking in the nearby Caribbean waters.

"Absolutely fresh and sweet, a quirky coming of age story complete with first periods and bumbling dads...an unputdownable adventure, part Judy Blume, part Hans Christian Anderson, and 100% delightful, this fun, fresh tale (tail?) will have girls begging for a sequel..." –The YA-5

"[T]he author keeps suspense high and her prose moving while tapping straight into young teens' angst about friends, enemies and boys." –Kirkus

I love this series and can't wait to get my hands on this latest installment. And look! There's even a handy chart on how to create your own mer-name:

Plus, guess what? Anyone who'd like to win a copy of the book just has to comment below!

Meanwhile, for my ROW80 update this week, I'm going to be a bit sneaky. Haven't actually gotten any new words on paper, but have been thinking about the stories, and I realised it's been a while since I updated my characters' faces file.

Without further ado...

The Face of A Lion

Austin

(I have been trying to track the source of this photo, discovered in Real Simple magazine, for years.)

Kedi

Out of the Water

Baha

(this photo was taken by Ara Güler.

The surroundings are completely anachronistic (picture Baha carrying an easel, not a mattress!)

but the pose and expression are just right.)

Rosa

(this is actually Edwin Long's The Marriage Market, 19th Century.

I discovered the image on The Orientalist Gallery.)

Brother Arcturus

(this is actually Anthony Van Dyck's Portrait of the Sculptor Duquesnoy, 1627-29)

Rosa's father is in there too, but he also has a story of his own:

Captive of the Sea

Santiago

(ahem. Some of you might recognise him as Mike Wolfe from American Pickers.

What can I say? It's that expression on his face, it's pure Santiago.)

Mawdlen/Magdalena

(this is from the Elegance series by Rob Hefferan)

Rome, Rhymes, and Risk

Devran

(um, yes, that is Canadiens defenceman Tomas Plekanec. Why?)

(actually, Devran also looks a bit like actor Tom Ellis.)

Ayten

(another image from The Orientalist Gallery)

They also look like this when they're together:

(Solomon and Gaenor is one of my favourite films.)

Druid's Moon

Frederick

(this guy is French Formula 1 racer Romain Grosjean.

I saw his photo in the paper and thought, "Frederick! Since when do you race cars?")

Lyne

(this is a screenshot from some survey that I took.

I was halfway through when this image appeared on my screen. I was very excited!)

Larksong

George
This is completely the wrong face, but the outfit and stance feel right. I still haven't quite located a photo of George's face.

Alice
I don't have a picture of Alice! Well, I do. I have a gorgeous shot of a couple on the beach that looks exactly like Alice and George once they've openly admitted to their love for each other, but unfortunately it was a photo that an author shared of her parents (from close to Alice and George's time period) and I haven't yet asked permission to share it here. Sorry, Alice!

And finally, there's this image, which makes me feel like I'm inside a story every time I look at it.

It's Daniel Ridgway Knight's Rural Courtship, but when I saved it on my desktop, I called it "nothing changes, huh?"

Have you read any mermaid themed books recently?

Do you have faces for your characters? Sometimes I wish I could draw/sketch mine!