New girl :0

[mermaidwhisperer]

Hi How's it going? I'm brand new. And totally lost, ha ha. Um my name is Samantha, I'm 30 years old and I'm from Mackay in North Queensland (whoops better throw 'Australia' in there too). I live literally on The Great Barrier Reef-my town has 11 beaches, so I've been a mermaid fanatic since I was a little girl. I've become intrigued by the whole concept of cosplay due to some research I've done lately for a book I've written. Cosplay, mermaids-biology and genealogy and I just spent the weekend (in a professional sense) with Dr Tony Aysling, a marine biologist for the Great Barrier Reef at a Writer's Conference in the Whitsunday's and interviewed him to get some facts straight about the stuff I touch on in my book.
:) He's been featured on heaps of television shows for getting attacked by a CROCODILE of all things, on the GBR. Fascinating man.
As for my book, I've written a modern-day mermaid trilogy called 'The Marked Ones' and have just published it on Amazon. Not trying to spam-lol-I won't post links or anything. It's been only two weeks since I've released it and my life has revolved around it since December '09 so it's basically all I can talk about right now. Came very close to getting published, but I couldn't find an agent who was willing to take a risk on a mermaid story targeted at adults instead of YA. Those same agents will be kicking themselves when they see the sales figures so far ;) My trilogy references the effects of global warming etc on the ocean so that's why I was hunting down a marine biologist :)
I'm also a surfer (in fact I came up with the story after a tiger-shark encounter) a former cheerleading flyer/coach, a mummy of three beautiful girls and happily married.
Anyway add me if you'd like. I'd like to know if any of the 'real' mermaids on here have platforms for the environment :) My little girls love mermaids too, and they are begging me for tails, lol, so some pointers there would help.
ALSO I am trying to track down 3 necklaces with a Whelk shell on them-it's a symbol from my book I'd love to gift to some close friends who have been championing it non-stop.

[Alveric]

Welcome. We always need more writers.

Don't worry about promoting your book. It's perfectly legit.

[Rainiepie]

wow, It sounds like you've had a fantastically full life already, that's the kind of story I want to be able to tell when I'm 30.

[Mermaid Dottie]

HI! I'm Dottie. I'm going to call you Whisper, okay? I think that's a cute name for a mermaid.
Welcome to the forum!
I can't wait to hear more about your story! I'm a huge fan of Alveric's, So don't be surprised if I turn into a huge fangirl. ^_^
I have baby boy who is nearly one, and I constantly put him in tails for pictures.

[Mermaid Saphira]

Welcome to the forum, Whisper! :3

[AniaR]

Welcome!

[Thalassa]

Welcome! ^_^ You sound absolutely amazing! So glad you've found our community.

[Marlin]

Welcome to the site! Hoping one day to be able to head down to Australia someday-

[Mermaid~Summer]

Welcome! I'm going to have to check out your book ;) I looked at it on amazon and it looks pretty cool :)

[mermaidwhisperer]

Alveric-You're a writer too? That's fantastic. I haven't read ANY mermaid books. I really didn't want to have anyone else's idea in my head while I was thinking of my own. Now that I'm published however, I've got a to-read list starting :) Will have to add yours in.

[mermaidwhisperer]

Thanks for the welcomes guys! It'll be hard for me to post in good timing-given the time difference. I just woke up!
I like 'Whisper'.
I hope actual mermaids like my story. From what I've heard, I've come at it from a fairly different angle than most. I wrote what I dreamed of mermaids to be-but it's taking off like wildfire just 2 weeks in so hopefully I've done something right! :)
Australia is lovely. All mermaids should migrate here.

[MaskedNightingale]

Welcome fellow writer and mermaid to the mer-network! :)

[Alveric]

By the way, my son-in-law is from Sippy Downs (Near Brisbane).

[mermaidwhisperer]

Most of my family is from Brisbane. Once upon a time, I was too :)

[Sea Pearl]

Welcome! It's always great to hear of people who love to write stuff focused on mers.

[mermaidwhisperer]

OMG OMG just got a rave review from a critic! YES!!! He had issues with some typo things but I got 4/5 tails! Sitting in front of my P.C CRYING, lol!

[Mermaid~Summer]

OMG OMG just got a rave review from a critic! YES!!! He had issues with some typo things but I got 4/5 tails! Sitting in front of my P.C CRYING, lol!

Awwww, Congrats!!!!! :D

[mermaidwhisperer]

I was just featured in a mermaid blog 'Splash into Summer' Ya-hoo!

http://abackwardsstory.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/interview-sk-munt-author-of-marked-ones.html

[Mermaid Dottie]

This is so epic to see your reactions to your work being posted.
Also, Alveric, I had a chance to share your novel last night, I went to a Cancer Relay, in tail, and some Star Wars cosplayers showed up. ^_^ I felt like I was at Xanadu!

[Mermaid~Summer]

Hey Whisper, I bought ur book! I'm still on the first chapter but so far I like it :)

[mermaidwhisperer]

Cool! :)

[Mermaid~Summer]

As for my book, I've written a modern-day mermaid trilogy called 'The Marked Ones' and have just published it on Amazon. Not trying to spam-lol-I won't post links or anything. It's been only two weeks since I've released it and my life has revolved around it since December '09 so it's basically all I can talk about right now. Came very close to getting published, but I couldn't find an agent who was willing to take a risk on a mermaid story targeted at adults instead of YA. Those same agents will be kicking themselves when they see the sales figures so far ;) My trilogy references the effects of global warming etc on the ocean so that's why I was hunting down a marine biologist :)
I'm also a surfer (in fact I came up with the story after a tiger-shark encounter) a former cheerleading flyer/coach, a mummy of three beautiful girls and happily married.
Anyway add me if you'd like. I'd like to know if any of the 'real' mermaids on here have platforms for the environment :) My little girls love mermaids too, and they are begging me for tails, lol, so some pointers there would help.
ALSO I am trying to track down 3 necklaces with a Whelk shell on them-it's a symbol from my book I'd love to gift to some close friends who have been championing it non-stop.

I just finished ur book!! OMG I LOVED IT!!! I can't even tell you how much I love the characters and I can't wait for the next one so I can find out what is going to happen! I spent like half an hour telling my husband all about it.

[Miyu]

I can't wait to read your book, as soon as I get some cash flow here it's on my list of necessary reading :) The idea's been entrancing me since I read the description a few days ago <3

Also, as for whelk shells, what type were you looking for? I recently inherited an impressive collection of shells, and I'm sure there's a few samples that have three matching (well, as close as you can get with shells anyways) examples. Whereabouts were said shells found? I have shells from different locations, some tropical, some not, some very colorful, some a beautiful white... Was there a specific style of shell you would like?

[mermaidwhisperer]

Ahhhh mermaid Summer you made me squeal so loud!!! I'm having so much trouble getting people to read a mermaid book that's for adults-but when they do the reactions are just mind blowing so thank you thank you! If you could spread the word I would absolutely adore you! And if you could leave just a quick review on Amazon that would be even better. It's only been up for two weeks and because I'm not giving it away for free, each review shoots me higher up the rank :)
My hubby loves it too. He's read the whole series three times now :)

The next one will hopefully be out in a few weeks. I have a page on facebook if you want to keep in the loop. there's a bunch of girls sharing pics of who should be in the movie, lol. Good times :)https://www.facebook.com/skmunt
Thanks for taking a chance on me :)

[mermaidwhisperer]

Ha ha so many happy emoticons ^^^

[mermaidwhisperer]

Moonlight Mermaid I just messaged you back :)
Yeah sorry it's not exactly a cheap book-but I was at a writer's conference last weekend and L.A Larkin was like '$4.99' nothing less, nothing mores-show them that you value yourself.

[Mermaid Momo]

Are you ever going to offer the book in a print version? I'm more of a physical kind of girl than a digital. I did just download the kindle app to download the sample though!

[Miyu]

Oh I don't think it's too expensive of a book at all, I recently purchased the first in a Steampunk series by my favorite band, and it was $16 for a paperback, so I think your price is very reasonable. I spend money on books, I've spent $100 for a very special book before. Writing is an art form, one that takes many years to perfect, and sometimes many years for one project to come to fruition. I've recently learned I have to stop under-selling myself, I'm always selling things for far too cheap because I think no-one will buy it if I charge a fair price.

No, if I had money right now I'd buy it - I recently moved to the middle of nowhere and need to get to selling crafts because there's no way I can get a job out here! As soon as I have some pocket money, I've been looking for a really good series to dive into that isn't already completed publishing (I just got The Hunger Games trilogy last year, and I've blown through it a few times already, so I want something to leave me with some anticipation, haha!)...

[mermaidwhisperer]

That's my goal. I feel like such a sell-out for going Kindle. I don't even own one! Lol! But I just got way too close with too many agents and publishers that wanted me to change something serious. Certain things I can handle but the biggest theme was to make it young adult, to fit in with all the others.
But I wrote this for me. I didn't want to compromise. Some of us are keen readers who are stuck somewhere between 50 Shades, Twilight and The Great Gatsby-and there's no market for us that isn't drenched with erotica. So I'm out to prove myself and so far, it's working better than I'd imagined. I WILL get them in paperback, I'm damn certain of it. But I need to get attention drawn to it first. I've already had offers from 2 more publishers since I uploaded, but both for e-book, which I'm already doing. Hanging out for Random House!

[mermaidwhisperer]

Well hopefully you like mine. I love The Hunger Games-I've exhausted that, Twilight, 50 Shades, The Passage, Odd Thomas and Tomorrow When The War began to the point where they're falling apart (disclaimer-do NOT like Mockingjay and 50 Shades writing is CRAP but the author is an awesome storyteller, so I love it!)

[Alveric]

There's nothing wrong with going ebook, mine is in Kindle and Nook and I probable sell ten ebooks for every paper one.

By the way, I bought The Marked Ones and just started it. Looks good so far.

[mermaidwhisperer]

Oh Alveric I know that-it's good that it's making reading cheaper and more accessible. But I just feel awful about how many books stores are closing down. I love the smell and feel of a real book. My favourite is a 2nd edition I have of Uncle Tom's Cabin that I found a few years ago-it's falling apart and I adore it :)
Oooohh hope you like it!

[Mermaid~Summer]

Ahhhh mermaid Summer you made me squeal so loud!!! I'm having so much trouble getting people to read a mermaid book that's for adults-but when they do the reactions are just mind blowing so thank you thank you! If you could spread the word I would absolutely adore you! And if you could leave just a quick review on Amazon that would be even better. It's only been up for two weeks and because I'm not giving it away for free, each review shoots me higher up the rank :)
My hubby loves it too. He's read the whole series three times now :)

The next one will hopefully be out in a few weeks. I have a page on facebook if you want to keep in the loop. there's a bunch of girls sharing pics of who should be in the movie, lol. Good times :)https://www.facebook.com/skmunt
Thanks for taking a chance on me :)


Just finished rating it and writing a review on Amazon. Oh, I already posted a link on my facebook page about ur book lol I'm re-reading it now. After I finish a book, especially one with lots of twists in the story line I like to read it again and I notice things that didn't stick out the first time thru. I'm so glad it's in Kindle format! Ever since I bought my kindle I don't buy paper books anymore. I'm so stoked for the next book!! I'm dying to see what happens!! :D Keep up the awesome work and keep those Mer Tales coming! I'm also loving that the characters are my age instead of them being like 15 lol

[Miyu]

LOL yeah Mockingjay kind of upset me a bit too... I love that it wasn't yet another Katniss-in-an-arena, but there were so many things that didn't ring true or just upset me... But that *is* how the story ends, and it is a great story altogether. I haven't even read 50 Shades LOL, but I have enough knowledge in that area that I don't feel the need to read a popular novel about it heheheh... *blushes*

I am glad you can reach a larger audience through the digital copies! But I agree, I also miss the small book stores, it seems you have to be in a very "trendy" place to find them anymore, and the big chain bookstores are so impersonal. I love paper books for several reasons... staring at a screen on a book-reading binge hurts my eyes, I really need to get a kindle :P Also, I love to go curl up somewhere cozy and read, and to read while I walk (watched too much Beauty And The Beast as a child, haha). But mostly, because I don't always have electricity or a way to charge things, and if the day ever comes where electricity is not so easily accessible, I'd like to have my own little library of favorite books. Maybe someday after you've sold a decent amount of digital copies, you can start offering paper copies as well? I'd buy a paper copy even if I already had the digital :) That's what Abney Park does, but they have other revenue from being a band that allowed them to order paper copies of the book when the book was published.

And oh thank you so much for writing an adult fantasy series that isn't mostly a romance novel - paging through too much erotica get wearisome when all I want to do is get engrossed in a story and be able to do so in public without all the blushing :P

[Mermaid Momo]

I'm still reading the sample I downloaded, and its amazing so far! I love everything about it! And the thing is that even though publishers think that teens want books like twilight, that's not really true. We want mature books like this that isn't just filled with pointless yammering and things that have been redone so many times in YA books. This is a masterpiece !

[mermaidwhisperer]

Oh you guys...! :D
Summer-I noticed the 'Happy Trail' you left all over my FB page. THANK you! And I loved the review. The more I get, the more visible the book is on Kindle. I am literally working 8 hours a day to promote this-for 4 weeks now I've been running on 3 hours sleep a night between editing and spreading the word-add in the three kids and yikes! For the first 4 months of the year I was in my first ever musical too, playing Amber in hairspray while working karaoke and one week after auditions we were granted custody of my step-daughter so suddenly I was a school mom too and It's just been exhausting. All Soooo worth it, but tiring!
Indie published works are so hard to get noticed. I want to stand on a tower and shriek : 'No seriously-READ THIS! I'm GOOD, I swear! I read everything, I've not left my computer since I got pregnant! This is my dream I've been working towards for 24 years-not a whim I had after reading twilight!' Ha ha ha. But I just have to pray that I'm right and that it'll find it's way into the right hands.
Draggersprez-how old are you? Are you from Arizona? I LOVE Arizona. I have 2 friends there. One is a girl I met through cheerleading a few years ago, the other I've been penfriends with since I was 6. And her mom and my mom have been penpals since 1958. A few years ago, I flew over there and met up with Jen in Vegas and thanks to FB we're now best friends :) I was hoping my book would work it's way into the YA area-I mean, it comes down to the individual, huh? The first 'adult' book I read was ';Gerald's Game' by Stephen King. I was 8 at the time ;) I hope it's a masterpiece! I know I love it. The characters are in my head, all day long.
And moonlight, I do intend to put it in print, even if I had to do it myself. I was hanging out with some actual authors at a festival a few weeks ago and they're really pushing me to do a book launch party. But I will have to sell a heap more yet to fund it. Just because I have at least 50 friends who'd want a copy in paper, let alone anyone else I'd like to reach!

[Mermaid Momo]

I'm 17,and yep, I do live in Arizona :) I'm a very landlocked mer haha.

[mermaidwhisperer]

OMG I just found out that Baz Luhrman's featured screen writer is producing a movie IN the Whitsunday's and has a comp running for people with ideas! OMG! I WORSHIP them!

[Mermaid~Summer]

[QUOTE=mermaidwhisperer;81277]Oh you guys...! :D
Summer-I noticed the 'Happy Trail' you left all over my FB page. THANK you!

LOL What can I say, I like ur page. I'm always looking for things that keep me occupied and entertained :) and the world that you created in ur books is my new favorite :D

[mermaidwhisperer]

Naw xoxo Just trying to get mermaids out there :)

[mermaidwhisperer]

I just uploaded a bunch of photos to my FB page about the place I actually live-mermaid paradise :) https://www.facebook.com/skmunt/photos_stream

[Mermaid~Summer]

I just uploaded a bunch of photos to my FB page about the place I actually live-mermaid paradise :) https://www.facebook.com/skmunt/photos_stream

So pretty! Yep, i'm jealous lol

[mermaidwhisperer]

The Marked Ones is now on iBooks! Squee! https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/the-marked-ones/id682935324?

[mermaidwhisperer]

yes! On Kobo too! We's flying! Come on Nook!