Friday, November 25, 2011

Tangled Tides: I Choose Gorgons!


HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO TANGLED TIDES!

Karen Amanda Hooper’s young adult novel, TANGLED TIDES, is officially being released into the world today. I’m joining the celebration by fighting in the war--the underwater web war between the sea creatures!

Karen’s story contains battling merfolk, selkies, sirens and gorgons. She says she loves all of them, but she wants everyone else to choose a side, so…

I choose Gorgons, because they're awesome. Also, both my daughter and I were born in the year of the snake. Off topic, I know, but still fun!

I'm going to let Karen break down the creatures for you guys, as they appear in her novel:


MERFOLK: of the sun, need warmth, gifted singers, can control water. Fun fact: in my story merfolk are ranked by color. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet (yes, the rainbow. And yes, my MC makes fun of it.) Each rank has a designated role and duties to their kind. Also, they must smoke C-weed to survive. You'll have to read the book to find out what C-weed is.

SIRENS: of the sun, need warmth, seductive singers, can control the weather. Fun fact: There are 3 siren sisters, one for each of the original gorgon sisters who were eternally banished to the dark and cold gorgon grotto. The sirens fly and swim between the worlds doing the gorgon sisters' dirty work, but the sirens evolved to be feisty rebels who do whatever they want most of the time--including stealing memories from humans.


SELKIES: of the moon, need cold, phenomenal dancers, can control human minds. Fun fact: selkies need the cold to survive but they're trapped in warm FL weather, so they hang out at Jack Frost's, a bar that is freezing cold and everything (seats, tables, walls, etc) are made out of ice. Their chic fur coats also help keep their bodies cool. They smoke seagarettes and have lots of scars that are invisible to humans.


GORGONS: of the moon, need cold, seductive dancers (though that doesn't get revealed til book 2 ((SHHHH. No one knows that yet but you guys!)), can control the sea creatures (the original 3 are like the gods of their world). Fun fact: Just like Medusa, the gorgons can turn any living thing to stone, but they aren't the heartless evil monsters that are portrayed in most legends. They are wicked smart, fast, and powerful. The male gorgons are tough as rock.

So I'm sure you can see why I selected Gorgons, Medusa aside. Now I want to give Karen a chance to tell you guys about her book. I haven't finished it yet, because I'm very busy, but I have read the first few chapters, and so far it's awesome!

Take it away Karen:

Yara Jones doesn’t believe in sea monsters—until she becomes one.

When a hurricane hits her island home and she wakes up with fins, Yara finds herself tangled up in an underwater world of mysterious merfolk and secretive selkies. Both sides believe Yara can save them by fulfilling a broken promise and opening the sealed gateway to their realm, but they are battling over how it should be done. The selkies want to take her life. The merfolk want something far more precious.

Treygan, the stormy-eyed merman who turned Yara mer, will stop at nothing and sacrifice everything to protect his people—until he falls for Yara. The tides turn as Yara fights to save herself, hundreds of sea creatures, and the merman who has her heart. She could lose her soul in the process—or she might open the gateway to a love that’s deeper than the oceans.

Now let me announce the totally original contest she's running:

Wanna learn more or join in on the fun? Go check out the details at Karen’s blog:

http://www.KarenAmandaHooper.com

Karen is giving away a signed copy of her book and some other sea creature themed prizes. To enter, join the underwater web war on Twitter. Tweet which sea creatures you’re rooting for and why. Include the hashtag #TangledTides and you could win.

Karen will be on Twitter all day celebrating and answering questions, so stop by and say hello.

@Karen_Hooper

And finally, here's where you can find Karen, and her book:

Karen's blog: http://www.karenamandahooper.com/
Rhemalda Bookstore:   http://tiny.cc/BuyTangledTides

23 comments:

Jessica Bell said...

Of course, you choose Gorgons! :o) And of course, I choose ... I don't think I even need to say it. :o)

Natalie Aguirre said...

Congrats to Karen. So excited for her debut. I'm looking forward to reading her book and wishing I was on Twitter so I could enter the contest.

kah said...

Wooot! You're the first gorgon love I've seen today! Yay for gorgons. :)

Love that you were born in the year of the snake.

Thanks so much for celebrating with me! Even though you gave away a book 2 secret by posting the TOP SECRET

*hands you a piece of cake and a mimosa*

Talli Roland said...

Congrats to Karen!

I've chosen siren elsewhere, so I'll stick with that.

Love the cover!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

No one has selected the same creature so far.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

I almmost chose gorgon, because they're so tough--I mean, Medusa and all. But I'm picking those fearsome sirens so I can fly!
Happy Release Day, Karen!

Steve MC said...

I'm going with the Merfolk 'cause they sound like Rastafarians, and who wouldn't want to hang out with them? :-)

Donna K. Weaver said...

What a fun-sounding story. I'm adding it to my to-read list. Thanks for the heads up, Matt.

roro said...

Congrats to Karen. I'm picking those fearsome sirens /sirens unite

mshatch said...

Beautiful cover and I'd choose sirens because I'm a summer girl and I'd love to be able to fly :)

Michael G-G said...

I choose selkie because, like them, I'm a phenomenal dancer.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Boogie on!

Lenny Lee said...

hi mr matthew! hooray for miss karen!! wow! that sounds like just the most cool book. i love sea creatures cause im part fish. ha ha. even tho its a ya novel for sure im gonna wanna get it and read it. but i could let my brothers check it out first. for what creature i could wanna be i gotta think about it for a while but for sure im gonna pick one.
...hugs from lenny

Katrina L. Lantz said...

Awesome! I haven't seen this book yet, but the cover is awesomesauce. Very excited to check out this battle between all those sea creatures. What a great twist on all that undersea mythology. :)

Dianne K. Salerni said...

I'm currently beta-reading a manuscript about selkies, but before that, I'd never heard of them. I love Karen's take on them though -- and I've always wanted to visit an ice bar!!!! (Can't get my martinis too cold!)

So I guess I choose selkies.

Tere Kirkland said...

Yes, Gorgon-lovers, unite! ;)

erica m. chapman said...

First Gorgon I've seen!!! BUT, I'm Team SIRENS!!! Great post ;o) CONGRATS Karen!!!!

erica and christy said...

The other erica beat me to it, but I'm totally Team Sirens. Good luck, Karen!~
erica

Jessica Love said...

Team Sirens over here :-)

Unknown said...

I'm Team Yara, that poor girl is in for a rough ride and sounds like she'll need all the support she can get. ;) Great book and congrats on the new release. I wish you tons of success, Karen.

kah said...

Lovin' all the sea creature love over here! Thanks, everyone!

I'm gonna tally up the votes today and announce the results soon. :)

Read a sneak peek of TANGLED TIDES on Amazon

Heaven. said...

Sirens!

Angela Ackerman said...

It's a beautiful cover-irresistible. Congrats to Karen! :)

Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

Unknown said...

That cver really is stunning and I also think I'll be with the Sirens. I love them, even though Gorgons make the sound like under dogs.