Feature: The Mermaid of the Month is Shivan! (Part One)

For the month of November, I’d like to introduce you to the third Psyne who rounds out the trinity of mermaids in my novel, Luminous.  Her name is Shivan and she holds the position of mentor, a title that comes with much honor and prestige.  As mentor, it is her job to train the young Psyne in her charge.  She is the long-time friend of Ilauria, and while Ilauria is younger and has the tendency let her passions influence her, Shivan is older and wiser.  At thirty-five hundred years old, the golden blonde with the light green eyes still retains her twenty-year-old appearance but her many years of experience have tempered her judgment.  She acts as mediator between Ilauria and the volatile, Adante, but Shivan also harbors a deep, dark secret she has never divulged to Ilauria.  Like the other mermaids, Shivan has many layers to her character and Luminous gets at the heart of what she holds most valuable.  When the stakes are raised, Shivan has the power to end their rescue mission or to ensure its success.  Look for more on this fascinating mermaid later on in November!

Feature: The Mermaid of the Month is Adante! (Part Three)

Happy Halloween!  To conclude the month of October, I’m posting one last Mermaid of the Month feature on one of my minor antagonists, the Venvian Psyne named Adante.  In Luminous, Adante experiences the wonders of ‘first love’ but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.  For the first time, she’s unsure of herself and she feels out of control which is a sensation she’s not familiar with and doesn’t like in the least.  Many of us have experienced that feeling of ‘first love’ as well as the inevitable choice we face:  do we pursue it even though we risk getting our heart broken or do we shun it, at the cost of regretting the decision the rest of our lives?

For my Venvian Psyne, falling in love is extra complicated.  They are taught to hate humans, especially human men.  Adante’s emotions are confusing to her, to say the least. For the Psyne, falling in love with a human doesn’t mean there will necessarily be a happy ending.  Succumbing to emotions such as love is seen as far too human and is one of the cardinal rules strictly enforced in their society.  If a Psyne decides to become human in order to stay with the object of her love, she doesn’t need to seek out a sea witch for the spell.  All she has to do is use her own magic, denying her Psyne form and embracing her human form in its entirety from that moment forth.  But choosing love comes with a price:  by becoming human, she will have a fear of the ocean for the rest of her life and the touch of saltwater will always feel like acid to her skin.  As if that isn’t bad enough, there is the danger of being discovered by the Bahree, the Psyne Council’s secret police, whose job it is to hunt down Psyne-turned-humans, otherwise known as defectors, and take them away from their human love, torture them, convert them back to their Psyne form and take them back to the Council to be sentenced to an eternity of imprisonment on the exile planet, Dervitika.  If only love was simple…

Adante Trivia:  The inspiration for her name came from a fellow classmate I knew in high school.  Adante is an unusual name and to me, it exudes strength and mystery.  Names are important in fiction and this name fit my character like a glove.

Feature: The Mermaid of the Month is Adante (Part Two)

In September, the Mermaid of the Month was Ilauria, but because the days got away from me, I was only able to do two posts total on her.  This month I’m going to be more diligent and post more on Adante.  Adante is the Venvian Psyne who is forced to help Ilauria and her friend, Shivan search for their missing sisters on Earth.  Although she isn’t the main antagonist in Luminous (there are far more formidable bad guys to contend with) Adante is Ilauria’s opposite in many ways which makes her a lot of fun to read about.  Adante’s physical attributes were taken directly from my all-time favorite super heroine, Wonder Woman.  I think I was four years old when I first saw Lynda Carter on TV with her golden Lasso of Truth and her red lipstick and I was a fan for life.  Adante has Wonder Woman’s deep blue eyes, pale skin and shiny black hair.  But that’s where the similarities end.  Our Venvian is full of attitude, outrage and angst.  When she’s not rolling her eyes, shaking her head with disdain or crossing her arms with an aloof flick of her hair, she’s using her whip-like tongue to put others in their place or “enlighten” them in her own unique way.  She detests being controlled, abhors censorship and rejects any restrictions to her freedom.  She excels at pushing people’s buttons, lives to break the rules and always thinks outside of the box.  Adante is all the things Ilauria can’t be and won’t let herself be because Ilauria is loyal to the Council.  Look for more on this dynamic character later in the month…I promise!

Feature: Mermaid of the Month!

The Mermaid of the Month for October is Adante!  She is the antagonist to our heroine, Ilauria, which makes her one of my absolute favorite mermaids to write.  Being a member of the Venvian Psyne, as well as part of the Venvian leader’s entourage, Adante is the bad girl of the group.  It’s fitting that Adante’s month is also the month Halloween falls upon.  She is edgy, outspoken, and doesn’t back down to confrontation.  Due to her close position to the Venvian leader, she is privy to confidential knowledge that most Psyne are shielded from and Adante relishes in giving Ilauria an education she won’t soon forget.  With her long, straight black hair and sapphire blue eyes, she’s not only striking but is a force to be reckoned with.  In Luminous, Adante begins the rescue mission with a few preconceived notions regarding humans but as the story progresses, these ideas are suddenly thrown into question and she is left having to cope with the effect they have on how she views her entire life, not to mention her status as one of the Venvian.  Her character arc is not only dynamic but is revealing as well.  This stunning Psyne will also be gracing the cover of the second book in the Psyne series entitled, Prism, which will be released next spring.  Look for more on the mermaid, Adante, throughout the month!

Feature: Ilauria is the Mermaid of the Month! (Part One)

There’s no way I can talk about my character, Ilauria, without first addressing her gorgeous red hair so let’s just get that out of the way first.  Nothing makes me happier than looking at red hair!  I’m a complete and utter red-head fanatic!  We’re talking like Titian, the renaissance artist, obsessed!  Growing up with reddish/brown hair and freckles, I had to come to grips with my coloring quickly and I decided to embrace it.  This wasn’t an easy thing considering that in Arizona, most people tan to some degree and I only burned.  I naturally gravitated toward others with red hair and the inevitable freckles that are connected with it which is one reason I became enthralled with fantasy at a young age:  the heroines were typically red heads and I could relate.  When Disney’s The Little Mermaid came out in theaters I was thrilled that she had long red hair and equally ecstatic when Merida in Disney’s Brave boasted not only flame-colored hair but unruly curls as well.  Oh curls—don’t get me started!  Oops, too late!  Love, love, love curly hair!  When I was growing up there was a TV show on called Head of the Class and the actress, Khrystyne Haje, was the first person I’d ever seen with super long red curly hair and she still has the best curls in my opinion, hands down!  She’s the reason Ilauria has the hair she does and let’s face it, mermaids just aren’t mermaids without that beautiful long hair.  For many writers, their hero or heroine is an extension of who their ideal person is.  Other times, their hero or heroine is who they wish they could be.  For me, Ilauria is the ideal mermaid and I’d like to be her if I was ever given the chance to be a mermaid (you know, in some alternate reality).  So, why all this concentration on how she looks physically?  Because in the world I’ve created she’s a super hero and super heroes in comics are visually stunning and have a specific look.  Red hair and green eyes are rare traits and those attributes add to her character because she is a rare individual in her society and that’s where the crux of the story is derived from.  For more on red heads, search for red hair on Pinterest and prepare to be stunned!  Look for more about Ilauria later this month…