Today I'm thrilled to welcome author Jennifer Donnelly to the blog as part of the promotional tour for the latest book in the
Waterfire Saga,
Rogue Wave. I don't know about all of you, but when I was younger my lifelong goal was to become a mermaid like Ariel, and I fully admit without shame that said goal hasn't completely faded with time. Suffice to say, I'm a fan of mermaids. *dreams of abandoning work and moving to the ocean where I can wear pretty sea silk dresses and have a tail of sparkly, scaly gorgeousness*
Jennifer is here to introduce her merls to those who haven't yet started this series, and to give those who've already met these ladies a few additional personality details and juicy tidbits. Below her post is a fantastic quiz that will tell you which of Jennifer's merls you're most similar to, so be sure and check it out and leave your answer in the comments!
Can I tell you how much I love my merls Sera, Neela, Ava, Ling, Becca, and Astrid? I say “my” not because I wrote them, but because they’re mine like my girlfriends are mine. They’re my merlfriends, and I love talking to them, adventuring with them, hanging with them.
Sera and I can talk for hours. We’d be up all night talking if I didn’t have to get up for work. She is so smart and so tough and so brave . . . but she is so plagued by self-doubt. I spend a lot of time reassuring her—but what’s really happening the whole time is that she is inspiring me!
Neela’s my fashion merl. She is GORGEOUS! What I wouldn’t give for her beautiful skin and her thick, lustrous hair. I’m totally jealous! But she’s always there for me on the days I look really blah in the mirror, winking over my shoulder, fluffing my hair . . . and reminding me that my sparkliest necklace will change everything.
Ava is crazy perceptive. She can see through anything and anyone. When I feel like I’m not getting the real story, or somebody’s hiding something, or someone’s pretending to be someone they’re not, or someone wants me to be someone I’m not, I get Ava’s perspective—and things are so much clearer.
Ling is the Einstein of the group. Total brainiac. She speaks, like, every language. Seriously: omnis lingua! When I’ve got a complicated problem, she shows me how to focus, cut through all the distractions, consider all the angles, and figure it out.
Becca is all business. She’s my personal drill sergeant! She gets me up to exercise at six a.m. no matter how cold and dark it is out. She makes sure I get my blog posts—and my books—done in time. When there’s work to be done, Becca is there to make sure I’m not off shopping with Neela or up all night talking to Sera . . .
Astrid. Astrid, Astrid, Astrid. Miss Dark Cloud on the Horizon. She questions EVERYTHING. She drives me crazy. And yet, and yet: I’m so happy to have her around. I need a good, skeptical reality check from time to time. She’s also tough as nails—and not afraid to show it. If I’m in a scary place, I feel much safer if she’s nearby. Do NOT mess with this merl.
I love my merls because we share a very deep, unspoken connection. I really know them—and they really know me. Each one is different, but they all have something I relate to very closely, as if they’re a part of me (which, in my case, I suppose they are!).
So I’m a little like all of them. But of all six, I feel the most like Astrid—not the tough-guy merl, but the merl who’s always questioning things. And being the resident PITA.
Which one are you? We have a great little quiz that you (and your merls) can take to find out. I took it, and sure enough: Astrid by a slim margin. Daisy, my fashionista daughter, is like Neela. My husband won’t admit he took the quiz (but I bet he did—and anyway, he’s like Ling).
Take the quiz, and let me know who you are—and why—below. I’ll join the conversation—and who knows? Maybe we’ll hear from Sera, Neela, and the other merls too!
(click to enlarge)
Answers:
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ROGUE WAVE
Waterfire Saga #2
In this exciting sequel to DEEP BLUE, the mermaids are on an exceedingly important and dangerous quest. Their journey is testing their skills and their friendships, forcing them to grow and take on new challenges, and will alter their lives forever.
Serafina, Neela, Ling, Ava, Becca, and Astrid, six mermaids from realms scattered throughout the seas and freshwaters, were summoned by the leader of the river witches to learn an incredible truth: the mermaids are direct descendants of the Six Who Ruled–powerful mages who once governed the lost empire of Atlantis. The ancient evil that destroyed Atlantis is stirring again, and only the mermaids can defeat it. To do so, they need to find magical talismans that belonged to the Six.
Serafina believes her talisman was buried with an old shipwreck. While researching its location, she is almost discovered by a death rider patrol led by someone familiar. . . . The pain of seeing him turned traitor is devastating.
Neela travels to Matali to warn her parents of the grave threat facing their world. But they find her story outlandish; a sign that she needs to be confined to her chamber for rest and recovery. She escapes and travels to Kandina, where her talisman is in the possession of fearsome razormouth dragons.
As they hunt for their talismans, both Serafina and Neela find reserves of courage and cunning they didn't know they possessed. They face down danger and death, only to endure a game-changing betrayal, as shocking as a rogue wave.
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DEEP BLUE
Waterfire Saga #1
Deep in the ocean, in a world not so different from our own, live the merpeople. Their communities are spread throughout the oceans, seas, and freshwaters all over the globe.
When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, her biggest worry should be winning the love of handsome Prince Mahdi. And yet Sera finds herself haunted by strange dreams that foretell the return of an ancient evil. Her dark premonitions are confirmed when an assassin’s arrow poisons Sera's mother. Now, Serafina must embark on a quest to find the assassin’s master and prevent a war between the Mer nations.
Led only by her shadowy dreams, Sera searches for five other mermaid heroines who are scattered across the six seas. Together, they will form an unbreakable bond of sisterhood and uncover a conspiracy that threatens their world’s very existence.
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JENNIFER DONNELLY
Jennifer Donnelly is an award-winning author of both adult and young adult books, including
Deep Blue, the first book in the Waterfire Saga. For adults she has written a trilogy of best-selling books that includes
The Tea Rose, The Winter Rose, and
The Wild Rose. Her first young adult novel,
A Northern Light, received many accolades, among them the
Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Carnegie Medal in the UK, and a Michael L. Printz Honor. Her second young adult novel,
Revolution, was named a Best Book of 2010 by
Kirkus Reviews and
School Library Journal, and the audiobook received a 2011 American Library Association Odyssey Honor. She lives in New York's Hudson Valley.
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BLOG TOUR
Be sure and check out the rest of the stops on the tour for more fabulous guest posts and exclusive excerpts!
