Never Say Never

Being focused on pushing forward to new and exciting story horizons, I don't like going back to revised old stories.

Usually.

But, as the blog post title says, never say never.

When a publisher put out a call and the submission guidelines specifically included previously published stories, I had two novels that fit the other specs. Well, after a few tweaks.

I've spent the past month or so revising them both. I was going to merely sub the revised versions, but liked them so much better, I published the new versions on Amazon and Smashwords. Once they go through the review process, Smashwords will release the updated version to its secondary affiliate sites such as Barnes and Noble, etc.

Fear not, I'm not going to be one of those authors stuck on their old stories, constantly updating the old with new versions. How many versions of one story can anyone read?

But I promise, these two are much better stories for the revisions.

That leaves only one more to finish. The Vitruvian Man trilogy of novellas (Cursed, Charmed and Claimed) will become one full-length novel. It's taken me forever because not only did life keep getting in the way, as so often happens, but the main character will undergo some major changes, and the story's going to go into more detail, as well. I'm hoping to finish that by the end of the year.

In the meanwhile, I hope you'll try the new and improved stories!

Surfacing is my contemporary fantasy, a 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semi-finalist. The story follows a mermaid who meets and inspires a wannabe rock star. Set in Weeki Wachee Springs, home of the Weeki Wachee mermaids!

You can view more detail on Smashwords or Amazon.

Angels, Sinners and Madmen is my historical romance, an adventure that I couldn't resist after visiting Key West and learning about the wreckers.

More deets on Smashwords and Amazon.

The fact they're both set in Florida is a happy coincidence. Or maybe Florida is a writer's muse? I did visit Ernest Hemingway's house while in Key West... maybe his ghost followed me home!

Tagging Tuesday at the Paranormalists

The Paranormalists, another blog I'm part of, is holding a Tagging Tuesday party. I hope you'll pop over and show some love for the five books featured there, including my own fantasy, Surfacing. :)

I'm excited that the Paranormalists is revving up. Special thanks to DL Jackson for commandeering the troops and leading us forward!

I'm the new art officer for the Paranormalists, and am working on a graphic for Tagging Tuesday - it will be a regular event, along with lots of other new stuff. Stay tuned!

Thankful for readers

Tomorrow through Tuesday, I'll be part of the TRS Thanksgiving Party, a celebration to give thanks for readers. I can't think of a better way to say thanks than with a giveaway. Come on over and join the celebration. You might win a print copy of my fantasy, Surfacing.

Hope to see you there!

Day 2 getaway: a little-known Florida locale

Stop by the Desert Island Keepers blog to hang out in Weeki Wachee, Florida, home of the famous Weeki Wachee mermaids. It's also the setting for my contemporary fantasy, Surfacing. Comment for a chance to win a print copy!

Story Elements: Surfacing

Once upon a time, I was sifting through emails on an author loop when lo and behold! another author said, "I haven't seen a mermaid story in a long while." Which made me think, "Hmm. I haven't either."

So I began researching mermaids. I'd always loved Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid (even the Disneyized version). As I expected, mermaid lore and legends abound. I was surprised to learn how far-flung the legends are, from Japan to Ireland to Israel and Greece, and just about everywhere in between.

In Ireland, for example, mermaids are called The Fairy Mistress or Fairy Sweetheart, Leanan Sidhe, which translates to My Inspiration Faery. A dark, unearthly beauty, she's a Celtic muse who lives off the eastern coast of Ireland, sometimes coming to shore to find a new lover. Usually an artist of some type, whom she inspires to genius.

As early as 5000 BC, the Babylonians worshipped the god Oannes, who was half-man, half fish. Oannes was a force for good, light and life, representing the positive values connected with the sea.

In 1493, Columbus claimed to discover mermaids who "rose high out of the sea, but were not as beautiful as they are represented." Some argue they were simply dolphins, but who knows?

Pliny the Elder, in the first century A.D., believed in "Nereides." In the fifth century, descriptions of mermaids appeared in Physiologus: "a beast of the sea wonderfully shapen as a maid from the navel upward and a fish from the navel downward."

Bartholomew Angelicus wrote that mermaids charmed seamen with music. "But the truth is that they are strong whores," who lead men "to poverty and to mischief." She lulled a crew to sleep, kidnapped a sailor, and took him to "a dry place" for sex. If he refused, "she slayeth him and eateth his flesh."

Definitely not the Disney version.

Religious leaders condemned mermaids as "whores" and in Elizabethan times, the mermaid was used as a symbol of prostitution.

A surprisingly detailed account from 1900 describes a mermaid found dead in a stream: the upper part of the creature was "about the size of a well-fed child of three or four years of age, with an abnormally developed breast. The hair was long, dark and glossy, while the skin was white, soft and tender. The lower part of the body was like a salmon, but without the scales."

Much magic is associated with mermaids around the world. Able to grant wishes or heal, they're also generally vain - but mostly because they're gorgeous. According to Japanese legend, eating the flesh of a mermaid will bestow immortality.

A few things were clear: these "women of the deep" live a long long time (no one's sure exactly how long, of course), are beautiful enough to lure any man to a watery grave, and can sometimes be lured themselves by a handsome guy with a great singing voice.

To place the story in a contemporary setting, the handsome guy would be the lead singer/guitarist in an indie rock band.

So the mermaid, of course, would love rock music.

I also came across the Weeki Wachee Springs amusement park, where women perform as mermaids. What better place for a modern mermaid to surface without too much notice?



Surfacing was also an opportunity to showcase some of the music that I love. Inadvertently, of course, with no copyright violations. :)

And because Elvis has ties to Weeki Wachee Springs - he once visited there, and this photo supposedly hangs on the wall there - he also has a small part to play in Surfacing. His charisma, stunning looks and amazing singing voice would of course make any mermaid fall in love.

Casting Call: Surfacing

The third edition of my Casting Call blog series looks at Surfacing, my contemporary fantasy novel.

In researching mermaid legend and lore, a common theme popped up: mermaids can be lured to the surface by a handsome guy. If he's a good singer, he might even convince the mermaid to hang around awhile. :)

Surfacing's large cast meant some pretty vivid secondary characters, who recur quite often throughout the novel.

Here's the story blurb:
AJ Dillon is trouble. The former lead singer of an indie band has no home, no money and no future. His grandfather is the only relative willing to take another chance on him. AJ arrives in Weeki Wachee, Florida, with his guitar, a few clothes and a bad attitude. The only good thing about Weeki Wachee is the ocean -- the one place AJ feels at home.

Grandpa lines up a job for AJ at Weeki Wachee Springs, where beautiful women perform as mermaids. Grandpa says real mermaids exist, but AJ doesn’t believe – until he meets Cassiopeia. She helps his passion for music resurfaces. But greedy Chaz finds out about her, and threatens to kill them if AJ doesn't go along with his plan to make a fortune with a real mermaid show. Can AJ save Cassie, even if it means losing her?

Though a fantasy, Surfacing delves less "under da sea" than above it, into familial relationships and all their inherent problems.

AJ Dillon, a talented musician, has no direction in life. In the story's opener, when he arrives at his grandfather's house, he's run out of money and options.

Maybe I have a bit of mermaid in me, but I've always found handsome singers pretty irresistible too. While writing Surfacing, Ben Barnes seemed a perfect fit as AJ.

Though I have no idea about Ben's singing ability, he most vividly starred in the part.

Since seeing Liv Tyler in The Lord of the Rings, I knew she was perfect to play Casseiopeia the mermaid.

This photo seemed tailor-made for the part too. :)

Like Liv, Casseiopeia's incredibly beautiful. Not only does she admire AJ's guitar prowess, she wants to learn how to play too, even though the strings hurt her fingers.

Metal repels most fae, but the strings are narrow enough for her to withstand the discomfort.

AJ's grandfather, Walt, is a lonely ex-schoolteacher.

Recently retired, he lives in the past, and has an unhealthy obsession with mermaids.

I imagined Alec Baldwin as Walt. Alec's intelligent and witty, and still a pretty virile guy.

A perfect match for the timeless beauty of Rene Russo, who I imagined as his wife.

Carmine Giovinazzo, of CSI New York fame, seemed a perfect fit for the villain, Chaz.

A good guy on CSI NY, Carmine has the acting chops to play a multidimensional villain. Chaz is desperate to make a fortune.

Even if his people skills leave something to be desired, he's perceptive and smart. He's willing to do anything to get what he wants.

For Tobias, the owner of the Weeki Wachee Springs mermaid show, Christopher Plummer was ideal.

Stoic, sometimes seen as harsh, Tobias has a heart of gold, and goes out of his way to help.

If you enjoyed this Casting Call, you might want to look at the Story Elements in Surfacing.

Or purchase your copy. :)

Available on Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/368154

And Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FY94HA6

 

Surfacing's now available in print too!

Whiskey Creek Press has also released Surfacing in trade paperback! Woo hoo!

By clicking this link, you can also read the first chapter online. Or purchase your own copy! :)

Surfacing now available!

Woot! My fantasy novel, Surfacing, is now available in ebook format from Whiskey Creek Press. A print edition will soon be available from Amazon.

I finished this trailer over the weekend. It's one of the shortest I've created, but I think it does the job well. What do you think?



Here's an excerpt:
“Look out!” a woman screamed as the gator closed in.
Something slammed into his stomach and whooshed him beneath the water. A second slam, more like a thud, and he thought it was all over. For both of them. The thing gripped him without hurting him somehow, but moved so fast, AJ thought his body might break from the pressure of the speed. It felt like hurtling through the canal on an underwater express train, rolling as they went.
As his lungs felt near to bursting, they slowed and surfaced. Whatever held him released him by propelling him face-down onto a grassy bank.
Gasping for air, he scrambled up the side to escape it, but his arms and legs flailed, more spectacle than anything.
“What were you doing?” a girl’s rich, full voice asked.
He glanced over his shoulder, still grasping at the bank for leverage. He fell to the grass, stunned.
Instead of the ugly head of an alligator leering at him in a crocodile smile, the girl, even more gorgeous up close, leaned her hands on the bank and lifted herself up. Her wet hair clung to her chest and waist.
Too many questions flew through his head at once. “What?” he managed.
“You could have been killed. Why did you do that?” Her green eyes sparkled like emeralds flecked with onyx. Her long dark hair framed her porcelain face and rosebud lips.
His chest heaved. “You’re kidding, right? I saved you.”
She burst into laughter. Like bells tinkling, like music.
Fascination turned to irritation. He risked his life for her. “What? That alligator would’ve killed you.”
This made her laugh all the harder, her laughter like a melody he couldn’t quite place, though familiar.
The alligator drifted toward them on its side, like a log. Unmoving. Unconscious.
She giggled. “It won’t hurt you now.”
AJ glanced downriver to where the boat should have been. “What happened? Where’s the boat?” He held a hand to his head. He wished she’d stop laughing. The sound got inside his brain, jumbled his already knotted thoughts. And every time she looked at him, her eyes hypnotized him—their whites so clear and bright, the green shone like gemstones. Like no other eyes he’d ever seen.
Glancing upstream, she smiled. “Right where you left it.”
“No. I left it right there.” He still couldn’t catch his breath. Or his mind.
She twisted up and sat on the bank. “No, you left it around the bend. Remember?” As she turned her head, her hair shifted, revealing the curve of a breast.
AJ blinked, thinking his eyesight might have been affected by the impact. But he could see as clear as ever. The old biddy was right. “You’re not wearing clamshells.”
Her glittering eyes snapped to his. “What?”
His mind raced. If this girl was what he thought she was, he wanted to get closer. He slumped on the bank, letting his feet slide closer to her. “What are you doing out here? You’re not with the show.”
She tossed her head, and her hair swirled across her like a glossy curtain, tantalizing him. She edged toward the water. “No.”
The end of her tail rose, then swished beneath the canal. For a moment, he’d caught sight of it, the colors exactly as Grandpa had described: iridescent, ever-changing, like rich silk. He shifted closer for a better view. The transformation from skin to tail was seamless. Undetectable.
It was no costume.

New cover for Surfacing!

I couldn't wait to share this new cover. It just came in my email, and I love love love it! Right down to the fin on the spine. :) Kendra Egert did an amazing job.



The blurb is on the back cover (and you can read it if you click on the image to enlarge it), but Surfacing is the story of struggling indie rocker AJ Dillon, who moves to his grandfather's house in Florida because he has nowhere else to go. Grandpa lines up a job at Weeki Wachee Springs, home of the famous mermaid show. There he meets Cassiopeia, a real mermaid.

Whiskey Creek Press will release Surfacing in August.

This cover really made my day. What do you think??

New contract for contemporary fantasy novel!

This week, I signed a new contract with Whiskey Creek Press for Surfacing, my contemporary fantasy novel!

Last year, I entered Surfacing in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. One of 10,000 entries received last year, it made the first-round cut. You can read the reviews, and the first 10,000 words, here.

This story weaves many elements dear to my heart. Music, first and foremost. A bit of the fantastic and magical, too. And at the heart of it all, a love story - though not technically a romance. All told from the point of view of AJ Dillon, a down and out wannabe rocker.

Here's the pitch I made to Amazon:
AJ Dillon is trouble. The former lead singer of an indie band has no home, no money and no future. His grandfather is the only relative willing to take another chance on him. AJ arrives in Weeki Wachee, Florida, with his guitar, a few clothes and a bad attitude. The only good thing about Weeki Wachee is the ocean -- the one place AJ feels at home.
Grandpa lines up a job for AJ piloting the Wilderness Cruise at Weeki Wachee Springs, home of the Weeki Wachee mermaid show. A mindless job, but at least AJ gets to watch beautiful women perform underwater. Grandpa says real mermaids exist, and a handsome singer can mesmerize one. AJ dreams of meeting one, but his greedy co-worker Chaz plans to make a fortune by creating a real mermaid show. AJ and Chaz get their chance after Cassiopeia saves AJ from an alligator. AJ falls in love and his passion for music resurfaces when he sings to her. He tries to keep Cassie a secret, but Chaz follows him and learns the truth. Chaz threatens to kill them if AJ doesn't go along with his plan. Reluctantly, AJ agrees. In saving Cassiopeia, AJ unearths long-hidden family secrets that, once brought to light, open possibilities for healing old wounds. In saving Cassiopeia, AJ learns the greatest gift – unconditional love. In saving Cassiopeia, AJ saves himself, too.
This novel, my fourth, layers family conflict onto suspense, danger and romance, and combines my love of music and research. Finding Weeki Wachee Springs provided a natural step to a contemporary fantasy, a genre whose limits are mapped by a writer’s imagination. Surfacing will appeal to teen readers through adult.

Surfacing - contemporary fantasy

Surfacing
Now revised and re-released

Available on Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/368154

And Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FY94HA6

A 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award finalist!

AJ Dillon is trouble. The former lead singer of an indie band has no home, no money and no future. His grandfather is the only relative willing to take another chance on him. AJ arrives in Weeki Wachee, Florida, with his guitar, a few clothes and a bad attitude. The only good thing about Weeki Wachee is the ocean -- the one place AJ feels at home.
Grandpa lines up a job for AJ at Weeki Wachee Springs, where beautiful women perform as mermaids. Grandpa says real mermaids exist, but AJ doesn’t believe – until he meets Cassiopeia. She helps his passion for music resurfaces. But greedy Chaz finds out about her, and threatens to kill them if AJ doesn't go along with his plan to make a fortune with a real mermaid show. Can AJ save Cassie, even if it means losing her?


Read the beginning chapters on WattPad
Reviews
Ms. Masters' writing style is smooth and effortless in Surfacing. I found myself drawn to her characters and their world almost immediately, and within a few pages I became completely lost in the story. Surfacing is a delightful, entertaining, and touching read that will have readers rooting for the young hero and hoping that somehow fairytales can come true. This is more than a romance: it is a coming-of-age story that will linger in my memory. I truly enjoyed every page.
Bookwenches - 4.75



Who would Cate cast in these roles?
Click here to see.



Excerpt

“Look out,” a woman screamed as the gator closed in.

Something slammed into his stomach and whooshed him beneath the water. A second slam, more like a thud, and he thought it was all over. For both of them. The thing gripped him without hurting him somehow, but moved so fast, AJ thought his body might break from the pressure of the speed. It felt like hurtling through the canal on an underwater express train, rolling as they went.

As his lungs felt near to bursting, they slowed and surfaced. Whatever held him released him by propelling him face-down onto a grassy bank.

Gasping for air, he scrambled up the side to escape it, but his arms and legs flailed, more spectacle than anything.

“What were you doing?” a girl’s rich, full voice asked.

He glanced over his shoulder, still grasping at the bank for leverage. He fell to the grass, stunned.

Instead of the ugly head of an alligator leering at him in a crocodile smile, the girl, even more gorgeous up close, leaned her hands on the bank and lifted herself up. Her wet hair clung to her chest and waist.

Too many questions flew through his head at once. “What?” he managed.

“You could have been killed. Why did you do that?” Her green eyes sparkled like emeralds flecked with onyx. Her long dark hair framed her porcelain face and rosebud lips.

His chest heaved. “You’re kidding, right? I saved you.”

She burst into laughter. Like bells tinkling, like music.

Fascination turned to irritation. He risked his life for her. “What? That alligator would’ve killed you.”

This made her laugh all the harder, her laughter like a melody he couldn’t quite place, though familiar.

The alligator drifted toward them on its side, like a log. Unmoving. Unconscious.

She giggled. “It won’t hurt you now.”

AJ glanced downriver to where the boat should have been. “What happened? Where’s the boat?” He held a hand to his head. He wished she’d stop laughing. The sound got inside his brain, jumbled his already knotted thoughts. And every time she looked at him, her eyes hypnotized him—their whites so clear and bright, the green shone like gemstones. Like no other eyes he’d ever seen.

Glancing upstream, she smiled. “Right where you left it.”

“No. I left it right there.” He still couldn’t catch his breath. Or his mind.

She twisted up and sat on the bank. “No, you left it around the bend. Remember?” As she turned her head, her hair shifted, revealing the curve of a breast.

AJ blinked, thinking his eyesight might have been affected by the impact. But he could see as clear as ever. The old biddy was right. “You’re not wearing clamshells.”

Her glittering eyes snapped to his. “What?”

His mind raced. If this girl was what he thought she was, he wanted to get closer. He slumped on the bank, letting his feet slide closer to her. “What are you doing out here? You’re not with the show.”

She tossed her head, and her hair swirled across her like a glossy curtain, tantalizing him. She edged toward the water. “No.”

The end of her tail rose, then swished beneath the canal. For a moment, he’d caught sight of it, the colors exactly as Grandpa had described: iridescent, ever-changing, like rich silk. He shifted closer for a better view. The transformation from skin to tail was seamless. Undetectable.

It was no costume.

Published August 2010 by Whiskey Creek Press