RELEASE BLITZ: Swim by M.E. Rhines

We are excited to share with you this 7-day Release Blitz for M.E. Rhines' Sink, the second book in the Mermaid Royalty series! Yup! It's is a happy book birthday celebration! To celebrate, we will be sharing a sneak peek into the book with an exciting excerpt AND a cool guest post on Heroes and Villains. We're not finished yet... There's even a blitz-wide giveaway, too! Check it out and grab your copy today!

Genre:
Young Adult
Paranormal/Fantasy
Series:
Mermaid Royalty, #2
Publish Date:
August 29, 2017
Publisher:
Cleen Teen Publishing

Synopsis:
A mermaid has no fear of the deep...

Angelique is not your typical fairy tale mermaid. She’s edgy, with a quick temper and intense personality that sometimes leave her feeling like an outsider even among her own clan. Reeling from the recent changes in the Mer-world hierarchy, Angelique is struggling to find her place in the ocean. But a chance encounter with a handsome two-legged Fin-man will leave her questioning more than just her place in the underwater order.

Packed with adventure, romance and drama, Swim continues the compelling story of life and love in the magical underwater realm of Atargatis.



      

*Excerpt*

Would they serve me on a platter, or just toss me in tank and use me as an exhibit?  Some of the humans Mother captured spoke of places where even the ocean’s greatest predators were put on display for the amusement of the young and hardened of heart.  An aquarium they called it.  Manatees, dolphins, sharks.  All subject to the degradation of living in a box for the rest of their days.  

Oh, Poseidon help me, I’d rather die right now.

Almost as soon as my body contacted the sea floor, the rope connecting me to the human vessel tightened.  An illusion of weightlessness befell me as it pulled me up.  Despite already feeling drained, I swam against the pull right up until my entire body left the water.  Suffocating aridness strangled me.  I danged inside the net a good ten feet above the water, swaying along with the howling wind as if it was dancing with me.

I scanned the rough waters below, desperate for a trace that Lennox was around.  But the sea was fuming.  Furious, whether at me or the fisherman I didn’t know.  Already turbulent waters intensified, until waves the size of small squalls slammed into the boat from all sides.  

Even if Lennox was down there, and I doubted he was, there would be no way to see him through the chaos on the ocean’s surface.  I didn’t waste much time searching.  He’d said it himself; he was a warrior, a killer at heart.  It wasn’t in his nature to go around saving anyone or anything unless it served his king.  He was long gone, left me for dead.  

“You see,” I heard the horrible man shout.  “Look at that tail.”

“I’ll be damned.  You weren’t seeing things after all, Reggie.”

“Yep.  Heard stories about mermaids in this area.  Didn’t much believe them.  Until now, of course.  She’s awfully pretty, too.  Prettier than I ever imagined a mermaid could be.”

“What should we do with her?”

“Are you kidding?  People would pay a fortune to just take a quick look at her.  Mortgage their own houses, I bet.  We’re gonna be rich!”

The blond man tapped his chin with his index finger, pondering the idea.  A small, naïve part of me hoped he might listen to that slight little voice in his head, the one that should tell him I was a living thing.  A sentient, conscious, and intelligent living thing and should be treated with common decency.  His conscience should’ve told him to put me back in the water and drive his boat far out of here and leave me be.  

Then this human, the one who moments ago seemed so kindhearted and eager to help me until my tail was exposed, reminded me of that one ever-important detail I managed to allow myself forget:

Humans have no conscience.

M.E. Rhines talks about Heroes and Villains

Good and Evil - The Almost Invisible Line

It only takes a quick flip through the pages of the most beloved and timeless books to find one common theme - love.  And with good reason.  Romance is enchanting, intoxicating, exciting, and arguably down right addictive.  You’d be hard-pressed to find anything in the universe holding more influence.  It can create a hypothetical fairytale, filling our hearts and minds with visions of eternal happiness and happily ever-after.  Unfortunately, we learn as we grow it’s not all warm and fuzzy wonder.  There’s a dark side to love.  One that can take a perfectly innocent heart and crush it to pieces.  It is from these ashes that villains are made.

If you’ve ever read one of my books, you’ll notice I have a pension for zooming in on the uncomfortable creation of evil.  I’m a strong believer that in life we’re all born with an equal chance of going one way or the other.  None of us are born wicked; we’re made that way.  The path to hero or villain is complicated, dependent on circumstance, coping skills and surrounding support systems (or lack thereof).  To write a great villain, you should be willing to wade in their realm.  See the world through their eyes and justify their actions, even if your hero/heroine can’t.  Heartbreak is a powerful catalyst for action, and allowing a glimpse into your antagonist’s prospective adds an entirely different layer to the story.

The very best villains, the ones who stick with us past the final page, are the ones we can relate to in some way.  When we can say, “I understand why he/she feels the way they do, and I could’ve gone that direction, too,” we can truly immerse ourselves in the story.  Once we’re that invested, we can get excited when the heroine defeats that darkness, because in some strange way it’s like they did it for us.  The difference between the good and evil may seem like a chasm, but I think when you take a closer look, it’s more like a crack.

~~~

Sequel to:

(cover links to Goodreads)

      

~~~~~

**About the Author**

M.E. Rhines a southwest Florida native currently living in North Port with her two beautiful children and a third, much larger child whom she affectionately calls husband. She writes young adult paranormal romance to feed her belief that fairy tales are real and 
nonsense is necessary.

She also writes adult romances under her edgier alter-ego, Mary Bernsen.

Stay connected with M.E. Rhines

   

~~~~~

***The Giveaway***

Giveaway Open Internationally
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Release Blitz Organized by

BOOK BLITZ: Sink by M.E. Rhines

We are excited to share with you this 7-day Book Blitz for M.E. Rhines' Sink, the first novel in the Mermaid Royalty series! Of course, we have to kick off this book blitz on its actual release date!!! Woohoo! Happy Book Birthday!!! To celebrate, we will be sharing a sneak peek into the book with an exciting excerpt. Plus, we have a teasers to share as well. We're not finished yet... There's even a blitz-wide giveaway which can be found at the end of this post! Check it out and grab your copy today!


Genre:
Young Adult
Paranormal/Fantasy
Series:
Mermaid Royalty, #1
Publish Date:
July 31, 2017

Synopsis:
Obedience has always been a matter of survival for sixteen-year-old mermaid princess Pauline. Her mother is the tyrannical Queen Calypso, who rules the kingdom of Atargatis with an iron trident. To utter one word against her would mean banishment—or worse—so Pauline bites her tongue and minds her manners. But on the eve of her sister’s merling-shower, all of that is about to change. Confronted with the truth about what happens to the human men who are betrothed to the mermaids of Atargatis, Pauline realizes she can stay silent no more.

Determined to end the queen’s dark tradition, Pauline goes along on a search for shipwreck survivors, secretly planning to free them. But things get complicated when she finds herself inexplicably drawn to one of the men. Before she realizes what’s happening, she has kissed him—and a kiss from a mermaid is not without consequences. Now Pauline will have to risk everything if she is to save the young man and thwart the queen’s dark plans.



*Excerpt*

“Sure, okay. Let me just climb on your back and ride you like a whale.” He laughed at his own joke, but I just planted my fists on my hips.

“That’s exactly what you’re going to do.”

“Ha! That’s a good one.”

“I’m serious, Eddie. Mermaids are a lot stronger than we look.”

Eddie clenched his jaw and looked away. “I can’t do that, Pauline. I’m the man here. I don’t take piggy-back rides from princesses.”

“Good Poseidon.” I let out an animalistic growl. “You humans are so infuriating. Look, I get that where you come from the women are delicate and you do everything for them, like opening their doors and carrying their purses.” I held out my satchel, my way of showing it was me carrying the load and not him. “Down here, though, it’s different. We rule the ocean. Mermaids build the walls, make the rules, and get everything done. Stop being a chauvinistic piece of krill and let me help you.”

“I am not chauvinistic.” His tone was stern, but his mouth twitched, threatening to reveal his amusement. “I’m independent. There’s a difference.”

“You can’t afford to be independent in the ocean. Surviving down here means working together. You help me where I lack, and I’ll do the same for you.”

“Sounds like a good deal. Except, you’re still not carrying me. That’s too far out of my comfort zone. I’ll walk.”

“You’re either going to kill yourself from exhaustion or it’s going to take us two days to get there instead of two hours.”

“We better get moving then. I’m pretty anxious to see which it’ll be.” Eddie winked at me, and the burning anger creeping up the back of my neck receded in an instant.

I chewed on my lip, mumbling some pretty ugly words under my breath as he laughed. “Fine,” I said. “I have an idea.”

I pinched my thumb and index finger together, pressed them against my lips, and blew. A loud, high-pitched whistle sliced through the water. A second later, I blew again, and then a third time.

He cocked his head, watching me with furrowed brows. “What’re you doing?”

“Calling us a ride.”

“What—like a taxi?”

“What’s a taxi?”

“You know, big yellow car with a horrible driver inside who can’t speak English.”

“A car? Oh, wait. I think I’ve heard of that. It has four wheels, moves by itself?”

“That’s it.”

“I’ll never understand why you don’t just walk where you need to go. It seems unhealthy to live so sedentary.”

“Not everything is close by. Sometimes, the supermarket is like, ten miles away.

“So, you build things within walking distance. There isn’t anything we need outside swimming range.”

“Then what about this ride you’re calling? Must’ve used it before to know about it.”

I shook my head, searching the ocean for a sign of movement. “I’ve never used him for travel, just for fun.”

“Whoa, whoa. Him?”

An eruption of bubbles in the distance caught my eye, and a flutter of excitement burst in my chest. I waved at the shiny grey blob. Realizing it was me, the dolphin whistled and clicked so eloquently one might mistake it for chatter.

He swam right into me, sending me backward with his weight. I grabbed his dorsal fin, and he spun us in dizzy circles as I hugged him. When I finally let go, the seafloor wobbled. Eddie’s outline swayed from side to side, and then settled straight once I regained my balance.

“Um.” Eddie’s jaw hung open as he looked over my dolphin friend, half-fearful, half-dumbstruck. “What. Is. That?”

Somehow, even clueless looked good on him. “This is Mort. He’s my friend.”

~~~~~

**About the Author**

M.E. Rhines a southwest Florida native currently living in North Port with her two beautiful children and a third, much larger child whom she affectionately calls husband. She writes young adult paranormal romance to feed her belief that fairy tales are real and 
nonsense is necessary.

She also writes adult romances under her edgier alter-ego, Mary Bernsen.

Stay connected with M.E. Rhines

   

~~~~~

***The Giveaway***

Giveaway Open Internationally
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Book Blitz Organized by