The recent popularity of mermen
Michelle, thank you very much for
the opportunity to be a guest on your blog—again. What can I say? I like to be
here. :)
Dreamspinner Press published my new
release, Tidal Change, on September 17th. Tidal Change
is a shape-shifter story but it also has fantasy/fairy tale elements because
the main character, Marty, is a merman.
Call me naïve, but when I wrote Tidal
Change, I thought mermen story weren't very popular. Even when I submitted
my novella, I still didn't realize that mermen seem to be a rather popular
topic at the moment. Dreamspinner Press accepted my manuscript in a little bit
over three weeks, which surprised me (and made me stupidly happy) , even then,
I didn't catch on that the topic must be cool.
A few months ago, I suddenly saw
mermen books pop up everywhere. I haven't read any of those—yet. I'm curious
about them, but I wanted to wait till my edits were done, so I wouldn't be
influenced by the takes of other authors on merfolk myths. What is it that
fascinates people so much? Is it the mythical component? Or the beautiful
images of mermaids and mermen? Or is it the attraction to the ocean?
For me it's all of the above, plus
water has always been my element, and since childhood I dreamed about writing a
story that included merfolk. What's the attraction for you?
Dreamspinner
Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5446
Blurb:
Something draws history teacher Rick Grady
across the school hall to German teacher Marty Lindson. Maybe it’s their shared
love of the ocean. Maybe it’s just that Marty is so hot, but maybe it’s
something more—something mysterious. All Rick knows is that every time he gets
close, Marty pulls away. After another cancelled date, Rick goes to Marty’s
apartment to demand an explanation. And what Rick discovers blows his mind.
The ocean calls to Marty because
he’s a merman. He’s been afraid to get close to Rick, not just to keep his
world a secret, but because Rick is his mate. And to claim his mate would
change everything about Marty. No matter how much he loves Rick, he doesn’t
know if he’s ready to alter his entire life.
Excerpt:
They explored the aquarium, petting
the rough skin of the sharks and watching the displays of multicolored fishes.
Once in a while, Rick gave Marty an uneasy glance. Was that a light humming
sound emanating from him? Or maybe he was suffering from some sort of hallucinations?
Hell, at one point he could have sworn Marty’s arm vibrated. But when he stared
at him, Marty simply smiled and pulled him toward another exhibit, and the
moment passed.
As they stood in front of the
clownfish exhibit, Rick observed, “Flashy little things.”
Marty nodded but he didn’t comment
on Rick’s remark. Surprised, Rick turned to his usually chatty companion and
frowned. Marty’s gaze was fixed on the orange bodies striped with white as they
flashed through the water, sometimes seeking shelter behind an anemone.
He nudged Marty. “Hey, what’s the
wistful look for?”
Marty flinched and then tried to
hide his reaction. Before Rick could address it, Marty said, “They’re pretty,
aren’t they?”
“Yes, and interesting too. Did you
know that all clownfish are born as males and that they’re able to change their
gender to female?” Rick had been fascinated by the information he’d read on
these unusual fish.
“Ah, yes, fascinating. How about
getting something to eat? I’m starving.”
Rick’s stomach rumbled. He linked
arms with Marty. “That’s fine. I need to sit down anyway.”
“Just no seafood,” Marty said as
they made their way to the restaurant.
Rick shook his head. “Not even a
bite of crab?”
Marty grimaced and pretended to
retch. “Stop teasing me about it!”
“I’m not teasing you. I want to help
you expand your culinary horizon.”
Marty shot him a smile. “I really
appreciate your kindness, but my culinary horizon can’t take an expansion. It’s
very narrow-minded and wants to stay that way.”
They had to wait to get past a crowd
of people and Rick seized the moment to whisper, “How about expanding another
horizon instead?”
Heat rose in Marty’s cheeks and his
eyes gleamed silvery. All the sound around them receded into the background,
and Rick became aware of the same odd humming he’d noted earlier. Rick bent his
head, intent on kissing Marty, but Marty broke the moment with a jerk of his
head.
“The restaurant is calling my name…
and now there’s actually room for us to get there,” he said in a hoarse voice.
Rick sighed. He still allowed Marty
to lead him through the aisles, even though his engorged cock pressed against
his jeans, demanding attention. Why did Marty play hot and cold all the time?
It always went like this, always. He hated that.
Chris
T. Kat
Chris T. Kat lives in the middle of
Europe, where she shares a house with her husband of many years and their two
children. She stumbled upon the M/M genre by luck and was swiftly drawn into
it. She divides her time between work, her family—which includes chasing after
escaping horses and lugging around huge instruments such as a harp—and writing.
She enjoys a variety of genres, such as mystery/suspense, paranormal, and
romance. If there's any spare time, she happily reads for hours, listens to
audiobooks or does cross stitch.
Links:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/christi_kat
GoodReads:http://www.goodreads.com/ChrisTKat
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChrisTKat
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Chris-T.-Kat/e/B008FQQH2Q
