Beneath The Surface; by M.A. Church—Book Blast and Giveaway
TITLE: Beneath The Surface
AUTHOR: M.A. Church
PUBLISHER: OmniLit / All Romance eBooks, LLC
COVER ARTIST: Erin Dameron-Hill
LENGTH: 37,000 words
RELEASE DATE: April 01, 2016
BLURB: A whole different world exists beneath the surface.
The last thing Nisha expects while patrolling his territory is to find his mate, but his instincts tell him the handsome human diving into the surf is the one meant for him. Two bites and Kannon will be joined to him forever. But when Kannon’s father disrupts the mating process, Nisha releases his claim, hoping beyond hope his mate will one day return.
While free diving with his father, Kannon is bitten by a seductive merman. Although he swore to never go near the ocean again, the pull to return to the water and his mystery man remains strong. Finally, after fifteen years away, an impromptu wedding brings Kannon back to the Seychelles, and his destiny.
Kannon only plans to stay on the island for a week, but this time Nisha won’t let his mate go without a fight. Merfolk and human culture collide as the embers of Nisha and Kannon’s mate bond ignite, and Nisha must complete the mating before it’s too late.
Welcome Michelle. It’s been a bit since your last visit, so remind readers who you are by telling everyone a bit about yourself.
Well, there isn’t really much to tell, lol. This October I’ve been married for twenty-three years. Both of our kids are grown and have moved out of the house. I no longer work, thanks to medical issues, but that’s given me the chance to explore writing full-time.
Beneath the Surface.Mermen. How cool. Tell us a bit about the book?
Nisha stumbled across his mate years ago and, reacting to instinct, started the mating process. Many years pass before his mate returned to the islands. Nisha has a limited amount of time to convince Kannon, his mate, to stay. But Nisha’s a merman. His way of thinking doesn’t often aligned with a human’s.
The setting for the book is the Seychelles. (for those who don’t know, the Seychelles are an island group in the Indian Ocean) What made you choose this as your setting?
The story idea came from a program I was watching on the History Channel about different African tribes and their varied beliefs. A few days later there was a documentary on mermaids on the Animal Channel.
Next thing I knew, I’m researching what islands are located off the off the coast of Africa with the idea of doing a merman book. The original story idea involved an African tribe who worshiped the ‘water gods’ and an underwater photographer sent to live with that tribe as part of a documentary. That idea didn’t exactly pan out, but the setting stuck.
What part of the story was the most to write and why?
I most enjoyed writing was the ending scene. I don’t want to do a spoiler, but it was something I don’t normally write. It was a lot of fun, lol. (Yeah, that’s vague, I know. Sorry!)
What part made you struggle the most?
Getting Nisha’s attitude—a non-human—to mesh with Kannon’s—a human who is none too pleased when he figures out just what exactly Nisha did years ago.
Tell us something interesting that is not in the blurb.
Nisha has a sister, Brooke. She’s marrying Kannon’s best friend, Brett.
Since there is always another story to tell, what are you working on now?
Right now a short shifter story called Paws and Claws is my main focus. That’s going to ARe. Plus I plan to do a sequel to Beneath the Surface. Hopefully that’ll get out this year.
Last question is all yours – feel free to talk about anything you want your readers to know about you, your book, anything at all.
Five Things About Me
- If I get to laughing really hard, I’ll snort—which makes me laugh even harder.
- I kick ass on Galaga.
- We sometimes open the window in the master bath for Kitty. We call that window the ‘Kitty Window’. I swear, if we ask him if he wants to get in the Kitty Window, he runs to the bathroom, lol!
- The older I get, the more hot-natured I’ve become. I used to hate the cold, but now I’m reassessing that.
- I love home improvement shows. I especially like the shows where houses are flipped for profit. I find the ‘before and after’ images fascinating. The hubby dreads me watching them because I end up with all these great ideas, lol!
A whole different world existed under the sea—lighting, sounds, even the feeling of otherworldliness. No matter how clear the water, it still played tricks, even on experienced divers.
The colorful tropical fish, artifacts, and the remnants of history buried beneath the waves—along with a mysterious landscape mostly untouched by humans—always gave Kannon a thrill. Parts of the reef weren’t very deep, so he had no trouble freediving.
This year for vacation, Kannon and his dad rented a boat and guide to take them to the reefs around the Seychelles. This was by no means the first time he’d gone snorkeling. Growing up along the California coast guaranteed Kannon was comfortable in the water.
The guide had warned them to stay together, but Kannon had other ideas. Besides, he wasn’t going that far off. After investigating the colorful reef fish and interesting coral formations—and seeing his dad was distracted—Kannon slowly but steadily wandered off on his own. An outcrop of rocks covered in algae caught his eye, and he went to investigate.
Many of the multihued native fish swam past him, curious as to what he was. It was funny how they circled him. Kannon held his hand out. A few braver fish darted in, nibbled at his fingers, and then swam off. God, what a rush it was. Nothing was better than this.
He drew closer to the outcrop, surprised it was much deeper than he’d first thought. Huh, not an outcrop, but the mouth of an underwater cave. Cool. From a distance it appeared to be nothing more than oddly shaped rocks. Peering inside, he was unable to see past the murky blackness within.
Curious, he reached his hand out, stretching toward the mouth of the cave. His scalp prickled. A tingle washed through him. The water around him caressed his body as he hung weightlessly, staring at the cave entrance as his dick swelled in his trunks. What the…?
It wasn’t as if he made a habit of getting horny while diving, so what the hell? Torn between desire and unease, he hovered in the tropical water. Chills chased up his spine, and goose bumps broke out over his body.
His heart rate sped up—not a good thing underwater—and the feeling of being watched crept across his nerves. Something was in there, and his mind screamed at him to get away even as the urge to reach inside nearly overwhelmed him.
Kannon’s body swayed dangerously closer. His nipples ached as the water flowed past, and he had to force himself not to whimper as need struck him. He jerked back. There’s something waiting for me, just waiting for me to reach in so it can… what? So it can do what?
Jesus, he needed to get a serious grip on his imagination, and crap, he had to surface too. Lack of oxygen made the decision for him. All this panicking on his part had used up his air—stupid of him.
He surfaced and shook the hair out of his eyes. Wow, is that our boat way over there? Oh man, Dad’s going to kill me. Worried about the fit his dad was going to have, he was totally unprepared for the strange guy who popped up next to him, although “guy” might have been overly nice.
Kannon yelped, but the dude across from him just smiled. The androgynous, fey face wasn’t quite human. The long pointed ears were a good indication, as was the glimpse of sharp little teeth.
Oh, and the gills at its neck.
Azure blue hair floated in the water around shapely shoulders and cobalt blue eyes stared back at him. It was a visage that was hauntingly beautiful, otherworldly, and a tad disconcerting. The creature smiled slightly as if he agreed. It—whatever it was—scared the bejesus out of him.
Then it reached out and dragged Kannon under the water.
M.A. Church is a true Southern belle who spent many years in the elementary education sector. Now she spends her days lost in fantasy worlds, arguing with hardheaded aliens on far-off planets, herding her numerous shifters, or trying to tempt her country boys away from their fishing poles. It’s a full time job, but hey, someone’s gotta do it!
When not writing, she’s on the back porch tending to the demanding wildlife around the pond in the backyard. The ducks are very outspoken. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, and they have two grown children.
She was a finalist in the 2013 Rainbow Awards, runner up in the 2015 Rainbow Awards, and is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
:: Blog :: Facebook :: Facebook Page :: Twitter :: Amazon Page ::
Winner’s Prize: $5 Amazon GC
CHECK OUT THE OTHER POSTS ON –
:: 3 Chicks After Dark :: Bayou Book Junkie :: Nephy’s World :: Author J Scott Coatsworth ::
:: Diverse Reader :: Drops of Ink :: Cherry Mischievous :: The Land of Make Believe ::
:: Alpha Book Club :: The Day Before You Came :: Divine Magazine :: Loving Without Limits ::
:: Molly Lolly: Reader, Reviewer, Lover of Words :: MM Good Book Reviews :: Carly’s Book Reviews ::
Thanks for having me. 🙂
~M
Looks good. I just grabbed a copy from ARe. I’ve read 14 of MA Church’s books so far and the lowest rating I’ve ever given is 3.5 Stars to two books. The rest were all 4+ Stars. I can’t wait to dig into this one.
Cute merman. Where can I get one? 🙂