Blurb:
For centuries magical beings have hidden in the darkness, waiting. Some good, some evil. A battle is brewing, and only twins, Grasiella and Tatiana, have the power to stop it.
Bio:
M.M. Shelley is a storyteller, wordsmith and dreamer. MISHAP AND MAYHEM, a captivating story of faerie's and magic, is her debut novel. She has traveled the world extensively in search of the magic which is often overlooked in every day life. M.M. Shelley is a native of southern California, and a student of mythology from which she gets much inspiration.
The sea has always fascinated me; I think it has to do with the fact that it is so massive and filled with ancient stories. There are stories of pirates who had fought and died on the seas, forbidden romances, and romance lost. Stories of ghost who haunt lighthouses and lighthouse keepers with strange disappearances, stories of betrayal and revenge, wars won and lost.
My love for the sea is what inspired me to write a fantasy that involved the sea. Hawaii was the perfect setting for my story, I found the history to be so rich and I also don’t believe it’s shared enough. The islands are filled with some great stories of mythology and folklore.
When I first started talking to my friends and family about my story most of them thought that Hawaii was an odd place for a fantasy. I stuck with my ideas and I wrote Mishap & Mayhem, the story of twins Grasiella and Tatiana who visit their grandmother over the summer. I myself spent a summer with my grandparents and have some of the best memories. No, they didn’t live in Hawaii, but that was okay.
My grandfather did tell me stories, some of them about the sea. My grandfather use to go fishing some weekends and there is one story he told that was about a fisherman. The fisherman took his boat out real early one morning before there was light; he always went out into the sea alone, he liked the solitude.
He set up his nets like he normal did and turned away. There was a splash in the water near his boat; this got his attention because it was so close to his boat. He looked for his flash light to check the water, but it wasn’t in the place it should be. In his pocket was a lighter, he pulled it out giving it a flick as he held it over the water leaning over as he did so.
A mermaid was caught in the bindings of the nets. The fisherman was so surprised that he dropped the lighter into the sea. Before the fire extinguished it burnt the net giving the mermaid enough slack to break her way free. She did not disappear into the water; instead she reached for the fisherman and said to him, “You will not be catching any fish today or any day.” The fisherman would have been dragged into the sea below if he did not quickly pull out a pocket knife and fight the mermaid off.
My grandfather ended his story with this advice, “There are two things you make sure you have with you when you go fishing. A pocket knife and a beer, because with the one you never know what’s out in those waters and the other, at least you could always say you weren’t sober and couldn’t be sure.”
Thanks to Fay-Bay’s Books for letting me share with you all today. Please share with me what stories are some of your favorites. You can also find me over at my blog: mmshelley.blogspot.com and on twitter @MM_Shelley
Much love,
M.M. Shelley
Thanks for hosting this tour stop!
ReplyDeleteLove your grandfather's advice!
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