Nomad Authors is excited to host Alice Renaud and her new book, A Merman’s Choice!
Buy links:
Amazon direct
Other sites
An interview with Alice Renaud
How did you come up with the idea for your book?
Years ago, when I was still living with my parents in Brittany, I saw a group of men come out of the sea. They’d been swimming, and they were wearing full-body wetsuits, with palms on their feet. It made me imagine shape-shifting mermen who could switch between an aquatic shape (with legs but webbed hands and feet) and the human form.
What sort of research did you do to write this book?
The characters spend a lot of time on boats, so I did some research on the web on how you sail a small boat. My father used to take me out on his boat, Gwilan, when I was young, but I never learnt to sail, so I had to make sure that the characters looked like they knew what they were doing.
A fun fact about writing your book.
I actually started off with a rather complicated plot where the heroine’s boyfriend tried to kill her, then pretended to rescue her. After a few chapters I realized I wasn’t pulling it off, so I scrapped the beginning and started again. The heroine’s horrible ex-boyfriend remained, but minus the killer instincts.
What started you on the path to writing?
I blame Tolkien. When I read The Lord of the Rings, at age 12, I thought, “I want to write stories like that.” It only took me thirty years!
What do your friends and family think about your being a writer?
They’re all very supportive. Although I do have to put up with some teasing from colleagues at work about the “saucy books” I write. I keep trying to explain to them that there are only a couple of love scenes in my books, but to no avail. A few weeks ago I arrived at church on Sunday to be greeted by the vicar booming away: “So, Alice, I hear you’re writing an erotic novel?” Gee, thanks, vicar.
The biggest surprise you had after becoming a writer.
I am amazed by how supportive other authors are. It’s wonderful, I feel I have joined a community of friends and I am so grateful to all my author friends, especially the other BVS authors, like Dee and Jan!
Do you outline books ahead of time or are you more of a by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer?
I outline the book then write a detailed background for the two main characters. However I find that once I start to write, the characters sometimes have their own ideas about what they want to do. I often end up writing something different from what I had originally planned.
Which kind of scenes are the hardest for you to write? Action, dialogue, sex?
I find love scenes very hard to write. I spend three times as long on them as on any other scenes. I admire writers of erotic romance like Dee, I could never do it!
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Reading newspapers and books, and watching TV series with my husband. We love historical and fantasy series (Game of Thrones, Vikings, Dr Who…)
A pet peeve
I hate cyclists who ride on pavements. Especially when they ring their bell at me to get out of the way. I AM A PEDESTRIAN. I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE ON THE PAVEMENT. GET BACK ON THE ROAD WHERE YOU BELONG.
First thought when the alarm goes off in the morning?
How long can I afford to stay in bed before I’m late for work?
What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
Neil Gaiman, he’s one of my favourite authors and based on his interviews he sounds like he’d be an entertaining dinner companion. [I love Neil Gaiman, too!]
What are you working on now?
A Merman’s Choice is the first book in a trilogy about shape-shifting mermen. I am currently working with my wonderful editor/creative writing tutor, Laurie Sanders, to edit the second book in the series, Music for a Merman. I have just started writing the third book, Mermaids Marry in Green. I have also written the outline for a Christmas novella, “Santa and the Mermaid”, to complete the series. As Dory says in Finding Dory: “Keep on swimming!”
Book blurb:
For centuries the shape-shifting mermen of the Morvann Islands have lived incognito among humans. But one of them, Yann, has developed some bad habits. Like rescuing humans, even when doing so risks revealing his true nature. When he fishes Alex out of the sea, he doesn’t expect her to reappear eight months later, and turn his life upside down by asking him to be her guide.
Alex is determined to fulfil a promise to her dying grandmother, by gathering pictures and stories of the Morvanns. But she soon discovers that, on these remote Welsh islands, legends have a habit of becoming true!
Over the course of a few days, Yann and Alex grow close. But some mermen hate humans. Their hostility, and Yann’s secret, threaten to tear the couple apart just as they are discovering that they are soul mates. Can Yann overcome the obstacles in his path and make the right choice?
Excerpt:
The girl wasn’t swimming any more. Yann’s sonar gave him a clear picture of her distress. She was flailing. Sinking.
Fear punched him between the ribs. Just a few minutes earlier, she’d been splashing in the shallows, laughing and humming to herself. That music had rippled around him, brightening his journey. Now the sea was snuffing that light out. No! He wouldn’t let it happen. His webbed hands and feet churned the water, and he shot towards her like a torpedo.
Not this one, sea. Not this time.
She came in sight, slim and lovely, with long bronzed limbs and hair the colour of sunshine. But her eyes were closed, her movements slow, hesitant, as if she were falling asleep. His fear hardened into cold, sharp dread. He poured all his energy into the last powerful strokes. He’d almost reached her, when his eye caught the shadow, beyond the crystal surface, out there in the dry world. He sent a sound wave. It came back with an image, and the icy blade inside him twisted: two-legged shapes on the beach. Humans!
If they saw him, they’d know him for what he was. His people’s secret, kept for thousands of years, would be out.
The girl’s head vanished under the waves. To hell with that. He couldn’t let her drown.
He grabbed her and dragged her back to the surface. She thrashed in his arms and coughed up seawater. Intense relief swept through him as he hugged her to his chest. He’d sworn he’d never again swim by and let a human drown, and he’d kept his promise. If the young woman’s eyes remained closed, he might even get away with it. He wanted her to breathe, not scream in horror at the sight of his dark grey face.
He looked up. The shapes on the beach had gone. Another miracle, or perhaps he’d only imagined them. What if they came back? A fresh stab of anxiety propelled him through the surf. He lay the girl down on the sand, cushioning her head on his arm. Her round breasts, encased in the turquoise bikini top, rose and fell in a regular rhythm, but her skin felt clammy under his hands. He scanned the beach in vain for something to cover her with, and saw the motorbike. A sleek, sporty number, well camouflaged among the grass-covered dunes.
Shit. He retracted the webs between his fingers and toes, but his body would take at least twenty minutes to shift from the aquatic shape to the human form. And even when it did, what would the humans think, if they found him naked next to an unconscious girl?
They’d arrest him for indecent exposure, or worse. He touched the girl’s face with a tentative finger. The thought of leaving her sickened him. But he couldn’t stay.
Her eyelids fluttered and she muttered a name. “Boris?”
As if in answer, a male voice tore through the air, from behind the dunes. “Alex!”
Yann flew towards the waves. Help was coming for the girl. She’d be fine.
He sped into the open sea, leaving the human world and human fears behind. He’d saved her. That knowledge glowed inside him as he plunged into the depths. She was safe, and his people would remain safe too. He sang as he rode the riptide, a song full of triumph and laughter. Far away, the humpback whales heard him and picked up the tune. He’d got away with it.
For now. His euphoria abated. No humans had seen him, but his people had sharper eyes and ears. He shouldn’t even have been hanging around, in full merman shape, so close to an inhabited island, but he’d thought he’d be OK. In late September so few tourists were around, and locals had better things to do than go swimming in cold water. He sniffed the current and tuned his sonar towards the Clans’ Islands. Nothing. With luck, no one would notice that he’d broken the merpeople’s rules.
Again.
A little about Alice:
I was born and brought up in Brittany, Western France. My father was French and my mother British (from Wales). I moved to London, UK, in 1997, where I now live with my husband and son. I work full time as a compliance specialist in a pharmaceutical company. I have been writing in my free time since I was 14. I got quite a few short stories published in UK magazines, before moving to longer fiction. I wrote three contemporary romance books, but didn’t find a publisher for them. I then realized that mermen, sea witches and water demons were a lot more fun than sheikhs and billionaires! My first two paranormal romances did not find a publisher either, then I wrote A Merman’s Choice, which was accepted for publication this year by Black Velvet Seductions. It is the first book in a fantasy romance trilogy inspired by the landscapes and legends of Brittany and Wales. I love reading and writing stories, and sharing them with anyone who’s interested!
pew to pew. Since I’m five feet two inches, such a dress was not in the cards. But I did find a dress I liked okay and I got it for $75, so I was happy. I made my headpiece and bouquet from silk flowers and a yard or two of tulle, and told my bridesmaid to wear whatever she wanted. I was not Bridezilla. In fact, I didn’t care all that much about the wedding—I cared only for the groom. Is that weird? Yeah, maybe, but I watch all those brides on Say Yes to the Dress and wonder sometimes if they care more for the wedding than they do the marriage. I didn’t have 
that bridal moment when I first tried on the dress—I didn’t really care what I wore so much. It was white, it was long and demure, and it was cheap. ‘Nuff said.
front of everyone. But when all was said and done, I kissed everyone except hubby—my maid of honor, the minister, the best man. Hubby said I was about to head for the organist when he turned me and took my up the aisle.
thought that if I could afford it, I’d rent a cottage in the moors around Inverness and spend a summer writing. That’s my fantasy vacation! It hasn’t come about but I fill my fantasies by reading books in Scottish settings.
train in Waverley Station in Edinburgh I felt as though I’d come home. Maybe I’d lived there before. The city called to me. I wandered at will and had a great time and met some fantastic people. I also loved the area around Loch Ness (so beautiful!), and Stirling and Balquhidder are gorgeous. Skye had light like I’d never seen, and I could spend a week there just looking out over the sea.
back there again. I haven’t given up hope!
Especially in this season, there is much to be grateful for. There is so much, in fact, how does one limit it to a few? Don’t know… But I’m going to try.
and I learned things I’ve never forgotten. It planted my feet firmly on the ground and centered me. Plus, it gave me a perspective on everything in life since. As hubby says, once you’ve started to jackknife coming down Donner Pass in a blizzard, the meaning of “stress” changes forever more.
experience things most people have not. I’ve been able to write. I’ve enjoyed both working and not working. I’ve been blessed, totally and sincerely. It’s such a wonderful feeling!
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I have to say, I am not a very good cook and I’ve become worse since being married. My family used lots of seasoning, so at one time I knew what I was doing with them. But Jack likes no seasoning—not spices, herbs, salt, or pepper. Nothing. He says he likes the taste of food as it is meant to be tasted. So I’ve learned to eat food the same way and that somewhat limits what one can do in the way of creativity. Consequently, my culinary acumen has suffered. I do still have a few dishes I cook and Jack eats them or he fixes a sandwich. (Okay, that’s not accurate. I fix his sandwich.) One of my favorite comfort foods is goulash, or what some call hamburger and macaroni.
with a slice of crusty bread and maybe a salad. Doesn’t matter—it takes me back to my childhood. Funny thing. Years ago when I first started making goulash for Jack and me, it didn’t taste the same as when Mom made it. I asked her why and after relaying how I made it, she asked when I added the secret ingredient. Once I started that, the flavors were the taste of home. See if you can spot the secret ingredient.
heritage. At any rate, this is not a difficult recipe but for some reason, we only had it for holidays and other special dates like birthdays throughout my years of living at home.
I hope you love this dish! It’s got childhood written all over it, though it’s my childhood, not yours. Maybe you’ll want to adopt it, though.
