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Shadow in the Sea

Readers will return to Windwaithe Island once again. When sixteen-year-old Sadelyn Hanson washes up on the shores of Windwaithe Island, her beauty and the strange marks on her wrist make superstitious locals suspect she is a mermaid. Feigning amnesia, Sade hides a far worse secret: she was sailing to her own murder trial when she was thrown overboard by the real killer, the cunning and cruel Captain Westwood.

Sade's quiet effort to rebuild her life on the island is threatened when she meets an actual young merman. Unable to speak his language, Sade still longs for the warm companionship he offers, despite the locals' dire legends about merfolk and their dark magic. But her confused feelings for the impossible boy become the least of her problems when Captain Westwood's ship docks at Windwaithe. With nowhere to escape, Sade must trust in the one person who doesn't fear the merfolk. A woman who had dealings with them herself—years ago

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Interview Over at 21 Pages

I was asked to do an interview over on the 21 Pages YA Review Blog. They have a Beach Read Summer Reading Challenge going on over there that sounds like a lot of fun. It will continue until August 30th, so it isn't too late to start if you'd like to join in. If you would like to read my interview click here to check it out.

Thanks for letting me be a part of your challenge, Ladies! Love the blog, by the way, and those fabulous questions were lots of fun to answer. You made me miss Califorina and the beaches of my youth. Now I'm going to have to read a beach read to make myself feel better. : )

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Reviews Abound

Rebecca's over at Rebecca's Book Blog has posted her review of Forbidden Sea. Click here to read it. Rebecca is the first blogger to contact me about Forbidden Sea. Its publication hadn't even been officially announced when she emailed me to find out more about the book. Talk about doing your homework. If you have never visited Rebecca's Book Blog before, you should head over and take a peek right away. This is one woman who is on top of all the newest titles as well as a few hidden gems you might have missed. Thanks for the great review, Rebecca. So glad you liked Forbidden Sea. If they ever decided to publish the sequel, you'll be one of the first ones I send out an ARC to!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Rock Canyon Writing for Charity Event in Utah

If you live in Utah and love to write children's books, this post is for you.

Every year all the children's authors and illustrators who call Utah home get together and put on a charity event. This is my first year participating! The event is being held at the Waterford School in Sandy on August 21st. There will be LOTS of authors and illustrators there to present workshops, speak on panels and answer all your questions, as well as critique your manuscripts. Lunch is included in the price of registration. All proceeds from registration costs go toward buying books for underprivileged children.

If you are a children's writer or illustrator, do not miss this unforgettable event! Click the button located in the right column of this page to find out more.

Friday, July 16, 2010

This is One for All You Teachers Out There

A friend (who is a teacher back in my old neighborhood in San Jose) recently wrote to me, asking if I remembered any of my elementary school teachers encouraging me in my drawing and writing when I was young. The answer to this question is most certainly a yes. In fact, I still remember that one special teacher's name.

Mrs. Corbett, my first grade teacher, was more than just a teacher, she was my friend and champion. This woman had the patience of a saint. I was not an easy child for a teacher to have in her class. I couldn't sit still two seconds together, I couldn't stop talking, and half of the time my mind was off wandering through the many worlds of my own creating. Getting me to focus was like like trying to hold down a bank of fog. As for getting me to remember to bring back my homework from the day before--forget it. And when I did manage to finish a paper, it was usually covered with so many doodles and sketches it couldn't be read without great difficulty.

Mrs. Corbett not only liked me, she liked having me in her class. This angelic woman actually arranged for me to be put into her class for second grade the following year. And when I moved on to third grade she sat my new teacher down ahead of time and explained to them how to get the best performance out of me. She told them that if they were patient with me I would work my heart out for them in time.

And she was right.

Mrs. Corbett took the time to get to know me. She would ask to see my drawings, even when she'd just caught me doodling one in class when I should have been studying. Instead of getting mad, she would hold the picture in her hands, looking down at it as if it were a fantastic treasure. She'd put up my work and praise it in front of others. She would listen to my stories and ask me questions about them, sincerely interested. She never tired of my childish rambling. She made me feel like my creative side was something wonderful and special--not something that was useless and annoying. She used to tell me that someday I would do amazing things with my talents.

I wish with all my heart that could meet Mrs. Corbett again now that I am grown. I wish I could hug her tight and thank her, with tears in my eyes, for all she did for me. For making me believe I could do anything if I put my mind to it. She will probably never know how much of an influence she made on one small doodler in the back of the room. Or that this doodler now has a book published which is dedicated to all those who encouraged this author in her starry-eyed dreams. Mrs. Corbett, wherever you are, you are definitely one of those most important people.

Forbidden Sea is lovingly dedicated to you.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

A Couple Wild Weeks!


Wow! What a couple of amazing weeks this has been. I've been doing a flurry of promotional visits and book signings around Utah and it has been so much fun. The pictures above were taken at my very first book launch at the King's English Bookshop. They had starfish cookies with teal green icing. Too bad I didn't have a chance to taste one. I was too busy signing and they went real fast. Last night I had another book event at the Provo City Library. I loved meeting all the wonderful people who came to support me. The seats were full to capacity and some people even stood up in the back to listen. I loved sharing Forbidden Sea and talking about how it was created. Afterward I got to sign books and talk to each visitor first hand. To me that was the best part of the whole evening. They sold out of copies of Forbidden Sea there were so many people there. The Mayor of Provo came. He even bought a copy of my book! Talk about an honor!
And it's not over yet. I've got more events scheduled for this month and I can't wait.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Today is Forbidden Sea's official Book Launch!

For all those who live in Utah, today King's English Bookshop is holding a book launch to celebrate Forbidden Sea's release. I will be doing a reading from Forbidden Sea, answering questions, and signing books for all those who are interested in attending. The launch starts at 2:00 pm. Click here for more info and a map of how to get to the bookshop. See you there!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Samples of the Forbidden Sea Soundtrack

This post is especially for Alex over at Tales of a Teenage Book Lover who wanted me to put together a list of some of the songs I listened to while writing Forbidden Sea in order to create the right mood for the story.

SPOILER WARNING: There are some spoilers involved with the explanation of each song so just click the links and listen to the music by itself if you have not yet read the book.




A lot of the songs I listened to while writing Forbidden Sea came from the movie, The Time Machine. (Hated the movie, but LOVED the soundtrack.) Here are just a couple examples:

Eloi from The Time Machine soundtrack was the song I played as I wrote about Adrianne seeing the mercity for the first time. I felt it caught the magic and wonder of a new and alien world.

Click here to listen.

Godspeed from Time Machine soundtrack was the song I would often listened to while writing about Adrianne herself. I felt it captured the sweet sadness of her life and the hidden strength inside her.

Click here to listen.

I felt Reflections by Tim Janis spoke of Windwaithe's Island's endless ocean and untamed beauty.

Click here to listen.

The Promise by Tim Janis was how I pictured the moment when Adrianne enters into the great hall of the underwater palace.

Click here to listen.


Return to Innocence by Enigma was Jendayi's theme song. The irresistible call and primitive power fit her perfectly. You can even hear the whale if you listen closely.

Click here to listen.

Denn and Adrianne's theme song was Teardrops on my Guitar by Taylor Swift. Though it is a modern song, I felt it spoke of Adrianne's feelings for her dearest best friend perfectly. Replace the name Drew with Denn in your mind and you've got the idea.

Click here to listen.

This is only a small sample of some of the many songs I used. So now I'm curious. If you were to create a soundtrack for Forbidden Sea--what songs would you include?

Forbidden Sea is Out in Stores Today!

Forbidden Sea was officially released today. In the spirit of celebration, I have two links to brand new reviews of Forbidden Sea.

Alex over at Tales of a Teenage Book Lover has his review of the book up now. Click here to view it. I was stunned and amazed when I discovered Alex is fourteen years old. He writes so well, I would not be surprised if he becomes an author one day himself someday. He even has a a video of himself reviewing Forbidden Sea on YouTube. Click here to see it.

And Juju at Tales of Whimsy has her review up as well. Click here to see it. I adore Juju's blog. It just has a cozy feeling about it. The same feeling you get when you curl up on a rainy day with your favorite Jane Austen book.

In the months to come, I will be posting some fun inside information about Forbidden Sea--including deleted scenes and fun facts that never made it into the final write up of the story. An author always knows so much more about her characters and their backgrounds then can ever be told in just one book. I also know what happens to Adrianne and the gang in the future.

But that is another book entirely! : )

Now everybody run down to your nearest library or bookstore and request they buy Forbidden Sea as soon as possible! : )

The Winner is!

The Forbidden Sea ARC contest is now CLOSED.

I wanted to thank all of you who responded to this contest! Especially those of you who took the time to post, tweet and otherwise help to pass the word along. All those who did got their names in the drawing twice. One thing having a book published has taught me is that the book blogging community on line is filled with warm and friendly people who all share a deep love of books. It has been wonderful getting to know some of you. Even though I have never met you in person--I consider you to be my friends. Because of this, I have a hard time just wanting to pick one of you to win whenever I have a contest. I wish I had enough ARCs to share one with everyone. But Alas, it is not to be.


So without further ado, the winner of the Forbidden Sea signed ARC is:

Bookaholic!

Looks like that second entree paid off for you this time, Bookaholic. : ) Congratulations and I hope you like Forbidden Sea!

And for those who didn't win this time around, it is your lucky day. Juju of Tales of Whimsy is now holding a contest to give away one gently used ARC copy of Forbidden Sea on her blog. Click here to find out more.

Thanks Juju for your lovely review! I knew you had to be a kindred spirit the minute I saw your gorgeous blog.

(c) 2010 Sheila A. Nielson

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The ideas and views expressed in this blog reflect only those of Sheila A. Nielson and no other persons, companies, or business entities.