So. My novella, Brine and Bone, is now available on Amazon.
Here are the links: print and eBook.
I hit “publish” at 12:01 a.m. yesterday and then went to bed. They say it can take 72 hours for the pages to appear in Amazon’s marketplace, but they were up by 8:00 a.m. However, the product image was missing, and I liked the cover enough that I wanted it there before I shared any links.
By the time it showed up, I had moved on to other things.
Which is why this announcement comes a day late.
(For shame, I know. I’ll go sit in the corner and think about my actions.)
A Novella Conundrum
Every time I release one of my monsters into the wild, I fight a raging temptation to make excuses for it. Usually I resist. Today, I will cave on two points:
- It’s only a novella. (Picture Patsy from Monty Python and the Holy Grail muttering that line.) The novella is a lovely medium, but it’s small and requires narrative constraint, by design.
- I’m playing in someone else’s sandbox. The story is pinned pretty closely to the Andersen fairy tale. Of course I interpret it through my own lens, but I also tried to honor that original source. (In other words, if you only know the Disney retelling, don’t @ me with complaints, lol.)
As a side note, Amazon’s spellcheck tool apparently dislikes words that rhyme with “bitter.” It flagged me for the variants of “chitter,” “flitter,” and “jitter” that occur within this book. I had a brief existential crisis before confirming that these were, in fact, real words.
And then I had a brief introspection on why my narrative might have gravitated so often toward *itter words. (Pretty sure variants of “glitter” and “litter” are somewhere in this book as well.) The jury’s still out. I will strive not to fall into a phonetic rut on future projects, though.
And that is all. Go forth, my beauties!
Once again, I really loved it. I devoured it within an hour or so after getting the kindle version and it’s been on my mind ever since – I have a 14 hour flight tomorrow and I plan on rereading it at least once to get my thoughts together. But, as always, I really love (and envy, like crazy) your way with words. Going to re-read namesake too, actually.
Specifically, I loved that you managed to keep the original story without making it 100% heartbreaking. I’d say more, but it’s still a new release and I’m not trying to spoil it for anyone. Love it, love your books. So glad you write these for people like me to read 🙂
Thank you so much. This one made me nervous because I’ve never met *anyone* who liked the original ending. I didn’t like it until I went looking for the “why” of it, and then I had to stick to it. My goal was that the reader would be glad when everything resolved, but I’m still sort of expecting torches and pitchforks.
So again, thanks for the positive response. 😀
(As for spoiling, the fairy tale has been around for well over a hundred years. I figure that if people don’t know it already, that’s they’re own fault, haha.)
Well THATS true but your specific take is still new 🙂 plus, you know what I mean. (Not sure why it posted under a different name -still me)
I think your telling will help the rest of us casuals understand the why of the original – so actually, very much honoring of HCA’s original, I think. I knew the original ending for years but I always felt the mermaid was robbed – this made it much more sympathetic all around.
But I’m biased, you haven’t written something I haven’t liked (of what I’ve read at least)
That is a high compliment. Thank you.
I once heard that Andersen would never have paired the mermaid with the prince because she was, essentially, a monster (a non-human creature that didn’t belong among humans). I don’t know if that’s true, but it stuck with me. The fairytale could easily tip over into the horror genre on that count: a creature emerges from the sea, stalks the object of her desire, and then tries to murder him when he doesn’t give her what she wants. From the prince’s perspective, the mermaid might be downright terrifying.
But then there’s Andersen himself, who probably related more to the mermaid than to the prince. Awkward, never really fitting in with others, pining after people who didn’t return his feelings (and who were already happily married, in at least one case). And when I learned that connection, the story took on another layer of meaning and redemption for the mermaid became a necessity.
It’s just, her happily ever after doesn’t fit the romance paradigm that everyone expects.
Anyway, sorry for the lit analysis essay. Long story short, I’m so glad you liked the book. Lol.
Hi Kate,
I recently read (and LOVED) The Legendary Inge! I’m a fellow writer and I’m planning on mentioning your book in my quarterly newsletter next month in my review section. I already reviewed it on my blog – http://www.BearMountainBooks.com I am positive my readers are going to love it! Such a great story!
I looked for a contact button because I had a couple of questions, but couldn’t find one anywhere! Anyway, loved the book. Thanks for writing it!
Hi, Maria!
Thanks for the review and the link to your blog! I’m so glad you enjoyed The Legendary Inge.
As for the contact button… Yeah, there isn’t one. Sorry. But I left a comment on your review article with my email address, if you still want to ask questions. Again, thank you!
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