Interview/Giveaway with REAL MERMAIDS Author Hélène Boudreau

Check out Sourcebooks Jabberwocky on Twitter to stay up-to-date
on the Real Mermaids Blog Tour for more reviews, interviews,
and chances to win!

Today, I am also reviewing REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS. 

Check it out!

Tomorrow and Saturday, I'll be reviewing the next two books in the series, so stay tuned for more!

In December, Jade stopped by to share her recipe for Peanut Butter Cup S'mores for the holidays.

Mmm, Mmm, yummy!

The final book in the series will release later this year!

~*~

Hélène Boudreau writes fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults. She is also a compulsive walker, a chicklet wrangler and a lover of cheese and cheap chocolate. Her tween novel 

REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS is a 2011 Crystal Kite Member Choice Award Finalist.

Follow Hélène through Twitter, Facebook, and her website.

An interview with 
author Hélène Boudreau

What, if any, part did growing up surrounded by the ocean play when writing Real Mermaids?

Growing up on an island surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean definitely influenced many of the scenes and themes in my Real Mermaids series. In fact, many of the places in the book were inspired by actual towns near where I grew up. My dad has a lobster boat and he used to take us on sailing trips from the ocean, through a canal, and into a fresh water lake just like Jade’s hometown of Port Toulouse. I was always amazed by the purple jelly fish on the salt water side of the lock and the white jellyfish on the fresh water side and often wondered what else was happening in those watery depths. Writing about fresh water and salt water mermaids grew from that experience.

I love the fact that you focus on the tween years and all those insecurities a girl goes through. What was your goal in pairing this with the life of a girl-turned-mermaid?

Jade’s not so different from other girls her age. She’s wondering about boys, trying to figure out friendships, and seeing changes in her body. Though, in Jade’s case, make that BIG changes! 

My own daughter is almost twelve and is at the precipice of entering those uncertain years of raging hormones and topsy-turvy emotions. I really wanted to write a fun story for her (and girls like her) to ease her into the land of zits, training bras and smelly armpits. The upside being that—no matter how hard puberty might get—at least she doesn’t have a TAIL!

What are your favorite books/movies/etc. about mermaids?

I love Liz Kessler’s Emily Windsnap series and actually mention it in REAL MERMAIDS DON’T NEED HIGH HEELS. For older readers, Zoraida Córdova’s Vicious Deep series is great, too.

How many books do you hope to have in the REAL MERMAIDS series? What's in store for the future?

There are four books planned for the REAL MERMAIDS series. 

In REAL MERMAIDS DON’T NEED HIGH HEELS (book 3), Jade is really ready for life to return to normal. But ninth grade is like being a goldfish in a shark tank and the upcoming Fall Folly Formal means Jade must get over her fear of awkward dancing. Plus there is unrest in the ocean, and the whole mer-world is on the brink of civil war. 

Can Jade find a plus-sized dress that doesn’t look like a shower curtain, keep her mer-ness a secret, finally figure out if she and Luke are officially dating, and help pull off the biggest political coup in mer history? With so much at stake, ‘awkward dancing’ is rapidly becoming the least of Jade’s worries. 

In the fourth book, REAL MERMAIDS DON’T SELL SEA SHELLS (book 4/fall 2013), Jade and Cori head to the Bahamas for a bit of fun in the sun. But sun, surf and tropical breezes are no 'day at the beach' because being a teenage mermaid never takes a vacation.

As a fellow NaNoWriMoer, it intrigued me to see that you started writing REAL MERMAIDS during NaNoWriMo. What advice do you have for future writers looking to take part in the event?

NaNoWriMo is such a great way to get a project kick-started. I’ve never managed to write a whole 50,000 words in one month but each time I do NaNoWriMo I get about 30 k worth of writing in, which is amazing to me. I think a bit of pre-planning can go a long way when it comes to NaNoWriMo, which is why I always like to start with a rough outline of my project. I describe my outlining process HERE.

Thank you so much, Hélène!  I've really been enjoying the Real Mermaid series and am looking forward to its conclusion, especially after those hints!  
I hope today's interview made all the bookworms reading this want to try out this fun series!

  ~*~

O F F I C I A L   I N F O:

Title:  REAL MERMAIDS DON'T NEED HIGH HEELS
Author: Hélène Boudreau

Release Date: Out Feb. 1, 2013

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

SUMMARY:

The only thing that terrifies Jade more than the ocean is dancing at the Fall Formal. Because Jade has two left feet—er, flippers. Who knew being a high school freshman is even more awkward than being a plus-size aqua-phobic mer-girl? At least her only drama is of the human variety... 

Or not. 

The Mermish Council has just declared that all land-dwelling mers but return to the ocean. Pronto. But there's no way Jade is going to let her mom, or Luke, her...boyfriend? mer-guy-friend?, disappear into the deep, dark ocean. Again. After all, a girl's got to have a date to her first dance. 

If Jade can stop mer-mageddon, finding a plus-size dress that doesn't look like a shower curtain should be a piece of cake.

~*~

****Giveaway*****

Ready to check out the Real Mermaids series?

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky is generously giving away a package of the first three books.

Enter now!

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