An interview with
S.K. Munt
Former cheerleading flyer and assistant coach, L-Plate surfer, adrenaline junkie, musical theatre performer, singer, dancer, but reading and writing is where the heart is!
How did you come up with the concept of The Marked Ones?
How a mermaid could come to be has always puzzled me-in fact it took 6 months of me plotting this story in my head before I was able to get a grasp of their evolution. I wanted to create the civilisation from beginning to end, and as I chose for the mers to descend from one creator, I had to think of a plausible way they would be able to breed without the confusion of the Adam and Eve origin of man and risk of-ew-inbreeding. So the 'Marked' are the one branch of their genetics that are completely unrelated to the royal bloodline-humans turned by their creator-not born from her-for the sole purpose of keeping the species thriving. This creates the conflict for our heroine-she knows she must marry one of them to fulfil her obligations, despite the fact that she has always loved her human.
What sort of research did you do when creating your mer-world?
I researched everything except other mer books. By the end of the trilogy, you've been from one side of the world to the other, exploring places like atolls in the pacific and the creatures that dwell there. I've researched royal bloodlines, the movements of fish, the breathing patterns of sea creatures-both mammals and non, Hawaiian and Latin phrasing, tribal tattoos, different kinds of shells, the tsunami,and most of all-the effect of humans on our planet and how it puts the ocean and those dwelling within it at risk-I even have a list of GPS codes for certain locations so I could calculate how long it would take a mer to travel from one point to the next! It was exhausting and really educational-but I wanted the factual information in my series to be correct, and the fantastical to have a logical basis.
What are you working on now? How many books will be in the series?
There are three books in the series. I have a test group of readers who I couldn't have gotten this far without, and I know from them, that a 4th installment would be both welcome and warranted. But though I've started it several times, I wanted to strengthen the first three first and see how my readers react to it, and which part of the story they'd like to know more about.
What made you decide to create a book about mermaids? Have you always loved them?
Yes I've always loved mermaids. I grew up in the 'real' version of Seaview, only a block away from the resort, and mermaids have fascinated me my whole life. I was toying with the idea of this story-how to make the genre adult and sexy and realistic- when I had an encounter with a shark while surfing, and aside from being absolutely terrified, I was also inspired by the fact that this vicious man-eater hadn't eaten me. I went home that night, blogged about it, and two hours later, I was writing for real-lol after I snapped out of my shock, that is.
Ariel gave up her voice to become a human. What would you give up if offered the opportunity to be a mermaid?
Like in the book, I'd give up the right to talk about them in order to keep the species a secret.
If you could be a mermaid for a day, what would you do?
In book 2, Ivyanne has the chance to reverse the effects of coral bleaching by using her energy to restore their beautiful colours. I'd spend the whole day on The Great Barrier Reef, doing the same thing.
Thank you so much for stopping by!
I'm looking forward to reading THE MARKED ONES even more now, and hope everyone else is as well!
O F F I C I A L I N F O:
Title: THE MARKED ONES
Author: S.K. Munt
Release Date: July 1, 2013
Mermaids have three rules to abide by: To breed, to protect the environment, and to keep their existence a secret, at any cost. Princess Ivyanne has been saving herself for an arranged marriage that's never eventuated since she came of age, to best cultivate her unique bloodline. And when the time comes for her to choose a new mate, the mer and human worlds collide as the race for her hand begins.
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