{Author Interview & Giveaway} Tracy Deebs, TEMPEST UNLEASHED

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A Backwards Story is excited to be a part of The {Teen} Book Scene's blog tour for TEMPEST UNLEASHED by Tracy Deebs!  Check out the tour schedule to see the list of events.  Stop back during Splash into Summer (Details coming this week!) for my review!

TEMPEST UNLEASHED is the sequel to TEMPEST RISING and the second in author Tracy Deebs' mermaid trilogy.  Deebs has written under various pen names in multiple genres.  The final book in the series, TEMPEST REVEALED, is forthcoming.


A Backwards Story recently reviewed THE INTERNATIONAL KISSING CLUB, which Deebs co-wrote, for another The {Teen} Book Scene Blog Tour and will be reviewing TEMPEST UNLEASHED soon for the annual Splash into Summer event.


Find out more about Tracy Deebs and her novels on her website!

An interview with 
Tracy Deebs

Does TEMPEST UNLEASHED pick up right where TEMPEST RISING left off, or has time passed? What has been going on in Tempest's world since we saw her last?

TEMPEST UNLEASHED picks up eight months after TEMPEST RISING ends. In the meantime, Tempest has been living as a mermaid, trying to learn the underwater world and her role in it. While some of it has been good (her time with Kona) other parts have been difficult, like trying to deal with her guilt and anger over her mother and trying to find a place in her mother’s clan.

I loved the way you described Tiamat's black, spiky tail in the first book, not to mention the way you had sea creatures give off light in order to see one another and their awesomely unique tattoos. How did you go about visualizing such descriptions and developing them when creating your underwater world?

I’m a huge mermaid fan and I’ve spent a lot of time through the years visualizing what an underwater world would look like. The phosphorescence (giving off light under water) was an easy thing to decide—that’s what creatures that live at the bottom of the ocean do, so it seemed likely that mermaids would have to as well if they had any hope of seeing each other down there :) As for the tattoos, I’ve always loved the slightly mystical quality of tattoos/ body markings in some ancient cultures and I brought that forward for TEMPEST

If you could be a mermaid, what color would your tail be? What would your tattoo look like--and where would it be located? (Do tattoo locations mean anything special?)

Purple, of course. And if I couldn’t have that, probably hot pink. I had a lot of input into Tempest’s tattoos on the book cover, so mine would probably look similar—a little lacier, but definitely similar. As for where they would be located—probably my ankles and wrists. Location doesn’t mean as much as size and number—the bigger tattoos you have and the more you have, the more power you wield. Kona has some gorgeous tattoos, and you should check out the ones on Tempest’s new trainer, Sabyn.

What could we expect to find/see if we traveled to the mer palace?

I think the same thing you would find at any palace—grand structure, guards, expensive furnishings. The one difference is that in mer societies, the entire city is based around the palace and as such, it has the feel of belonging to everyone. There are common areas and the merQueen is much more accessible to her people than a human queen would be.

Aside from mermaids and selkies, what other underwater shapeshifters might we run into under the sea? Will we meet any of them in TEMPEST UNLEASHED or the third book in Tempest's trilogy?

Oh, there are a lot of new water creatures in store in TEMPEST UNLEASHED—but I don’t want to ruin the surprise :) As for other shifters, there are shark shifters and octopi shifters under the sea. One makes an appearance in  TEMPEST UNLEASHED,  and one will show up in the final book, TEMPEST REVEALED.

Thank you so much, Tracy! Mermaid lover that I am, I loved the first book and am truly looking forward to getting my hands on your latest offering and see what Tempest and Kona are up to!

And now, because Tracy Deebs and The {Teen} Book Scene are awesome, you have a chance to win TEMPEST RISING!  Contest ends July 15th at the conclusion of Splash into Summer!