Coming soon! If you’ve been waiting on other ebook formats, Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret is now uploaded to Kobo and Barnes and Noble nook awaiting their approval. Which one is the fastest at book approval? We’ll see! I’m currently working on a Smashwords upload as well.

Coming soon! If you’ve been waiting on other ebook formats, Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret is now uploaded to Kobo and Barnes and Noble nook awaiting their approval. Which one is the fastest at book approval? We’ll see! I’m currently working on a Smashwords upload as well.

Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret has moved up to #26 on the Top 100 Kindle Children’s Greek and Roman Myths List!

…

Not only that, it made it onto the Top 100 Best Seller’s in Children’s Greek and Roman Books. That’s all books, not just Kindle ebooks, debuting at #54!

And that’s not all! It debuted on that list above two Percy Jackson books.

Okay, okay, quit pointing out to me that both of those books are old releases. And in hardcover. And quit telling me to look at my sales numbers which are laughably small. In the spirit of Christmas, let me have my fun.

Besides, they’re big for me! And every sale represents a potential fan!

And now I think I will go eat some left over sweet potato pie. Or maybe some hot rolls. Decisions, decisions.

Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret has moved up to #26 on the Top 100 Kindle Children’s Greek and Roman Myths List!

…

Not only that, it made it onto the Top 100 Best Seller’s in Children’s Greek and Roman Books. That’s all books, not just Kindle ebooks, debuting at #54!

And that’s not all! It debuted on that list above two Percy Jackson books.

Okay, okay, quit pointing out to me that both of those books are old releases. And in hardcover. And quit telling me to look at my sales numbers which are laughably small. In the spirit of Christmas, let me have my fun.

Besides, they’re big for me! And every sale represents a potential fan!

And now I think I will go eat some left over sweet potato pie. Or maybe some hot rolls. Decisions, decisions.

This review is special to me because it’s my first official kid’s review of Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret!

Holly is in 3rd grade. She says, “I like mermaids and I loved the bubble world in the book.”

I am so glad you enjoyed that part, Holly, because I really had fun dreaming up the underwater world of Kai Kaona. When I decided that mermaids were going to be mammals it created an obvious problem. If they were going to be hiding at the bottom of the ocean, how were they going to breathe?

I decided I needed some way to get oxygen from the ocean water. And, if I could have the building walls themselves collecting oxygen, I could have lots of area to do it with. Somewhere in there my imagination landed on the idea of giant bubbles! (In the book, Fisk explains a little about how the bubbles work.)

Also, I wanted the mermaid world to be beautiful.

A beautiful commemorative pop-up book

When I was about the same age as Holly, I started reading all of the Wizard of Oz books. (Okay, I think I was actually older than Holly when I started doing that. I was not an early reader.) I was hoping that Dorothy would visit another place just as beautiful as the Emerald City. She never did. I think the only thing that came close was maybe where Glinda the good witch lived? But in any case the description was not any where detailed enough for me.

Another favorite of the books from the school library that I read over and over was Witches, Ghosts, and Goblins: A Spooky Search for Miranda’s Cat. Oh, how I loved this book. Let me assure you, if I loved it, it was not scary, in spite of its title. Aside from all the color pictures (remember, I said I wasn’t an early reader!) I loved the description of the gem caverns that they traveled through. I loved this book so much I located a copy for my own kids and I was surprised to see that the description was only one or two lines! My imagination did a lot with those two lines.

So, all that to say, when I started dreaming up Kai Kaona, I wanted to make it the beautiful mystical world I longed to visit in books when I was a kid.

You can read the rest of Holly’s review at V.K. Finnish’s blog where V.K. posts a regular feature “Reviewed by Kids.”

Thanks Holly!

This review is special to me because it’s my first official kid’s review of Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret!

Holly is in 3rd grade. She says, “I like mermaids and I loved the bubble world in the book.”

I am so glad you enjoyed that part, Holly, because I really had fun dreaming up the underwater world of Kai Kaona. When I decided that mermaids were going to be mammals it created an obvious problem. If they were going to be hiding at the bottom of the ocean, how were they going to breathe?

I decided I needed some way to get oxygen from the ocean water. And, if I could have the building walls themselves collecting oxygen, I could have lots of area to do it with. Somewhere in there my imagination landed on the idea of giant bubbles! (In the book, Fisk explains a little about how the bubbles work.)

Also, I wanted the mermaid world to be beautiful.

A beautiful commemorative pop-up book

When I was about the same age as Holly, I started reading all of the Wizard of Oz books. (Okay, I think I was actually older than Holly when I started doing that. I was not an early reader.) I was hoping that Dorothy would visit another place just as beautiful as the Emerald City. She never did. I think the only thing that came close was maybe where Glinda the good witch lived? But in any case the description was not any where detailed enough for me.

Another favorite of the books from the school library that I read over and over was Witches, Ghosts, and Goblins: A Spooky Search for Miranda’s Cat. Oh, how I loved this book. Let me assure you, if I loved it, it was not scary, in spite of its title. Aside from all the color pictures (remember, I said I wasn’t an early reader!) I loved the description of the gem caverns that they traveled through. I loved this book so much I located a copy for my own kids and I was surprised to see that the description was only one or two lines! My imagination did a lot with those two lines.

So, all that to say, when I started dreaming up Kai Kaona, I wanted to make it the beautiful mystical world I longed to visit in books when I was a kid.

You can read the rest of Holly’s review at V.K. Finnish’s blog where V.K. posts a regular feature “Reviewed by Kids.”

Thanks Holly!

I made this for Dizzy’s 5th grade class party and it was a big hit! It’s impressive and not very hard, it just takes a while. Things are a bit busy here and I don’t have time to post full directions. But, I’ll upload the photos off all the steps. Full directions soon! If you need more help, contact me at [email protected] and I’ll try to answer. Family party here tonight and my daughters are going to be busy making another one of these!

Supplies: foil wrapped 16 inch foam cone, 5 lbs large green grapes, mango, maraschino cherries, flat toothpicks

Press in the tips of the toothpicks with a spoon handle. If they won’t press all the way, clip off the end with kitchen scissors.

I made this for Dizzy’s 5th grade class party and it was a big hit! It’s impressive and not very hard, it just takes a while. Things are a bit busy here and I don’t have time to post full directions. But, I’ll upload the photos off all the steps. Full directions soon! If you need more help, contact me at [email protected] and I’ll try to answer. Family party here tonight and my daughters are going to be busy making another one of these!

Supplies: foil wrapped 16 inch foam cone, 5 lbs large green grapes, mango, maraschino cherries, flat toothpicks

Press in the tips of the toothpicks with a spoon handle. If they won’t press all the way, clip off the end with kitchen scissors.

Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret is on an Amazon’s Top 100 list! It’s #33 on Amazon’s Top 100 Paid Best Sellers in Children’s Greek & Roman Myths!

….

The mermaids in Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret are based on the mermaids of Greek and Roman mythology. Miri’s last name is Poseidon and several of the other names used in the book are from mermaids of myth. As far as the actual myths go, though, I turned all of them on their heads.

Do mermaids truly sing to lure sailors to their death? Not in Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret!

Find out what the mermaids are really doing when they sing. Click on the following link to pick up your Kindle copy of Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret now at the special holiday price of 99 cents!

Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret is on an Amazon’s Top 100 list! It’s #33 on Amazon’s Top 100 Paid Best Sellers in Children’s Greek & Roman Myths!

….

The mermaids in Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret are based on the mermaids of Greek and Roman mythology. Miri’s last name is Poseidon and several of the other names used in the book are from mermaids of myth. As far as the actual myths go, though, I turned all of them on their heads.

Do mermaids truly sing to lure sailors to their death? Not in Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret!

Find out what the mermaids are really doing when they sing. Click on the following link to pick up your Kindle copy of Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret now at the special holiday price of 99 cents!

V.K. Finnish over at www.vkfinnish.com gave Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret a lovely review and says she would read it again!

She said “I read Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret with my 3rd grade daughter, and it was a big hit!…The story was … dotted with witty puns to go with the water theme. …[the character] Miri … had such a great spread of silliness about her, original humor, and fun, child-like way of looking at the events around her.”

You can read her full review over at V.K. Finnish’s blog or on her Goodreads page.

Thank you V.K. I’m so glad you liked it! And I’m almost finished with Book 2, so that fans can follow Miri’s adventures in the underwater mermaid colony of Kai Kaona!

V.K. Finnish over at www.vkfinnish.com gave Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret a lovely review and would read it again!

V.K. said “I read Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret with my 3rd grade daughter, and it was a big hit!…The story was … dotted with witty puns to go with the water theme. …[the character] Miri … had such a great spread of silliness about her, original humor, and fun, child-like way of looking at the events around her.”

You can read the full review over at V.K. Finnish’s blog or on V.K.’s Goodreads page.

Thank you V.K. I’m so glad you liked it! And I’m almost finished with Book 2, so that fans can follow Miri’s adventures in the underwater mermaid colony of Kai Kaona!

Santa says his elves have been busy filling orders! Lots of kids are going to be getting ereaders for Christmas or Hannakuh. Are you looking for fun books to load up your kids’ Kindle? Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret, a middle grade adventure, is at a special promotional price of just 99 cents on Amazon’s Kindle for the holidays!

Santa says his elves have been busy filling orders! Lots of kids are going to be getting ereaders for Christmas or Hannakuh. Are you looking for fun books to load up your kids’ Kindle? Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret, a middle grade adventure, is at a special promotional price of just 99 cents on Amazon’s Kindle for the holidays!

My middle grader, Miss A, has been on a Percy Jackson reading binge. Her brother, Techno boy, has been trying to get her to read the series for years. It took The Lightning Thief being assigned in class to get her to pick it up. Some parents would be appalled that they are assigning something as commercial as Percy Jackson in class. I think it’s great! To me, the main reason for assigning books is to turn kids into readers. What better way to reach a kid who doesn’t think he likes to read than to assign him a book that thousands of kids love?

Anyway, back to the costume! Miss A wanted to pick a character from the books to dress up for Halloween. She picked Athena, Goddess of War and Goddess of Wisdom. (Those two things don’t seem to go together! But the Greeks of myth aren’t around to argue with, so I guess it’s pointless to try.)  Athena is Annabeth’s mom in the Percy Jackson series.

This isn’t the first time one of my kids has dressed up as a character from the Percy Jackson series. Techno boy has been a fan for years, and since we live in the Austin area we have been lucky enough to meet Rick Riordan at book signings at the fabulous Indie bookstore BookPeople and at the Texas Book Festival. I have met a lot of authors, and Rick Riordan is about the nicest one I have ever met.  A couple of years ago, Techno boy dressed up as Percy Jackson. That was easy. We spray painted a pen silver, he wore an orange Camp Half-blood t-shirt  (signed by Rick Riordan himself) and he was good to go!

Athena took a little bit more preparation, but not much. With all the parts, we assembled the costume on Miss A in about a half an hour. She wanted to wear it to her school costume dance, but she also had to help finish the entry for the robotics competition the next day. Thus, the lack of good pictures, some of which were hastily taken on my phone. If Miss A’s homework will allow, we’ll put her in the costume again and take better photos. But now for the directions with what photos I have!

Athena Costume Instructions

Supplies

• 4-6 yards white cloth, a cotton blend will work*
• 18 inches thin ribbon: gold, silver, or brown – to tie the shoulders
• belt or a yard of wide ribbon
• 8 inches decorative gold or silver ribbon
• 10 inches elastic
• hot glue gun
• tape
• stuffed owl (optional) and magnets or clothes pins
• white clothing to wear under the costume
• sandals

*The amount of cloth you need will depend on the length of the dress you and the height of the girl. We used 4 yards for a 5’3″ girl. To measure for fabric:

• Measure from middle of the shoulder to just above the knee for short dresses. For long Greek Goddess dresses, measure to 1-2 inches above the floor.
• For thin fabric (like inexpensive cotton or cotton-blends that you can see through) multiply this length by 4.
• For thicker fabrics multiply this length by 2.
• Buy a half yard more fabric than your finished calculation. This is something my mother always taught me to do when sewing. It is usually inexpensive and *so* much easier than having to run to the store for more fabric because you measured wrong or made a mistake.

Instructions

Headband

The only thing Miss A had to make ahead of time was the headband. I can’t claim any credit for this. She did it all on her own. She used a left-over piece of decorative package ribbon. (I have a hard time throwing out any package bow that is still usable. We have a drawer full. But see, it’s useful!)

1. Measure the amount of decorative ribbon you need to go across the forehead and tuck under the hair on either side.
2. Hot glue the piece of elastic to one end. Let it cool!
3. Use the half-assembled headband to measure the amount of elastic you need to run the ribbon across the front of the forehead and elastic under the hair around the back of the head. Pull it a little bit tight so that it will hold on with comfortable tension. Cut the elastic and hot glue it to the other end of the ribbon. Let it cool!
4. Wrap the hot glue joints with tape to avoid pulling the hair.

Assembling the Athena costume

1. Since the costume is no-sew, it’ll be a bit breezy! So you want to wear some clothes under it to avoid any surprises. Miss A chose a white tank and white shorts, so she had a pocket for her cell phone and money.
2. Put the headband on before arranging the hair. Slip it all the way over the head to around the neck. Then pull the front of the headband up until it sits comfortably across the forehead.
3. Miss A opted to pull her hair into a loose braid on the side. This also worked well with the owl perched on her other shoulder.
4. For thin fabric, keep the entire length of fabric folded in half length-wise, the way it came off the bolt. For thick fabric, that you can’t see through, cut it in half lengthwise.
5. Drape the fabric across one shoulder with the fold next to the neck. Adjust it so that the fabric is the length you want in the front, just above the knee for a short dress. For a Greek Goddess costume, adjust the fabric so that it is 1-2 inches off the floor.
6.  Make a mark or a snip on the fabric hanging down the back so that the skirt will hang to the same length as in the front. Cut the fabric.
7. Using this first piece of fabric as a guide, cut the second piece to the same length.
8. Place the first piece of fabric over  one shoulder again with the fold toward the neck. Gather up the fabric loosely and tie it with a small piece of gold, silver, or brown ribbon. We tied it around the strap of Miss A’s tank-top for more stability. Repeat with the second piece of fabric on the other side.
9. Adjust the two piece of fabric so that they overlap in front and back.
10. Using a belt or long piece of ribbon, gather the fabric around the waist and belt it. Adjust the pieces of fabric to overlap on the sides.

That’s it! Just cut, gather, and tie, tie, tie!

Miss A wore this jaunty little fellow on her shoulder! We found our stuffed owl at Justice for Girls last week. If you can’t find a small stuffed owl (for wisdom), you could make one out of pom-poms. She also thought about painting an owl on her cheek if we couldn’t find a stuffed animal.

We held the owl in place by wrapping a piece of fabric around an incredibly strong magnet and pinning it to the bottom of the owl with two safety pins. Then we wrapped another strong magnet in fabric and tucked it under the strap of Miss A’s tank. The two magnets stuck together held them both in place.

Where did we get really strong magnets? From a broken hard drive! (Yes, we are an incredibly geeky family. It’s hard to hide when your craft instructions include: take a magnet from a broken hard drive… And your excuse for no time for photos is: my daughter had to finish things for the robotics competition…) You could affix the owl by sewing or hot-gluing clothes pins to the bottom of the owl and clipping it in place. Or, just carry the owl. Trick-or-treaters could let it peak out of their treat pumpkin.

So there you go! You are ready to wow your friends. Miss A got lots of compliments and even won runner up in the costume contest. Now she’s all geared up to read the newest release in the Heroes of Olympus Series, Mark of Athena!

My middle grader, Miss A, has been on a Percy Jackson reading binge. Her brother, Techno boy, has been trying to get her to read the series for years. It took The Lightning Thief being assigned in class to get her to pick it up. Some parents would be appalled that they are assigning something as commercial as Percy Jackson in class. I think it’s great! To me, the main reason for assigning books is to turn kids into readers. What better way to reach a kid who doesn’t think he likes to read than to assign him a book that thousands of kids love?

Anyway, back to the costume! Miss A wanted to pick a character from the books to dress up for Halloween. She picked Athena, Goddess of War and Goddess of Wisdom. (Those two things don’t seem to go together! But the Greeks of myth aren’t around to argue with, so I guess it’s pointless to try.)  Athena is Annabeth’s mom in the Percy Jackson series.

This isn’t the first time one of my kids has dressed up as a character from the Percy Jackson series. Techno boy has been a fan for years, and since we live in the Austin area we have been lucky enough to meet Rick Riordan at book signings at the fabulous Indie bookstore BookPeople and at the Texas Book Festival. I have met a lot of authors, and Rick Riordan is about the nicest one I have ever met.  A couple of years ago, Techno boy dressed up as Percy Jackson. That was easy. We spray painted a pen silver, he wore an orange Camp Half-blood t-shirt  (signed by Rick Riordan himself) and he was good to go!

Athena took a little bit more preparation, but not much. With all the parts, we assembled the costume on Miss A in about a half an hour. She wanted to wear it to her school costume dance, but she also had to help finish the entry for the robotics competition the next day. Thus, the lack of good pictures, some of which were hastily taken on my phone. If Miss A’s homework will allow, we’ll put her in the costume again and take better photos. But now for the directions with what photos I have!

Athena Costume Instructions

Supplies

• 4-6 yards white cloth, a cotton blend will work*
• 18 inches thin ribbon: gold, silver, or brown – to tie the shoulders
• belt or a yard of wide ribbon
• 8 inches decorative gold or silver ribbon
• 10 inches elastic
• hot glue gun
• tape
• stuffed owl (optional) and magnets or clothes pins
• white clothing to wear under the costume
• sandals

*The amount of cloth you need will depend on the length of the dress you and the height of the girl. We used 4 yards for a 5’3″ girl. To measure for fabric:

• Measure from middle of the shoulder to just above the knee for short dresses. For long Greek Goddess dresses, measure to 1-2 inches above the floor.
• For thin fabric (like inexpensive cotton or cotton-blends that you can see through) multiply this length by 4.
• For thicker fabrics multiply this length by 2.
• Buy a half yard more fabric than your finished calculation. This is something my mother always taught me to do when sewing. It is usually inexpensive and *so* much easier than having to run to the store for more fabric because you measured wrong or made a mistake.

Instructions

Headband

The only thing Miss A had to make ahead of time was the headband. I can’t claim any credit for this. She did it all on her own. She used a left-over piece of decorative package ribbon. (I have a hard time throwing out any package bow that is still usable. We have a drawer full. But see, it’s useful!)

1. Measure the amount of decorative ribbon you need to go across the forehead and tuck under the hair on either side.
2. Hot glue the piece of elastic to one end. Let it cool!
3. Use the half-assembled headband to measure the amount of elastic you need to run the ribbon across the front of the forehead and elastic under the hair around the back of the head. Pull it a little bit tight so that it will hold on with comfortable tension. Cut the elastic and hot glue it to the other end of the ribbon. Let it cool!
4. Wrap the hot glue joints with tape to avoid pulling the hair.

Assembling the Athena costume

1. Since the costume is no-sew, it’ll be a bit breezy! So you want to wear some clothes under it to avoid any surprises. Miss A chose a white tank and white shorts, so she had a pocket for her cell phone and money.
2. Put the headband on before arranging the hair. Slip it all the way over the head to around the neck. Then pull the front of the headband up until it sits comfortably across the forehead.
3. Miss A opted to pull her hair into a loose braid on the side. This also worked well with the owl perched on her other shoulder.
4. For thin fabric, keep the entire length of fabric folded in half length-wise, the way it came off the bolt. For thick fabric, that you can’t see through, cut it in half lengthwise.
5. Drape the fabric across one shoulder with the fold next to the neck. Adjust it so that the fabric is the length you want in the front, just above the knee for a short dress. For a Greek Goddess costume, adjust the fabric so that it is 1-2 inches off the floor.
6.  Make a mark or a snip on the fabric hanging down the back so that the skirt will hang to the same length as in the front. Cut the fabric.
7. Using this first piece of fabric as a guide, cut the second piece to the same length.
8. Place the first piece of fabric over  one shoulder again with the fold toward the neck. Gather up the fabric loosely and tie it with a small piece of gold, silver, or brown ribbon. We tied it around the strap of Miss A’s tank-top for more stability. Repeat with the second piece of fabric on the other side.
9. Adjust the two piece of fabric so that they overlap in front and back.
10. Using a belt or long piece of ribbon, gather the fabric around the waist and belt it. Adjust the pieces of fabric to overlap on the sides.

That’s it! Just cut, gather, and tie, tie, tie!

Miss A wore this jaunty little fellow on her shoulder! We found our stuffed owl at Justice for Girls last week. If you can’t find a small stuffed owl (for wisdom), you could make one out of pom-poms. She also thought about painting an owl on her cheek if we couldn’t find a stuffed animal.

We held the owl in place by wrapping a piece of fabric around an incredibly strong magnet and pinning it to the bottom of the owl with two safety pins. Then we wrapped another strong magnet in fabric and tucked it under the strap of Miss A’s tank. The two magnets stuck together held them both in place.

Where did we get really strong magnets? From a broken hard drive! (Yes, we are an incredibly geeky family. It’s hard to hide when your craft instructions include: take a magnet from a broken hard drive… And your excuse for no time for photos is: my daughter had to finish things for the robotics competition…) You could affix the owl by sewing or hot-gluing clothes pins to the bottom of the owl and clipping it in place. Or, just carry the owl. Trick-or-treaters could let it peak out of their treat pumpkin.

So there you go! You are ready to wow your friends. Miss A got lots of compliments and even won runner up in the costume contest. Now she’s all geared up to read the newest release in the Heroes of Olympus Series, Mark of Athena!

It’s in! My first-ever review by a book blogger for Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret!

At Books Complete Me, reviewer Nicole “…had a hard time putting it down….” and gave it a five book stack “Amazing” rating!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the full review go to Review: Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret, at Books Complete Me.

It’s in! My first-ever review by a book blogger for Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret!

At Books Complete Me, reviewer Nicole “…had a hard time putting it down….” and gave it a five book stack “Amazing” rating!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the full review go to Review: Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret, at Books Complete Me.

In Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret, Miri’s excited when she finds out she’s a princess. She imagines herself stepping into a fairy tale, wearing beautiful gowns and, of course, a tiara! But as if being a mermaid doesn’t ruin things enough, when she meets the Queen she isn’t even wearing  a crown. What fun is being a princess if you don’t get all the sparkly stuff ?

A reader asked for something from Book 2, so here’s a pre-release excerpt! Like an ARC (advanced reader copy) there may be mistakes, and it’s subject to change.

Excerpt from Book 2

Miri was completely and totally lost when she came across a door with a plaque that said, “Colonial Crown Room.” Now that sounded interesting. She opened the door.

The gilded room was almost completely empty. But everything in the room sparkled, from ornate mirrors framed in gold to the fountain at the back. And, in the center, sitting on a pillow atop a pedestal, sparkling the most, was a crown.

Aquamarines and pearls were set in swoops and curls like ocean waves with two jeweled fish in the center. That was one important piece of jewelry, to get a room all to itself.

Miri slipped inside the door to get a closer look. She jumped when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye, then realized it was just her reflection in the mirrors. Lots of reflections, actually. As she walked, a crowd of images moved at the same time. The mirrors completely encircled the room and reflected the crown and each other in an infinity of images. No matter which way she turned, there was another mirror, another crown, another her.

Miri extended her arms above her head like a ballerina and went up on her toes. A thousand copies, down to one so tiny that she could barely see it, struck the same pose in perfect unison. It was like pulling the string on a thousand puppets at once.

Miri bent one knee in a plié and pushed off with the other toe into a spin. She did another spin, then a spin and a half. Round and round the room she went, turning pirouettes around the crown. She stopped, and had to put her foot out to balance herself as the room tilted underneath. When the floor finally steadied, she started spinning again.

Miri bumped into the pedestal and grabbed it to keep from falling. She had stopped, but the room continued to spin around her and the crown. When everything finally settled down, she looked at the crown more closely.

The smaller fish on top was orange citrines with a sapphire eye, while the larger one below was decorated in stripes of yellow diamonds and black pearls. The base of the crown was circle of large aquamarines, each of which – Miri noticed with surprise – had a dolphin carved into the back of it, like the aquamarine in her ring!

The crown was so pretty. And it was just sitting there. Miri couldn’t help but wonder how it would look on her. She very carefully lifted it from its cushion and was surprised by how heavy it was. She faced one of the mirrors and lowered it onto her head.

“I crown thee, Princess Miri.” Her voice echoed around the empty room.

The crown was a bit big. It was tricky to keep it balanced, but its weight held it down. She gave her head a little nod to see how secure it was and it slipped forward. She reached up to grab it, but not before it whacked her on the forehead pretty hard. No wonder queens and princesses moved so regally. They were moving carefully so they wouldn’t get a concussion from their crowns. Holding her head steady, she gave a stately wave to the mirror and a throng waved back. Then, getting braver, she slowly turned her head this way and that, waving to all of herselves. The crown twinkled with the slightest movement of her head. She felt so elegant, so regal.

Miri admired the crown at all angles in the mirror. She was trying to see the back of it in her reflection when she noticed someone watching her. She jumped, upsetting the carefully balanced crown. As it fell she reached out to catch it, and missed!

The crown hit the floor.

The girl darted past Miri and caught it on the first bounce. It was the girl who had served her at the lunch with the Queen. The girl silently turned the crown this way and that, carefully examining it all over.

Had she broken it? Miri’s heart was beating like a goldfish trying to jump out of its bowl. She should have thought before trying on something like the royal crown.

At last the girl quit turning the crown around in her hands. She held it up to Miri silently, her head down.

Miri was afraid to ask, but she had to know.

“Is it alright?”

The mergirl nodded yes, keeping her head down.

“Are you sure?”

The girl nodded her head again, but she still wouldn’t look at Miri.

“Really, are you sure it’s okay?”

The girl looked shyly up through her lashes at Miri and said softly, “It’s fine. I dust it every week, so I look at it quite a lot.”

A warm wave of relief flooded from the top of Miri’s head all the way down to her toes. She was really glad she didn’t have to tell the Queen she broke the crown. She didn’t think the Queen was someone who would understand. When Miri still didn’t take the crown, the girl finally crossed the room and carefully placed it in the center of the cushion.

“My name’s Miri,” said Miri.

The girl turned halfway toward Miri and gave her a small smile before turning back to dust. She sure wasn’t very talkative.

“What’s your name?” asked Miri.

“Giselle,” the girl answered quietly.

“That’s a pretty name.”

Giselle blushed and ducked her head. “Thank you,” she said. Then she kept on dusting. Miri stood self-consciously behind Giselle watching her work. Now what?

Giselle glanced up, and blushed again. “Oh, I should leave.” She started for the door.

“Don’t go,” said Miri.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell on you,” said Giselle.

“Please stay,” Miri said again. She cocked her head to the side. Giselle looked to be about her same age. “Hey, why aren’t you in school?”

“Oh,” said Giselle as she started dusting the crown again. “I’ve got work to do.”

“You clean all day.”

“Not all day,” said Giselle quickly as she finished the crown and started dusting the pedestal. “My mom gives me lessons. And I’m learning to be a chef. The head chef, Master Kuchler, lets me watch. He does the most fantastic sugar art.”

“Sugar art?”

“Sculpting sugar to make decorations for desserts. I’ve even seen him make an entire jellyfish out of blown sugar. He’ll be making lots of fancy stuff for the coronation.”

“But what do you do for fun?” asked Miri. “Not that school is fun,” she added quickly, “but there is recess.”

“Well,” Giselle said thoughtfully, “my mom taught me some clapping games.”

“Clapping games?”

“You know, where you clap with someone in a pattern while you chant a song.”

“Can you teach me?”

“Well,” Giselle hesitated. Then she put down her dust rag. “Okay, sit across from me.”

They both sat down on the floor with their legs crossed and Giselle showed Miri the clapping pattern, alternating clapping, slapping their legs, and clapping each other’s hands both double and single.

“Now we put it to a song,” said Giselle. She started out slowly so Miri could keep up.

There was a princess, princess, princess,
With bright blue tails, tails, tails,
Was not afraid, -fraid, -fraid
Of sharks or whales, whales, whales.

She loved to sing, sing, sing
Out on the rocks, rocks, rocks
And comb her hair, hair, hair,
Her golden locks, locks, locks.

That mermaid girl, girl, girl
Was always good, good, good.
The ocean’s rules, rules, rules
She understood, -ood, -ood.

One day she swam, swam, swam
Across the reef, reef, reef,
Up to the edge, edge, edge
To take a peek, peek, peek.

The water was deep, deep, deep,
So deep and blue, blue, blue,
And swimming up, up, up,
Was a shark or two, two, two.

The mermaid turned, turned, turned
And tried to flee, flee, flee,
But her escape, -ape, -ape
Was not to be, be, be.

So if you swim, swim, swim
Out on the reef, reef, reef,
Don’t you forget, -et, -et
What’s in the deep, deep, deep.

As the singing chant went on Giselle had gotten faster and faster. Miri found it harder and harder to keep up and started giggling. That only made it worse. Toward the end Miri wasn’t getting any of it right – she was slapping her legs when she needed to clap Giselle’s hands and trying to clap Giselle’s hands when Giselle was slapping her legs. By the time Giselle finished, they were both laughing.  But then Miri had an awful thought.

“Did a shark really get a princess?”

“My mom says that’s just a rumor. She doesn’t think it’s true. Besides, the princess had red hair.”

“Princess? What Princess?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Giselle as she picked up her dust rag. “Some princess a long time ago.”

In Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret, Miri’s excited when she finds out she’s a princess. She imagines herself stepping into a fairy tale, wearing beautiful gowns and, of course, a tiara! But as if being a mermaid doesn’t ruin things enough, when she meets the Queen she isn’t even wearing  a crown. What fun is being a princess if you don’t get all the sparkly stuff ?

A reader asked for something from Book 2, so here’s a pre-release excerpt! Like an ARC (advanced reader copy) there may be mistakes, and it’s subject to change.

Excerpt from Book 2

Miri was completely and totally lost when she came across a door with a plaque that said, “Colonial Crown Room.” Now that sounded interesting. She opened the door.

The gilded room was almost completely empty. But everything in the room sparkled, from ornate mirrors framed in gold to the fountain at the back. And, in the center, sitting on a pillow atop a pedestal, sparkling the most, was a crown.

Aquamarines and pearls were set in swoops and curls like ocean waves with two jeweled fish in the center. That was one important piece of jewelry, to get a room all to itself.

Miri slipped inside the door to get a closer look. She jumped when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye, then realized it was just her reflection in the mirrors. Lots of reflections, actually. As she walked, a crowd of images moved at the same time. The mirrors completely encircled the room and reflected the crown and each other in an infinity of images. No matter which way she turned, there was another mirror, another crown, another her.

Miri extended her arms above her head like a ballerina and went up on her toes. A thousand copies, down to one so tiny that she could barely see it, struck the same pose in perfect unison. It was like pulling the string on a thousand puppets at once.

Miri bent one knee in a plié and pushed off with the other toe into a spin. She did another spin, then a spin and a half. Round and round the room she went, turning pirouettes around the crown. She stopped, and had to put her foot out to balance herself as the room tilted underneath. When the floor finally steadied, she started spinning again.

Miri bumped into the pedestal and grabbed it to keep from falling. She had stopped, but the room continued to spin around her and the crown. When everything finally settled down, she looked at the crown more closely.

The smaller fish on top was orange citrines with a sapphire eye, while the larger one below was decorated in stripes of yellow diamonds and black pearls. The base of the crown was circle of large aquamarines, each of which – Miri noticed with surprise – had a dolphin carved into the back of it, like the aquamarine in her ring!

The crown was so pretty. And it was just sitting there. Miri couldn’t help but wonder how it would look on her. She very carefully lifted it from its cushion and was surprised by how heavy it was. She faced one of the mirrors and lowered it onto her head.

“I crown thee, Princess Miri.” Her voice echoed around the empty room.

The crown was a bit big. It was tricky to keep it balanced, but its weight held it down. She gave her head a little nod to see how secure it was and it slipped forward. She reached up to grab it, but not before it whacked her on the forehead pretty hard. No wonder queens and princesses moved so regally. They were moving carefully so they wouldn’t get a concussion from their crowns. Holding her head steady, she gave a stately wave to the mirror and a throng waved back. Then, getting braver, she slowly turned her head this way and that, waving to all of herselves. The crown twinkled with the slightest movement of her head. She felt so elegant, so regal.

Miri admired the crown at all angles in the mirror. She was trying to see the back of it in her reflection when she noticed someone watching her. She jumped, upsetting the carefully balanced crown. As it fell she reached out to catch it, and missed!

The crown hit the floor.

The girl darted past Miri and caught it on the first bounce. It was the girl who had served her at the lunch with the Queen. The girl silently turned the crown this way and that, carefully examining it all over.

Had she broken it? Miri’s heart was beating like a goldfish trying to jump out of its bowl. She should have thought before trying on something like the royal crown.

At last the girl quit turning the crown around in her hands. She held it up to Miri silently, her head down.

Miri was afraid to ask, but she had to know.

“Is it alright?”

The mergirl nodded yes, keeping her head down.

“Are you sure?”

The girl nodded her head again, but she still wouldn’t look at Miri.

“Really, are you sure it’s okay?”

The girl looked shyly up through her lashes at Miri and said softly, “It’s fine. I dust it every week, so I look at it quite a lot.”

A warm wave of relief flooded from the top of Miri’s head all the way down to her toes. She was really glad she didn’t have to tell the Queen she broke the crown. She didn’t think the Queen was someone who would understand. When Miri still didn’t take the crown, the girl finally crossed the room and carefully placed it in the center of the cushion.

“My name’s Miri,” said Miri.

The girl turned halfway toward Miri and gave her a small smile before turning back to dust. She sure wasn’t very talkative.

“What’s your name?” asked Miri.

“Giselle,” the girl answered quietly.

“That’s a pretty name.”

Giselle blushed and ducked her head. “Thank you,” she said. Then she kept on dusting. Miri stood self-consciously behind Giselle watching her work. Now what?

Giselle glanced up, and blushed again. “Oh, I should leave.” She started for the door.

“Don’t go,” said Miri.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell on you,” said Giselle.

“Please stay,” Miri said again. She cocked her head to the side. Giselle looked to be about her same age. “Hey, why aren’t you in school?”

“Oh,” said Giselle as she started dusting the crown again. “I’ve got work to do.”

“You clean all day.”

“Not all day,” said Giselle quickly as she finished the crown and started dusting the pedestal. “My mom gives me lessons. And I’m learning to be a chef. The head chef, Master Kuchler, lets me watch. He does the most fantastic sugar art.”

“Sugar art?”

“Sculpting sugar to make decorations for desserts. I’ve even seen him make an entire jellyfish out of blown sugar. He’ll be making lots of fancy stuff for the coronation.”

“But what do you do for fun?” asked Miri. “Not that school is fun,” she added quickly, “but there is recess.”

“Well,” Giselle said thoughtfully, “my mom taught me some clapping games.”

“Clapping games?”

“You know, where you clap with someone in a pattern while you chant a song.”

“Can you teach me?”

“Well,” Giselle hesitated. Then she put down her dust rag. “Okay, sit across from me.”

They both sat down on the floor with their legs crossed and Giselle showed Miri the clapping pattern, alternating clapping, slapping their legs, and clapping each other’s hands both double and single.

“Now we put it to a song,” said Giselle. She started out slowly so Miri could keep up.

There was a princess, princess, princess,
With bright blue tails, tails, tails,
Was not afraid, -fraid, -fraid
Of sharks or whales, whales, whales.

She loved to sing, sing, sing
Out on the rocks, rocks, rocks
And comb her hair, hair, hair,
Her golden locks, locks, locks.

That mermaid girl, girl, girl
Was always good, good, good.
The ocean’s rules, rules, rules
She understood, -ood, -ood.

One day she swam, swam, swam
Across the reef, reef, reef,
Up to the edge, edge, edge
To take a peek, peek, peek.

The water was deep, deep, deep,
So deep and blue, blue, blue,
And swimming up, up, up,
Was a shark or two, two, two.

The mermaid turned, turned, turned
And tried to flee, flee, flee,
But her escape, -ape, -ape
Was not to be, be, be.

So if you swim, swim, swim
Out on the reef, reef, reef,
Don’t you forget, -et, -et
What’s in the deep, deep, deep.

As the singing chant went on Giselle had gotten faster and faster. Miri found it harder and harder to keep up and started giggling. That only made it worse. Toward the end Miri wasn’t getting any of it right – she was slapping her legs when she needed to clap Giselle’s hands and trying to clap Giselle’s hands when Giselle was slapping her legs. By the time Giselle finished, they were both laughing.  But then Miri had an awful thought.

“Did a shark really get a princess?”

“My mom says that’s just a rumor. She doesn’t think it’s true. Besides, the princess had red hair.”

“Princess? What Princess?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Giselle as she picked up her dust rag. “Some princess a long time ago.”

Photo By Adrian Pingstone, Wikimedia Commons

This is a photo of a yellow tang, like Miri saw at the aquarium park. See the tiny white spot at the base of its tail? That’s the piece of bone that is as sharp as a surgeons scalpel! Another name for tang is surgeonfish.

When I went snorkeling for the first time off the Big Island of Hawaii, we looked down on the rocks in the water and noticed bright yellow stripes. We thought it was really nice of the local swimmers to paint them so  newcomers would know the best place to enter the water. But when we got in, the “stripes” swam away! They were a bunch of yellow tangs! They were so bright that they seemed to glow like the yellow stripes on the road at night.

The aquarium wasn’t the only place Miri saw Yellow Tangs. Can you remember another place she saw them?

A reader asked if I have a preview of the cover of Book 2. Sadly, I do not. I’ll tell you what I do have, though. And excerpt of Book 2 coming next week! So don’t take your eyes off this blog!

Photo By Adrian Pingstone, Wikimedia Commons

This is a photo of a yellow tang, like Miri saw at the aquarium park. See the tiny white spot at the base of its tail? That’s the piece of bone that is as sharp as a surgeons scalpel! Another name for tang is surgeonfish.

When I went snorkeling for the first time off the Big Island of Hawaii, we looked down on the rocks in the water and noticed bright yellow stripes. We thought it was really nice of the local swimmers to paint them so  newcomers would know the best place to enter the water. But when we got in, the “stripes” swam away! They were a bunch of yellow tangs! They were so bright that they seemed to glow like the yellow stripes on the road at night.

The aquarium wasn’t the only place Miri saw Yellow Tangs. Can you remember another place she saw them?

A reader asked if I have a preview of the cover of Book 2. Sadly, I do not. I’ll tell you what I do have, though. And excerpt of Book 2 coming next week! So don’t take your eyes off this blog!

Hi, I’m E.S. Ivy, writer of fun, middle grade fiction. I do a lot of research for my books, so if you’re not careful you might accidentally learn something.

This blog will cover a variety of topics related to my books and turning kids into avid readers by making reading fun. I have a background in science and I’m also pretty crafty  (I’ve published crafts in Family Fun Magazine) so all of that will influence the blog. For my first series, Miri Attwater, I also did a lot of research into the structure of governments and how they have evolved over time, so you’ll find a little bit of history as well. Posts should occur about once a week, starting …. um….. soon, I hope!

Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret is currently available in Amazon! After I get all my blogs and webpages up and running, get the final draft of Book 2 off to proof readers, and learn how to sing on my E.S. Ivy twitter account, I’ll start getting The Ocean’s Secret up on other platforms including Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Kobo. If you have a vote for which platform you want it on first, let me know in the comments.

For now I’ll just leave you with a larger version of The Ocean’s Secret to gaze at. I designed the cover and Techno Tim, my resident tech guy, made it a reality. I even got a refresher course in Photoshop and drew in some of the coral! Doesn’t the yellow one in the lower right hand corner look particularly nice?

Hi, I’m E.S. Ivy, writer of fun, middle grade fiction. I do a lot of research for my books, so if you’re not careful you might accidentally learn something.

This blog will cover a variety of topics related to my books and turning kids into avid readers by making reading fun. I have a background in science and I’m also pretty crafty  (I’ve published crafts in Family Fun Magazine) so all of that will influence the blog. For my first series, Miri Attwater, I also did a lot of research into the structure of governments and how they have evolved over time, so you’ll find a little bit of history as well. Posts should occur about once a week, starting …. um….. soon, I hope!

Miri Attwater and the Ocean’s Secret is currently available in Amazon! After I get all my blogs and webpages up and running, get the final draft of Book 2 off to proof readers, and learn how to sing on my E.S. Ivy twitter account, I’ll start getting The Ocean’s Secret up on other platforms including Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Kobo. If you have a vote for which platform you want it on first, let me know in the comments.

For now I’ll just leave you with a larger version of The Ocean’s Secret to gaze at. I designed the cover and Techno Tim, my resident tech guy, made it a reality. I even got a refresher course in Photoshop and drew in some of the coral! Doesn’t the yellow one in the lower right hand corner look particularly nice?