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Anyone who knows me (and a fair few who don't as well) will know that my first YA novel Read Me Like A Book comes out this year. I've been shouting about this for a little while now, and have been super-excited about it for lots of reasons, one of them being the fact that I originally wrote this book fifteen years ago, so it's been a long time in the making.

But the same people might not know about the other book that's coming out this year and which in many ways I am JUST as excited about. This book, Emily Windsnap and the Ship of Lost Souls, is the latest in my series about a girl who accidentally found out in a school swimming lesson that when she goes in water, she becomes a mermaid.

Emily and I have had lots of adventures together. She has a tendency to get herself into scary, exciting  adventures. [WARNING: Spoilers coming...] Emily has rescued her father from a prison out at sea; she's been nearly squeezed to death by a giant Kraken; she's explored mysterious castles, discovered banished sirens in underwater caves and very nearly been turned to ice by an evil man with too much magic at his disposal.

In August, Emily has her sixth adventure. I can't tell you too much about it yet, as it's still a closely-guarded secret. But what I can tell you is that, in typical Emily style, what starts off as an innocent Geography field trip turns into an adventure involving life and death decisions, a spooky ship and a trip to possibly the most magical place she's ever visited.

For me, one of the most exciting things about this book is that for the first time ever, it's coming out on both sides of the Atlantic at the same time. My UK and US publishers are working together to make this happen, and TODAY, between us, right here, right now, I am very excited to be using the wonderful ABBA blog (thanks ABBA!) to reveal the cover!

So, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, children and mer-kids, I give you, Emily Windsnap and the Ship of Lost Souls - the cover. I think it might be my favourite Emily Windsnap cover ever (by the wonderful artist Sarah Gibb). Hope you think it's as beautiful as I do! :) :) :)

Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist
Author: Liz Kessler
Illustrator: Sarah Gibb
Publisher: Candlewick Press
ISBN-10: 0763633305
ISBN-13: 978-0763633301

In the third book in the series, Emily is now going to school on Allpoints Island learning things like how to decorate her tail, search for ocean treasures and comb out her hair. Her mother the human isn’t thrilled with this type of education and wants something a little more educational like history. Her father the merman thinks it’s fine and is proud of his daughter. Needless to say, this is causing some arguing. Beyond that the parents are adjusting to living together again after the long enforced separation so there’s bound to be some clashes. Emily thinks they’re splitting up and she’s having some heavy anxiety about it.

One day while treasure hunting for a school project, Emily discovers an old diamond ring. She puts it on and her life starts to change again and not for the better! The diamond turns out to be part of a long hidden secret of Neptune’s. When he finds out she has it, he curses her – in just a few days she’ll no longer be half-human, half-mermaid. She’ll have to choose which one she’ll be and which parent she’ll live with and which she will say goodbye to forever unless she can figure out how to break the curse.

Emily sets off to find a way to change her destiny and get out of this mess. She finds a mysterious castle in the mist, a boy who seems to hold the key to the mystery and a whole lot of trouble.

I’m a fan of Emily Windsnap. She’s smart, she’s spunky, she can be brave, but mostly she’s just an ordinary teenaged girl that just happens to have a tail. She deals with issues most teens these days have, like parents not getting along, homework and fitting in with her friends.

What I like about the Emily books is how there’s always real problems going on that get intertwined with the magical and fanciful. Yes, there’s a long time magical curse to break but the heart of the matter is that Emily’s worried about her parents, divorce and which parent to live with. Those are very real, very common issues that kids can relate to. What shines through this book is the very real love Emily has for her parents and they for her. It also makes it very clear that life isn’t easy.

Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist is an enchanting ocean mystery that girls will love.

Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep
Author: Liz Kessler
Illustrator: Sarah Gibb
Publisher: Candlewick Press



Emily Windsnap is just like any ordinary teen-aged girl with all the problems that girls that age have. She’s just a bit more unusual than most girls. Emily is half mermaid. In this charming sequel to The Tail of Emily Windsnap (Candlewick, 2004) she is ecstatic that her parents are back together after years apart, they’re moving to the Bermuda Triangle to Allpoints Island a safe haven where merfolk and humans coexist in peace, her best friend Shona the mermaid is moving there as well, and she is leaving behind her school bully Mandy Rushton. Life should be wonderful indeed and it seems that way at first. Of course, that’s before she and Shona accidentally awaken the Kracken and plunge Allpoints Island into incredible danger.

Like most of us, Emily has a hard time owning up to what she did and taking responsibility for it. Her parents are fighting more and more and she doesn’t seem to fit in with the other mermaids. Worst of all, she runs right smack into her old nemesis Mandy.

Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep is an interesting story and Emily herself is quite the heroine. It's not every girl that can take on both Neptune and the Kracken! She battles the same issues most girls these days do and then some. She’s very plucky, curious and wants to do the right thing. She’s even willing to fight for what she thinks is right. She’s also human enough to be scared, to not want to face up to her own actions, to leave things till the last possible minute. I think there’s a part in all of us that will identify with her. What makes her unique and even more interesting is the fact that she just happens to have a tail.

Another thing that I love about Emily is that she’s a mixture - half human, half mermaid. Emily’s story shows her wanting to be the best of both and fit in with the humans and the mermaids. Her parents trying to adjust themselves to each other’s world and feeling like they don’t fit in strikes a very real note and ties in nicely. I think that girls will identify and love Emily Windsnap. Highly recommended.

About the Author:
Liz Kessler lives on a canal boat in rural Cheshire, England. She knew that her first book, The Tail of Emily Windsnap, wasn’t the end of the Emily’s story. She got the idea for the kraken from the name of an amusement park ride, then went on a snorkeling trip to Bermuda to fill in more details. Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep will be published in 15 countries.