Giveaway + Author Interview: Derrolyn Anderson, author of Between the Land & the Sea

I’m very pleased to welcome Derrolyn Anderson here at my blog to talk about being a writer, the most overrated virtue, and the characters from her book Between the Land & the Sea. Read my book review here. So romantic! 

The Fairytale Nerd: Hi! Derrolyn! Welcome to my blog! So, what do you do when you are not writing?
Derrolyn: For a living, I make cat collars and cat toys for all of the goofy little kitties of the world. For a life, I raise my three beautiful daughters, and do artwork. For fun, I like to garden, hot tub with the hubby, visit the beach, and explore local wineries.

The Fairytale Nerd: And what is your most treasured possession?
Derrolyn: Right now? Probably the flash drive with my latest book saved on it. It’s the one thing aside from my family that I might run into a burning building to retrieve.

The Fairytale Nerd: What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Derrolyn: Abstinence.

The Fairytale Nerd: Interesting answer! Anyway, what is the worst thing about being a writer? What is the best?
Derrolyn: The best: Sudden flashes of insight and inspiration that make plots sparkle. The worst: Waiting for those moments to occur.

The Fairytale Nerd: Choose: the one who loves you or the one you love?
Derrolyn: My first instinct is to play it safe, and say the one who loves me. I’ve had it both ways, and the second one sucks. However, over time, I’ve learned that the best relationship plays out like a tennis match between two equally skilled opponents. The ball is constantly in motion, moves back and forth, and never stays on one side for too long. Oh, and the winner will vary from day to day!

The Fairytale Nerd: If you are invisible, what is the first thing you would do?
Derrolyn: Probably figure out a way to steal vast sums of money from evil criminal types so I could quit working and lay about drinking fine wine and writing all day. Hey! There might be a book in that... you know, unintended consequences and all.

The Fairytale Nerd: What is the message (from your books) that you want to convey to your readers?
Derrolyn: First and foremost, I want my books to be fun, escapist entertainment. If you dig deeper, perhaps you’ll find themes of honesty, control, tolerance and sacrifice rearing their (not so) ugly heads.

The Fairytale Nerd: If you could change one character in your book, who would it be? Why?
Derrolyn: Maybe not so much the characters, but their situations. In writing the second (and now third) book in the series I’ve found myself increasingly constrained by the things I’ve written before. I must abide by the rules I’ve established, for I hate it when writers change their horses mid-stream. You know, the old: “Wait a minute! If she/he had that ability/knowledge in the last book, then why didn’t they use it?”

The Fairytale Nerd: Let's talk about the characters in your book. Scenario: Marina is doing intense spring cleaning. What is easy for her to throw out?
Derrolyn: Virtually everything. Marina has been raised (by design, it turns out!) to have little regard for material possessions.

The Fairytale Nerd: What is difficult for her to part with? Why?
Derrolyn: Definitely her surfing paraphernalia, because it allows her to explore the mystery of her heritage.

The Fairytale Nerd: Another scenario. It’s Saturday at noon. What is Ethan doing? Give some details.
Derrolyn: Working. Ethan is a complete control freak with a plan, and the reasons for this become more clear as the series progresses.

The Fairytale Nerd: Thank you so much for your time, Derrolyn!

And Derrolyn is so generous that she is giving away one set of her books Between the Land & the Sea (book one) and The Moon & the Tide (book 2).

Something extraordinary is lurking in the deep ocean waters off the coast of Aptos, California. In just a few weeks after moving to the small beach town, sixteen year old Marina has nearly drowned twice, enchanted the hottest guy in high school, and discovered a supernatural creature. If she can only manage to survive her increasingly dangerous encounters with unpredictable mermaids, she might just be able to unlock the mystery of her past to learn how to appease the mysterious forces that seem to want something from her...and maybe even find true love along the way. 

Between The Land And The Sea is the first book in the series "Marina's Tales". Her story continues on in book two, The Moon And The Tide.

Just when things seem to be all figured out, Marina discovers that there's a lot more going on behind the scenes than she ever imagined. When a terrible accident exposes her secret, she discovers that her whole life has been one big lie, and has to cope with more than one kind of betrayal.

A dangerous enemy arrives on the scene, putting her bravery to the test and forcing her to use all of her new-found talents to protect her family. Will good win out over evil? Can love triumph over jealousy?

Sign up HERE now to win these fabulous mermaid books! contest ended.

Giveaway Rules:

Open to persons 13 years old or older.

Only one person per entry please. Those exceeding one will not be considered.

This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.

Contest ends on SEPTEMBER 21, 2011.

Requirements: 

- leave your email address so Derrolyn or her agent will have a way of contacting you if you win (please double check the email address you type)

For a more detailed information on the contest rules, please read the Contest Policy.