Title: The Mermaid’s Wrath
Author: Andie Holman
Genre: Romantic fantasy
Book Blurb:
The ocean is dying. A mermaid vows to save it.
Jelly despises humanity for the destruction they’ve inflicted on the Mers, barely surviving in a magical marine bubble, isolated from the rest of the world. Battling to save what sea life she can from the choking, accelerating pollution, she also contends with the oppressive policies of the Trident, the governing body forcing mermaids into covert missions on the surface.
When Jelly's mind opens to terrifying premonitions, she must leave the ocean and collaborate with estranged magical beings, the Surfecti. She’s seen one of theirs in a vision, a woman abducted for the power in her veins. The Surfecti surprise her, especially the men, mystical and intriguing, but she struggles to open her heart to them, haunted by the memories of the Trident.
The black pearl she wears holds a secret. If the wicked creature hunting her claims it, he will exterminate humans so the earth can heal. Faced with an impossible decision, Jelly grapples with the dilemma of saving humanity or the ocean she calls home, all while confronting her unseen role in the dying world around her.
Excerpt –
“These over here are on special. Two for one.” She winked and whispered conspiratorially, “Can never have too much laundry soap.” Her smile was too bright and forced. “What kind are you looking for, sweetheart?”
I ignored her question and gaped at the wall of jugs, my eyes scanning back and forth. My heart pounded as I imagined their future, weather-torn and deteriorating under the sun and the battering waves. My head swam. The massive space was suddenly too confined, and the artificial air was stifling.
A frazzled woman pushed past us with an enormous toy car containing two restless children. I stared at the next generation of plastic consumers. The girl chewed the foot of a female doll while the boy aimed at jugs with his pretend gun. The exhausted woman grabbed a jug, the one for invisible stains, and wordlessly plopped it on the boy’s lap. He whined. The girl swatted him with her doll, and he broke into a shrilling noise. It sounded like a dolphin in pain.
My pearl pendant pressed hard into the notch in my throat, and I struggled to breathe past the sensation. The mother yelled at the boy to hush. He smacked his sister, and she started wailing, high-pitched and keening, remarkably similar to a distressed whale. The children unwittingly performed a two-part harmony of ocean distress, and my nervous system flew out of control.
I panicked. Abort! Abort now! But my brain overwhelmed my internal survival, showing me the consequences of human ignorance. It flooded my mind with abandoned fishing nets, heaving with bloated, dead bodies. Gentle giants reduced to bones from tenacious ropes trapping their jaws shut. Strangled sea life spun through my mind next to plastic bags, bottles, and six-pack rings. I choked for breath.
The music overhead tripped into a song telling me not to worry and be happy. The pearl snapped at my heartbeat, which rocketed higher and faster. I fell into my comfort zone. Anger. I bared my teeth and glared at the fortress of plastic. I fisted and released my hands, trying to shake off the rage. The harried mother glanced at me when I growled in my throat and put pep in her step, hurriedly pushing her squalling car.
The store assistant frowned. “You don’t look so good. Are you okay? Can I get you some water, sugar?”
The music scraped against my nerves. The harsh fluorescent lights blurred my vision as the jugs shone brighter, as if backlit. The overpowering scents assaulted my nose, making me nauseous as flowers and lemons collided. “So much waste,” I gritted through clenched teeth. “What is wrong with you people? Why do you use so much plastic?” Sweat prickled my skin, sliding past my ear.
Her kind face creased with concern. “Sweetie, it’s no big deal. It’s just plastic.”
I bit on my cheek to startle myself and rein in my anger. It didn’t work. I mimicked her in a deathly tone, pacing toward the jugs with tight fists, my nails cutting into flesh. “No big deal?” My voice strained, edging with panicked laughter. “No. Big. Deal?”
I bit down again, harder, and blood poured from my cheek, staining my teeth as I snarled, “You humans. You only think of yourselves. You are reckless and selfish, needing more and more and more.”
My breath came in harsh pants, and my heart hammered my ribs. The pearl jerked on its chain, pulling hairs from my neck before it hovered and tugged away from me, straining toward the detergent. The lady’s eyes bulged like she’d seen the devil, and she spun away so fast she stumbled. Running, she yelled for assistance on aisle six.
I glowered at the jugs and hissed like a feral cat. “It’s just plastic?” My vision swam and tunneled to white, and a searing pain flared through my sternum. I couldn’t catch my breath, couldn’t see, couldn’t… Something terrible was about to happen, and I was powerless to prevent it. The pearl had taken control. My fists were so tight they hurt.
The pearl yanked, jerking me to step forward. My heart thundered as the scream inside me built, the pressure in my body insurmountable. My arms lifted wide like a puppet, and my hands flew open. I threw my head back and roared, “This entire world is plastic!!!”
With a horrifying boom, the entire fortress of jugs detonated. Sharp fragments of plastic sliced through my skin, and noxious blue soap drenched me like a tidal wave, plastering my thin dress to my body. I swiped at my eyes, stunned at the volcanic destruction. I looked up at the flashing red light of a camera. People screamed. An alarm went off. I turned tail and fled, shrieking in my head for Nell.
Buy links –
Amazon: https://bit.ly/4fOntyB
Author biography –
Raised part pirate, part hillbilly, Andie believed faeries lived in the snapdragons. She still does, seeking wonder and magic in the small moments of life. She weaves her thirty-year career in natural medicine into her stories, while highlighting the environment and our role in its health.
Many places have been home: Bermuda, England, Colorado, and now, a small sliver of Canada, nestled in the Pacific, where she lives with her husband and menagerie of animals.
Social media links –
Private Facebook Group – Jelly’s Scream Team https://www.facebook.com/groups/1052551179822407
Website: https://www.andieholman.com