Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Guest Blog and Giveaway with Dianne Lynn Gardner





I was so excited to read The Creatively Green Writer at Home Mom’s blog description! And that she’s hosting my post during my Pouraka book tour. Why? Because she speaks after my own heart, and because the book that’s on tour right now comes from a passion to be ‘green’!

Whereas Pouraka (Pour rah kah) is not a green garden, it is rather a sea cave but a garden all the same. It nurtures sea stars and anemones, coral and mosses and tiny creatures that are all a part of this wide and wonderful earth’s eco system. 

The ocean is one of the least explored spaces in this galaxy, and yet it harbors more life than anywhere else that man knows of. When a person decides to go “green”, to use as many natural resources as possible, they are choosing to keep the ocean clean and unspoiled as much as they are protecting any other environment. 

In the novel Pouraka, this sea cavern shelters springs that are magical. Now we may be talking fantasy rather than environmental protection but on one hand the magic represents dreams that some people have of peace, and safety and living in a world free from pollution. In the enchanted pools of Pouraka the merpeople transform into humans that can walk on the sandy beaches, or dolphins that swim the depths of the ocean. 

There’s not story without conflict, just as in life. Just as those who believe in ‘green’ the enemy in Pouraka are the gill netters that seine life from the ocean floor and cast it away recklessly and indiscriminately. The oil rigs that pollute the air and the water, bringing torment to those nearby. And the dolphin hunters who drive the gentle creatures to a horrid death. 

It’s my hope that Pouraka can touch more lives  and encourage readers to go ‘green’ by bringing a new awareness of the importance every living creature on earth plays in the balance of life. 

Pouraka is a love story but it’s also an environmental statement, and a gentle eye opener for those who don’t know what sea creatures suffer. 

Thank you for having me on your blog Wenona. I’m thrilled that we met up! 

Pouraka
Book One
Dianne Lynn Gardner

Genre: Fantasy romance

Publisher: Dianne Lynn Gardner

ASIN: B00T0PED40

Number of pages: 242
Word Count: 75369

Cover Artist: Dianne Lynn Gardner

Book Description:

Pouraka is a magical sea cavern tucked under the rocky cliffs near Barnacle Bay. Cora, a Pouraka mer, is torn between her friends in the seaside town, and her true love Tas, a foreign mer whose people fled when men invaded their waters.

Life becomes difficult for all mers when an arrogant oil rigger's son, Tom, finds the bay and the rich aquatic life it harbors. When Tas attempts to rescue a pod of dolphins from Tom's gill net, he is captured and taken away as a prize to be sold to a theme park. When Cora hears of his capture she changes into human form and travels south to find him, risking her life to free him.

Time away from Pouraka leaves the cavern vulnerable, and a new threat arises when tourists discover its magic.



Available at Amazon


Excerpt:

Leni brushed his hair back with his hands and focused on the ocean again. Cora followed his eye. Stars cast dancing beams that rippled in the dark. Tiny lights flickered in the distance and the lights of a boat on the horizon spread a beam of color on the quiet waters. Leni rubbed his chin awhile. “I take it he’s in merman form?” 

The look on Leni’s face when she nodded, and the way he shook his head made Cora’s stomach churn. “You have to help us, Leni. There’s no one else.”

“Cora.” Leni bowed his head. Cora waited for him to think, to come up with a plan but all he did was shake his head over and over again.

“Leni!” she pleaded.

“I’m not sure what all I can do. If they caught themselves a merman, they aren’t going to give him up just because an old fisherman asks them to. If it’s that oil rigger’s son, he’ll laugh and who knows what he’d do to Tas. They don’t have any respect for me you know. They don’t have much respect for life at all.”

“What are you saying?” She couldn’t believe his response. Leni had always been so understanding, so available when the merpeople needed him. “Are you saying you won’t do anything?”

“I’m saying I can’t just race out there and ask them to release Tas. If he’s held captive, he’s going to be under tight security. Heck, he might not even be on that boat. He might be halfway to Ocean Bend by now.”

“Leni!”

“Cora, this is bigger than you can imagine. Men have been trying to catch merfolk for thousands of years! They’ll take him to the nearest lab or university and do tests on him. The newspapers will be all over it. The government might even claim him.” He shook his head again and met Cora’s eyes. A sympathetic pout turned down the corners of his lips. “I’m afraid Tas’ fate is out of our hands, Cora. You’d better warn your friends because those people will be coming back for more. Believe me.”

About the Author:

Dianne is an author and illustrator of YA adventure fantasy with a dab of historical content thrown in. Building worlds that might resemble the forests of her home in the Pacific Northwest, or the shimmering deserts of Arizona, add to that a pinch of magic dust and a few million stars and you just might find the portal to another Realm.

Happily married to a man that puts up with her celestial wanderings and wonderings, she is the mother of seven lovely adult children and grandmother to sixteen gorgeous boys and girls.

Dianne loves writing, painting in oils and living in other dimensions. She finds life much more colorful that way! Her books are middle grade to young adult adventure fantasies with dragons and wizards and sorcery and battles on the high seas. Her grandchildren are a big inspiration for her stories. There’s a shared camaraderie, something akin to what C.S. Lewis said about someday being old enough to enjoy fairy tales again.

Dianne’s newest series Pouraka dives into the depths to explore life as a mer. She also has a series that is being re released by PDMI publishing called the Ian’s Realm Saga.

Stretching her tent stakes, she is working on an Indie Film production of her V book Cassandra’s Castle.



Twitter @DianneGardner





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1 comment:

DLGardner said...

Thanks so much for having Pouraka on your blog today!