Judi Fennell | When Pigs Fly...

Okay, so I don't actually have pigs flying in my latest Mer book, Wild Blue Under, out this month from Sourcebooks Casablanca. But I do have seagulls. And peregrines. An albatross with an agenda. Oh, and a couple of sparrow sleuths with delusions of grandeur. Well, one has delusions, the other's just delusional. What's the difference? You have to meet Adele and Maybelle to find out.

But wait, isn't my series supposed to be about Mers? As in Mer men and Mer maids?

Yes, I do write about Mers (we Humans were the ones who added the gender tags), but in Wild Blue Under we've got a literal fish-out-of-water story. In In Over Her Head, we had a Human-in-the-water story; now the tide has turned. Rod, prince of the Mer world and heir to the throne (his brother, Reel, was the hero of book 1, and, yes, you are supposed to laugh at their names. Their parents have the same screwy sense of humor I do.) In order for Rod to claim the throne, The Oceanic Council decrees that he must return the lost Mer princess to their world. Should be a piece of kelp, right?

Notsomuch. See, Valerie Dumere (do the Latin on her last name and you'll get it) has no clue she's a Mer, let alone a princess. As far as she knows, living in land-locked Kansas, she's allergic to the ocean and about to lose the store-her legacy-left to her by her mother. So when a hot guy comes along claiming to be her destiny and wants to take her away from all this, well, heck, she's not dead. She's gonna consider it.

Until she finds out she has to head eastward. All the way. To the coast. A la agua. A la mer. Whatever language you want to say it in, Val's not buying it. She's been to the ocean once, thankyouverymuch, and almost died because of the allergy.

Rod's got his work cut out for him to get her to follow him. He doesn't, however, have to work very hard to get her to fall for him! Flying seagulls are good for throwing them into each others’ arms... with some pretty interesting results. But then the albatross shows up, the whole thing starts to go down a whirlpool, and, next thing you know, Val's headed eastward. She must be out of her mind, right?

Which is pretty much how she spends the rest of the trip. I mean, wouldn't you? Dive-bombing peregrines trying to take out your car? Check. An albatross dropping fish all over the place to cut you off? Check. A flock of birds driving a tractor-trailer right at you...

And if all this bird mayhem weren't bad enough, then Rod tries to toss her some line about getting a tail and living under the sea in Atlantis. What? Does he think she was born yesterday?

I had as much fun putting a Mer on land as I did dropping a Human in the sea. Now, if only I could figure out how to work in that flying pig thing..

Here's some of the mayhem for you:

The flock of birds was almost upon them. "Retreat!" Livingston ordered.

"Haaaaaaaaaang oooooooon!" Val slammed on the brakes. Again.

She downshifted.

Again.

She wrenched the wheel.

Again.

And prayed-again-that the car wouldn’t roll.

The car didn’t, but Livingston unfortunately did-across the backseat, into the door, then onto the floor, landing with an "oomph," while Rod smashed against his door and the force of the turn threw her practically horizontal across his lap.

Any other time...

Rod pushed her upright, bracing himself against her seat and the dash, the car teetering on two tires, gears screaming, and she compensated by hauling the steering wheel back the other way.

Livingston took another tumble to the opposite side of the backseat, and a nasty thump accompanied the moment when the car straightened out.

"They’re coming," Rod said, looking out the rear window.

"So is another car," Val said, looking out the front one. She changed gears, and the car jumped forward.

Livingston landed with a splat and shook his head. "I knew I should have retired after that typhoon recovery," he muttered, settling back on the seat.

"You might want to buckle up, Livingston," she said, trying to get the car to maximum speed-in her own lane. That other car was approaching fast.

"With what?" Livingston griped. "If I put that lap thing across me, I’m going to end up looking like roadkill. No thank you. You just drive straight and I’m good."

"Better to look like roadkill than be it." Truer words were never spoken. Val took a deep breath and focused on preventing the roadkill as the other car drew closer. "How’s our pack of bloodhounds, Rod?"

"Peregrine in the lead, godsdammit!" We’re not going to outrun him. Not in this."

"Hey, I just outmaneuvered a tractor trailer. I’ll give that peregrine my best shot. I was a cab driver at one point." One job among many. "Trust me, I can outmaneuver a lot of things, and they can only keep that speed for so long."

A peregrine. Now she was dealing with peregrines-the odd, ironic part being that she’d accepted Rod’s word at face value. Not one "you’re kidding!" in sight.

"Here he comes." Livingston popped back onto his webbed feet, tap-dancing across the seat. "Son of a Sandpiper, there are two of them! Get ready for more fancy driving. I’m going to wedge myself under your seat and keep an eye out the back. You take the front, Rod."

"I’m on it." Rod leaned forward, resting his forearm on the dash. His shirt stretched tight across the V of his back, slipping out of his waistband and distracting Val for way longer than she had, as the oncoming car blared its horn and whizzed past them.

The road. Right.

"One’s approaching from the north at forty-five knots, the other from the northeast, thirty knots."

"Knots? What are knots?" Val leaned over the steering wheel, not seeing what Rod did in the cloudy sky. "Where are they?”"

"Valerie, knots are a nautical term. Slightly slower than your miles per hour," Livingston piped up from somewhere under Rod’s glorious gluteus-something she didn’t need to think about right then. "Do you see anything, Rod?"

"Portside, coming low. They’re packing." Rod’s voice was low, almost a growl as his gaze slid across her.

Val glanced out the window, then wished she hadn’t. Packing. As in, carrying what looked to be something feathery and limp in their talons. This was not going to be pretty.

© Judi Fennell, Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2009

And please feel free to stop by my website to register to win one of two remaining romantic beach getaway weekends. The first one was awarded in June, the second will be awarded November 30, and the third February 28, 2010. Rooms are provided by the Atlantis Inn B&B in Ocean City, NJ and the Hibiscus House B&B in West Palm Beach, FL

WILD BLUE UNDER--book 2 in the Mer Series--in stores November 2009!

The underwater kingdom is his as soon as he claims his queen... Rod Tritone has the looks and charm to snag any queen he wants for his Mer kingdom, but unfortunately, it's not up to him. As fate would have it, the one woman destined to rule with him is terrified of water...

She lives in land-locked Kansas and has no idea she's a princess... Valerie Dumere thinks Rod is gorgeous and irresistible-but why does he keep insisting she has another side to herself that only he can show her?

Somehow, Rod has to prove to her who she really is. But when she finds out the truth, will she ever forgive him?

About the Author
Judi Fennell is an award-winning author. Her romance novels have been finalists in Gather.com's First Chapters and First Chapters Romance contests, as well as the third American Title contest. She spends family vacations at the Jersey Shore, the setting for some of her paranormal romance series. She lives in suburban Philadelphia, PA.