Welcome to Realm Explorers! In this weekly series, we visit a variety of unique worlds created by talented science fiction and fantasy authors. Enjoy your travels! And don't forget to read to the bottom of the post to find out more about each author and see how to purchase the featured book.
Author’s name: Precarious Yates
Title of book: The Heart of the Caveat Whale trilogy
Brief summary of the story:
I’m sure you are simply dying to meet some mermaids, but you’ll have to be patient, unless you can breathe under water. And you probably want to meet a few aquavians—
You mean you’ve never heard of aquavians?
These swarthy skinned beauties look human but live under the sea in Aiqua Marrin. They can survive just as well on land, but don't like to stay too long. Their favorite past times are laughter and play.
Except the MerKing comes along and corrupts all of these fun-loving creatures. To top it off, the once friendly mermen are now violent.
There seems no end to the MerKing’s desire to conquer Aiqua Marrin. His conquests move from sea to land. Continents and islands fall prey to his relentless attacks. And he's near unstoppable, as long as Shunda does not rise up against him.
Shunda, a gentle and lonely orphaned aquavian, has no idea he’s the key to freedom for both the aquavians and the merfolk.
The Heart of the Caveat Whale trilogy is now available in a single volume! Find the long lost Captives. Learn the secrets of Pyromarne. Discover the power of The Tiller and the Song. Lounge on the beaches of Hoondiake. Swim among the icebergs of Iyunsha. Visit the garden between the volcanoes. Dare to plunge to the depths of Loesheen Sea. Come to Aiqua Marrin with me!
Brief description of the world or location you created for this story:
Welcome to the world of Aiqua Marrin! There's quite a bit of water here, more ocean than even on earth. You may want to wear your swimsuit. Perhaps a mermaid tail.
If we were to visit Aiqua Marrin as tourists, what would you recommend we see or do there?
Definitely visit the beaches of Hoondiake, especially those along the Fodun Sea. But don't go swimming yet…not unless you know how to wield a trident.
What dangers should we avoid in Aiqua Marrin?
The Sukta Lagoon, in the Fodun Sea, is full of trouble. But it's not as terrifying as the eidolons’ cave.
Is there a distinct or unusual food or meal that might be found on Aiqua Marrin?
Obviously, most of the food is seafood. On Hoondiake, Shunda finds human food to be very spicy, like jellyfish stings on his tongue. However, the food from the Ulys, the river people, is always very sweet. And you’ll most likely drink tea if you spend a day with the Ulys. Hot tea, lots of sugar.
What types of weaponry or fighting style the are common in Aiqua Marrin?
The mermen taught the aquavians how to use tridents. The sides of the tridents near the tips are razor sharp.
There are also the kokoduk swords. A prince of Hoondiake is trained to fight using a pair of these swords.
What role, if any, does magic or the supernatural play in the lives of people in Aiqua Marrin? If there is magic, please give some examples of what it involves or how it’s used.
Aquavians rarely employ magic, except for their pearl belts. These belts help the aquavians acclimate quickly to new environments. But the MerKing tries to exploit all the magic he can, particularly the magic in the mystery meat he eats and the strange metal called pyromarne.
Iyunshins, the aquavians from the frozen realm of Iyunaha, have magic stones that respond to verbal commands. Shunda hopes he doesn't blunder the commands before he learns the power of his own words.
What types of plants, animals, or sentient races might we encounter in Aiqua Marrin that we don’t see on Earth?
You’ll want to stay away from bohundogots. These creatures have sixty foot long squid-like tentacles, crab-like legs, and are able to climb onto land for brief periods to snatch their prey or smash buildings.
Nunateesh flyers are gigantic, gentle, ten-eyed swimmers who glide through the waters on nomadic journeys. Some of these are employed by aquavians to help transport them swiftly from one sea to another.
Most of the other creatures are either familiar from our world, or, like the sea dragon, exponentially larger.
Has anything in your actual life inspired the locations, cultures, etc. in your book?I wrote The Heart of the Caveat Whale in the weeks and months following the devastating tsunami on St. Stephen’s Day 2004. It's crazy how an event on the other side of the world can impact someone so completely. I spent the next few years polishing the story into its current form. I hope you enjoy!
Author Biography:
Precarious Yates lives in Texas with husband, daughter, dogs, chickens, sheep and by the time you read this some other exotic creature her husband or daughter has brought home. She had studied the plight of and worked toward the abolition of modern slavery for over a decade before sitting down to write Revelation Special Ops. She was further inspired by the work of her sister-in-law, who helped to found Love146, an organization that works to raise awareness about human trafficking and builds safe homes in vulnerable regions. Yates spent several years overseas as a missionary in Ireland, and also did missions work in India and the Philippines. Her passion for literature has become her means of further educating young adults of the realities of modern slavery, while producing hope through the power of Christ Jesus in us.
Where, and in what formats, can we purchase your book(s)?
Where can readers connect with you online?
There's the blog for The Heart of the Caveat Whale. And the blog for Precarious Yates. I also have a Facebook page, and an author page on Amazon.
I hope you all enjoyed the trip to Cambrogi. Questions about the world or the book? Ask them in the comments and the author will get back to you!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to the kingdom of Arke, in Realm Explorers Part XC!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to the kingdom of Arke, in Realm Explorers Part XC!
-Annie Douglass Lima