Today's Special Guest, Romance Author, C.L. Pardington!

Hello Readers,
Please make welcome, the awesome, C.L. Pardington. Leave her a comment. She'll love it!
Tabs

Bio:

My husband and I have been married for ten years, but have been together a total of fifteen. We have four sons, one daughter, a Bernese Mountain Dog named Aspen and a bird-watchin', mouse-catchin' cat named Stitch! 

Originally from Miami, Florida, we'd had enough of living within the 'cone of death' during each hurricane season. And after having a house destroyed during Hurricane Andrew and another destroyed during Hurricane Wilma, it was very easy for us to make the decision to move to the magnificent state of Colorado in 2008. But then as fate would have it, we were delayed from moving due to Hurricane Faye which decided to hit the week we were leaving. 

After being a stay-at-home mom for twelve years, I've decided to put my creative energy into writing books.
A member of the Romance Writers of America.

Blurb:

Talin Ariskan’s whole life has been spent being groomed as the heir to Atlantis.  It’s left him little time to find his future empress, much to his mother’s dismay.

Headstrong and dreaming of love, mer-princess Echo is fleeing from a forced mating with a merman she can’t stand.  When she discovers a hidden abyss, an unexpected transformation begins...

Suddenly in a strange world, unsure of everything and hiding her true identity, Echo meets Talin and realizes that he is the one she’s been waiting for.

As passions flare and love blooms, Talin and Echo must find a way to bridge their separate worlds.  Can their love survive when he discovers what she really is?   Or will they be torn apart forever?

 Excerpt:

“Father, you can’t force me to marry him!”

            King Atargatis watched his oldest daughter, Echo, float before him, her arms crossed in defiance. Her flowing white hair swayed across her pale face and down along her arm, hiding her markings. She had always been strong-willed and he usually let her get her way. Not this time.

            “You will marry Aramis and that’s final! Do you hear me?” he shouted back, harsher than he intended.

            Echo balled her hands into fists, fury burning at her insides. “Why would you make me marry him when I don’t love him?”

            “Your mother and I’d like for you to have an heir or two, to take over the throne someday. And at the rate you’re going—”

            She cut her father off before he could finish. “If you think for one minute I’d ever let him touch me, then you have clearly lost your mind!” A chill ran down her spine. What a disgusting thought, to have Aramis’s hands touching her.

            “I will not have you speak to me like that!” Whether or not he was her father, he was also the Ruler of Oceania. He couldn’t allow someone to swim in on their heated exchange and overhear her speak to him in that manner.

            “If you’re going to force me to marry Aramis against my will, then I’ll speak to you however I choose!” She gave him one last look through narrowed brown eyes before she flicked her tailfin and swam as fast as she could out of the royal cavern and far away from her father.

Streaks of sunlight from the surface beamed through the holes in the coral rocks which made up the palace walls, casting a beautiful reflection of waves throughout the entire room as Naia entered. Frowning, she watched from the doorway as her husband held his forehead against the palm of his hand.  He sat on his gold throne across the vast room which was filled with ornate items that had been collected throughout their kingdom’s history. The coral walls were filled with life. Small groupings of anemone lodged themselves sporadically throughout the room, and protecting themselves within the security of the anemone’s venomous tentacles, were small Percula Clownfish. 

At that moment her attention was drawn to a small school of Yellow Tangs passing through. She loved watching the surrounding sea life thrive. It meant all was well in the kingdom, even if all was not well at home. 

Naia turned her attention back to her husband and gave out a long sigh while looking at him. The passing years had been very good to him. He was still as ruggedly handsome as the day he made her his queen. She loved the way his gold crown complimented his dark tan complexion. The way the sunlight shimmered on the golden brown scales of his tailfin sent shivers down her flowing pink fin.

She swam over to him and brushed a strand of his white hair away from his face, then cupped her hands on his cheeks and looked into his brown eyes.    

“Before I came in, I heard your conversation with Echo through the door. You can’t expect her to abide by your commands instantly this time. She’s always dreamt of falling in love and having a family of her own. Being told to marry someone she’s obviously not in love with can’t be easy for her.”

            The lines hardened across Atargatis’s forehead. “She has no choice! And neither do we,” he growled. Staring back into his wife’s shimmering brown eyes, he couldn’t help but soften his expression. Nearly whispering now, he said, “How much longer am I supposed to hold my patience with her? Echo’s almost twenty-eight years old for Triton’s sake! That’s nearly three years past when she should’ve mated. We can’t postpone this any longer.”

            Dropping her hands from his cheeks Naia settled onto her own throne. “Well, you already know how I feel about this situation,” she said with disappointment in her voice. “You shouldn’t have promised our daughter to Hekili’s son in the first place. Giving him a position in the Guard would’ve been reward enough.”

            She didn’t feel Aramis treated their daughter with respect. And she definitely didn’t see love in his eyes when he looked at her. No, in Naia’s opinion, Echo was merely a means to embed himself deeper into the family in an attempt to further his position in the Guard.

            She knew her husband would never allow that to happen! The only position above Captain was General; that rank was only held by someone from their bloodline. Their oldest son, Sian, held that privilege. Even if something were to happen to Sian, their other son, Finn—who currently held the rank of Guardian—would become the new General, skipping right over Aramis.

            “Yes. I’m well aware of your feelings, or lack thereof, toward Aramis. But I didn’t have a choice. Hekili saved my life and in return I had to give him whatever he wanted,” Atargatis responded. Although he regretted promising his daughter’s hand, he had every intention on keeping his promise.

                                                                        * * *

Letting the flowing current of the water assist her, Echo darted through the dimly lit passages toward her chamber. The sun above was starting to set and soon the floating orbs of light that laced the passages would brighten to full capacity, making it easier for the Mers to see. Even though they had the capability to see in full darkness, it was a draining magical power they reserved for when they truly needed it.

Upon entering her chamber, she spied her younger sister’s orange tail and flowing long brown hair. Nerissa had been waiting by the entrance for her. Echo swam by her without a word, too upset to speak. Nerissa started to enter the chamber after her, but paused when she heard Echo’s best friend, Ariana, call her name.

            “What’s wrong with Eck?” asked Ariana.

“I’m not sure yet,” Nerissa answered. “She just swam by me without saying a word, but I’d bet my life our father is involved somehow.”

Nerissa and Ariana entered Echo’s chamber and found her resting on her kelp bed. Cradling her face in her hands, she was crying with an occasional wince thrown in. Mers hated to cry because clear crystals would form in the corners of their eyes instead of tears, stinging them.

            Echo looked up and dropped her hands to her lap when she realized she was no longer alone. They could then see the last of the tiny crystals falling from her eyes.

            Ariana hung back as Nerissa swam over and rested beside her sister. Growing up, Nerissa and Echo had always been very close. And although many of their physical features were different, she and Echo were very much alike.

Putting her arm around Echo, her voice laced with concern, she asked, “What has our father done this time?”

            Before she answered, Echo looked around her spacious chamber. Her eyes fell upon the layers of coral rock adorning the farthest side, some of the layers protruding out farther than others. Those particular layers were the ones she used to display the numerous treasures their father had given her throughout her life. She’d spend hours looking at them when she was alone with just her thoughts. Her favorite was a palace her father had carved from seashells when he was a young merchild. But now she looked at them as if they were his way of buying her off so she’d do what he wanted—to marry and mate with the person she hated the most—Aramis.

            “He’s refusing to budge! He won’t release my obligation to marry you-know-who!” she finally answered. It made her almost ill to say his name, so she avoided it whenever possible. “I just don’t understand why he’s forcing me to marry that blowfish!”

            “I wish I had an answer for you, sis. But who knows what runs through our father’s mind when he does the things he does.”

            Nerissa was all too familiar with the way their father tried to control their lives. She knew she was fast approaching mating age as well and was already preparing herself to have to deal with him. He could go to Scylla or Charybdis before she was going to let him have a say in who she married. 

            In the next moment Ariana swam up to Echo. They’d grown up together. Her father was once a Guardian for the Royal Guard under the command of then General Atargatis. The girls had become fast friends and were inseparable.

Stopping in front of Echo, Ariana tucked her turquoise fin beneath her and gently settled against the sandy bottom. She brushed the strands of her long brown hair away from her face, draping them over her bare breasts and then rested her hands on top of Echo’s.

“I hate seeing what this is doing to you Eck. And I’m so disappointed in your father for putting you through all of this.” She turned her head and winked at Nerissa before looking back at Echo. “But we promise to find a way to help you get out of this mess.”

Links:

Website: http://www.clpardingtonbooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/c.l.pardington.writer

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CLPardington

C. L.'s Sirens Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/C.L.Sirens/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CLPardington