Welcome to my stop along the Painted Maidens tour! Terra Harmony is here to tell us all about her book, and the colors she thought of while writing it. Thanks, Terra, for keeping my love of colors in mind when you decided on this post!

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The Colors of the Painted Maidens
by Terra Harmony

The Rising, book one of the Painted Maidens Trilogy, will be released November 8^th.  Get ready for mermaids and werewolves everyone!  In every book I write, I try to bring a little ‘eco-awareness’ into them. For The Rising, the eco part is very subdued. In the first book of the series, my main goal is to really get readers to fall in love with the ocean and all the creatures in it. It is a whole new, amazing world – right on our own planet. The textures and even the colors can all come across as very unique, and beautiful in their own way.

I know how much Jana loves colors, so as a guest on her blog I wanted to talk about the colors of the Painted Maidens in my book, which reflect all the colors of the ocean itself. I’m going to share a few excerpts with you that hopefully conjure some awesome imagery in your own minds. Here is something from the second chapter, and it gives you an idea of the world Serena (our main character) lives in:

The entire journey home Serena works to block out the hyper, overactive vibe of her peers, instead concentrating on the world around her. She turns her head as she swims, emitting a series of whistles and clicks.

The vibrations ruffle the scales of those ahead of her. Some glance back, annoyed, but most have learned to ignore her by now. The sounds return to Serena, and the underwater world shifts from blurry, darkened forms into sharp, focused shapes.

Rockfish loiter in and out of the kelp forest along the shore while the plants move, occasionally allowing shafts of moonlight to pierce deeper into the ocean. Where the bottom shallows out and rock changes to powdery white sand, candy-striped shrimp dart among sea anemones, immune to the sting. A brown and yellow decorated warbonnet peers out with large eyes from behind soft pink coral. The skittish eel-like fish retreats as the caste column passes. Farther out to sea, Serena spots the silhouettes of a pod of orcas skimming the surface, their sleek, black dorsal fins slicing through open air.

A little further into the book, all of the mermaids (called Undine) are together in the Great Hall. This is where I really try to portray colors of the ocean through the Undine themselves, including the bioluminescence found in deeper waters:

The largest room of the kingdom is packed with the Undine. The expansive ceiling is bare, with most of the larger stalactites long since removed. Underneath it, a mob of Undine stand shoulder to shoulder. They smell as bitter as a kelp forest, the stench so thick in the air Serena could almost taste it. She watches Mariam run her tongue through her mouth in distaste.

Serena smiles to herself. Mariam is not used to crowds, either.

The amount of scales vary on each of the Undine, though most don their protective armor up to their necks because it is simply too difficult to remove. There are deep reds, pinks, silvers, golds, and the occasional green, like crowded corals packed onto a cliff, clamoring to reach the best nutrients.

Serena’s dark blue and Mariam’s brown help them blend in to the shadows of the cliff that hangs over them. Only Ervin’s scales stand out, if anything because of their modesty. They are light, dull brown, as is the same with most males, lacking the vibrant colors of Undine maidens.

The only family to sport orange – the Sunbeam family, aptly named – stand together, their collective color shining out like a beacon.

In the Great Hall, bioluminescent hair of most still glows like stimulated jellyfish. The radiance smolders out as the minutes pass after they’ve surfaced. An almost coordinated wave of dying embers, rolling through the crowd all the way to the back.

In Undine Society, only one merman sports colors other than light brown – the king himself. In fact, his tail is said to contain all of the hues of the Undine Painted Maidens. The next excerpt is a brief scene during the final battle, with the king making his grand entrance topside.

 Just as the tides begin to turn, a fresh group of wolves arrive. This pack is led by Alaric. Serena grits her teeth at the howl he emits. But Alaric’s call is answered by another. It is a deep rumble, moving in from the ocean. All eyes turn toward the water, Undine and wolf alike.

King Merrick sits on top of the whale rock, summoning the water. The sea obliges, rising up at his command.

The king looms above the water. His multicolored scales glisten in the sunlight, lighting up the rock and the water that surrounds it like a rainbow. The king rides the arched kaleidoscope of colors like he has done it his entire life.

I hope you have enjoyed the glimpse into my book. Please let me know what you think either by leaving a comment, and don’t forget to enter the contest!

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Thanks for stopping by, Terra!

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