Depths
Page 17
Add that to the well-known mythology of sirens in that time and the soul imagery in the original Little Mermaid and this story started to write itself.
Ancient Rome- As a fantasy author who writes character-driven stories, I don’t worry too much about being historically accurate in the language or settings that I use. However, I did do some research on Ancient Rome to give Solis some of the flavor I was looking for.
Big shout out to Philip Matyszak for his book 24 Hours in Ancient Rome. It is extremely reader friendly and very helpful in that respect.
Sign Language- There was sign language in Ancient Rome! Unfortunately, none of it was written down or standardized in a way that I could possibly duplicate here. So I made the artistic choice to use American Sign Language when describing the signs used by Ari and Jonas. I figured that, if I was going to have everyone speak mostly modern English, I might as well have them use more modern sign language too.
Plus, sign language is a beautiful language that I really wanted to include in one of my books.
You- Thank you so much for reading DEPTHS: A Tale of the Little Mermaid. If you enjoyed the story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Your feedback can make a huge difference in increasing this book’s visibility and improving future novels.
You can also reach me directly at sjacquebooks@gmail.com or my website sjacquebooks.com.
Those that sign up for my newsletter will receive a free short story and other extras.
And just keep reading for the full blurb and cover reveal of Graves!
Behind all my training and searching, I knew this day would come. That I would rescue my sisters from the graves and devils of their past, and we would be a family again.
Human again.
When Arianna destroyed the shrine to her old god, she thought she was free to build a new life in the human world. But controlling her new powers and navigating her relationships isn’t as easy as she thought it would be. Her sisters might be the only ones who can truly understand. They are also haunted by their pasts, unable to move on from the graves they left behind as sirens.
To help her sister atone for her past, Ari re-awakens the dark god she pushed aside and travels to the world of the dead.
GRAVES is the direct sequel to Depths, a darker twist on The Little Mermaid that borrows from Greek/Roman mythology and early Christianity.
Available on Amazon
What are HighTower Fairytales?
HighTower Fairytales lean more toward the original sources (NOT Disney) with rich semi-historical settings. They have magic. They have scary monsters. And, most importantly, they have unique and complex characters who are trying hard to improve themselves.
Basically, they are stories meant to inspire, but have a very difficult and occasionally dark tower to climb. They also include plenty of humor and all the heroes marry their prince/princess charming and live happily ever after at the end.
Most are conservatively marked at 14+ and are appropriate for teens and young adults.
Currently these stories include:
WINTER FALLS: A Tale of the Snow Queen (2017)
Katie attempts to save her true love and escape a world of fairytales ruled by the Winter Queen.
On Amazon
On Goodreads
CRY WOLF: A Tale of Beauty and the Beast (2020)
When her father is killed on a wolf hunt, Isabelle strikes out on her own to face the dreaded beast and finds things are not what they seem.
On Amazon
On Goodreads
DEPTHS: A Tale of the Little Mermaid (2020)
When her family of deadly sirens order Arianna to sacrifice the heart of a mortal prince, Ari must decide what lies in the depths of her soul.
On Amazon
On Goodreads
ROBIN’S HOOD: A Tale of Sherwood Forest (2021)
When her husband, Robin of Locksley, doesn’t come home from the crusades, Marian puts on his hood to fight against the sheriff and his men.
On Amazon
On Goodreads
And more on the way!! Keep reading for a complete list of all of my published titles.
About the Author
Jacque Stevens wrote her first novel as a stress relief activity during nursing school. Now as a fulltime nurse working in mental and developmental health, she continues to write stories filled with elves, fairies, and all things awesome. She lives in Utah so yes, she does have a huge extended family and occasionally eats green jello, but she does not yet own a minivan.
New friends, enemies, and other visitors from cyberspace can reach Jacque at sjacquebooks@gmail.com and sjacquebooks.com.
Also by Jacque Stevens:
WINTER FALLS: A Tale of the Snow Queen (2017)
Katie attempts to save her true love and escape a world of fairytales ruled by the Winter Queen.
On Amazon
On Goodreads
CRY WOLF: A Tale of Beauty and the Beast (2020)
When her father is killed on a wolf hunt, Isabelle strikes out on her own to face the dreaded beast and finds things are not what they seem.
On Amazon
On Goodreads
DEPTHS: A Tale of the Little Mermaid (2020)
When her family of deadly sirens order Arianna to sacrifice the heart of a mortal prince, Ari must decide what lies in the depths of her soul.
On Amazon
On Goodreads
ROBIN’S HOOD: A Tale of Sherwood Forest (2021)
When her husband, Robin of Locksley, doesn’t come home from the crusades, Marian puts on his hood to fight against the sheriff and his men.
On Amazon
On Goodreads
FAIRY RING SERIES: When fourteen-year-old Livy’s imaginary fairy friends cause a death in the real world, she must unravel the truth behind her so-called schizophrenic delusions before they take another life—hers.
FAIRY RING: Shards of Janderelle
On Amazon
On Goodreads
FAIRY RING: Changeling of Janderelle
On Amazon
On Goodreads
FAIRY RING: Prince of Janderelle
On Amazon
On Goodreads
THE STONE BEARERS (2016): To change her fate, Ashira releases a snarky djinni that could grant her every wish or trigger her destruction.
On Amazon
On Goodreads
THE FROG’S PRINCESS: A Stone Bearers Short Story included in THE FANTASTIC WORLDS Anthology (2016) and given free to newsletter subscribers.
On Amazon
On Goodreads
STONE BEARERS: THE QUEEN’S SERIES
After their mother dies from a mysterious curse, two elves leave the forest to find answers and inadvertently restart an old war between elves and humans.
THE QUEEN’S OPAL: A Stone Bearers Novel (Book One)
On Amazon
On Goodreads
THE QUEEN’S GIFT: A Stone Bearers Novel (Book Two)
On Amazon
On Goodreads
THE QUEEN’S HEIR: A Stone Bearers Novel (Book Three)
On Amazon
On Goodreads
THE QUEEN’S BANE: A Stone Bearers Novel (Book Four)
On Amazon
On Goodreads
THE QUEEN’S RITE: A Stone Bearers Novel (Book Five)
On Amazon
On Goodreads