E.S. Ivy's Blog, page 2
February 5, 2014
I'm excited about Books, Babies, and Bows review of ...
I'm excited about Books, Babies, and Bows review of Miri Attwater and All that Glitters!Books, Babies, and Bows said that in All That Glitters "...the masterfully laid out mystery in the book had us quickly turning pages..."
And that "...E. S. Ivy uses her scientific background to weave real science seamlessly into the storyline."
A dragon wrasse being cleaned by Rainbow cleaner wrasses on a reef in Hawaii. By Brocken Inaglory via Wikimedia Commons On of the favorite parts for Jenny and her two daughters was the scene where Miri visits a fish cleaning station to remove the algae growing on her skin. Did you also wonder if fish cleaning stations are real? They are!When I first learned about them I was fascinated too. Next week, I'll start a series of posts about fish cleaning stations.
Books, Babies, and Bows is a wonderful review site where Jenny reviews kids' books with her two young daughters in mind. Hop on over and read the full review of Miri Attwater and All That Glitters over at Books, Babies, and Bows and find other great kids' books while you're there.
January 29, 2014
Octopus Vs. Shark
A reader got to wondering about who would win in a fight, a shark or a puma? I did tons of research on sharks for the Miri Attwater series, but I don't remember coming across that particular information. But I can't resist a good research topic.
I couldn't find anything about shark vs. puma or even shark vs. lion. But I did find that a lion lost to a crocodile. And one unfortunate bull shark found that he shouldn't have tried to take on a hippo. Given that the encounter would have to happen at the edge of water or in water, I think the outcome would likely be similar to crocodile vs. lion. My money would be on the shark.
The most impressive to me, though, was something I remembered from my original research. Given our last topic was octopus it seems appropriate. Who would win in shark vs. octopus? Check out the video below, Shark vs. Octopus below. The winner might surprise you.
To check out that amazing octopus camouflage they mentioned, see my post: Octopus camouflage, science behind the magical mermaids of Miri Attwater.
To learn more about real spiny dogfish sharks and the Giant Pacific octopus, try the following sites:
Giant Pacific Octopus on NationalGeographic.com
Spiny dogfish shark on Discovery.com
I couldn't find anything about shark vs. puma or even shark vs. lion. But I did find that a lion lost to a crocodile. And one unfortunate bull shark found that he shouldn't have tried to take on a hippo. Given that the encounter would have to happen at the edge of water or in water, I think the outcome would likely be similar to crocodile vs. lion. My money would be on the shark.
The most impressive to me, though, was something I remembered from my original research. Given our last topic was octopus it seems appropriate. Who would win in shark vs. octopus? Check out the video below, Shark vs. Octopus below. The winner might surprise you.
To check out that amazing octopus camouflage they mentioned, see my post: Octopus camouflage, science behind the magical mermaids of Miri Attwater.
To learn more about real spiny dogfish sharks and the Giant Pacific octopus, try the following sites:
Giant Pacific Octopus on NationalGeographic.com
Spiny dogfish shark on Discovery.com
January 22, 2014
The science behind the mermaids of Miri Attwater: octopus camouflage
In celebration of the release of Book 2, Miri Attwater and All that Glitters, I thought it would be fitting to go a little into the science behind the magic of the Miri Attwater series.Science is amazing. It's better than magic! Because it's real.
When I first started the Miri books, my intention was to write pure fantasy, with magic and everything. Magic makes things easy. Yeah, I know you have to come up with rules but -
Need something? Make up a rule and -
Bam!
You have something. It's magic!
The problem was, every time I got to the point in the story where Miri's legs magically turned into tails, it just didn't feel right to me. Even though other writers used it - in fact the original myths even used it - it still felt hollow and unbelievable. I mean, how could legs turn into tails?
Really.
I mean, I knew it wasn't "real," but still my brain wanted to understand exactly how that could happen.
The answer?
An octopus.Now you might be thinking, "Ew! What could an octopus possibly have to do with mermaids! That's gross!" just like Miri. But it wasn't just the octopus itself, it was octopus camouflage.
I saw a video of octopus camouflage. And I believed it was possible for mermaid legs to turn into tails.
Watch. And believe.
January 21, 2014
Book 2 in the Miri Attwater series, Miri Attwater and All that Glitters
Book 2 in the Miri Attwater series, Miri Attwater and All That Glitters is now out!
(Confetti and streamers compliments of my son! Aren't they great? I would have added some cheering and clapping but it's just annoying when you click on a website and your speakers start blaring. So, you're welcome.)
Find out how Miri copes with living at the bottom of the ocean and see what adventures she gets into. Check it out on Amazon.
(Confetti and streamers compliments of my son! Aren't they great? I would have added some cheering and clapping but it's just annoying when you click on a website and your speakers start blaring. So, you're welcome.)
Find out how Miri copes with living at the bottom of the ocean and see what adventures she gets into. Check it out on Amazon.
December 17, 2013
The new cover for Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret now avaible on Amazon for Kindle
The new cover for Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret is up! Check it out on Amazon.
November 20, 2013
Miri Attwater and the Ocean' Secret book cover design, part 5 - the new cover
Now it's time to put it all together! Miri in full color, the background...
Oh! And we added a title, of course.
And the author name. That's really important.
So here it is - the brand new cover for Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret!
So what do you think?
Oh! And we added a title, of course.
And the author name. That's really important.
So here it is - the brand new cover for Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret!
So what do you think?
November 12, 2013
Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret Cover Redesign, part 5
Now that we had Miri all done for the covers of the Miri Attwater series, the first book needed a background. We did a version of the original cover, a glimpse the castle in the mermaid colony of Kai Kaona.
It's a little simpler than before, but it should show up better in ebook form than the original cover.
It's a little simpler than before, but it should show up better in ebook form than the original cover.
November 5, 2013
Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret cover design, part 4
Last week we looked at some changes to the color version of Miri, giving her hands and modifying things like her hair a little bit. But for the new covers for the Miri Attwater series, we didn't want it to just be a flat drawing.
The next step was to add some shading. We decorated her swimsuit a bit. And we corrected finally corrected that color mistake.
Did you figure that out the color mistake yet? Take a look the version in last week's post if you need a hint!
The next step was to add some shading. We decorated her swimsuit a bit. And we corrected finally corrected that color mistake.
Did you figure that out the color mistake yet? Take a look the version in last week's post if you need a hint!
October 29, 2013
Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret Cover Redesign, Part 3
In past posts I've showed you the original pencil sketch of Miri and the first colored version of her face. Or course, for the new cover of Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret, we needed Miri to be more than just a floating head.
The hair changed a bit too. It's shorter and the curls are a bit softer. But, there's still the same mistake from last week. Have you spotted it yet?
The hair changed a bit too. It's shorter and the curls are a bit softer. But, there's still the same mistake from last week. Have you spotted it yet?
October 22, 2013
New Cover for Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret, Part 2
Last week I showed you the first step in the new book cover design for the Miri Attwater series. Of course Miri can't stay black and white. :) Next step, color!
Oops! Something is wrong with this picture... do you know what it is? I didn't even catch it. One of my girls pointed it out.
Hint - one of the colors is wrong.
Oops! Something is wrong with this picture... do you know what it is? I didn't even catch it. One of my girls pointed it out.
Hint - one of the colors is wrong.
