Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: Song of the Oceanides by J.G. Zymbalist @GoddessFish

Song of the Oceanides

by J.G. Zymbalist

GENRE:  YA Fantasy

BLURB:

Song of the Oceanides is a highly-experimental triple narrative transgenre fantasy that combines elements of historical fiction, YA, myth and fairy tale, science fiction, paranormal romance, and more.  For ages 10-110.

NOTE:  The book is on sale for $0.99.  Free for Kindle Unlimited Members or as part of Kindle MatchBook.

Amazon

EXCERPT:

Blue Hill, Maine.

3 August, 1903.

From the moment Emmylou heard the song of the Oceanides, she recognized something godly in the tune.  As it resounded all across the desolate shoreline of Blue Hill Bay, she recalled the terrible chorus mysticus ringing all throughout that extinct Martian volcano the day her father went missing down in the magma chamber.

Aunt Belphœbe followed along, guiding Maygene through the sands.  “Why don’t you go play in that shipwreck over there?”  Aunt Belphœbe pointed toward a fishing schooner run aground some fifty yards to the south.

When Maygene raced off, Emmylou refused to follow.  By now the chorus of song tormented her so much that an ache had awoken all throughout her clubfoot.  Before long she dropped her walking stick and fell to the earth.  Closing her eyes, she dug both her hands into the sands and lost herself in memories of the volcano.  How could Father be gone?  Though he had often alluded to the perils of Martian vulcanology, she never imagined that someone so good and so wise could go missing.

The song of the Oceanides grew a little bit louder and increasingly dissonant.

Opening her eyes, Emmylou listened very closely.  The song sounded like the stuff of incantation, witchcraft.  And even though she could not comprehend every word, nevertheless she felt certain that the Oceanides meant to cast a spell upon some unfortunate soul.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

If you could apologize to someone in your past, who would it be?

I would apologize in a sardonic way to my various college administrators.  I would tell them:  “I’m sorry I ever came to your raunchy hateful rip-off of a school.”

If you could keep a mythical/ paranormal creature as a pet, what would you have?

I think it would be nice to have a talking tree—not like one of the disgruntled apple trees in The Wizard of Oz, but rather a very nice even-tempered philosophical tree.  That way not only could I sit beneath the tree and contemplate the meaning of life, I could actually consult the tree and maintain a friendly dialogue.

How do you keep your writing different from all the others that write in this particular genre?

I have a very simple unadorned style—something like that of ancient or medieval Asian poetry.  Perhaps because of that the tone is always rather wistful or poignant.  Tonally there is no spiritual violence or snarkiness or sarcasm.  My attitude toward my characters is similar to the way someone like Hans Christian Andersen felt about his characters.  I think I write this way because I’m so introverted and spiritual.  There is no one in the world more introverted and spiritual than me.  I know this because wherever I go, people always tell me I’m “weird.”

What are the best and worst pieces of writing advice you ever received?

Best:  Hire a published novelist to critique your work line by line.

Worst:  Go get an MFA degree. 

Are the experiences in this book based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

Yes, of course.  I was a misfit in school, and one of the point-of-view characters is the very same.  Still, I try to put some humor into my fictional version of events.  This is why I stay away from memoir and social realism.  That sort of thing gets too depressing.  Life is more than just abject misery all the time, and writing in the style of magical realism helps translate one’s memories into a more balanced open-minded vision of the phenomenological world. 

AUTHOR BIO:

J.G. Zymbalist began writing Song of the Oceanides as a child when his family summered in Castine, Maine where they rented out Robert Lowell’s house.

The author returned to the piece while working for the Martha’s Vineyard Historical Society, May-September, 2005.  He completed the full draft in Ellsworth, Maine later that year.

For more information, please see http://jgzymbalist.com

LINKS:

Amazon ~ Goodreads

Giveaway:

$50 Amazon/BN GC

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