How many books have you come across include Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a comp title in their summary? Personally, I’ve only seen one: Dead Blue Sea, by Erin Hayes. Based on what I’ve seen, that comparison may be fairly accurate.
Dead Blue Sea made its way onto my to-read list as soon as I saw its summary, and the excerpt I’m sharing today only helped to cement that status. I’m sure you’ll feel the same way once you get a look at it.
To top all of that off, Hayes is giving away a Kindle Fire. The giveaway is open to anyone in Canada and the United States, so make sure you scroll down to the bottom of the excerpt for the link!
About the book
Point Break meets Buffy in post-apocalyptic Cape Town, South Africa.
They say that surfing used to be a way of life.
In Devil’s Bay, it’s the only way to survive.
My name is Carlyle. I’m a water witch who protects the fishermen of my village from the danger beneath the waves. My days are spent on my longboard saving everyone from the fins. My nights are spent dreaming of something more than my small village isolated from the outside contact by cliffs and jagged peaks.
Then a storm strikes out of the blue, and, well, I wipe out. When I wake up, I’m on the other side of the bay surrounded by vampires who want to see me dead. Major bummer.
Only Kopano, an outcast of the fangers, seems to take pity on me. You see, Kopano also spent his nights dreaming of something more, and he thinks I hold the key. The only catch? To find the truth, we’ll have to face the dead blue sea.
Excerpt
“There’s some sort of irony,” I grumble, “in being sensitive to sunlight but also having to
be outside during the day. Every damn day.”
She shrugs. “Do you want me to go tell the sharks to stop being nocturnal and hunt
during the day?”
I snicker. “Aw, could you? Because then the fishermen could do their thing at night. And
we could all avoid the sun like good, self-respecting, UV-sensitive witches.”
She chuckles darkly. “Ag, if only! But this is what we signed up for.”
I flick some sea water her way, and she squeals in mock-shock. “I signed up for this?”
Her smile falters. “Well, your mother did. But you’re still out here.”
Not that I really have any choice in the matter. It’s what’s best for the village, and there’s
no denying that. I’m the best remaining water witch—if I suddenly stopped, we all knew that fishermen would lose their lives, food would become scarce in my village, and my own sense of self-preservation would be to blame.
Stuck between a shark and a wet place, I guess.
About the author
Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books.
She works as an advertising copywriter by day, and she’s an award-winning New York Times Bestselling Author by night. She has lived in New Zealand, Hawaii, Texas, Alabama, and now San Francisco with her husband, cat, and a growing collection of geek paraphernalia.
You can reach her at erinhayesbooks@gmail.com and she’ll be happy to chat. Especially if you want to debate Star Wars. You can also sign up to her newsletter and get her free starter library.
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Miranda Burski 
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