• Mystery

    Nautical Superstitions: Twelfth Sun @MaeClair1 #RLFblog #mystery

    Welcome to Romance Lives Forever, Mae Clair. Let’s talk about your book, Twelfth Sun. Tell us about the superstitions on which you based the concept of the story.
    Whether it’s ghost ships, sea lore, or whispered tales of phantom winds and water sprites, I’ve always been
    intrigued by the murky depths of the sea. From ancient times to present, the underwater
    world has harbored creatures serene and foul.
    But what of the brave men and women who attempt to tame the sea or exist within its dominion? Even today,
    sailors are a superstitious lot, many of their beliefs retained from an earlier
    age when water haunts and sea serpents were commonly recognized and feared.
    While writing Twelfth Sun, a novel which centers around the treasure hunt for a maritime artifact, I had
    the occasion to sort through a host of nautical superstitions. I reference a few in the book, but much of the research I did was strictly for fun.
    Here are some of my favorites:
    1. 1. Untying knots in a rope brings favorable winds.
      2. Knitting hair into the toe of a sailor’s sock will bring him back to you.
      3. If a sailor dreams of a horse, it is an omen of high seas.
      4. Disaster will follow if you step onboard a vessel with your left foot first.
      5. A ship’s bell will always ring when it is wrecked.
      6. If St. Elmo’s Fire appears around a sailor’s head, he will die within a day.
      7. Never rename a ship, for it is bad luck.
      8. A ship’s name ending in “a” is unlucky.
      9. The feather of a wren will protect a sailor from death by shipwreck.
      10. Death comes with an ebb tide and birth with a rising tide.
      11. Gulls harbor the souls of sailors lost at sea.
      12. Nail a shark’s tail to the bow of a ship and it will ward off other sharks.
      13. Black traveling bags are bad luck for a seaman.
      14. A silver coin placed under the masthead ensures a successful voyage. Pouring wine on the deck also brings good luck.

    If you enjoyed these, I invite you to read my romantic mystery, Twelfth Sun, involving an older woman and younger man caught up in a scavenger hunt staged by a reclusive billionaire at a lavish seaside mansion:

    Reagan Cassidy is settled in her life. She has a thriving interior design firm, an upscale condo, two cats, and a goldfish. As a favor to her uncle, she agrees to team up with his marine archeologist friend to validate and retrieve a nineteenth-century journal, reputedly that of a passenger aboard the doomed schooner Twelfth Sun. Finding a hunky twenty-five-year-old coming out of the shower in her hotel room wasn’t part of the deal, but it’s hard to complain…

    Dr. Elijah Cross is cocky and he knows it. He enjoys trading barbs with the lovely Reagan. Barbs, and some innuendo. He can tell she’d rather get back home to her business than stick around for the extended treasure hunt they’ve been talked into, but he’s fine with the situation. At least, until the “clues” start getting personal.

    Reagan finds Dr. Gorgeous is as skilled in matters of the heart as he is behind the lectern. Throw in a series of clues which mean more to Elijah than he’ll explain, several odd-ball competitors out to win the journal, a saboteur, and a lavish seaside mansion, and Reagan has enough trouble keeping her head straight, let alone her heart.

    WARNING: Younger man, older woman, nautical riddles and romance.

     

    Buy links:

    Amazon http://amzn.com/B00E5DNH9O
    Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/twelfth-sun-mae-clair/1116214641?ean=2940148784593
    Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/twelfth-sun
    iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/twelfth-sun/id642809087?mt=11

    Author Bio

    Mae Clair opened a Pandora’s Box of characters when she was a
    child and never looked back. Her father, an artist
    who tinkered with writing, encouraged her to create make-believe worlds by spinning
    tales of far-off places on summer nights beneath the stars. She snagged the tail
    of a comet, hitched a ride, and discovered her writer’s Muse on the journey.Mae loves creating character-driven fiction in settings that
    vary from contemporary to mythical. Wherever her pen takes her, she flavors her
    stories with conflict, romance and elements of mystery. Married to her high school
    sweetheart, she lives in Pennsylvania and is passionate
    about writing, old photographs, a good Maine
    lobster tail and cats.Mae is also the author of the time travel / paranormal novel,
    Weathering Rock.

    Find Me Here

    Website http://MaeClair.com
    Twitter https://twitter.com/MaeClair1
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mae-Clair/219356774828949?ref=hl
    Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6468716.Mae_Clair