Hi
lovelies! It gives me great pleasure
today to host Rachel Clark and her new book, “The Blackfish Prophecy”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be
sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win exciting prizes such as
a signed paperback of the featured book, “The Blackfish Prophecy,” a bookmark from
the featured book, “The Blackfish Prophecy," and an Orca-themed or book-themed
mug – all to ONE lucky winner!!! Also,
come back daily to interact with Rachel and to increase your chances of
winning!
Thanks
for stopping by! Wishing you lots of
luck in this fabulous giveaway!
Please
note that this giveaway is only available to US residents. Sorry INTL – please check out other giveaways
on this blog.
The Blackfish Prophecy
by Rachel Clark
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GENRE: Young Adult/Nature
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BLURB:
Best
friends Terra and Tiluk live alongside the wild orcas of Washington State. On
the other side of the continent, Miles wallows in anger and self-pity fueled by
his parents' divorce. In a moment of harrowing fate, their lives converge when
Miles witnesses a captive orca brutally kill his trainer at a marine amusement
park.
When
Miles contacts Terra and her family of whale biologists to better understand
the "killer" whale, the three teens soon realize they are more linked
to each other - and the whales - than they ever imagined. Driven by a primal
urge to connect with the highly-evolved consciousness of the orca, the teens
take extraordinary risks to challenge big business and renew lost traditions.
Their
journey is set to restore an ancient mystical bond between humans and whales
that ultimately reveals The Blackfish Prophecy…a revelation about Terra - and
those like her - that's about to change everything.
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EXCERPT TWO:
As
if giving a signal now that she had their attention, Granny bumped Wendy. The
four whales gently slid closer. Then Eve rolled on her side, raising her
pectoral fin above everyone’s heads, and deliberately exposed the eager calf,
her granddaughter, who flanked her side. Wendy nudged her vulnerable newborn up
alongside the small raft of boats, so she could meet the eyes of the humans.
The calf was rolling back and forth, trying to see everyone. She flashed her
belly, and the telltale markings showed that she was, in fact, female...just as
Terra had predicted.
A
shaft of sunlight broke through the bank of clouds just as the music ended,
bathing the group of humans and whales in a sparkling hush. Everyone went
silent with the great honor of the calf’s presentation. Gwen’s chin was
trembling in the shade of her Stetson, but she managed to pull her little
digital camera out of her pocket and had it trained on the whales. Bill, always
so steadfast, had turned white. Jason’s eyes darted from the calf, to Wendy, to
the other adults, as if trying to make sense of what was happening by watching
everyone else. Claire and Maggie, the only other mothers, finally tore their
eyes from the calf’s eager, wriggling body, and saw tears on one another’s
cheeks. More than anyone here, they knew what it meant for these whales to
trust them enough to present the new calf like this.
Then
Granny, Eve, and Wendy brought the calf towards Terra’s kayak.
Terra
stared down into the water as the three large whales held back, letting the
baby swim very close to Terra, her eye coming above water, making contact with
the human girl: the special connection. The calf lingered along‐side
Terra’s kayak, so close that
her belly bumped the boat as she rolled slightly to look up into Terra’s eyes.
The world stopped. Could this really be happening?
Once
more Granny slid near Terra’s boat, alongside her great grand‐
daughter, this time staying on the surface, the length of her body sliding
alongside the calf, her black skin glistening in the late afternoon ray of
sunshine. She blew a misty outbreath, then rolled and made direct eye contact
with Terra for one more suspended moment.
“Oh
Granny...” Terra breathed in, tasting Granny’s briny exhalation...then
whispered imperceptibly, all her doubts about her dream dissolving in the
shared breath of girl and whale. “I will.”
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GUEST POST:
What is the craziest thing that you’ve done in the name of research?
What
a wonderful question! I really had to think about this, Ally. There are a few
things that came to mind – not just one. And they all swirl around a spiral
helix that began with a deep sense of connection to whales and dolphins.
First
is the moment as a college student “marine mammal intern” in my early twenties,
when a white whale asked me to dance. Of course, I said YES! The Beluga was
trapped in a pool, we danced with each other through the glass. We mirrored
each other’s every move. It was the first real moment of direct human-whale
connection of my life.
So
crazy? Not really. On purpose? No. But it formed who I became. And it drove me
to such moments in the future. Once experienced, it is a bond that changes you
forever.
Shortly
after that, the trainers on site threw me into a pool with captive dolphins.
Once again, I had a moment of connection, but in this case, these beauties told
me they were stressed and unhappy. It was rude and disrespectful that a human
had suddenly been tossed into their tiny cage. The trainers pulled me out fast.
Fast
forward many years on that spiral helix.
Somewhere
along that ride, I had the idea for The Blackfish Prophecy, and all the
research for it happened along the way as I reported on how humans impact the
natural world. For almost twenty years I was a science and environment writer.
But
then something changed.
I had
a dream. It was summer 2012, and it changed everything. In it, a matriarchal
killer whale slid up on a pebbly beach shore, to connect with me and my sons.
It was more real than life, and the joy she shared was unlike anything I’d felt
before. At the time I didn’t understand the power of the dream.
Crazy?
Yes. In the intense sense of – WOW THAT IS A CRAZY EXPERIENCE. On purpose? No.
But wow, that dream was the doorway.
A few
weeks later I “accidentally” saw David Kirby’s landmark book Death at SeaWorld,
and because of the dream, took it home and read it in two days flat while my
young sons wondered what happened to their mom.
Within
a few days after finishing, I received the whole concept of The Blackfish
Prophecy in a way I had never experienced before. Like a download. When my boys
returned to school a week later, I sat down and the first draft of the novel
was finished less than three months later.
Crazy?
OMG YES. That book grabbed me up like a dog starved for human affection, and
would not let me go until I finished. And it felt kind of crazy while it was
happening.
It
lead me to everything after – including so much more than I can list here but
for starters: publishing the book; becoming friends and colleagues with the
wonderful David Kirby; traveling to the San Juan Islands with my boys; encountering
the Southern Resident Killer Whales up close and personal under a double
rainbow with dozens of other people in a moment of big magic; meeting and
befriending many of the amazing human beings involved with the movie Blackfish;
having the astounding experience of working indirectly with Dr. Jane Goodall;
and coming to love these individual whales and their calves, as my own family.
When these orca babies die of starvation as they are doing now, I cry. Hard. We
are on the brink of losing this unique group of whales to the permanent grief
of extinction.
So,
if there is something crazy at the core of my spiraling journey of
“researching” this mystical powerful bond between humans and whales, it is that
I have let their great hearts guide and change my own life.
And
I’m a better person because of them.
And
call me crazy, but I believe that because of them, we all are.
Hy’shka
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Rachel is a
writer and biologist. As a kid she got hooked on all things animal, vegetable,
and mineral. To complicate matters, she was hatching up stories before she
could hold a crayon. Once she discovered biology it was all over. Ever since
her first class in 7th grade when she refused to dissect a frog, a little voice
in her head said: You gotta share this amazing stuff about how nature works,
and ask if we really need to harm it. The little voice only got fiercer once
she went to college and worked with captive dolphins and Beluga whales, then
got to see wild killer whales only a few weeks later. From then on it was an
all-out quest to convey the wonders of nature, while pointing out the serious
problems of our very bad habit of dominating others and the Earth. She’s been a
card-carrying science writer for twenty years. The Blackfish Prophecy is
Rachel’s first book.
These
days when Rachel is not writing, reading, dreaming, or speaking, you can find
her sculpting an unruly assortment of moose-pruned orchard trees & berry
bushes, gathering veggies & eggs in her micro-farmyard, foraging for
mushrooms, and feasting on local food with friends.
She
is a lifelong yogini, devoted pack mate to her free-spirited Canid, and mama
bear who's sustained by treks deep into the Pacific Northwest with her
increasingly feral family. Rachel drives a 100% electric zero-emission car, and
her family's home is powered by renewable energy. Their little house is nestled
on an urban lot they tend for kids' play, territory Animalia, sequestering
carbon, and a food forest to augment the bounty of local growers.
Her
work is fiercely aligned with the science of Life, harmony & justice for
all: the enduring dream of Earth.
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CONNECT WITH RACHEL:
Website:
Blog:
Email & Newsletter:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
Kobo eBook:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
IndieBound Paperback:
WDC Shop Paperback:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Rachel will be awarding 1 signed paperback of
the Blackfish Prophecy 1 bookmark for The Blackfish Prophecy, 1 Orca-themed or
book-themed mug to one randomly drawn US winner via Rafflecopter during the
tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Rachel ~ Good morning! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :) Also, fabulous guest post! I enjoyed reading it and am glad to see you picked that topic!
ReplyDeleteHi Ally! Thank you so much for your feedback. I enjoyed writing all of these guest posts and answering interview questions. What interested you the most about this guest post and topic?
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting and sharing this wonderful guest post. Rachel and I are thrilled that you could do this for us! I hope that you enjoyed the guest post topic!
ReplyDeleteLooks very interesting.
ReplyDelete