I’m so excited to hear about Maria Lewis’ new upcoming release, It Came From The Deep. It’s YA. It’s all about fantastic sea creatures… I’ve asked Maria to share with us her 4 favourite fiction involving sea creatures and I have to say they all sound amazing (I read only 1 – the fourth one). Have you read any of them? If not, well, you can read one while you’re waiting for Maria’s new book!
DROWNTOWN (2013)
This is one of the most beautiful graphic novels I’ve ever read and was also miles ahead of the cli-fi (climate fiction) movement that is really taking off now. From the minds of Robbie Morrison and pen of Jim Murray, it’s set in a London heavily impacted by climate change to the point that the whole city is basically underwater. Boats, jet-skis and any propeller-based device are the main modes of transport as you see humans and the entire animal species interact on a day-to-day basis. It’s a crime Drown Town never got multiple books, as it was a darkly intriguing world depicted in a bright and visceral fashion that really stayed with you.
JAWS (1974)
It’s a classic for a reason and I revisited Peter Benchley’s seminal thriller last year, delighted to find that it still holds up. It’s pulpy fun and – ironically – the definition of a great beach read. It doesn’t dip into schlock territory as heavily as his later works, Creature and Beast specifically, but through Chief Brody and his family you get a super tense, creepy story. Definitely not one for the squeamish, but if you can make it through that opening chapter then you’re in for a treat.
HELLBOY (1993 – onwards)
Mike Mignola’s creation first popped up in 1993 and it’s easy for all of the focus to be drawn to ‘Big Red’ himself, after all, Hellboy is the title character. Yet it’s his best friend Abe Sapien that always captured my interest, an amphibious man of sorts with intuitive psychic abilities and a penchant for boiled eggs. He was like a sweet-hearted, old school gentleman in the comics … who just so happened to have scales. Abe got to move in to the spotlight with the B.P.R.D run, which was wonderful, and Doug Jones’ portrayal of him in Guillermo del Toro’s two films cemented his status as one of – if not the best – fictional sea creatures.
THE BLOOD IN THE BEGINNING (2016)
I was only put on to this super recently after I announced It Came From The Deep and someone recommended that I check out Aussie author Kim Falconer’s novel from last year. It’s a mix of a lot of different things I love – action, adventure, dystopia, romance, urban fantasy and sassy heroines. It also features a warring, fictional sea creature race unlike anything else I’ve seen in spec fic before. There are about five or six different merpeople shows set to drop in the next two years from a range of networks and I feel like their version of the creatures is going to be tapping into a lot of the ideas represented in this epic. The Blood In The Beginning is huge in its scope and how much story it’s trying to tell in just one book, so if it doesn’t always hit the target the promise of what’s to come in future Ava Skyes’ stories is enough.
If you’re interested in my review for this last book, you can find it here
About the book
It Came From The Deep by Maria Lewis
An elderly professor is murdered, leaving a puzzling crime scene for police to unravel and a laboratory housing all kinds of marine life. But something is missing … something huge.
Recent highschool graduate Kaia Craig has problems of her own, with her career as an ironwoman on the Gold Coast in jeopardy after a horrific accident. Yet someone wants to hold her accountable.
After nearly drowning in Lake Pelutz and her attackers on the run, Kaia is left with more than just physical injuries. She’s convinced she saw something in the depths of the lake: something that choose to spare her. Uncertain whether she’s running towards the discovery of a friend or foe, Kaia begins digging into a mystery that may have bigger ramifications than she or any of her friends can fathom.
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About the author
Maria Lewis is an author, journalist and screenwriter based in Sydney, Australia. Getting her start as a police reporter, her writing on pop culture has appeared in publications such as the New York Post, Guardian, Penthouse, The Daily Mail, Empire Magazine, Huffington Post and many more. Seen as a presenter on SBS Viceland’s nightly news program The Feed and as the host of Cleverfan on ABC, she has been a journalist for over 13 years.
She’s the producer and host of the Eff Yeah Film and Feminism podcast. Her critically acclaimed debut novel Who’s Afraid? was published in 2016, followed by its sequel Who’s Afraid Too? in 2017. Who’s Afraid? is being developed for television by the Emmy and BAFTA award-winning Hoodlum Entertainment.
Find her on: goodreads | website | facebook | twitter | youtube | instagram | tumblr
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