Rescue Sirens x Siren Bath & Body giveaway on Instagram August 16, 2016 10:17

From Jess: 

I don't consider myself super girly (that's where Echo and Kelby get their tomboyishness, in fact), but I have a serious weakness for perfumes, especially tropical scents. I hoard them like a dragon hoards treasure; I love the way a scent can evoke a memory or help create a new one, and there's something really satisfying about seeing a line of bottles arranged carefully on a shelf. I went through a big bath and body mall chain phase in college, but today I prefer to buy from independent fragrance creators that I find online.

One of my favorites is Siren Bath & Body, a company that I discovered on Etsy this past March. I've been hooked ever since -- obviously, the shop's name and the theme are right up my alley, but it's more than just cute names and appealing packaging: the products themselves are awesome, and the owner, Jessi, is a woman after my own sea-loving heart. She's also friendly, professional, and REALLY good at what she does, which is why I love ordering from Siren Bath & Body.


I moved to California from Florida four and a half years ago, and every day I miss the warm ocean water and hot summer nights of my home state. Siren Bath & Body's summer collection -- including the scents I'm holding in the photo above: Tahitian Tiare, Wild Gardenia, Island Grapefruit (one of my favorites), and Aruba Coconut -- brings back sun-drenched memories and helps me cope when the thermometer dips below seventy-five degrees (brr!).

Why am I sharing this? Well, not only do I believe in supporting and promoting small businesses, but Jessi and I have also come up with a sweet-smelling Instagram giveaway to celebrate the paperback reprint of "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist"!

I asked Jessi if she could help me come up with five perfume oils inspired by the main characters in "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist," and she did a phenomenal job taking my descriptions and turning them into amazing, unique scents. Nim is a tropical paradise in a bottle: a little floral, a little fruity, a little salty, and oh-so-summery; Kelby is warm and sweet with a bit of spiciness; Echo is crisp, no-frills ocean spray; Pippa is fueled by sugar and coffee; and Maris is cool and sophisticated, a refreshing bubbly drink on a hot summer day. The process of choosing just the right scent for each girl was so much fun, and the final products are mer-mazing. I can’t thank Jessi enough -- and her awesome Siren Bath & Body team, too!


Just look at that fintastic package design! I'm crazy about how these turned out.

You can win a set of all five scents, one of Siren Bath & Body's addictive Mermaid Kisses lip balm, and a signed paperback copy of the book by entering the giveaway. Follow both @sirensoap and @rescuesirens on Instagram, then tag a friend in Siren Bath & Body's post. (Each friend you tag per comment is a bonus entry, too.) The winner will be announced this Saturday, August 20th!

To see more of Siren Bath & Body's wonderful products, visit their website and their Etsy, and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

UPDATE: Siren Bath & Body announced the giveaway winner, and the lucky entrant was Instagram user @shred_mel_shred!


Mel received a signed copy of "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist" along with a Mermaid Kisses lip balm and the five exclusive "Rescue Sirens"-inspired perfumes, a picture of which she posted when they arrived:


Thanks to everyone who entered, and thanks once again to Siren Bath & Body for collaborating with us on this giveaway!

Mer-May giveaway winners! June 14, 2016 18:21

From Jess: 

Our book giveaway for Mer-May last month was such fun and a great success! Each "mermaid Monday" in May, we posted an image on our Instagram and invited "Rescue Sirens" fans to re-post that image on their accounts to enter for a chance to win one of our remaining first edition hardcover books, personalized by yours truly and Chris.

In addition to re-posting a "Rescue Sirens" image, we also asked giveaway entrants to share with us their favorite Siren. We did this because I wanted to include some little extras along with the copies of the books and I thought it would be cool to send items themed to each winner's favorite character, but reading about why people liked each character was an unexpected delight! I wish we would've saved them all (next time!), but here are just a few examples:

"My favorite character is NIM, because she is an animal lover with a flair for nostalgia." -euphorian54

"Kelby is my favorite rescue siren because she reminds me of myself while growing up. She's shy but pushes all her insecurities aside to help her friends or anyone who needs her help" -caymanmermaidbubbles

"Kelby has to be my favorite Rescue Siren, she reminds me of me in so many ways from her shyness to her love for mother ocean. I don't have the guts that she has to leave her family and life behind to pursue her dream, but after reading this book I have been greatly inspired. Kelby found amazing friends and a new home and I hope, like Kelby I can also find my home." -leascelynn

"It's hard to choose a favorite character but I'll have to go with Echo. Who wouldn't love an athletic girl with purple hair!" -punchy_mcfist

"It's hard to choose just one of the girls as a favorite but, I feel like Pippa is on the top of the list. Considering I see myself in her personality. Always finding the better in people and seeing the glass as half full. She's always focusing on the positive rather than the negative." -jerseymermaid9

"Favorite siren? Gotta rock the hair like Maris. Rep the colored bobs." -mosuga

Each week, winners' usernames were drawn at random, I packed up the books and goodies, and I shipped out the packages -- but it didn't end there, because all of our lucky recipients gave us a great gift by posting photos of their "Rescue Sirens" prize packages.

Neat, right? We loved seeing our books arrive safely at their new homes! And not only did Instagram user leascelynn create an awesome shadowbox to display her "Rescue Sirens" swag, but she also surprised us with this beautiful paper art of Kelby:


We were so impressed, and so touched! Thanks for all the "Rescue Sirens" love, everyone.

If you still haven't had an opportunity to read "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist," remember, you can always buy it in digital eBook format on Amazon -- but if you'd like a physical copy, we're also in the process of reprinting the book as a paperback.

The manuscript is actually at our printer's as I type, and we're hoping to have the softcovers up for purchase on Amazon sometime this summer. (It all depends on our ability to figure out this whole "fulfillment by Amazon" thing. Oof.) The paperback will feature fewer typos, a handful of clarity edits, and a revised cover design. We're so eager to share it with you all!

Mer-May giveaway on Instagram May 1, 2016 00:00

From Jess: 

To celebrate "Mer-May," we'll be giving away a hardcover first edition copy of "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist," signed and personalized, every Mermaid Monday in May!

Last year, we desperately wanted to observe Mer-May -- but "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist" was still being prepped to go to print in May of 2015, so we chose to keep everything under wraps until we knew the books would be done in time for San Diego Comic-Con. We were so close, yet so far! It was hard to let the month go by without saying a word about our new mermaid book series.

But this year, we can fin-ally celebrate the mermaid-iest time of the year, and we're doing so with a month-long giveaway!




The giveaway will take place on Instagram. Here's how to enter:

1. Follow @rescuesirens on Instagram.
2. Every Monday, we'll post a different image -- repost that image with the hashtag #rescuesirensbook and tag @rescuesirens. Your account has to be public so we can see it! Sorry, giveaway accounts aren't eligible to win.
3. Tell us your favorite Rescue Siren. In your image caption, share your favorite Rescue Siren and why she's your number one. Is it heroic Nim, shy Kelby, fierce Echo, sweet Pippa, or cool Maris?
4. Tag a friend and increase your chances! Think your friends might like "Rescue Sirens"? Tag your BFF (best fin forever) in your image repost and have your username entered into the drawing twice.

The fine print: you must have a United States mailing address (or a friend who has one) so we can send you the book if you win. This giveaway is not affiliated with or endorsed by Instagram in any way.

If you don't win one week, you can always enter the following week; simply repost that week's new image and follow the instructions as before. There are five Mondays in May, so you'll have five chances to get your hands on a hardcover copy of the book!

Good luck, buoys and gills!