Oh, Sweet Mystery of Life!

The Speculative Salon welcomes Maureen O. Betita who writes PiratePunk! Her latest books can be found at Decadent Publishing.


Despite the Mountie singing this song (and my mother) I haven’t found all the mysteries of life. But I don’t really mind that, mysteries add spice to life. Not just the who-dun-it mysteries, though I enjoy those also, but the greater mysteries that spark speculation in the imagination and the brain. I love those sorts of mysteries and they drive my writing worlds.

I’m a believer in mysteries. And though I don’t necessarily believe everything I’m told, I don’t necessarily disbelieve it. Life is interesting and the world is huge and I certainly don’t know or have seen everything! For all I know, there are dragons wandering the deepest jungles of South America or Asia, cities buried beneath the snow of the South Pole, aliens watching us from the moon…who knows?

I certainly don’t!

Nor do I know where my kraken went. But I do love to speculate. After all that is what fuels the fire of speculative fiction. Me? I write piratepunk. A new genre I’ve invented which carries the neo-retro parts of steampunk but substitute the pirates for the steam.

The pirates I currently write of sail a Caribbean sea that is looked over by a benevolent, intelligent and magic beast known as the Great Albino Kraken. He’s (or she’s, since I didn’t really say one way or the other) is a bit of a romantic and very much a protector of his ocean and the populace of his ocean. Even the people. (He’s also a bit of a romantic and occasional matchmaker.)

My cover artist for The Kraken’s Mirror put a wonderful white tentacle on my cover. Oh, it was wonderful! You can see…it curled nicely around my name… I loved it. (This was the cover of my e-edition.) Ah, nice and fuzzy, warm feelings! And the excitement of my book being put in print was next!

Oh, how wonderful it was…until I noticed…the tentacle was gone.

Sigh.



Yes, there are logical reasons this happened. It wasn’t deliberate, it just…well…happened. But what fun is that?

I decided that it was much more fun to speculate where the kraken went…and turn it into a contest.

I’m giving away some nice stuff. A Sony Pocket Reader is the first prize. A kraken parasol is the second prize and the third is a Betsy Johnson ‘kraken’ ring. The contest started May 1st and runs until May 31st. (You can see pictures of the prize on my Facebook Author page. Go friend me, look at ‘em! I can wait…)

And this is how you enter!

Here are the options: Where did the Kraken go?
1) He’s in Scotland, wooing Nessie
2) He’s outside the Mines of Moria at Gandalf’s request, fighting off the menace in the waters
3) Sharing rum with the monster in the lake at Hogwarts
4) ? Your idea?

How to enter the contest?

1) Comment on my blog at www.maureenobetita.com/blogslink and pick an option, or create your own.
2) Friend my author page on Facebook, Maureen O. Betita Author and leave a comment, telling me which option you’ve picked, or where you think the Kraken went.
3) Find me on any blog I guest at during the month of May and tell me your option. (Be sure to leave an e-mail address in the comment section.)

I’ll award the three biggies on the 31st…during the month I’ll give away smaller prizes…free books, pirate perch hats and kraken jewelry.

And yes, this is a guest blog! So you can enter here!