It's Signature Week here at the Gay Author's New's Blog. Each month we're doing a week where both the Monday and Wednesday posts are dedicated to whichever story has been chosen as that month's Signature Background. This months choice was "Into The Deep" by Signature Author: CassieQ. If you haven't already done so, you can download your copy of the background here.

To start off Signature Week, Lisa did a wonderful review of "Into The Deep". I hope you enjoy it.

Reviewer: Lisa
Status: Complete
Word Count: 7,672

When Renee asked me to do a review on CassieQ’s “Into the Deep”, I said sure! Why not? I had no idea what the story was about, but I’ve read a few stories of Cassie’s and I figured it would be good. And she didn’t disappoint.

Cassie’s beautiful imagery and personification floated in the forefront of my mind as I pictured the main character, Toumas, waking up every morning ‘to the salt of the sea and the crash of its waves against his ears.’

As Toumas got ready for his day on the water, catching fish, for this is what Toumas was, a lonely fisherman, living in a little hut as his father and grandfather had before that, he heard the waves as ‘the sea sighed and sang to him’.

One day Toumas threw out his net into the waters and when he hauled out the fish, he noticed a treasure among his catch. I cannot tell you about this treasure, for that would be a spoiler; you will have to read the story to find out what wound up in Toumas’ net. That night he went home, fried up some fish and cooked his treasure.

Toumas spent the next day catching many fish, earning him good wages to buy fruits, breads, and wine to bring to his sister and sickly mother. Toumas arranged a husband for his sister and he frequently stopped by and did what he could to help his family.

One night Toumas was attacked while he sat on the edge of a cliff, watching the sea. It was dark so he didn’t see who or what attacked him. He passed out and the next morning woke up in his little hut, not remembering anything that happened the night before.

He vaguely remembered arms around him, helping him fend off the attack. Strangely though, he kept hearing the sea continuously calling his name. He decided to listen to these sea cries as he dove into the chilly waters, pushing himself farther and farther down, still hearing his named being called over and over again.

Again he felt arms around him and someone or something breathing life back into his body. A stranger walked out of the water and Toumas got a good look at his savior: ‘His body was covered with healthy muscle under pale skin down to his torso before it melded into a gray film of scaled skin that shimmered with water droplets. He had a handsome face, with dark eyes and long dark hair that floated like a puddle of spilled ink around his head.’ Cassie continues with her beautiful descriptions of this sea creature known as Tyrrhenian.

Toumas and Tyrrhenian embarked on a magical night together. The next day Toumas woke up outside his home. As he was about to walk through the door a woman caught his eye. When he rebuffed her, she turned into a huge black bird that he was sure was the one who attacked him a few nights ago. The bird swept down and started to attack Toumas. As he tried to defend himself, the battle between man and bird-woman continued until the bird flew off in defeat.

The next day he heard the call of the sea yet again and dove right in, coming in contact with Tyrrhenian once more. In order for Toumas to be truly happy, he must redeem himself from that treasure he had consumed.

Cassie weaves a captivating tale of loyalty, sacrifice, and most notably, love. Her beautiful words flow through this heartbreaking story. She is a master storyteller who engages her readers from the beginning to the end with wonderful descriptions, beautiful imagery, and inspiring fantasy while writing about these legends.