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Mercedes Guy

Mercedes Guy

About

Mercedes Guy is the young adult author of the fantasy What It Took To Realize & Voodoo, inspired by Alexz Johnson's song "Voodoo". She published her book December 5th, 2014; on December 4th she attended Alexz Johnson's concert in Charlotte and gave her the first "proof" copy!

What It Took To Realize & Voodoo takes place in Folly, SC. After working on the story for about 4 years, she had finally finished it in November, a year before publishing in paperback. Once she began the sequel she wanted more than ever to go down to Folly for herself. So finally in the summer of 2014 she went down, and loved the Charleston charm so much she moved a month later.

Out of the Ocean, the second book to her trilogy Daughter Of The Ocean, is in its final stages and upon completion Mercedes plans to start a Kickstarter Campaign to raise money to get the book professionally edited, and get the cover art as well as some promotional gear made.

Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness

Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness

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Description

<p><b>The absorbing, definitive account of CrossFit's origins, its explosive grassroots growth, and its emergence as a global phenomenon.</b><br /> <br />One of the most illuminating books ever on a sports subculture, <i>Learning to Breathe Fire </i>combines vivid sports writing with a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be human. In the book, veteran journalist J.C. Herz explains the science of maximum effort, why the modern gym fails an obese society, and the psychic rewards of ending up on the floor feeling as though you're about to die. <br /> <br />The story traces CrossFit’s rise, from a single underground gym in Santa Cruz to its adoption as the workout of choice for elite special forces, firefighters and cops, to its popularity as the go-to fitness routine for regular Joes and Janes. Especially riveting is Herz’s description of The CrossFit Games, which begin as an informal throw-down on a California ranch and evolve into a televised global proving ground for the fittest men and women on Earth, as well as hundreds of thousands of lesser mortals. <br /> <br />In her portrayal of the sport's star athletes, its passionate coaches and its “chief armorer,” Rogue Fitness, Herz powerfully evokes the uniqueness of a fitness culture that  cultivates primal fierceness in average people. And in the shared ordeal of an all-consuming workout, she unearths the ritual intensity that's been with us since humans invented sports, showing us how, on a deep level, we're all tribal hunters and first responders, waiting for the signal to go all-out. </p>

Story Behind The Book

I have basically been working on the Daughters of the Ocean series for seven years. I had been toying around with the idea of a specific Mer tribe and took the basic idea and created What It Took. Basically, before writing Morgan and Emmaline's story, I had never finished a single book but I had started plenty! I took the research on Mermaids I had done with my own imagination and with some suggestions from friends and my ex's hate for vampires... What It Took was the craziest story I could come up with and I believe this is the reason it was finished. I wrote and finished the book my senior year in HS, then I completely scrapped it and started over with a clearer idea of what I had in store for my characters. This book is my child. These characters are real, and I mean that, I have written myself into corners because they would just take over the story! But most of all, I believe they can be relatable to the most of us.

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Reviews

<p><a class="left imgcol" href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7270751-jacquelyn" style="color:rgb(102,102,0);float:left;margin-right:10px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12px;line-height:18px;" title="Jacquelyn"><img alt="Jacquelyn" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/users/1422579078p2/7270751.jpg" style="border:0px;" /></a></p> <div class="left bodycol" style="float:left;width:540px;color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12px;line-height:18px;"> <div class="reviewHeader uitext stacked" style="margin-bottom:10px;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a class="reviewDate createdAt right" href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1130058156?book_show_action=true" style="color:rgb(187,187,187);float:right;">Dec 12, 2014</a><a class="user" href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7270751-jacquelyn" style="color:rgb(102,102,0);font-weight:bold;" title="Jacquelyn">Jacquelyn</a> rated it <a class="staticStars stars_5" style="color:rgb(102,102,0);width:75px;height:15px;font-size:0px;white-space:nowrap;vertical-align:top;background-repeat:no-repeat;" title="it was amazing">5 of 5 stars</a> <div class="uitext greyText bookshelves" style="color:rgb(170,170,170);">Shelves: <a class="actionLinkLite" href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/7270751-jacquelyn?shelf=abuse" style="color:rgb(33,86,37);">abuse</a>, <a class="actionLinkLite" href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/7270751-jacquelyn?shelf=paranormal" style="color:rgb(33,86,37);">paranormal</a></div> </div> <div class="reviewText stacked" style="margin-bottom:10px;margin-top:0px;line-height:1.4;"><span class="readable" style="font-size:13.8000001907349px;line-height:1.4;"><span>WOW!!!<br /> This would be a perfect made for TV movie !!! Morgan a girl trying to find herself only you have to throw in the bad vampires, nymphs, the pixies and other things that go bump in the night. You still have the bullies, the cheerleaders, and the cool guys, and don't forget Morgan who don't know her parents and was abandoned and left on doorstep at birth. This is the stuff to real nightmares and to put children I left in therapy for years, or a great beginning to a good series.<br /> Morgan find out the hard way that the hottest boy in school is a vampire and he's no Edward He has a real dark side it focus point is on Morgan. Will Emmaline save her in time or do she come with a whole new set of problems?<br /> This is story will keep you wondering until the end, a must have for your bookshelf!!!<br /><br /> I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23784139-what-it-took-to-realize-voodoo?from_search=true#" style="color:rgb(102,102,0);">(less)</a></span></div> <div class="reviewText stacked" style="margin-bottom:10px;margin-top:0px;line-height:1.4;">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23784139-what-it-took-to-realize-voodoo?</div> </div>