As a child, the sea drew me in with its amazing creatures and myths. When I held a shell up to my ear, I truly believed the ocean was speaking to me. I spent hours watching Jacques Cousteau explore and imagining what was just out of sight beyond what was being shown on my television. As I got older, I wondered what secrets the ocean wanted to share with me. I dreamed of living on a boat and diving and exploring all over the world, just like Cousteau did. I read every story I could get about the water, from pirates to mysterious happenings like the Bermuda Triangle.
Mermaid Eclipse
The day finally came for my first big opportunity to explore the sea—a whale watching trip. This is when I learned the unfortunate truth: boats and I were not friends. I spent the entire trip leaning over the side of the vessel being sick. I missed every whale sighting. So now I know I get extreme seasickness, and life on the water is not for me—but the sea still holds a lot of magic.
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The theme of what lies beneath resonates with me. On the surface, the ocean may seem calm, but just beneath this surface, complex struggles of survival are taking place. When the sea is angry and the waves are tossing everything on the surface, in the depths just below the water is calm. On the flip side of this concept, there could be life and death battles happening just beneath a calm sea’s surface. This contrast amazes me and mirrors the life I felt like I was leading when my father became ill with cancer. I was looking for answers, and I looked to where they always seemed to be—beneath the nearest ocean wave.
All of this was the inspiration for writing Mermaid Eclipse, along with the belief that anything is possible. The knowledge that humans can’t go deep enough into the ocean to see everything that exists because of the pressure it creates makes it easy to believe in mysteries, unknown answers, miracles, and mermaids. Mermaids represent female power and domination over the elements. They are untamed by mortal man and can best any sailor with a siren’s song. That stirred my imagination—the concept of being able to exist on the surface and deep within have a tumultuous sea and still thrive. Every creature that is part of real or mythological ocean stories has something to teach us, from the leviathan to the brilliant octopus. I’m honored to learn more every day about the ocean and impart what I can to my characters.
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