Correction: TWO Mermaid Magazines Coming This Fall!

I recently posted about a new Mermaids & Mythology Magazine coming out, and I totally had no idea that there were two mermaid magazines being released. So, thanks to Tera Lynn Childs's Facebook status, it's become clear that we fans of the finned have two 'zines filled with things about the half-fish!
Here's the synopsis of this other mer mag:

Mermaids - Over 200 pages of lush photography, renowned authors and artists, packed with information including the current revival of interest in Mermaids. Advice for aspiring mermaids! Fiction, non-fiction, aquariums and aquatic wonderland, find out what's happening under the sea! Designed to be collected and treasured for years, Mermaids will stun you with 'lore' and the 'lure'!

Sounds awesome, huh? And this one will include stories and poems by some of our favorite merbook authors! Alice Hoffman of Aquamarine fame, Carolyn Turgeon who wrote Mermaid, and Tera Lynn Childs, author of Forgive My Fins, will all be contributing.

The first issue will be available in bookstores everywhere on September 15th. But pre-order your copy today at faeriemagazine.com for a reduced price!

Merbook Review: Home to the Sea by Chester Aaron

HI everyone, Randi here again. This time I'm reviewing a book and not talking about movies!

Home to the Sea is a short, little-known, children's book. I found it on Books-A-Million fairly cheap if you want to read it.
Basically,  12 year old Marian starts developing scales and talking to fish and saving sea creatures. The climax of the book is Marian going home to the sea, saving a bunch of whales, seals, ect. from death by earthquake.
This isn't the best mer-book out there. The charactesr are stiff and I feel like there wasn't too much time spent on any one thing, especially the fantastical elements. And it seems Mr. Aaron spent a bit too much time on his message of the book as well. Some of the only bits of the book with good details were the parts about rescuing marine life and how our oceans aren't safe for them and we need to go to Save the Whale rallies, a message I agree with, but it gets in the way of the story. I wanted to know the details of Marian's change and how her family and best friend felt. And some things were a bit ridiculous. Like Marian learns the complicated game  of Bridge in a few hours. That has NOTHING to do with being a mermaid...
As I mentioned, the Marnie Life Rescue makes up the climax. Marian thinks working with them will help with her change, and when she goes out to the sea, it's saving everything from dying in the aftermath of an earthquake in Alaska. It compromised too much of the story for me to be interested. Half the book is spent helping seals or getting whales out to the ocean.

Something else that bothered me was the relationship she had with her families neighbor and Doctor. I know this book was originally written a long time ago (it was published in 2005, written long before that). It wasn't Pedo-bear behavior, but they were a little too honest with each other. Nothing dirty, just strange.
Despite it's flaws however, this book has a beautiful, eerie, quality about it. The best time to read it would be during rain showers when nobody's home to bother you so you can plow right through it (it's less than two hundred pages). Eerie really sums it up. There's something feral beneath the surface when Marian submerges into the water and forgets the human language and doesn't remember the names of her parents and who they are. It's a bit chilling. The imagery is quite strange, especially the bits where Marian is in Maine in her Unle's house (he supposedly turned into a merman, or at least I think so. The book is very vague on this subject particularly).
Altogether worth it for how cheap it is and will leave you with chills, but not the best. I think a sequel should be in order.

Mermaid Film Series: Part 1 of 5 (Directors)

Hello again! So we've already cast a solid mermaid movie, now we've got to figure out the rest. Today I'll be picking some directors that could do a fantastic job bringing everything to life.

Directors is a pretty big topic to choose from. It all depends on the tone you want to set for your movie, so dividing it up into genres would be a good idea.

First, if you want to make a darker, creepier type of mer-film, you'd want to go with a director who's had some experiance in the genre. My first choice would be Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, The Corpse Bride, this most recent Alice in Wonderland adaptation). He is one of my favorite directors and I think he could pull something like this off really well. Known for making the creepy relateable, the strange not so hard to understand and wonderful art direction. All of his movies are a feast to the eyes.
Other good directors would be David Fincher (The Social Network, the upcoming American remakes of the Millenium series starting with the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill),  Christopher Nolan (Inception, the newest Batman reamkes) and I think I might be able to pull it off alright (I want to be a director in case you haven't   ;) )
If you want a mermaid comedy type thing, you'd want to have Edgar Wright. He's done stuff like Scott Pilgrim VS. The World and Shaun of the Dead. The aforementioned films were funny, but they also had a really big heart which is essential. Another idea would be John Lassater (Pixar mermaids anyone?).
Historical mermaids are also setting trends so a few directors who would ace the subject would be people like Tom Hooper who directed The King's Speech, which won Best Picture for Oscars 2011 (The film made me laugh and made em feel all good and mushy inside). The Cohen Brotheres also do good historical stuff. They're remake of the John Wayne film True Grit was excellent, but they might go for a darker tone film.

I'll go on later this week. Give me some more ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Much love and Sonic Screwdrivers,

Randi 

THE VICIOUS DEEP Cover Reveal

There's a new mermaid-themed book splashing onto bookshelves next year, and I'm very excited about it! It's called The Vicious Deep (cool title, huh?), and it's written by debut author Zoraida Cordova. So, here's the cover, and below it is the synopsis:


Set against the backdrop of a Coney Island summer comes The Vicious Deep, the story of sixteen year old Tristan Hart whose life is turned upside down when the mermaids make an unscheduled return to land in search of their new king.

When a sudden storm pulls Tristan from lifeguard duty into a deadly riptide, he discovers what he really is—a prince of the Sea Court. Turns out, his girlfriend hopping and talents as a swimmer aren’t caused by his teenage prime hormones after all.

In this modern Arthurian tale with a twist, when all a guy wants to do is get The Girl and enjoy the freak show that is a Coney Island summer, Tristan has to fight for his life, the lives of his friends, and his humanity, if he still wants it, as he’s caught in a race for a throne that is as ancient as the gods.

So, what do you guys think? Sounds pretty awesome, huh?

Interview With LOST VOICES Author Sarah Porter

I recently caught up with Sarah Porter to talk about Lost Voices, the first in a trilogy about girls who transform into mermaids as a result of trauma. Read on to learn more about Sarah's world, and why she chose to write about the darker side of the mermaid legend.

Where did you get the inspiration for Lost Voices?
There were a few different sources. I used to have recurring dreams where I was a mermaid swimming very fast under these gritty, industrial docks; you’ll see the influence of those dreams on the third volume of the trilogy! And there was an earlier, very strange mermaid story I wrote, where the mermaids could swim through earth as well as water. When they started burrowing near your house, you’d know they were coming to steal your daughters away. Then there was the time when I took a walk on the beach with a friend and we improvised a story about a punk mermaid who lived apart from the others. All of those ideas kind of came together in Lost Voices.

What drew you to writing about the darker aspects of mermaid lore?
Honestly, I wasn’t crazy about how fluffy and cheery the portrayal of mermaids had become. I wanted to restore some of that missing darkness and power and give my mermaids an emotional charge that went beyond just romance and escapism. Mermaids offer such an intense image of being trapped between two worlds, maybe even torn between two different personalities. They can express so much, and it seems like a shame to waste that potential by making them completely cute and bubbly.

Which character do you relate to most? Do you have a character that is most fun to write about?
Oh, definitely Luce—though of course I also love my other characters, especially Catarina, even if she tends to be difficult and temperamental. But you haven’t met the character who’s the most fun yet: that would be Nausicaa, who appears in the second volume of the trilogy, Waking Storms. I don’t want to give too much away, but she’s been around for a very long time, and she’s somewhere between wise and jaded, loving and abrasive, and since she’s way past caring what anyone thinks she’s always extremely honest.


How do you feel about this rise in popularity mermaids have recently gotten?
I’ll admit the mermaid craze took me by surprise. In some ways I would have liked it if there weren’t so many other mermaid books out there all at once, but I do think the Lost Voices Trilogy offers a pretty original take on the mythology. And then Lost Voices has received some publicity that it definitely wouldn’t have if mermaids weren’t a trend, like the photo of the cover that appeared in USA Today. And the image of the mermaid is open to so many different interpretations that there’s room for a lot of artists to explore different aspects and ideas, so bring it on!

What do you hope readers will take away from Lost Voices after reading it?
I don’t want to say what anyone else should think or feel. But I’d like it if it left some readers with an acceptance of the darkness and mystery and magic in themselves and in everyone—even if that magic is sometimes angry or frightening. The more we can feel tenderness for all the dark, wild aspects of ourselves, I think the less those aspects can control us. In a way, the parts of the mermaids that stay hidden under the water represent the parts of ourselves that are secret or strange or hard to understand. The mermaids have to come to terms with their humanity, but maybe we should come to terms with our mer-ness, too.

Lost Voices is the first in a trilogy. What can we expect to come in the next installment?
It’s hard to answer that without giving away the story of the second installment, Waking Storms. But Luce finds both love and a truly close friendship for the first time, and she starts learning to open up and stand up for herself and her ideas. The mermaids have been extremely naïve in believing they can just get away with sinking ships indefinitely, and now terrible trouble is brewing—and because Luce is in love with a human, she’s caught in the middle.

And lastly, what other projects are you currently working on?
Right now I’m working on the third volume in the Lost Voices Trilogy; it’s probably going to be titled The Twice Lost Army. It’s due in the fall, and it’s turning out to be quite epic, so I really can’t think about anything else until it’s finished! After that I’m dying to get back to a half-completed adult novel that I set aside a few years ago, called Boudoir. It’s dreamy and surreal and sort of horrorish—not mermaidy, though it does include a very significant swimming pool!

Fins Are Forever by Tera Lynn Childs Review

On Lily Sanderson’s eighteenth birthday she’ll become just a girl—still a mergirl, true, but signing the renunciation will ink Princess Waterlily of Thalassinia out of existence. That leaves plain old Lily living on land, dating the boy she loves, and trying to master this being-human thing once and for all.
Now that Lily and Quince are together, mer bond or not, she’s almost content to give up her place in the royal succession of Thalassinia. But just when she thinks she has everything figured out, the waves start to get rough. Lily’s father sends a certain whirlpool-stirring cousin to stay with her on land. What did Doe do to get herself exiled from Thalassinia and stuck in terraped form when everyone knows how much she hates humans? And why why why is she batting her eyelashes at Lily’s former crush, Brody?
The seafoam on the raging surf comes when a merboy from Lily’s past shows up—Tellin asks Lily for something that clouds her view of the horizon. There’s a future with Quince on land, her loyalty to the kingdom in the sea, and Lily tossing on the waves in the middle. Will she find a way to reconcile her love, her duty, and her own dreams?
Tera Lynn Childs’s sequel to Forgive My Fins offers another tail-flicking romance with plenty of fun, sun, and underwater adventure.

Son of a swordfish! This book was pure awesome-ness, even better than the first book! In the sequel to last summer's Forgive My Fins, Lily is forced to choose between her kingdom in the sea or life on land. I actually felt for Lily as she must deal with all these choices that no teenager should have to make. The most interesting part for me in the book was how Lily has become frustrated with having to hide the secret that she is a mermaid, and her yearning to come out of the ocean and reveal her true self to humankind, though that might not be the best idea, as we all know how humans feel about anything that is different. Still, the concept of mer kingdoms joining the United Nations and assimilating into human society makes me hope this will be dealt with in future installments.
Tera Lynn Childs is one of the only authors who has managed to make me laugh and cry while reading her books. The scene in the rain with Quince and Lily (I won't say anymore, for fear of spoiling it for others) literally almost made me cry.
I'm also not sure how I feel about the new character of Tellin. I mean, I felt sorry for him, but at times I found him too pushy and invasive of Lily's privacy. Then again, if you're a teenager confronted with the possibility of your entire kindom's demise, you might act the same.
And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I totally loved Dosinia by the end of the book. She definitely matured from a snobby immature teenager by the end of the book.
I think Lily's choice at the end was perfect, and the book ended on a hopeful note. It was hinted at that there may be sequels, and I sure hope so. (I'd love to read a book about the Trio, or Dosinia, or Peri, too, a character I really love but who barely gets book time, and who I would love to read a whole book about!)
So, if you love mermaids, magic, and you're looking for the perfect summer read to take with you to the beach or even sitting by the pool, Fins Are Forever is for you. I don't think the first book needs to be read to understand this one; it's its own self-contained adventure. And if you HAVE read Forgive My Fins, then water you waiting for? (Water? Get it? Oh, forget it.) Dive into Fins Are Forever and get ready for an incredibly well-crafted underwater world filled with undersea fun, teen romance, and mermaid magic.

Mermaids Of Hollywood: 60 Celebs Trade Fame For Fins

Isn't it a coincidence that we recently blogged about who we would like to see as mermaids? Well, it turns out that photographer Mark Anderson took over sixty female celebrities and photographed them as mermaids. Here's what I found on the Oh No They Didn't Livejournal page:

"Chronicles of Mermaids have been told for centuries in the form of legends and fairytales. Images of this sea queen have haunted artists in their efforts to bring the beauty, sexuality and mystery of the mermaid to life. The role of mythology is ever changing in society and it is with this in mind that photographer Mark Anderson has captured contemporary images of this mythical creature as she may appear in today’s society.

We're all familiar with the playful modern mermaid of Walt Disney’s The Little Mermaid and of Darryl Hannah’s depiction of the human/animal creature in Splash. But lurking behind these light figures is the sadness and mystery of the mermaid's plight. Using over 60 female stars of the entertainment world, Photographer Mark Anderson brings us photos that weave together a never before seen perspective on what life could be like if Mermaids lived amongst us. His fantastical representations place the mermaid in often-unexplored territories to expose the roles to which we assign modern women: as sexualized beings, as temptresses, as mothers/daughters, and as creatures themselves constrained and created by myth."

Here are a few examples:
Kristin Bell (who, oddly enough, I pictured as the mermaid in one of my stories)

Charisma Carpenter (had to post this, as I LOVED her on Buffy the Vampire Slayer!)

The Kardashians (ugh, WHY?!?! They'd make better sea-witches than mermaids.)

Emmanuelle Chriqui (this is my favorite picture on the page! I love the message on the cardboard sign!)


If you want to check out other mer-celebs, read more at ONTD: http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/57196403.html#ixzz1TRJgUH1y