The Coney Island Mermaid Parade

Every year, people from all around the world dress up in mermaid costumes and stride around Coney Island. And it's starting this weekend, too! I've always wanted to go to Coney Island during this time, and someday I might. Paying homage to this annual event, here's a history of the Coney Island Mermaid Parade! Source is Wikipedia (hey, it's reliable sometimes!)

The tradition of the Coney Island Mermaid Parade began in 1983 when the concept was established and organized by Dick Zigun, the founder of the non-profit arts group Coney Island USA. The Mermaid Parade is held in celebration of the beginning of the summer season, and so it traditionally takes place on the Saturday closest to the calendar start of summer, regardless of the weather. The event sometimes attracts a couple of thousand actual participants, along with hundreds of thousands of spectators, some of whom have traveled to Coney Island's beach primarily to escape the heat which often marks the beginning of summer.

The Mermaid parade is well-known for extraordinary marine costumes, and for the occasional partial nudity. (This is not as surprising as it may sound, because it is legal in New York State for women to be topless in public, except as part of a business venture.) The parade is however very much a family event; it is quite common for at least one little girl's birthday party to march as part of the parade. There are sections in the parade for vehicles of all kinds, for floats, for groups, and for individuals. Mermaids and sea creatures of every shape and size are represented, and the audience is festive and appreciative.
Each year the Mermaid Parade features a merman and mermaid King and Queen. In 2005 the King was David Johansen (Buster Poindexter) and the Queen was Karmen Guy (Mad Juana). In other years, David Byrne, Queen Latifah, Adam Savage, Harvey Keitel, and Moby have filled the royal seats. In the 2010 parade, the King was Lou Reed and the Queen Laurie Anderson.

Coney Island and mermaids themselves are the subject of Zoraida Cordova's upcoming debut novel, The Vicious Deep, in which the mermaids return to Coney Island to search for their new king.

Sounds great, huh? I'd love to go someday and see all the mermaids and sea creatures parading down the streets. Will any of you be attending the parade?

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure Ride Now Open In Disneyland California!

All you Little Mermaid fans out there can now experience Ariel's underwater world for yourself! The ride has now been opened in DisneyLand California. It's taken 22 years in the making, and I hope someday I can experience it! A similar ride will be opened in DisneyWorld's Magical Kingdom sometime in the next year or so.

The Origins of the Selkies

Alright, I have a good  understanding of the original selkies tail now (PUN!), so here it is!

Long ago, there lived a beautiful woman named Britta. She was taller than most men and more beautiful than the stars in the sky. She was the most sought after woman in all of the Orkneys, and had suitors calling day and night. But she did not love any who called.  And she would not have someone who she could not love.
As her father was the ruler of the island, he had to produce and heir to keep his line in power, and Britta was his only child. So he selected a man named Ronald a seal hunter with blood red hair* who was handsome enough, but Britta still did not love him.
Her wedding was a solemn affair, where Britta was sullen and silent.
On the fifth and the last night of the wedding celebration where everyone became very durnk, she ran to the seal caves at Nettle Gee She sobbed, crying seven tears into the sea until a chocolate brown seal came to her.
"How can I serve you, O Lovely One?" he asked her.
And Britta cried through her tears "Seal in the sea, Seal in the sea, come forth from the tides and salvage me!"
The seal hauled outon the rocks near the crying girl, the veil fell to her feet, and he saw the purple and yellow bruises that spotted her fair face and caused her to frown.
Dane, for that was the seals name, caressed Britta's face.
"Return here on the seventh tide of the seventh tide," Dane replied and slipped into the sea.
Britta did as she was told. She bore her cruel life with Ronald until the seventh tide of the seventh tide, and early that morning, lighthearted with hope,  she made her way to the cave at Nettle Gee ti wait for her savior, but the sea remained quiet. And Soon she lost all hope as the minutes became hours and there was no sign of him.
Then, when the sun was at its highest peek, and BIrtta had shed her woolen cload to enjoy it's warmth on her bare arms, she saw the sleek body of a seal swimming into the shore.
"Join me in the sea and we will make a life the likes of which has never known by human or animal We will have as wide as the two oceans and as high as the hawks that fly up to the sun."
Although Britta was terrifed aof the sea, like all the island folk, she fixed her eyes on his and believed the promise blazing there, she removed her wedding ring and threw it as far as she could into the sea. Dropping her gown  onto the rocks, she walked naked to the water, into Dane's embrace, and together they dived deep into the sea and down, down into the waters below.
And during their journey, a miracle transformed them both. Britta bame part seal, and Dane became part human each sharing half of the other, so that they understood the other's narture as none ever could.
Britta loved her mate with her whole self, and when they touched, it was with a tenderness that healed all she had deared at the hands of her human husband. Britta bore her chosen husband many children, each as lovely as a sea anemones. Then, in the secenth year of their union, Britta's skin  becan to grow thick and rough. Her fur fell in patches and she grew listeless and disinterested in feasting. Healers were brought together at the ebb of the tide, the time of the greatest portent and they prescribed that Britta must return to the land.
At first, Dane refused to let her go. For he frated that if she returned to the land, he would lose her forever. But the healer said that was the only way she could be saved. If she remained in the sea, she would die.
So Dane took his wife and propelled them moth up to the surface swimming to the csve at Nettle Gee where they had first met. Their children paddled hopefully behind. Carrying her limp body on his back, Dane hauled out on the beack and laid Britta fently on the sand. The moment her sofy underbelly touched the land, Britta shuddered once, then transformed before her husband's eyes into the elegant woman she had been so long ago. A great moan escaped Dane as he thought she was lost. But as soon as he and their children came to land, they too shed their pelts and joined Britta on the shore, dancing and leaping.
Far above the famliy, a fisherman saw the family and alerted Ronald he had seen Britta on the beack with seals, and Ronald was filled with rage. He rushed to the beach with a club, ready to kill them all.
But Dane stood on his human legs and took the a piece of driftwood and struck Ronald on the head, killing him. Britta and her children cheared, freed of a hunter.
So the family wrapped their shed pelts around their shoulders and transformed as they stepped into the sea to live happily for years.

Kind of dark, huh? This was paraphrased from Laurie Brook's Selkie Girl that I mentioned in the other post. She tells it much better than me. I hope you enjoyed!

Much love,
Randi

Selkies: What You Need to Know (or Read)

So, we all know all about mermaids if you've stuck around long enough (although I suspect there is much more to learn) and sirens, but one thing you're missing in your sea education is Selkies.
Selkies originated in Ireland/Scotland (some people say specifically the Orkney Islands) and are either half seal and half human or all seal when in water, but when they step out, they shed their seal pelt. To re-enter the sea you must wrap your pelt around you and you can transfrom back and forth.
Some lengends say Selkies can only come on land on Midsummer's eve at the seventh tide of the seventh tide or if you cry seven tears into the sea. But either way, the most disinguishing thing is half seal.
I admit that I was really surprised on the origin of these creatures. The story is always the same. But I'll write that one up later.
Selkies seem to have been forgotten by most in pop culture, as I've only been able to find two books around on the fantastic creatures.

Selkie Girl by Laurie Brooks is a fantastic tale set it, you guesed it, The Orkney Isles about a girl who is half selkies half human and discovers a lot of hertiage and does brave things. It's very good, and very compelling. It's kind of hard to find, so you might have to scour your favorite bookstore's website (I got it from Books-A-Million).

The second isn't an entire book, but a short story my Wicked Lovely author Melissa Marr in the Love Is Hell compilation. She writes of a selkie falling in love with a human, and seeing as I love Melissa Marr, I flipped out a little bit. That's also a nice little piece on selkies.
I'm sure I can uncover more information on selkies later, and I'll be posting the origin story as soon as possible.

Much love,
Randi

Hello everyone!

Hi everyone :) My name is Randi, and I'm going to blogging a bit here from time to time.
I love merpeople and I'm really happy to be here! I'm writing a series of mernovels and I come here a lot to do research and the Goodreads companion group for feedback.
I have another blog as well, (distractedgenius.com) where I write about nerdy things and I've just done an interview with Ashley Knight, who's been interviewed here as well.
So again, I'm really happy to conribute, and I'll try to bring up some interesting stuff.


Thanks everyone!

Randi

Interview With FORGIVE MY FINS Author Tera Lynn Childs!

Tera Lynn Childs is the awesome author of the very popular book Forgive My Fins, as well as its upcoming sea-quel, Fins Are Forever. Check out the interview I did with Tera where we talk about all kinds of mermaid-y goodness!

What inspired you to write Forgive My Fins? Did you always know it was going to be more than one book?
Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of being a mermaid. When I was in Florida for the summer in 2006, I was sitting on the beach thinking, "Wouldn't it be cool if a merperson could walk out of the ocean and bestow their magical powers with a kiss?" I knew immediately it was a great idea for a book, especially if I added the conflict of a mergirl accidentally kissing the wrong boy. I never thought there would be more Lily books, but I did come up with two companion ideas, stories about other mer girls. One of them was about Lily's bratty cousin Dosinia who gets herself exiled onto land. When my editor wanted a sequel, I decided to tell that story from Lily's point of view.

Which character do you relate to most?
There are definitely pieces of teen me in all the girl characters (the nice ones, anyway). As a teen, I was quiet and reserved like Peri. Like Shannen, my freshman art teacher tried all year to get me to make softer, sketchier lines. And, most notably, like Lily, I was boy-crazy with blinders on. But I was never clumsy and awkward like her, and I didn't have secret fears or hidden ambitions like Peri, so I was probably most like brainiac Shannen.

Can you tell us any hints about Fins Are Forever, the sequel to FMF?
In Fins Are Forever, Lily's cousin Dosinia does something really awful that gets her exiled onto land. She is sent to live with Lily, who is charged with teaching her to get over her hate for humans. There is an earthquake, a magical kiss, an SAT test, a handsome mer prince, and a birthday ball. To tell you any more would be a big spoiler.


How do you feel about all this sudden attention mermaids are getting in the media lately?
I love it, of course! Besides the fact that I love mermaids and want to see as many of them in the world as possible, it doesn't hurt my book sales either. And if book sales are good, there will be more books. It's always exciting to be part of a trend, especially when you're near the front instead of trying to catch up from behind.

If you were a mermaid, what color tail/magical powers would you like to have?
My tail would have to be turquoise, one of my favorite colors. And just to have the ordinary mer powers (to breath underwater and to regulate the water temperature around me so I wouldn't freeze to death) would be awesome. I've always been a water baby and was a competitive swimmer growing up, so I would love to be able to spend even more time under water without drowning or wearing loads of heavy equipment.

What do you hope readers will take away from FMF and FAF after reading them?
Besides having a fun, enjoyable time, I hope the Fins readers will see that you should always listen to your heart. In both books, Lily is faced with decisions that are conflicts between what her brain thinks she wants and what her heart yearns for. As a Virgo, I have a hard time turning off my brain, but things always turn out better when I listen to my heart instead. Lily listens to her heart, and I hope readers will too.


Lily, the protagonist, is a mermaid princess. Would you rather be a mermaid or princess? Or both, as in Lily's case?
Being a princess comes with a lot of responsibilities. That's a lot of pressure, a lot of stress, a lot of people relying on you. If I got to live under the sea, I wouldn't want a whole bunch of pressure to make my time there stressful. So I think I'd like to be just a mermaid. (Ha, just a mermaid.)

You've said your publishers are currently deciding if there will be more books in the series. How many more books could you see in the series if it is allowed to continue?
Oh gosh. Well, the end of Fins Are Forever kind of opens the door to a whole new level of the mer world. I already have the other companion story idea that would easily work in as a third book. From there... the possibilities are as endless as the deep blue sea.

Finally, what other projects are you currently working on?
I just turned in the second book in my new trilogy about triplet monster-hunting descendants of Medusa. The first book, Sweet Venom, will be out September 6th.

MerBook Review: Fathom (Fins Trilogy, #2) by Ashley L. Knight

Fathom puts a darker, edgier twist on Ashley Knight’s mermaid “tails” that began with the magical Fins. As the story unfolds, Morgan and her merman fiancé Thayde are living in New York City about to start college. But there’s trouble brewing. Morgan’s powers appear to be taking a dark turn, and Thayde is succumbing to an illness that only one person will be able to reverse. That person just happens to be Limus, Morgan and Thayde’s sworn enemy.

Unlike Fins, the characters have definitely grown up and matured in Fathom. Throughout the novel, Morgan and Thayde are forced to deal with adult issues, which can be tough for a mermaid who has just started college. Morgan contemplates her future with Thayde: will she ever get married, have a child, and be with the one person who shares half her soul?

But Fathom also deals with issues that most YA novels tend to shy away from. For example, this novel deals with the Big One: religion. Do angels really exist? Is there a God? I found it interesting that Knight manages to bring magic and religion together. As Morgan finds out more about the existence of a higher power and her own inner spirituality, one might think this book would veer off into Christian fiction territory, but not at all. Morgan doesn’t start preaching her beliefs to the reader, but instead she wonders if killing her enemy to protect the mermaid world is immoral and against her faith.
The romance in Fathom was much more developed as well. Morgan and Thayde deal with the problems of any other couple--sex, break-ups, etc.-- which adds more realism and depth than the “love at first sight” relationship they had in Fins. And there are definitely Morgan/Thayde moments in Fathom that are probably going to get the girls swooning!

I loved slipping back into Ashley Knight’s wonderful, mesmerizing undersea world and reuniting with my favorite characters, as well as meeting some new ones. I definitely can’t wait to immerse myself in Forever, the third installment of the series, because there are still some loose ends to be tied up that I can’t wait to see how they are resolved.

So, dive into the second book of the Fins Trilogy and experience the magic and wonder that first began with Fins and is taken up a gigantic notch with Fathom!