Swimming to the Editor

I've been working on my Merworld piece for almost two years on and off. I'm trying to get some final edits done before sending it off to my editor at Turquoise Morning Press. It'll still need some work, but I hoping she'll see it as nearly complete and ready to be released soon. I'll wait and see.

One of my concerns at this point is the overall look and feel of the volume. At around 300 pages, it isn't the longest book ever written. It appears there is a wave or ripple of interest in the Merworld lately. I guess I'm hoping the book will read well and entertain whether released at the right time or not.

Anyhow, I will let you know as soon as th release does in fact happen. It'd be nice to do a release party. I'll have to see if it might be a possibility somewhere very cool.

Searching for Mermaids

Two summers back I went to Scotland in search of all things related to the historic mermaid documented in Carmina Gadelica (1900). I spent several days in Edinburgh at the National Archives looking through documents from the associated time period. I found no mention of a mermaid or mermaid burial (logic makes me think it would have been newsworthy).

I did in my travels however find mermaids along the way. The one I share is from a shop window in London. I think is was a fashion shop and suspect no real mermaid would concern themselves with such matters.

A Nun Sitting in Front of Bran Castle

I felt like putting a photo on my mer-discussion today. I figured if ever there was a challenge it would be in pulling a nun into the Merworld. Let's see if she can swim.

Researching to write is one of my life's greatest joys. I love it! I love going into places with the idea of creating a story. Such was the case in Romania and such is the case with the Merworld.

I was one of a dozen international writers invited to Romania on an "Art and Cultural Exchange Program" designed by the Alviogut Foundation. The foundation itself turned out to be a scam. However, I made some wonderful connections in the world of writing. Anyhow, on this exchange we too a field trip to Bran Castle which is often thought of as Dracula's Castle.

Notebook in hand, I visited the castle with some questions in mind. What was Dracula's connection to the castle? Was there a torture chamber? What was the connection to vampires? And so on.

It ends up the castle was only visited by Vlad The Impaler (Dracula). The idea to build an escape tunnel in the castle located near Brasov, nicely fit into a story I was working on.

Locations with history connected to a story provide a wealth of information. Such was the case at Bran. So, how does this connect to the Merworld?

One of the key difficulties I am having as a writer on the undersea world is my limited time under the waves. I do understand the typical reader will probably have had even less than myself. I am hopeful of building the needed details to create this fine form of entertainment.

Can the nun swim? I guess the only way to know would be to ask her.

Questions, observations, notations and speculations may be the best way for me to build my story's Merworld.

Sea Cadence

Sometimes
wild and rhythmic
crashing against the shore
in the heartbeat of deep waters
and shouts against the sky and earth

Sometimes
still and domesticated
a canoe navigates the lake mirror

The sea
and the lakes
and the rivers
speak in the language of flow and balance

Cloud
cousins
in the sky

Water reincarnates-
from sea, to cloud, to life

Yes
life
depends on water

But
sometimes
life forgets

Sometimes
too much is given-

To power
and symbols
and walking on hard ground

Sometimes
we forget
we are the sea.