How Would Living Under the Sea Be?

I've thought about this often...especially if you are half human/ half fish. What would the sensations of life undersea be? Sound carries differently and further (for whales thousands of miles I'm told). Communication would be immensely different. Taste and smell are connected and seem to also carry far under the waves (a shark can smell from a very far distance). Seeing would have limitations not found above water. It is distorted by wave action as well as depth (it gets darker and bluer as you go down). Touch has a uniqueness to it. Certainly direct touch would differ, but also to consider is the lateral lines found on a fish body; this allows rhythms and vibrations in water to be sensed from a great distance. I have tried my best to get into character as a merman under water. I find the notion of understanding sensations as a Mer to be key in creating an understanding of how life undersea would be.

Ancient Mer Images

I have been trying to figure out how I might make use of a site dedicated to all things of the sea. I'd like merworld.com to keep a certain degree of class with a sincere interest in better understanding the phenomena (whether real or fiction) of the Mer. In considering how this web site might appear, I came across an excellent source of ancient Mer images. Please take a look, I think you'll enjoy them. They are found at: http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/mermaids/13.html .

Any ideas or thoughts on Merworld.com are welcome!

The Endless Sea of Merworld Fans

Okay...I'm being sarcastic. I think I've had more dates than blog hits since I've started this merworld blog (not too many in other words). Maybe I'm stuck in a whirlpool or stagnant water? No. I prefer to think I'm in a navigable eddy. With some paddle work I'll be back in the current soon! Keep on reading and believing. The Merworld is waiting for us all to dive in.

Why a Merworld Blog

So, I've made a bunch of pretty lame entries on this Merworld blog. I must admit I haven't been concerned because I only have one follower (one of my sisters) and I get hardly any hits. Okay. So, in some ways I'm just writing this for myself. Could this state of bloghood change?

The answer is yes. This past week I had some activity on this crazy Merworld blog. It wasn't outrageous, but it was enough to start thinking I might actually get some readers. I do think the topic and all it could potentially cover is huge. Hey, mermaids are big right now...or so the media says. So, if you are asking "Why a Merworld blog?", my answer must be "Why not!"

Under the Sea

You ever feel like you're under the sea. I do at times. Right now it's a little like that. Kinda like I'm tangled in life's mysteries. I'm back at a summer camp I used to work at. I actually came to get away from my Mom's place (where I've had an unexpected mid-life extended stay...it hasn't been much fun). Anyhow, I keep getting caught in thoughts of the potential of this setting. I'm think of a healing place. A place for those who have gone through issues of toxicity (whether from a traumatic childhood or exposure to toxins or both). The camp lake is too low to keep any of the Mer too happy. As for myself, I have rekindled memories and old friendships which are likely to stay for a lifetime.

So, it may be I'm under the sea, but I seem to always bob up to the surface.

Stressing Over the Merworld

The manuscript for my Merworld fantasy was sent off to my publisher/editor/friend over 1 ½ weeks ago. I’ve not heard word one from her and I am hoping I didn’t completely alienate myself with my creation.

I have to be honest. I suck at packaging. I know I should have taken the publisher’s guidelines completely serious, but somehow I didn’t. Is it ego? Ignorance? Brain damage? All of the above? I’m not certain. So, it may be I made too many mistakes in presentation, grammar and wording. At this point, I am uncertain.

The other possibility is that the content goes against the wishes of my publisher. As a writer I am anything but meek. I push the envelope and present some controversial materials. I’m wondering if the woman merman relationship is too close to being bestiality. Or is cannibalism beyond? Or it may be it reads as just too damn violent. In the end it’s my story. I’d like to create some safe kind of story, but I just can’t.

In the end, I won’t be upset if my publisher rejects the idea of taking on BNB. I do hope to keep my friendship and continue to write the YA fantasy series for them. I guess it is all at a just wait and see point.

The Merworld is Being Discovered!

Follow this link. The Merworld is becoming very popular!


http://www.facebook.com/l/e27bd95_f_p7BNHfe3w_0T9ZTmg/www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2011-05-12-mermaids-make-splash_n.htm

Mer History- Where's it At?

In writing my Merworld Fantasy, I wanted to incorporate observations found in historic sightings and encounters (other than stories related to the Benbecula mermaid burial). After surfing the net and looking through book stores, I've found relatively little.

Again, I call upon the six who have happened upon this blog. If you have historically documented Mer sightings or such, let me know. I will likely shift much more effort into the Merworld after next month. In the meantime, I'm stuck in Wayville and the Yucatan along with Cliff Huggins.

Thanks for listening. Swim back any time- Joe

Beginning the Merworld

It began with an email from a cryptozoologist. Key words included: mermaid, burial, Benbecula, Scotland, and exhume. "With your background in archaeology, maybe you could help with the excavation?" it suggested.

Could I resist? No. Could I afford the trip? On the cheap I could.

But excaving such a find was not what I had in mind. I wanted a story. I wanted good fiction. I wanted a Merworld fantasy!

That was the beginning. I did go to Scotland, after a week in an isolated cabin on the wrong side of Genesee River Canyon at Letchworth State Park. Porcupines, deer, mosquitoes and relatives the only distractions (I'll admit after several days of isolation even family was welcomed).

So, the pencil hit the paper and the story began (I always write a story longhand before I start slapping the keyboard). It wasn't much at first, but then it grew. A visit to Dublin, then to Edinburgh, then to Stornoway--the town of towns on the Outer Hebrides.

I took the long haul down the spine of the Hebrides to Benbecula. I stayed one night. The owner of the B&B's father-in-law sat with me in the sun and spoke of the story passed down to him from his grandmother and her mother before her. It was a fine match of the historically documented mermaid burial said to be on Benbecula. I loved it!

Of course, the day was not only story telling. I'd gone down to the beach in Nunton. I felt the waters. I smelt the sea. I snapped photos of marooned jelly fish. I went to the old church graveyard and took down names.

Since then I've traveled and written more. The draft was chiseled in several locations: Letchworth (as mentioned), Stornoway (you might figure), Benebecula (of course), London (as I also drafted a Sherlock Holmes piece), Wellsboro, PA (my home...I think), Arusha, Tanzania (my location to teach and feel the true nature of stress), Zanzibar (nice!), and various relatives homes back in the Southern Tier of New York State. I've considered an island off Greece for the final whittle, and still may go that way.

I've more than the Merworld on my mind at the moment. These are other stories being shared in other circles.

For now, let us hope the currents continue to carry us.