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The lawyer shook his head. “I still don’t understand why your mermaid has to be old and fat.”
“Fifty-three is not that old.” I ignored the weight issue.
He persisted. “It is when it comes to mermaids. Why couldn’t you just let her be young, thin and beautiful?”
Thankfully, the conversation was interrupted by the facilitator’s call to resume the workshop. A few minutes more and I might have lost patience with the annoying lawyer who simply wouldn’t accept my vision of an older mermaid.
Since releasing Between Land and Sea, I have encountered varied responses to the overweight, middle-aged mermaid abandoned on the fog-drenched shores of southwest England.
Women, of all ages, were intrigued and happy to hear about a mermaid who is not so young or so beautiful. Boomers, especially those struggling with relationships, embraced the idea of an older mermaid. A recently divorced friend confided that she hoped to get several pointers from Isabella’s journey. In her Amazon review, English teacher Colleen McConnell described it as “a classic wisdom tale with a twist...reminiscent of Jane Austen.”
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that many thirty-something and forty-something women were also interested in Isabella’s reinvention story. Among the twenty-something crowd, the reactions varied. My niece, Christina, summarized it best: “We’re still at the invention stage.”
Very few men were as argumentative as the lawyer. My male friends and relatives wanted to hear more about the unconventional mermaid and the international banker who dumped her. Several were amused by the concept of a mermaid carrying extra pounds and one asked if the artist was planning to feature an overweight mermaid on the cover.
Any thoughts out there about older, wiser mermaids...
Blurb
After giving up her tail for an international banker, Isabella of the Mediterranean kingdom is aged beyond recognition. The horrified banker abandons her on the fog-drenched shores of southwest England, leaving her to face a difficult human journey as a plain and practically destitute fifty-three-year-old woman.
With the help of a magic tablet and online mermaid support, Isabella evolves into the persona of Barbara Davies. Along the way, she encounters a cast of unforgettable characters, among them former mermaids, supportive and not-so-supportive women, deserving and undeserving men, and several New Agers.
Links for Joanne Guidoccio
Website: www.joanneguidoccio.com
Amazon: http://is.gd/AVpoVs
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joanneguidoccio
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BetweenLandandSeaJG
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jguidoccio/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7277706.Joanne_Guidoccio
YouTube (Trailer #1): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xipZ6quZDOs
YouTube (Trailer #2): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfiKOQe_yuU
