Homesick for the Sea: The Story Behind “All the Mermaid Wives”

Welcome back, and Happy Friday! It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged about my fiction, and fortunately, today I get to talk about a brand new story! I am so thrilled and honored to announce that last week, my dark fantasy tale, “All the Mermaid Wives,” made its debut on 87 Bedford!

This is an exciting and auspicious occasion all around. For one, it’s my first original work of fiction to be published since May. I was very fortunate over the summer to have a number of stories put back into publication as reprints, but there’s always a special joy in seeing a story debut in the world. This story is also at once covering new ground and revisiting an old love: it’s my very first mermaid-themed story as well as a return to fairy tales, something I deeply enjoy as both a reader and a writer.

Figures of mythology and folklore have always fascinated me, and I love when I discover a great retelling of an old classic. Consequently, the last few years have been wonderful as a reader of short fiction since many fantastic variations on mythology, and mermaids in particular, have been unleashed in the speculative fiction world.  (One personal favorite of mine is Sunny Moraine’s “So Sharp That Blood Must Flow,” an ultra dark reworking of The Little Mermaid.) That being said, I never imagined that I would add my voice to mermaid literature. If it’s not broken, why fix it? But that’s the thing about inspiration–it can lead you down the unlikeliest roads.

Despite being an only child, something I love to explore in my fiction is the dynamic between sisters. Such relationships have been at the forefront in several of my previous stories, including “A Certain Kind of Spark” (Mantid Magazine), “Through Earth and Sky” (Bracken Magazine), as well as the forthcoming “Reasons I Hate My Big Sister” (Nightscript). In the case of “All the Mermaid Wives,” the story’s genesis was most certainly in the bond between mermaid sisters, Galene and Eleniora. They are the hearts of “All the Mermaid Wives,” and their relationship is what inspired me and spurred me on to tell this particular tale.

I am so pleased to have sold “All the Mermaid Wives” to 87 Bedford. It’s always a joy to work with newer publications. Two of the very best experiences I’ve had thus far in my writing career were being featured in the debut issues of Bracken and Mantid Magazine. Judging from the already fantastic stories featured in 87 Bedford as well as the professionalism of the editor, Lichen Han, I predict a long and illustrious life for 87 Bedford. Although the publication is currently closed to regular submissions, keep an eye out for the next open submission period, and I will be sure to include it on an upcoming Submission Roundup as well! A highly recommended speculative fiction site!

So if all this talk of the ocean has made you yearn for salt, waves, and barnacles, head on over to 87 Bedford for “All the Mermaid Wives.” It’s a strange and lonely tale of mermaids & matrimony, homesickness & heartache, and hopefully, it will inspire you to pen a fairy tale of your own!

Happy reading!