A mermaid's favorite beach memories

Hello. I’m the main character in the book, Tears on a Tranquil Lake, written by Marsha A. Moore. My name is Ciel. I’d like to share a few favorite memories of my adventures.

Terrified when I first was turned into a mermaid, I hid under this pier. I didn’t know where to go. Humans on the beach would have been scared by my appearance, or captured me to display as a freak. Alone -- no friends, no food, no shelter from the chilly winter night air in Tampa. All I wanted was to be human again. I needed to find that merman who turned me into a mermaid. Luckily, a pirate captain discovered me and, although I thrashed to swim away, he forced me into his dinghy and took me back to his ship, The Black Hawk. If not, the cold nighttime surface waters would have made me very ill. At that moment, dying seemed a good solution to my problems. I am grateful to Captain Raphael for saving me.

That pier has many memories for me. Later, after I returned from traveling to Tortuga with the pirate ship, I found my merman, Meris, at this location. We had missed each other so much, our reunion was amazing. Braced by the wooden supports, we held tight. His magical kisses touched my soul, while his hands caressed my skin. He made love to me like no man could.

Also, as a tropical storm approached, I clung to that pier for shelter. The storm picked up and a huge wave pulled me away and tossed me upside down. When I came back up, The Black Hawk rounded a turn of the shore, making home port on return from a long sailing adventure. I feared for the safety of ship and crew, but had to dive deep underwater to avoid the tempest. While it raged, I hoped Raphael escaped harm and remembered the wonderful times we spent . . . too many to describe here.

This one – I love this one! Meris taught me how to use simple merfolk magic. By the end of the lesson, I commanded motions of hermit crab “people” through this sand castle world. What a fun afternoon!

This picture takes me to happy memories, when Meris gave me the gift of his black pearl. He selected this romantic spot, where we lay between the dunes, surrounded by bright yellow flowers with the surf rolling in before us. I’m wearing it now, threaded on a satin cord as a pendant. It means so much . . . but you’ll have to wait until February 1st, when the book comes out, to find out more.