Writers are often asked about their inspiration. It’s a surprisingly tough discussion.
Many times, the origins of a story are like little seeds strewn around. One or two catch the attention, and the others are tough to find, hidden under blades of grass. It’s an apt metaphor: at first, there’s delight in the discovery. (Look! A shiny idea!) And then there’s the agony. (But where is the rest of the story?)
I found an article (proof that not all internet searching is a waste of time!) that reminded me exactly of why I started my Mermaid Underground series, and I thought it’d be a good time to talk about my own inspiration. For this story, anyway.
This is an article about a photographer who swims around underneath the ground in Florida, taking pictures of the cool stuff she sees, and of the state of the ecology via algae and other plant growth. If you’re at all familiar with Florida, you might think of the miles of beaches. You might even know there are swamps and ponds and lakes.
But you might not realize there are thousands of interconnected aquifers under the land. The water is crystal clear (unless terribly polluted) and it’s fascinating.
When I was a little girl, growing up in Pasco County (that’s where Tampa is), we would go to swim in some of the crystal-clear, cold rivers that welled up from these amazing springs. I never strapped on scuba gear to explore further, where the sun doesn’t reach, but it always captured my imagination that underneath us, who lived on dry land, was actually a world of water.
What if mermaids lived there?
If you’d like to see where the story goes from here, please check out the book links to the right of the screen. Book 3 in the series is on its way!
