TITLE: The
Memory of Mermaids
AUTHOR: Spencer
Dryden
PUBLISHER: Fireborn Publishing
RELEASE
DATE: August 21, 2015
GENRE: Fantasy
PAIRING: Male/Female
Mermaid
LENGTH: Novella
BOOK LINKS:
Fireborn
Publishing - http://firebornpublishing.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_bookx_info&cPath=4&products_id=130
BLURB:
After he
rescues a mermaid from a sea monster, Max Weiss falls into a world of pirate
treasure, dolphin whisperers, murderous mobsters and a forbidden love.
Troubles
multiply in the already-troubled life of Max Weiss after he rescues a mermaid
from the clutches of a sea monster. Drawn by the allure of the enchanting
mermaid, Azzaria, Max agrees to help her find her lost mermaid sister. Max is
pulled into a world of missing drug money, pirate treasure, murderous mobsters,
dolphin whisperers and a forbidden love.
Let’s start
with the basics…
When did you write your first story
and what was the inspiration for it?
My first
writing was a three part story where a narrator describes his quest to learn
how to please a woman sexually. While it was never published. the middle story
became the backbone for a short story, Storm
Across the Prairie which was part of charity anthology Coming Together Against the Storm. The inspiration was born out of
my own curiosity. At age 63 (then) I realized I actually knew very little about
good sex.
Do you have a writing schedule or do
you just write when you can find the time?
Sorry to say
right now I'm writing when I find time which is not a productive strategy, the
tyranny of the urgent pulls me away too easily. Come fall my day job demands
lessen and in January i qualify for Social Security so hopefully with less time
dedicated to work, I can settle into a regular daily schedule
Briefly describe the writing
process. Do you create an outline first?
Do you seek out inspirational pictures, videos or music? Do you just let
the words flow and then go back and try and make some sense out it?
At the very
early stages of a story I have to give myself permission to simply look out the
window and let my mind wander around the premise. In the case of my current
novella, The Memory of Mermaids, it
was imagining what might happen if an ordinary guy living in the world today
encountered a mermaid. My scenes almost always begin with dialogue, then I go
back and fill in all the other details. Mermaids
is the first story I've written using an outline. Actually what I use are
post-it notes on a blank piece of paper-like a story board.
How much research do you do when
writing a story and what are the best sources you’ve found for giving an
authentic voice to your characters?
With Mermaids I made a conscious decision not
to do research into mermaid lore or other mermaid stories. I've never read a
mermaid sotry. I haven't even seen Little
Mermaid. I was afraid that if I put too much knowledge in my head it would
bleed through into my character. I wanted to preserve the innocence and wonder
my MC would experience. I used real places around the area of my adopted home
of Summer Haven, Florida
What’s harder, naming your
characters, creating the title for your book or the cover design process?
The title
is usually one of the first things that appears in my mind. I have to rely on
cover artists. If I did covers it would be stick men. My artistic talent has
remained un-evolved since kindergarten. I often name minor characters for
friends who have passed. The character bares little resemblance to the deceased
but mentioning the mane is a kind of immortality for dearly departed friends.
"How do you answer the question
“Oh, you're an author...what do you write?"
Only a very
few people know of my writing. Up to this point most of what I have written is
erotica. If my family, friends and associates knew of my interests in erotica,
they would drop dead in horror. I simply don't have the desire, time or energy
to enlighten them, but I also don't want to offend them. My plan is that my
writing identity will be revealed at my wake with oversized posters of the
tawdry covers from my books. That'll give them something to talk about over the
luncheon.
What does your family think of your
writing?
My wife is
the only member of my family who knows. She let's me do my thing. While she is
an avid reader it's like pulling teeth to get her to read my stuff.
Tell us about your current work in
process and what you’ve got planned for the future.
The Memory of Mermaids is a story about an ordinary guy
down on his luck who saves a mermaid from the clutches of a sea monster. She
brings him the monster's treasure as a reward and then entices him to help her
find her lost mermaid sister. Max Weiss gets pulled into a world of pirates
treasure, missing drug money, murderous mobsters, dolphin whisperers and a
forbidden love.
Going
forward I want to move away from erotic short stories and into longer more
involved works. Mermaids is more fantasy/action/adventure than my past
work. I've been working for a long time
on a three part scify/fantasy series that I hope to bring to light soon.
Do you have any advice for all the
aspiring writers out there?
Keep
working. I wrote the core story of Mermaids three years ago. It was rejected
numerous times. It's been through major revisions and additions. All along
though I believed it was a good story. Now I guess it's time to let the reading
public judge.
Now the fun
stuff…
If you could travel forward or
backward in time, where would you go and why?
I think I'd
like to go forward to see if any of my predictions came to pass. I'd avoid the
obituaries though. I wouldn't want to know the date or cause of my death.
We’ve all
got a little voyeurism in us right? If
you could be a fly on the wall during an intimate encounter between two
characters, not your own, who would they be?
Got to go
to the movies for this one. It would be further into the love scene between
Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham
If I were snooping around your
kitchen and looked in your refrigerator right now, what would I find?
Lots of
condiments. My wife is always buying condiments. There's no room for food.
If you could be a superhero, what
would you want your superpowers to be?
I'd want
the power of suggestion. I could place a thought into someone's mind and they
would feel compelled to act on it.
If you could trade places with one
of your characters, who would it be and why?
It would be
Clayton Stoner, from my short story, Love Above See Level. He's a
surfer/beach bum living the carefree life I've always wanted. He also get to
make love to a tall woman. I have a thing for tall women.
If you could sequester yourself for
a week somewhere and just focus on your writing, where would you go and what
would the environment be like?
It would be
my adopted home of Summer Haven, Florida North Carolina
What's the one thing, you can't live
without?
Coffee
What internet site do you surf to
the most?
Hot BBR
If you had your own talk show, who
would your first three author guests be and why?
Three dead
guys who have had the biggest influence on my writing, Joseph Heller, Kurt
Vonnegut, Rod Serling
When you got your very first
manuscript acceptance letter, what was your initial reaction and who was the
first person you told?
AUTHOR BIO:
Spencer
Dryden is a new writer, but an old guy on the threshold of draining any
reserves left in Medicare and Social Security.
In real
life he is a handyman, an at-home dad, inventor and web videographer living a
quiet life in the frozen tundra of Minnesota (USA).
Like all
writers he has a cat but they don't get along well. He can be found at the
usual writer hangouts:
GIVEAWAY
DETAILS:
Rafflecopter
Giveaway – Mermaids and Seashells Gift Basket valued at $100.00
Basket
Contents:
Memory of
Mermaids gift basket includes;
Seashell
Gift Box that looks like a Book
Bamboo
Fiber Bath
Mermaid
Ornament
Mermaid
window decal
Starfish
Glass Soap Dish
Sea Clay
Dry Body Scrub 5 ounce
Shimmering
Mineral Bath 5 ounce
Soy Milk
Bath scent Mermaid Dreams (2 standard tub uses or 1 garden tub size) scent
Mermaid Dreams
Bath Melts
(2 standard tub uses or 1 garden tub use)
Shimmer
Body Powder scent Memory of Mermaids
Cocoa
Butter Lip Balm – passion fruit
Organic
Sugar Lip Scrub- passion fruit
Sea Urchin
Massage Bar Soap
Mermaid
Olive Oil Soap
Nautilus
Soap
Conch Soap
Sand Dollar
Soap
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