While fishing, three men catch a mermaid who begs to be set free in return for granting each of them a wish.
The first man shakes his head and says, “Okay, if you can really grant wishes, then double my IQ.”
The mermaid says, “Done.”
Suddenly, the man starts reciting Shakespeare flawlessly.
The second man is so amazed, he says to the mermaid, “Triple my IQ.”
The mermaid says, “Done.”
The man starts to spout out all the mathematical solutions to problems that have been stumping the scientists.
Impressed, the third man decides to one-up his friends. “Quintuple my IQ.”
The mermaid looks at him and says, “You know, I don’t usually try to change people’s minds when they make a wish, but I really wish that you would reconsider.”
The man is adamant. “No, I want you to increase my IQ times five, and if you don’t do it, I won’t set you free.”
“Please,” says the mermaid, “You don’t understand what you’re asking. It will change your entire view on the universe. Won’t you ask for something else….a million dollars, anything?”
But no matter what the mermaid said, the third man insisted on having his IQ increased by five times its usual power. So the mermaid sighs and says, “Done.”
And the third man is transformed into a woman.
Now, that I’ve got you in mermaid mode, I thought I’d let you know about a special promotion running until Saturday, April 4th.
Blurb – Between Land and Sea
After giving up her tail for an international banker, Isabella of the Mediterranean kingdom is aged, weathered, and abandoned on the fog-drenched shores of southwest England. She faces her human journey as a plain and practically destitute fifty-three-year-old woman.
With the help of a magic tablet and online mermaid support, she reinvents herself as a career counselor, motivational speaker, and writer of self-help books. 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. As Isabella evolves into Barbara Davies, she embraces her middle-aged body, heals her bruised heart, and learns to love again.
This contemporary version of The Little Mermaid offers hope and inspiration to anyone who has been dumped, deceived, or demoted. It will also appeal to mermaid enthusiasts.
Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)
Blurb- the Coming of Arabella
On the day of her engagement party, an ex-mermaid’s life is disrupted by the unexpected arrival of another mermaid—a sister she has never known. Under normal circumstances, Barbara Davies would be overjoyed, but her special day is already wrought with tension. While Barbara is not the first mermaid from the Mediterranean kingdom to settle in small town Ontario, she has yet to reveal her origins to her fiancé. So, when Arabella, the gorgeous sister whose disturbing black eyes banished her to the island of Crete, saunters into her life, clutching the arm of Barbara’s discarded lover, a powder keg of emotion is released.
Relationships falter and careers stall as envy stirs in the hearts of the sisters. On the verge of meltdown after her fiancé leaves Canada for a teaching job in Vermont, Barbara flees to Arizona hoping for a reprieve. There, she finds solace at a retreat for ex-mermaids and a second chance at love with a charismatic preacher. As she contemplates a new life in the desert paradise of Sedona, shocking secrets emerge and tragedy strikes. A stronger and wiser Barbara rises up to face these new challenges and embrace the best parts of her mermaid heritage.
Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)
After signing the contract for Between Land and Sea with Soul Mate Publishing, I started brainstorming about different marketing tools. One idea that popped in my head was a trailer. In my research, I had discovered mixed messages regarding the effectiveness of trailers. Some authors and publicists were wildly enthusiastic while others suggested that trailers did not necessarily lead to more sales.
Monique loves writing that twitches her smiling muscles or transports her to another time or place. Her passion for writing began as a young girl while penning stories in a journal. Now she looks forward to deepening her passion by creating many unique stories that do nothing less than intrigue her readers.
In my late teens, I started a quote collection. I would underline sentences (and sometimes entire paragraphs) in books and jot down inspiring thoughts from other print media. I would then copy these words of wisdom into a journal. When I joined Pinterest, I set aside a page—Words I Love— where I recopied these quotes.
Joanne Guidoccio 