When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel

Product Information

Please join us in congratulating Barbara O’Neal, a WU contributor who continues to give succinct advice from the trenches, on the upcoming release of her latest novel, When We Believed In Mermaids. I lift the Mountain Dew all the way to my lips and take a long swallow of the thing we shared, this private reminder of all we were to each other, and tell myself it’s just wishful thinking. Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love." After arriving in New Zealand, Kit begins her journey with the memories of the past: of days spent on the beach with Josie. Of a lost teenage boy who'd become part of their family. And of a trauma that has haunted Kit and Josie their entire lives. After arriving in New Zealand, Kit begins her journey with the memories of the of days spent on the beach with Josie. Of a lost teenage boy who’d become part of their family. And of a trauma that has haunted Kit and Josie their entire lives.

If you're under 50, don't be turned off: most YA novels are read by people who are no longer "young adults", likewise young adults are welcome to read boomer books! Josie and I ran around like puppies, sleeping on the beach of the cove when we got tired, underfoot and ignored. My mother was a great beauty who’d come for dinner with another man and fallen instantly in love with my father, or so the legend says. But if you’d known him, you would know it was entirely likely. My father was a massive personality, a charming, bigger-than-life chef from Italy, though people just said cook in those days. Or restaurateur, which was what he really was. My mother loved him to excess, far more than she loved us. His passion for her was intense, and sexual, and possessive, but is that love? I don’t know. Josie’s face swims up in front of me. The way it was fifteen years ago. The way it looked on television overnight. As a reader, what kind of boomer book would you like to read? Books with themes of interest to boomers are constantly published. A thread here will follow all new releases.This novel has garnered positive responses from critics and readers alike. It has been lauded for its compelling narrative, well-drawn characters, and deeply emotional themes. The plot twists and turns have also been appreciated for keeping readers engaged till the end. The Setting

There are always millions of tons of dust in the air, just as there are millions of cubes of air in the earth and more living flesh in the soil (worms, beetles, underground creatures) than there is grazing and existing on it. Herodotus records the death of various armies engulfed in the simoom who were never seen again. One nation was 'so enraged by this evil wind that they declared war on it and marched out in full battle array, only to be rapidly and completely interred.”

Review Roundup

First sentence, "My sister had been dead for fifteen years when I see her on the TV news." I was like, "Yes!" I knew then I was in for a story.

For one long second, she looks at the camera. Long enough that there is no mistaking her. That straight, straight blonde hair, cut now into a sleek bob that just grazes her shoulders, her tilted dark eyes and slashes of cheekbone, that fat Angelina Jolie mouth. Everyone always fussed over her beauty, and it’s that combination of dark and light, angles and softness that does it. She’s an exact mix of our parents. Another distraction is an old house on an overlook that Mari’s husband (another uninteresting character) buys for her as a surprise. The house carries a secret related to a death/murder that happened long ago, one we are told about later in the story. There is also a great deal of time spent describing this house. The whole set-up has nothing to do with the main story. If it were left out, the main story would carry on without impact. I load my board into my Jeep and drive south, not realizing that I’m headed for the cove until I get there. Pulling over into a makeshift space alongside the highway, I park and look down at the water. A few bodies out, not many at dawn. The water is northern Cali cold, fifty-three degrees in early March, but the waves are lined up all the way to the horizon. Perfect.Stopping by my tiny Santa Cruz house, 1,350 square feet on the edge of an almost-not-great neighborhood, I scramble into my wet suit, feed the worst cat in the world his half can of wet food, and make sure to move my fingers around in his kibble. He purrs his thanks, and I pull his tail gently. “Try not to pee on anything too important, huh?” The attempt to shoehorn a side plot investigation about the movie stars death could have made an excellent addition and breathed some much-needed life into Mari’s dull as hell story, but it was completely forgotten! I thought that with the mention of the computer and the journals we would get a tasty little puzzle to solve but no. It’s literally not mentioned again, other than as a very brief after thought at the end. What was even the point in including it??