My Little Mermaid

Those of you who have read my Minerva James stories might think that she is the only detective I ever write about.

Those of you who have been brave enough to look at my writing page (on this website) know that I have other characters. There’s Staff Sergeant Jackson James of the OSI in the US Air Force. I have a few Kindle books about him.

There’s Body Politic in which I tell the tale of Vice President Berry, called upon to solve the murder of President Barker (who he calls “Barkey.”)

One of my first fictional mystery protagonists was John Carlson, a solo practitioner in Humboldt County whose investigator, Ariel Gustafson, is a former stripper. Based on the strange and difficult relationship I was having with my then-wife, who also was a former stripper. Alas, that series has never been published, just as the marriage didn’t last.

The strangest mystery series I ever wrote, however, is Bobby Anderson and his investigator Mariah Dauphin. Bobby is a Public Defender in the 22nd Century. Mariah is a mermaid.

Sort of.

In that distant time, the governments of the world have engineered everyone to have the same golden skin color, so to do away with prejudice and racism. Then they created a whole new breed of human, the Sea Beings, whose DNA has been altered using amphibian genes so they can live underwater. Of course, the women who undergo such a change are called “Mermaids.” They have slightly rubbery skin, webbing between their fingers and toes. They can breathe on land for about two hours at a time.

I’ve written four stories about Bobby and Mariah, who end up having a relationship (Bobby, at first a bit queasy about Sea Beings, falls desperately in love with Mariah.)

As you might guess, finding a home for these mystery/SF/sea going stories is not easy. But recently I learned of an online publication, Mermaids Monthly, which put out a call for stories. I submitted the first Bobby and Mariah story, The Mermaid and the Marsden.

Really, it’s a match made in heaven. Or Pittsburgh. Anyway, I hope the MM folks will like my little mermaid. She’s smart. She’s sexy. She’s funny. And there’s no one out there like her.

Don’t tell anyone, but I’m a little in love with her myself. I envision her as a cross between Mariah Carey and a Salmon. I really like Salmon.

Anyway, Mariah is more than just a pretty face. She works as an investigator in the Public Defender’s Office and helps solve two different cases in her first story. I want to write more Mermaid stories but, as I said, placing them has been a problem (though a few times I came close with some good SF mags).

We will see if Mariah finds a home at MM.