POP CULTURE KEEPS THE MERMAID ALIVE
And a nice feature in my local newspaper
Welcome to Monday Mermaid Musings where I talk about my new book The Mermaid Riot (Fire and Ice YA, March 19, 2024) and how much of the story was created. I hope you enjoy these tidbits as I hope to extend the conversation around the book beyond the mythology, lovely as that is most of the time.
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15 April 2024
“Pop Culture Keeps the Mermaid Alive”
In most cases, my research for The Mermaid Riot led me to solid evidence (it is based on a true event that became legendary) and interesting conjecture about the incident. In other instances, it led me to entertaining interpretations.
As mentioned in a previous post-
haunted ghost tours are popular tourist attractions, as was the travelling “FeeJee Mermaid” organized by showman P. T. Barnum. It comes as no surprise that popular culture would see the mermaid incident of 1867 as something to talk or sing about.
This snippet from the Travel Channel encourages viewers to consider the mermaid riots from the perspective of a mystery, a “fishy tale of mermaid mayhem.”
The South Carolina Encyclopedia covers what happened surrounding Barnum’s “FeeJee Mermaid” exhibit when it was displayed in Charleston, SC in January 1843. A controversy to rival the later event at the apothecary is explained.
Charleston resident and art quilter Torreah “Cookie” Washington sews fascinating quilts around the mermaid motif! Check out her “Mermaid in a Jar” quilt and note that she starred in the Travel Channel’s video about the mermaid incident.
One of the more charming interpretations of the “mermaid mayhem” is a song written and sung by Charleston artist Jim Lundy. It’s enchanting.
From Lundy’s version of the mermaid mob, as he calls it, I recognized the adage about applying common sense. If we go blindly through life believing everything we’re told to be the absolute truth, I think we’re missing the element of thinking critically and discovering our own truths. “The truth of the matter” is one of my favorite lines because it applies to so much, and it asks us to remember that while culture and stories are important and we’re wired to learn from stories, those tales are also meant to make us think carefully about what we say, see, and do.
Stay tuned for more background, how I twisted the so-called facts of the “mermaid incident” to suit the story, and how I applied literary license to write a fantasy novel about learning to believe what you’re told and when to question it.
~JEH
The Mermaid Riot is a work of fiction inspired by a true event that happened in Charleston, South Carolina in 1867 which became known as the mermaid riots. Names, dates, and locations have been fabricated to accommodate the plot.
The Mermaid Riot by Joy E. Held is available in ebook and print form from online retailers.
IN OTHER NEWS
My local newspaper The Parkersburg News and Sentinel did a nice article about the release of The Mermaid Riot.
https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/community-news/2024/04/civil-war-incident-inspired-local-authors-latest-book/
JOY E. HELD is an author, educator, editor, entrepreneur, and literary citizen responsible for this site and its contents. She is the author of
Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity (Headline Books, Inc., 2020)
Writer Wellness Workbook: A Guided Workbook and Journal to Accompany Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity (Headline Books, Inc., 2023)
The Mermaid Riot (Fire and Ice YA, 2024) Young Adult Historical Fantasy
She writes spicy historical fiction under a pen name.
She is the winner of multiple writing and book awards:
West Virginia Writers, Inc. Annual Writing Contest, Honorable Mention, Novel, 1998.
New York Book Festival, Honorable Mention, Writer Wellness, 2020.
Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Finalist, Writer Wellness, 2021.
Northeast Ohio Romance Writers of America, Member of the Year, 2020.
Northeast Ohio Romance Writers of America, First Book Award, 2020.
She is an adjunct faculty member in the Southern New Hampshire University Online MFA Creative Writing.
She is a proud graduate of Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA with an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction.
She is a member of The Authors Guild and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Joy is the founder and CEO of My WRITEDAY Subscription Box for writers and readers.
Congratulations any time an author can get recognition for their work is important. FYI I way named as a History Hero for 2024 for my work A Civil War History of Harrison County West Virginia. As far as my personal writing is concerned, I finally finished the book that I have been working on for my friend who suffered the stroke and we published it earlier this month. His wife insisted that I take Author credit. We titled it “The Planet’s Revenge; The Katy Saga Continues “. Available on Amazon. Have a great day!