WHAT DO MERMAIDS EAT?
And a note about "whitelisting" this newsletter
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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22 April 2024
“What Do Mermaids Eat?”
Believe it or not, this question is one that I did the Google shuffle around because my captured mermaid needed sustenance to be kept alive. Are they vegetarians, carnivores, or omnivores? I was hoping to find something in other books and stories about the kinds of foods mermaids ate, even if only fictional, but that isn’t what I found.
These cute youngsters offer some imaginative ideas about what mermaids eat such as coral, which would make mermaids “coraltarians.” They suggest that kelp cupcakes are yummy and that mermaids like to eat seafood such as starfish and shrimp. Charming to say the least.
This sweet video prompted me to choose foods that would have been popular and accessible in the coastal region during the 1870s like cucumber tea sandwiches and rice pudding but also sea salt crackers and seaweed powder. I made the authorial decision that mermaids do not eat other sea creatures.
My research into life and times in Charleston, South Carolina after The Civil War led me to understand that the city’s elite were impacted by the aftermath as much as average people of the city, to say nothing of the enormous impact on the black community. The economy, infrastructure, education, culture, religion, and more were challenged in every aspect to recover a way of life that eventually did not return. The plantation and family business--mainly agricultural--sustained itself prior to the conflict because of slavery. Without this element, plantations were forced to find new ways to continue. Many of them didn’t survive, but all of the families were considered the elite members of society. Yes, dainty cucumber tea sandwiches are an English Edwardian culinary offering, but Americans with money were well known to have brought their English habits with them to the States.
Cucumbers (Cucumis) have been around a long time, and they grow well in southern states because of the long growing season, but the humidity in these areas also cause a mold problem called downy mildew that cucumbers are susceptible to. Fungicides help, but if planted in a timely manner, mid-April to mid-May, it’s possible to salvage a good crop. Between regional history, the growing season, and history of the cucumber, I decided that my character Serena’s family would normally have afternoon tea and eat these delicate sandwiches made from white bread (with the crusts intact because they couldn’t afford to waste food), butter spread, and thinly sliced peeled cucumbers. And this would be a logical choice for feeding a mermaid.
I made the same assumption about rice pudding. Firstly, because I love eating it and secondly, because I learned that one of the products that helped restore South Carolina’s economy after the war was rice. Rice plantations in South Carolina provided a large portion of the country’s rice prior to the war but many of those businesses didn’t return. Some did and I decided that rice pudding would be Mari-Morgan’s favorite food because families like the Robinsons would have the wherewithal to buy rice and pudding would be one of their family legacy recipes just like it is one of mine.
Here is some information about the antebellum economy of South Carolina
The cook’s reading this right now are wondering about the challenge of storing rice pudding because it normally contains eggs. Being from the South, my grandmother and mother made rice pudding without eggs but added raisons to plump and thicken the mixture. They also taught me to boil the rice slowly which encourages rice starch and adds a natural thickening to the custard. In my mind, egg-less rice pudding was Mari-Morgan’s favorite “soup” and something that Serena could have transported safely to help keep the mermaid alive. Here’s a recipe for rice pudding that doesn’t call for eggs.
Old fashioned rice pudding recipe
I like mermaids because they make waves.
A Note About “Whitelisting” This Newsletter
It’s come to my attention that some readers are finding my newsletter in their spam folders instead of their inboxes. The answer is “whitelisting” this sender (me) in your email account. This means identifying my address as safe to your email provider. Here are the basic instructions for “whitelisting” my address so you don’t miss a thing!
Whitelisting emails for several providers
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. Read a sample and purchase here
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.
