A Tale and a Love Journey: Not Your Ordinary Mermaid Story

Author Howard T. Parsons, a graduate with a Bachelor of Science, major in Biology, penned a fresh mermaid story that defied the usual tale of tails involving mystic creatures and mystical powers in “Urban Mermaid: Tails from Colony Island, Book One (Volume 1).”
 
The book introduces the readers to Penelope Tench, a mermaid from Colony Island, Florida. Even when she was still in grade school, Penelope already knew that she could not find a suitable mate amongst the islanders. After college she moved to the city, living a lonely life of sadness. She had no one as she had shut her family, and friends back home, out of her life. Even landing a new job did not lift her spirits.
 
One Sunday, on her weekly visit to the sea to dip her tail, she decided death was preferable to the life she was leading. Her plans were interrupted by a human named Peter MacPherson. As a spur-of-the moment prank, she chose to show him what she really was. The following day, to her horror, she learned they are officemates.
 
Peter assured Penelope that her secret would not be known to other people. Although she was skeptical, she had little choice but to give him the benefit of the doubt. Peter helped Penelope on her journeys to the sea and arranged the details for her comfort. Even though young mermaids and mermen were warned to avoid romantic entanglements with humans, they slowly fell in love with each other.
 
“The story was presented in a fresh and bold new way, while still managing to incorporate some traditional mythology. ‘Urban Mermaid’ was an enjoyable read, and I found myself delving deeper and deeper into the story and feeling emotionally invested rather quickly. Howard Parsons portrays a colorful picture of figures and places you can tangibly feel. It is a love story between Penelope and Peter first and foremost, but that doesn’t mean that love comes easy. They face everyday problems that are timeless family, work, stations, stigmas, etc. This is definitely not the childhood bedtime story many of us remember when we think of ’mermaids’! It is much sexier, edgier, and faster paced. ‘Urban Mermaid’ is smartly written with the added benefit of breaking away from many of the clichés that are common with this theme of story, while still maintaining the core folklore most mer fans are hoping to see. If you are craving an entirely new mermaid experience, by all means, read this book. “as per Paige Blue, author of Finding Summerland.
 
Urban Mermaid: Tails from Colony Island, Book One (Volume 1)
Author: Howard T. Parsons
Publisher: Gazebo Gardens
Editor: Shelley C Moore
Illustrator: Ilsie Om
Paperback: $17.95
 
Urban Mermaid: Tails from Colony Island, Book One (Volume 1) book copies are available at Amazon.com.
 
About the Author:
Howard T. Parsons was born in Petersburg, Virginia during the final days of King George VI’s reign. He grew up and attended school in nearby Hopewell, VA. The eldest son of Lucile and Howard T. Parsons, Sr., he attended North Carolina Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount and graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Although his interests lay in Virology and Marine Biology, the need to earn a living led him to the field of Information Technology. During his stint with the Michie Company in Charlottesville, Virginia, he developed the TOOL programming language, and in 2008, wrapped up a thirty-year career in legal publishing. Howard recently retired from his position as a software engineer with the Dematic Corporation and lives at The Parsonage in Charlottesville with his wife and the latest three moggies in a long line of house cats. His interests include pipe collecting, Scottish highland games, railroads, and heraldry.
 

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