OBS reviewer Annabell chitchats with author Laura Lond about her novella, A Merman’s Kiss, a modern day fairytale. Lond talks about her love for fairytales, what she would ask for if she could get a kiss from a merman, and what kind of food she would create if she were writing a Merfolk cookbook.

Annabell: A Merman’s Kiss seems to be inspired by fairytale lore. Was there a specific fairytale you favored growing up? Why did you enjoy that particular fairytale so much?

Laura Lond: Yes, I devoured fairytales, I loved everything fantastic and miraculous. You are probably expecting me to say that The Little Mermaid was my favorite, but no, that wasn’t the case. I actually did not like Hans Christian Andersen’s famous tale because of its sad ending. I mean, the mermaid dies?? I still do not favor bad endings, and I absolutely couldn’t stand them as a kid. It had ruined the tale for me. After stumbling across The Little Match Girl, another one of Andersen’s stories where the main character dies, I had officially put him on my list of suspicious writers who couldn’t be trusted, right next to Rudyard Kipling who’d killed off nearly every good character in The Jungle Book.

Annabell: Would you ever considering turning A Merman’s Kiss into a full length novel in the future? Why did you choose to format it as a novella instead?

Laura Lond: When a new story comes to me, I can usually sense whether it’s going to be a short story, a novella, or a novel. As I write, I don’t try to force the story into that particular format, I let it grow the way it wants, but I am usually right about the initial estimation. A Merman’s Kiss had come to me as a novella. I’ve had several readers comment that they wish it was a full length novel, but it would be very difficult to turn it into such. It’s like giving birth to a baby and then saying, “No, he’s too small, his hair and eye color is wrong, let’s disassemble him and stick him back into the womb to have him reborn.”

Annabell: Ellie is very timid whereas Leatra is self-centered. Which character do you relate to more and why?

Laura Lond: Ellie. Her quiet and timid nature is by no means a sign of weakness. She has desires and dreams, too, but she also knows her limitations and knows how to deal with them. She was not born pretty; paraphrasing her own words, she’s not going to spend her life being miserable about it and making everybody around her miserable, because there are so many good things to do and enjoy.

Leatra does not see that. She does not appreciate the good things she has, she is focused on winning the lottery, so to speak. She wants it all and now. I suppose many of us can relate, we can remember being like that as kids, but, hopefully, we have grown out of this attitude. Leatra’s loud protestations at her lot in life and her vigorous attempts to get what she wants, no matter the cost, might come across as strength, but it’s not real strength, not the kind Ellie has. I can easily see Leatra crumbling and giving up on her life if she finally sees that she’s lost the battle. Ellie, on the other hand, stands strong when she’s dealt a heavy blow.

Some readers wonder what happened to Leatra in the end; I hadn’t spelled it out on purpose. It seems like she’s gotten what she wanted, but we are left with the feeling that she’s not going to be happy. Why? Because her selfishness will ruin whatever good she’s achieved.

Annabell: Delmarius is a unique name and character. How did you come up with the name? What inspired his character?

Laura Lond: I wanted him to have a sea-related name, so I did some research. I needed to find a name that would both suit the character and have the desired meaning. “Delmar” was the closest: it is a name of Spanish and old French origin that means “of the sea”. It seemed a little too short, I needed something a bit more impressive, so I changed it into Delmarius.

As to the character, he developed throughout the story. At first I did not know how he would respond to what happened to him; at some point I even thought he might go on a killing spree. But Delmarius turned out to be far more noble and selfless than I expected.

Annabell: If you could kiss a merman and gain one wish, what would you ask for?

Laura Lond: I’d trick the system by asking for a magic wand. 🙂

Annabell: Will there be a sequel to A Merman’s Kiss? Will it be longer? What are hints you are willing to give away as to what happens in the next tale?

Laura Lond: There might be a sequel. Shelby Lewis, the voice artist who worked on the audio version of A Merman’s Kiss, was very excited about the book and suggested several ideas regarding the possible sequel. The ideas were very close to my own, confirming the fact that there might be more to the story. Specifically, I think there was a mermaid who liked Delmarius. She is not happy about losing him, and she might try to do something to get him back. It’s hard to tell at this point how long this new story will be.

Annabell: If you could create a cookbook as to what Merfolk (don’t know if that’s the right terminology) would eat, what would be the names of the top five dishes?

Laura Lond: Seaweed Salad (by the way, I have actually eaten such a thing)
Starfish Delight
Rainbow Lobster
Smirking Crab
Oysters Tubuerra (no idea what that means, merfolk word)

Annabell: Who are some of your favorite authors? What books are you reading now or looking forward to read?

Laura Lond: C.S. Lewis and Charles Dickens are two of my all-time favorites. Right now I read mostly indie authors; The Hawk and His Boy by Christopher Bunn was a good read, I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the trilogy, The Shadow at the Gate. I’ve also just finished “How to Teach Your Baby to Read” by Glenn Doman and I’m using the system on my two-year-old.

Annabell: What is your favorite time of day to write? What is your routine like? Can you write in public places or do you prefer to be alone?

Laura Lond: I prefer to write in the evening and late at night, both because that’s how my inner clock works and because of the above mentioned two-year-old. I need it to be quiet when I write, and I need to be able to focus, without distractions and interruptions. The best time for that is when the rest of the family is asleep.
Annabell: Time to play “Get to Know the Author”:
Favorite Word: Abibliophobia — the fear of running out of books. 🙂
Favorite Spot to Write: Sitting in my armchair near the fireplace.

Top Five Books that Inspired You to Become a Writer: I have three: Oliver Twist, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings

Favorite Genre(s): Fantasy, mystery, classic literature

If you could have dinner with any five authors, whether dead or alive, who would you choose? What would you ask them? And what would you make for dinner?

I would cook my famous falling-off-the-bones tender and juicy Chicken Baked in Brown Paper Bag. Perhaps 2 or 3 of them, since there would be such a large company. I would ask Jane Austen why she didn’t write more books. I’d ask Charles Dickens how he managed to write so many 800+ pagers without a computer, and how many he thinks he would have written if he had one. Rudyard Kipling would have to answer me why he had to kill so many good characters in The Jungle Book (no chicken for him, he’d get some of that seaweed salad). I’d ask C.S.Lewis why he did not write more fantasy, and I’d ask J.R.R.Tolkien what he thinks of The Lord of the Rings movies.

Annabell: Many thanks to author Laura Lond! I had fun reading her story and getting to know her. If you wish to find out more information on the author and her work, check out http://laura-lond.tripod.com/