I take the plunge with my first book about mermaids

Everyone loves dragons, and fantasy readers, in particular, seem particularly partial to the creatures. So I gave you dragons. I gave you two books about dragons, to be precise, and I enjoyed doing so. But then, after When Dragons Dream had hit the virtual bookshelves, it seemed to me that it was time for a change, time to venture into an entirely new subject area- mermaids. Mermaids have always fascinated me, and I remember, as a child, reading about them (and Mermen) towards the end of CS Lewis' Voyage of the Dawn Treader, as that vessel drew close to the edge of the world. In legend and literature they are associated with what could be described as a bittersweet relationship with mankind. They are alluring creatures but at the same time, perilous, having the ability, through their song, to charm the unwary mariner. My new book The Seal Woman's Daughter tells the story of an unlikely romance between a shipwrecked mariner and a mermaid, in fulfilment of a fate decreed by the sea god Tetheos. The story begins in the great port of Nahleen, around the turn of the 1st/2nd millennium in Toxandria, but soon sees an exploration of a mysterious island, Angathis, and an equally mysterious aquatic kingdom, abode of the mermaids and mermen, called Gemethis. It was fun to work out the practical ramifications of dwelling within an aquatic environment and of the interface between ocean and land. Romance, in particular, made it necessary to invent some interesting mechanics. A physical relationship between and a man and a mermaid brings with it its own complications since mermaids have the lower parts of fish, creatures not known for their stimulating sex lives! If you want to see how I got round this problem, you'll have to read the book.