The Mermaid of Brooklyn (48 page)
Read The Mermaid of Brooklyn Online
Authors: Amy Shearn
What are you working on next?
Well, I try not to talk about projects in progress because I start to feel superstitious, but I will share that it’s a ghost story, which is ridiculous because I never read ghost stories and have certainly never written one. I was inspired by Patrick DeWitt, the author of this amazing, gorgeous, funny, sad Western novel called
The Sisters Brothers,
who said in interviews that he was totally unfamiliar with the whole Western genre and just made things up as he went along. My hope is that my ignorance will set me free. Or at least not hinder me
too
much.
ENHANCE YOUR BOOK CLUB
1. We learn bits and pieces of the rusalka’s story, but never the whole truth. Have each member of the group write a short origin story for her, then share them.
2. Alternatively, have each member pick a country and research its folklore on mermaids or water spirits to share with the group. Or read a classic mermaid tale, like Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” and discuss how it differs from the popular Disney retelling.
3. Compare this novel to another book that share themes of motherhood and self-discovery such as
The Peach Keeper
or
Prospect Park West
. How are they similar? How are they different? If
The Mermaid of Brooklyn
was made into a movie, who would you cast?
4. Visit author Amy Shearn’s blog, householdwords.wordpress.com, and her website, amyshearnwrites.com, to follow her real-life adventures as an author, mother, and Brooklyn resident.
AMY SHEARN
is the author of
How Far Is the Ocean from Here
. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa and the University of Minnesota’s MFA program, and she writes for
Oprah.com
and
RedbookMag.com
. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two children.
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
COVER PHOTOGRAPHS: SKY © PLAINPICTURE/READYMADE-IMAGES/DANIEL BELET; BUILDING © OCEAN/CORBIS; AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPH © ADAM TETZLOFF
Also by Amy Shearn
How Far Is the Ocean from Here
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Touchstone
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New York, NY 10020
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Amy Shearn
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Touchstone trade paperback edition April 2013
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shearn, Amy.
The mermaid of Brooklyn / Amy Shearn.
p. cm.
“A Touchstone book.”
1. Stay-at-home mothers—Fiction. 2. Mermaids—Fiction. 3. Depression, Mental—Fiction. 4. Self-realization in women—Fiction. 5. Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3619.H434M47 2013 813'.6—dc23
2012024927
ISBN 978-1-4516-7828-4
ISBN 978-1-4516-7829-1 (ebook)