LeAnn Neal Reilly

Four years after John Wilkerson claims the mermaid Tamarind for his wife, they have an idyllic marriage that depends on a talisman that she crafted on their island paradise. When the talisman breaks, she and John are forced to rely on themselves instead of magic.

The Mermaid's Pendant

Volodymyr Stadnyk

Saint Sebastian's Head

When John Wilkerson, a twenty-six-year-old graduate student, escapes to the island of Culebra over spring break, he's ready to abandon his studies and his girlfriend Zoe for less technology, fewer responsibilities, and quiet contemplation of nature. What he doesn't expect is almost drowning in less than ten feet of water and a mysterious rescuer. John's efforts to figure out what he wants to do with his life and who he wants in it are hampered by Ana, Culebra's resident folk healer, a rival named Jesus, and a darkly seductive woman named Raimunda. Then there's the quirky, innocent, and very lovely young Tamarind who keeps showing up in the most surprising places. In this adult fairy tale inspired by "The Little Mermaid," the prince must grow up to win the girl of his dreams, the mermaid has to choose between love and power, and both will be tested by the ugliness that distinguishes reality from fantasy. An Ordinary Drowning was originally published as Volume One in The Mermaid's Pendant, a novel that The Midwest Book Review describes as a "beautifully crafted fantasy that shows much symbolism and wisdom."

The Mermaid's Pendant #1

An Ordinary Drowning

Four years after putting off her tail to marry a human, former mermaid Tamarind Wilkerson finds her life anything but a fairy tale. Her husband, John, works long hours at a startup where his former girlfriend Zoë takes a job—and takes an interest in him. She’s pregnant and lonely, stuck caring for a two year old in a world very different from life underwater. Her only real friend is an elderly woman named Lucy, who has her own family dramas and unhealed wounds to deal with. On the island of Culebra, where Tamarind’s best friend Valerie still lives, lurks Ana, the witch who transformed her. Ana has plans for her young protégé, and she intends to bring her back any way she can. As Tamarind’s ordinary human life suffocates her, she begins to wonder "Is this what I gave my tail up for?" And Ana’s power begins to tempt her …. Grounding Magic was originally published as Volume Two in The Mermaid's Pendant, a novel that The Midwest Book Review describes as a "beautifully crafted fantasy that shows much symbolism and wisdom. The tale begins in An Ordinary Drowning: Book One of The Mermaid's Pendant.

The Mermaid's Pendant #2

Grounding Magic

1997, Boston -- Fifteen years ago an eleven-year-old girl died an unspeakable death in a small Midwestern city.... As a child, Weeble earns her nickname for her ability to stand up under difficult circumstances. Despite the squalor, neglect, and abuse of her home, Weeble adopts the role of protector, first for her younger sister, Annie, and then for her best friend, Lauren. When Lauren dies, Weeble hides her stark, painful childhood from herself in order to survive. Years later and now a civil engineer living thousands of miles away, Weeble's tenuous hold on her emotional state has started to unravel. The methods she uses to cope with her shame and grief no longer work. After winning a grant to create a Web site dedicated to the victims of serial killers, Weeble shuts out longtime friends and begins training for the Boston Sprint Triathlon. Running hard has always kept the nightmares at bay. Then during an early-morning run, she's caught off guard by a Freegan named Tom Paul, a glass artist and modern mystic. Weeble's numb detachment shatters. As her past increasingly invades her present, she will be forced to confront the truth of what happened that long ago summer. Using a structure that switches abruptly between radiant present and dark past, Saint Sebastian's Head tells the ultimately healing love story of a damaged woman and the faithful man who can see the hidden beauty of her soul.

LeAnn Neal Reilly

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