Tidelands and the amazing synergy of Australian mermaid stories

I am always amazed by the fact that only the Australians seem to be able to tell realistic mermaid stories. Not ones where they eat people or bastardization of Hans Christian Anderson, but real gritty stories of people who deal with hybrid humans who swim in the deep.

I got this idea for mermaids and mermaid culture independant of H20: just add water because the concept is old. Starbucks does it. Splash did it. And of course Ariel. Bith the lore is filled with fish people who can’t function as a society. They sing men to death and lay on stones.

The other stories gave idea to vast underwater cultures but always the main character either was not integrated into the surface so the struggle was integration or hiding who they were with no one else there. I loved them. I use pieces and ideas from everywhere.

But it was H20 that really helped my idea gel. Seeing the swiming made me think about it and how it would work. Yet H20 being teen was fairly light and shied away for hard issues. If you notice most of my stories tend to ignore those too. They are always interpersonal. The scene from Heartbeat song that addresses the upcoming Taft attack remains unpublished because that story isn’t finished.  In fact the darkest so far, is Homecoming Song’s attack on the Graverobber’s complex.

This is why I am so pleased with Tidelands. Its the opposite of Sirens and everything Sirens should have been. I am annoyed that I got keyed up about it only to be disapointed immediately with the dumb beast aspect. Sirens was basically Sharks who became people but still had basically were sharks. They had human bodies so they could ‘be’ people. But they didnt think like people. They thought like sharks. Cue sappy love and familial ties and you get their first season. No mer-society, just a buch of hokey legends around a sea species of Homo that go left behind 200000 years ago. They are working on it and the next season will be better.

Tidelands hits it out of the park. Produced by Hoodlum productions in association with Australian Netflix, it has the same feel as I try to give to my novels. Only theirs is much grittier, filled with broken people who do immoral things to make a living.  The main character Callopie comes back from 10 yrs in prison for burning someone alive (and their house) to discover that the dad she loved is dead, her brother is now a drug dealer and her mother hates her so much that she took her part of the will and spent it on a bar.

So what does this have to do with mermaids? Well they supply the raw component, that the brother needs to make the drugs to sell the to Chinese Traid. Those mermaids are hybrid humans who possess superstrenght, the ability to bend water and siren song.  They put out the eyes of anyone who they catch watching them and they live on the surface as a commune with no real leader but one middle aged blond woman who has a secret key to this one mansion they live around.

The story is about how the sister discovers who she is, who they are and how she fits into to all this. So why am I so excited? It fits exactly where I am going. The only difference between the tidelanders and Assembly warrior archetype: you cant see the gill slits on the tidelanders and they breath underwater with no trouble. Everything else matches.

My great houses are a little more structured than this but Tidelands is like watching my artistic vision come to life.

Which brings me to where I am on the stories.

1. No christmas story this year. I didn’t have anytime and by the time I discovered the Nutcracker it was too late.
2. I am writing ‘The widening breach’ with follows ‘Song of Route 91’ immediately.  All the events that were laid out in Song of Route 91 are addressed here. You also get a view of exactly how they plan to move the society. Its not pretty. Neither is Gwen’s growth into the Queen. The revelation that Tom worked behind her back to safe Lorelei from death came to a head in that story. Its fallout is here. As is her brokeness.
3. I decided that since I put Tom and Gwen into ‘Faking it’, that universe is apart of mine. So you see her fresh from Clement (which is in the heart of downtown Memphis) working on her singer career. If you have no clue what ‘Faking it’ is. Its a MTV show that got the short end of the stick, that deal with teen sexuality. Its really good. Also go read my story ‘We saw the dream’ after you watch the 31 30 minute episodes. Its my take on the finale and considering I folded their story into mine, its how I feel it flowed without breaking their canon.
4. Once I finish ‘The Widening breach’ I should enough info to finish ‘Heartbeat song’. Once that is done, I will do Song of Revelation (i never seem to remember, what I will call the book. It will be song of ‘something’)
5. With that I will essentially have 5 books of the series that can be read in order to get from late 2006 to sept 2009.
6. I will do books dealing with 2012 and the end of dagon and the other mentioned things here.
7. Finally, I decided that while Obama was president from 2009 to 2016 Mueller was killed in Vietnam
8. I rolled Amazon series ‘the last tycoon’ into the chronology. I will explain that in another post. Its how Emmett starts collecting his empire. Also a detailed explanation of how is in the Widening breach. So in SOA there is no 20th century Fox. Its ‘Brady’ instead. And CBS is ACN. This is why I love Tidelanders. For every Emmett who owns one quarter of all media, there is a woman who sells ‘drugs’ to make money. Its all about how the surface in inferior to the assembly.
9. Finally, On tumblr the adult nudity and sex purge continues. I am still unable to post stories there so I will continue to support them until they choose to shut down.

 

That’s everything. Have a merry Christmas and Happy 2019. The rollercoster will continue  for those here in the US. But like it on not, for my novel world History ends april 12, 2019

 

The magic of that moment on a glory night

Each time I finish and publish a story its like placing a puzzle piece down. I am slowly revelaing the remarkable picture of how the Assembly saved itself and the Earth. Of course this process is slow going and I haven’t put enough pictures to make true sense of everything. Nevertheless the stories should be able to stand on there own.

Having said that preamble, I want to announce that ‘Song of Route 91’ is now available on all digital platforms. Expect Amazon. I opted out of publishing the ebook on them. Yet, Scribd, Barnes & Noble, Apple Ibooks, Google and others now have it. It’s longer that the one I submitted for Nanowrimo coming in at roughly 30,000 words.  Also, to show that I am trying to have mermaids being in the ocean, (heh) the last 2 chapters are completely underwater. You see inside House Cetus 2018 and I reveal a dueling area so you get songs underwater.

This brings me to the reason for the title. In the story the decision is made about how to handle the burgening tech society of today in relation to the Assembly’s need for secrecy. How those consquences play out is revealed in a later story. That story as I mentioned earier could be the final one in this series. I dont know. I do know that its named ‘Song of the Children of Tommorrow’

That line and the title both come from the Scorpian song ‘Winds of Change’. That sound referenced the fall of soviet union and the impending freedom everyone thought was coming. For the Assembly, that night was the night before the Taft High Massacre. It will also be the night of the concert that will effectively save the assembly, Which was April 13 2018.

This brings me to another point. I decided to not subtitle them book ? of the Song of the Assembly series because I am writing them out of order and don’t know what actual number it will be until I write all of them. If I still do three groups of three books each, Song of Route 91 is the first of the last series.  However, this is the fifth book I wrote. Midnight Train song, Song of the Gyre and the unfinished Heartbeat Song are the first group of three. Song of Betrayal and Song of Transition (also unfinished. [its the third edit of the orginally much larger last six chapters of Song of Betrayal when it was called Collide]) are the first two of the second. Then there is Homecoming song and Christmas circle.

So rather that say book 5, I am going to give a timeline and then assign numbers when its actually complete.  The song of the Assembly series begins in early 2006 when Lorelei starts talking to Tom over the internet. Six months later puts you with the first meeting with Gwen in Midnight train song.  Song of the Gyre takes place during the 2006-2007 school year prior to the Taft High Massacre. HeartBeat song covers the night before, the Massacre and the days following. One of the final scenes is placing fallen Lorelei in Antarctica.

Song Of Betrayal, Song Of Transition and Homecoming song take place in 2009.  The first two take place in that 2009 part of the 2008-2009 school year while the other takes place in beginning part of the 2009-2010 school year.  Homecoming Song will be the last one that I believe at this moment will have Gwen in Forest Hills.  Her career takes off in 2010.

Christmas Circle took place near christmas 2016. There is a gap of 6 years that I need to fill in events like the fall of the Taiji, Tom becoming an olympian and Gwen getting her grammys etc. Plus a lot of bad changes as well.

The series will end on April 13 2018 unless I write a group of post ‘restorer of the breach’ prophecy books. It will end with the same character it began with: Lorelei. Rather that communicating with one man. She will be communicating with the world. So I am thinking 12 books. This other 3 will be around 2012.

On the topic of Siren, it got better. Its still not quite where I wanted it to be but it got better.  On this note, thanks to all who read this, clicked this link etc. I appreciate it.

finally

somewhere evenescence my immortal and Passenger Let her go will be in heartbeat song along with the title song.

Danny Gokey – Tell Your Heart to Beat Again

I am finishing it now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CW’s Siren, Parkland and the darkness

Well, its been a few months since my last post. There are some things I wanted to address and update where things are.

First thing is the Parkland shooting.  I didn’t address this until now because I was waiting until everything played out. Unfortunately, this turned into a very avoidable situation that looks filled with bad actors, an ignored mentally ill individual with known violent tendancies, goverment interference among other things.  I am loathe to remove events as I said previously.  However, I am even more unwilling to keep things that need not existed because people want to evil for misguided reasons. So in the Assembly reason, Parkland doesn’t happen. Here is why.

As I was writing Route 91, I got to a point where I needed to show how much Chelsey and Tom were different than Lorelei remembers. At the time of the story, she’s only been ressurected six months most of which she spent in their old castle on Kerguelen. There would be no human contact there (the french base is on the other side of the island and the mountain is considered restricted to them because of its danger and the fact their isnt enough of them to effect a rescue) so she is still out of contact while reintegrating into society.

So when Gwen challenges an Atlantic News Reporter about the dome seeming to stop the bullets and her time on the stage, the reporter goes off to get permission. Gwen assumes he will fail and brushes it off without a thought. She is powerful now. Respected and not challenged. When Jacob comes to do exactly that, challenge her by not according her any honorifics, she leaves for Ondine without a second thought.

The reporter returns Chelsey expecting the interview of the year. It is to be broadcasted live on the final news hour of the night. Lorelei covers for Gwen and when the reporter returns with crew, she has masked herself as Gwen, acting like her when she was a teen Yet, its imposible to explain why bullets didnt penetrate the concert area if there was only light there. So to make this act believable, she changes the subject to the future Parkland shooting informing the reporter and the millions listening about Nicolas Cruz and why he isn’t currently in jail or institutionalized. Using the information publically availabe the night of the LV shooting, she insists this is part of the problem rather than ‘a 3d printer problem’

After the interview, Tom informs Loerlei that Gwen is now the face of Gun control and will not only have prevented Cruz from carrying out the shooting but others as well.

To be clear, I support the second amendment right to bear arms. I support the NRA and believe that additional laws solve nothing but keeping guns out of the hands of non criminals.

Yet, Lorelei wouldn’t know any of this and was deeking to prevent another shooting like she lived through. Tie this into the fact that Song of Route 91 is most likely now the 8th book in the series (I always seem to write out of order).

This leads to a problem I though I cured but didn’t. Like with ‘Summon the heroes’ I have too much story. STM should have been 3 books not 1 652 page tome (this is 9’x 6′) If STH were paperback it would be 1153, which is as large as a Robert Jordan Wheel of Time series novel or a George RR Martin Song of Ice and Fire novel.

I honestly don’t know when I quit until I do. Right now there isn’t much more forward after the fulfillment of the ‘restorer of the breach’ prophecy. Raising the fallen assembly isn’t it. Ressurrecting Lorelei isn’t it. Its much bigger than that. That WILL be the final book right now.  Song of Route 91 I am hoping to end with these scenes between Tom, Lorelei and Jacob but I might have one more with Reagan and Gwen.

This brings me to Siren, the CW show I looked forward too. To say I am disappointed is an understatement. When the season premiere came out, I watched it and accepted it was a more violent version of H2O just add water. You have Merfolk with only instinct and no real intellect (they are a human subspecies who can learn rapidly but dont in the deep blue). They simply swim, hunt and reproduce. That’s it. No society outside of primitate warrior bands. No speech. Yes, Ryn (the main mermaid character) exudes a balance of innocence and naivety with dangerous animalistic instinct.

On the flip side, in the first book, I introduce Lorelei as a Human teen who is smart, cute and just so happens to a mermaid. Not a dangerous beast who could captured, speared like a shark but fully human and fully in tune with her home enviorment of the ocean.

Then we have the government coverup of a mermaid capture. A washington town thats founded on mermaid lore and the Main character caught up in discovering another mermaid coming ashore to find the captured one.  We get violent Splash and H2O analogies. There is little story and little character development for the mermaid.

The story is really centered around MC and his life as the aquatic center etc. Tampabay.com complements the show on its diversity. “There are numerous people of color in leading roles, and characters with disabilities are defined by other traits beyond their disability.” Seriously, its about mermaids. Why does the race or ability of character matter.

I could do the same. In all the stories so far I have numerous people of color in leading roles. The King of the Assembly is dark skinned. Tom is half latino. Shae is mixed. The villians are asian but not limited to asian. This matters? No. Story does.  Then,  “As the series progresses, there are more hints that mermaid sexuality doesn’t adhere to any human-created gender norm.”

They aren’t human. They are a human sub species who obviously can’t reproduce in the same matter that human women can because those organs arent available underwater. That is very obvious. Yes, we draw this conclusion because Ryn’s sister is African skinned and they hold hands?

Finally, the “There’s also underlying commentary on the environmental impacts of overfishing on our place in the natural world.”

This is utterly meaningless if you dont explain how they breath underwater or survive at a depth that applies a quarter ton per square inch. The fact they surfaced for food means nothing if they can go down that far. Also the fact they can tear the head of off a shark also means that enviromental impacts are meaningless.

Why am I being this critical? Because I am just as guilty. When I started and somewhat still do, I focus on the land because thats easier to write and constant water scenes.  However, the heart of the Assembly IS the underwater ancient civilization that controls the surface. So I spent time reading about how to make compelling and believable merfolk.

From figuring out how to breath underwater realistically, to how ocean pressure works to supercavitation to wormhole travel and crystal power, I did my best to make it as real as possible. Certain things require bending of current physics, like the fact there simply isnt enough oxygen in the water to support humans always under water like the myth shows. Or using wormholes to travel rapidly across the planet because even at the fastest swim it takes weeks to cross.

Siren didnt do anything. No explanation of how they can breath in low oxygen enviroment or handle the quarter ton pressure of 150 fathoms. The CGI is beautiful and helpful but thats it.

I am on the fence about it. I want it to survive simply so I can get coverage about my own work. However, I have no interest in the son of the founding family of a town know for mermaids and how he lives his life or what happens when he and his mixed race gf (she’s aa and indian mix, Her father is indian) discover the mermaids are real.

Finally, this takes me to the darkness. Have you noticed this world is getting darker and more evil as we move forward. Its a syptom of a greater event brewing. I dont want to preach here so I wont but you beleive in Christianity, its time to get ready.

If you dont, then don’t worry nothing will happen to you that you don’t want. The world isnt ending. Society has changed and continues to do so. The change is already here People need to embrace it if you dont believe. My fiction will be here for you. At least until I vanish. At that point all bets are off.

Finally, I would like to say good-bye to Harry Anderson and R Lee Ermy who both left the mortal plane this week. I enjoying watching both of you as actors and will miss you. You both taught me lots. Thanks.

 

I am still here! Dilly! Dilly!

Well, I think this is the longest I have ever went without posting. Sorry about that.

Alot has happened since the last post. I posted Song of Route 91 on the Nanowrimo site. I then reedited it, so remove the junk and continue the story. (Sometimes I mash things together to meet the word count and cull it). In the process of reediting it, I guess I decided I would use it (as it is a now [ie Oct 2017] story) to fill in the gasps in Heartbeat song ( like why did Lorelei have to go, what happened to hers and Tom’s relationship, the prophecy etc). So suddenly, we now have a gate in the Luxor, and all this romantic baggage fit for an episode of ‘The Bachelor’.

I am going to wrap this story up shortly because if I don’t it will become a novel. It basically is now about the Tom, Lorelei, Gwen triangle and the fulfillment of the prophecy of the restorer of the breach. (its bigger than you thought). Also I get to use Jacob the Mighty who is doing the heavy lifting (because he started all this), questions will be answered and there will be more underwater actions (unlike Christmas circle).

After I finish it will appear here as well as on the book seller sites. Following that I will continue on with Heartbeat song which will deal with Taft High massacre, wrap up the story lines for everyone there (expect those who follow forward).

One thing I don’t think I will do is the actual scene where Tom goes to his uncle (Graverobber) to get the white onyx for Gwen. Why? because that can become a short story on it own.  Also, I kinda want to use some of the Repo songs in Heartbeat song.

Then again, I didn’t expect the story to take this turn while I was writing it either. I am only a few chapters in, but I figure it should top out at 50K. Its hard to write because its so sad. Still it needs to be filled in so there is a sense of where everything is so when the dramatic events happen they have the appropriate context.

Yes, I will have celebrities in this with their real name. There is no way around this, so I am putting a similar warning like I did in Christmas circle.  Also, I am confirming many more of my choices so I can have active paths for them. I have posted the current list of people who aren’t apart of the assembly reality so but I will update it in the future.

Also one final thing. When I started this version, it was 2011 and the person who I chose for Gwen, was still in high school (a sophomore). This year, 2018, she is a college senior. Time flies but it also helps put things in perspective. Hopefully, your 2018 will be good too.

You, sir, are a true friend to the crown! Dilly! Dilly!