The Character Jill

Of the book Mermaid Rising, from the Mermaid Adventures series.

Inspired by watching the movie Percy Jackson and reading the books, I thought what if Poseidon had a child by a Mermaid. This isn't to say that Jill's (unknown) father is Poseidon. Her father remains anonymous, and it was just an idea that spurred the writing of the book.

Other ideas came from my friend Charlie challenged me to write from my strengths - Boulder Colorado, Environmental family... My father was a Naturist and Environmentalist. His life of camping, mountain-climbing, bird-watching, butterfly watching and various other natural occupations have been a big influence on my life, though I am anything but these things. Well, mermaids as it happens, have a care for the natural.

So begins Jill, who is the title character in the story. She grows up in Boulder, Colorado unaware of her heritage. Her family wants her to experience life as a normal American girl. She meets friends, learns to teach others and is soon to enter High-School. Everything a normal American girl gets to do. Well, not everything is going to go as planned...

Her mother is Goldie,  her maiden name is Tute and her stepfather is Lucas. Jill's parent's close friend Arden, plays the supportive family role of uncle and is a guiding steady hand to the young Jill. He is also her swim-team's coach.

In my life I have a similar role as Uncle Arden to many of my friend's kids. It's a fun role to have. In many cases I've wanted to play a closer part than 'family friend' and expanded on that with Uncle Arden. I hope you don't find it weird. In today's age, familiar friends of parents are common in the lives of kids as they grow up. I personally am named for one of my parent's close friend. So it goes, non-related aunt's and uncle's play an important role in the lives of their friend's children.

Jill's close friends are Cleo, Lucy and Melanie McKenzie. Each play supportive roles throughout the book, but only Melanie has a chapter of her own as of this writing.

Note: This post was resurrected from my old site. It may not be the one that showed up on the site. The date of publication here is from when it was added to this site.