Press Release

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kat Salazar
415.978.2665 x115 (o)
ksalazar@rwwbooks.com

July 1, 2013
Among the Mermaids
Facts, Myths, and Enchantments from the Sirens of the Sea
Varla Ventura

From the seductive sirens of Homer’s Odyssey to the enchanting ballads of the iconic Disney princess Ariel, mermaids have fascinated popular culture for centuries and continue to inspire the imaginations of sailors and landlubbers alike.

 

Here the quirky, factoid-and-lore-obsessed Varla Ventura takes a dive into the briny deep with Among the Mermaids a newly curated collection of classic stories, facts, and tales of mermaids, sirens, selkies, and all manner of fishy business beneath the sea.

 

Some facts about the fluid and the fair from the book:

  • Many people believe today that early explorer sightings of mermaids were manatees. (Scurvy + many days away from your lady = a blubbery creature looking supple and bodacious).
  • Blackbeard, the fierce and terrible pirate, was afraid of his crew being lured into a watery grave by mermaids, so he ordered his ships to avoid certain areas reputed to have a high number of mermaid sightings.
  • Since 2009, the town of Kiryat Yam, Israel has offered a prize of million dollars to anyone who can prove the mermaid off their coast is real. The prize remains unclaimed.

Ventura includes turn of the century tales of merfolk from Bret Harte, T. Crofton Croker, and W.B. Yeats, along with tantalizing trivia, facts, first-hand accounts, and speculations about mermaids in popular culture. Sure to inspire and captivate, Ventura’s Among the Mermaids makes the perfect gift for all those who still watch the waves and wonder.

Varla Ventura is the author of The Book of the Bizarre and Beyond Bizarre, and a lover of all things strange, freaky, and terrifying. She is the curator of the Weiser Magical Creatures and Paranormal Parlor series of e-books. Visit her at The Blog of the Bizarre.

 

Among the Mermaids
Weiser Books
Paperback w/flaps, $15.95
ISBN: 9781578635450
July 2013
Available wherever books and eBooks are sold or through Red Wheel/Weiser at (800) 423-7087
orders@rwwbooks.com, www.redwheelweiser.com

 

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