Inspired by a true event on a Maine coast island, this coming-of-age story is reminiscent of Where the Crawdads Sing, as it moves back and forth in time, and unveils the struggles, joys and fears of two teens from vastly different worlds, and how they try to cope when their hearts become one. Just released!
Released 2021
Beyond Mermaids, the sequel to the 2012 bestseller Watching for Mermaids
This captivating blend of twenty-two stories perfectly captures life’s tangles, knots and bends – from the crushed fantasies of a little girl; to the teenage world of a modern-day Odysseus lured to shore by romance; to near death in the midst of a frozen young marriage; to a middle-aged PTSD-suffering vet who finds redemption and hope in a most unexpected way; and, finally, to an elder’s wise reflections and reconciliation at journey’s end.
watching for Mermaids
As a young boy, rounding a bend in a remote Maine cove, Dave Roper stumbled upon two mermaids. No one believed him then. No one believes him now. But he kept watching and wondering: what is imagined and what is real? And while he watched and wondered during 50 years of waterborne life, what he pulled from the sea was not another mermaid, but the mystery, possibility, romance, joy, fear, and uncertainty that mermaids represent. Based on real experiences, these 30 stories take you on that journey. So fill your favorite mug, settle into that stuffed reading chair, poke the stove a few times, and dive into Watching for Mermaids.
Boston Globe Bestseller List
What do heroes look like?
Certainly not like Big Red, a washed-up 290 pound Vietnam vet and ex-Mississippi River towboat pilot haunted by his past. There’s no ‘S’ on his huge chest, no cape on his back. He’s certainly no hero.
Or is he? The answer is in his notebook. Penniless and cooped up in a Minnesota veterans home by the banks of the Mississippi, he’s lost everything but his riotous wit. He won’t speak of his past with anyone. Instead, he writes in his notebook and stares out toward the River, wishing to once again ‘drive a tow through a bend on the Mighty Miss’.
Enter Wihopa, aka Toddy, Red’s nurse, a wise, nurturing and beautiful Lakota Sioux woman. She’s dauntless, spiritual, has a wit to match Red’s, and is a genius at transformational healing. Toddy grants Red his fervent wish, and together they head downriver on a tow. At day’s end, trapped by a freak fall blizzard and hunkered down aboard his old houseboat, Cirrhosis of the River, Red learns from Toddy what being a hero really means as she guides him back through the profound ethical choices of his past: from the horrors of Vietnam, to his bizarre confrontation with life, death, and the law off a remote Maine island, and finally to an astounding revelation.
Published by Warner Books as “The only step-by-step guide that shows you how to out-think, out-work, and out-hustle the competition—and win the job hunting game.”