I did a special post this week for USA Today Happy Ever After blog, on the timeless allure of mermaids, and why we love to read about them so much. I asked ten fantasy romance authors what appealed to them so much, regarding these sirens of the seas, and why they felt readers enjoyed the genre. The answers were fun and fascinating, from Robyn Peterman’s recounting of her own pretend childhood character “Swimmy” to  comments from others on the sense of danger, the magic, the challenge of creating an undersea kingdom…

I’ll share a bit from the post here and then invite you to hop on over to USAT/HEA to read the entire set in interviews and fun insights!

Robyn Peterman, author of
Ariel’s Antics (Sea Shenanigans #2)

My mother can corroborate this story … LOL. When I was little, I spent hours upon hours in the pool pretending to be a mermaid! My name was Swimmy and I saved Barbies and Little Kiddle dolls from sea monsters. I was very successful — not a single doll was eaten by a monster. Sooooo, naturally I would eventually write about them. However, I have chosen far better names than Swimmy.

I write comedic paranormal romance. I have a vampire series, a witch series and a werewolf series. The only thing missing was mermaids, and I have now remedied that. It delights me to no end to write the Sea Shenanigans Series and let my inner Swimmy out.

I suppose the readers enjoy mermaids so much for the same reasons I do. They’re fun, sassy, sexy and they can swim with the dolphins! My mermaids have tail colors that change with their moods and are kick-butt warriors. Living on a sun-drenched island, wearing a bikini top and saving the world one bad sea monster at a time is a fine way to live! Oh, and they always get the hot guy. LOL.

And here’s one more:

Catherine Jones Payne, author of
Crosscurrent (Broken Tides #2)

Mermaids are endlessly fascinating. They’re beautiful and elegant, but there’s an edge to them — a sense of danger, if you will — that keeps you from getting too comfortable. You never quite know if they’re going to fall in love with a handsome prince or eat him. I write about political intrigue, romance and murder, and there’s no better background for that sort of story than a mermaid waterworld.

For eight more thoughtful discussions by the other authors, including Melanie Karsak, Mila Young, Emma Hamm and more, please visit the post on USAT/HEA!