I Couldn’t Do It Alone - Guest Post!

Joanne Guidoccio is the author of the recently released "Hippie Mermaid" and other books and short stories

I'm pleased to introduce you to JOANNE GUIDOCCIO, author of the recently released HIPPIE MERMAID novelette, the third book in her Mediterranean Trilogy. As you'll read in her post below, Joanne's author origin story is intriguing: After a successful career as an educator, she launched her exciting second act as an author, publishing books, stories and informational articles. In fact, the notion of reinvention is a recurring theme throughout Joanne's works. Visit her blog to read snippets from her fiction, as well as essays about writing and interviews with her guests, or connect with her on Pinterest, Facebook, and X.

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When I retired in June 2008, I launched my second act as a writer. I started with articles and book reviews, slowly finding my footing as my work appeared in newspapers, magazines, and online publications.

Buoyed by this early success, I began to dream bigger. Why not a novel? My original plan was to write and edit the novel, find an agent or publisher, and surprise everyone with a grand reveal at my launch party.

That was the dream.

The reality was very different.

I quickly discovered that writing and publishing a novel was very different from writing articles and book reviews. The scale was larger, the doubts louder. I couldn’t do it alone. I needed help, guidance, and boatloads of encouragement.

So, I signed up for Dennis Fitter’s creative writing class, an eight-week course that turned out to be more than just instruction. I received not only practical advice but also something rarer: a sense of camaraderie and belonging.

As the course drew to an end, a few of us realized we weren’t ready to let go of that shared energy. We decided to keep meeting, to continue nurturing each other’s writing journeys. And so, Guelph Writing Ink was born. We came up with the following mission statement:

We will inspire and encourage each other to write on a regular basis.

Each month, we gathered at Symposium Restaurant for dinner and literary (sometimes not-so-literary) conversations. Laughter and lively debate would float around the table as we discussed everything from epublishing vs traditional publishing to book covers, agents, social media, editing, promotion, and our ever-evolving WIPs. A year later, several members of Guelph Write Now, another local group, joined us. I also began attending their meet-ups.

At one meet-up, I learned about an upcoming series of workshops at the Guelph Public Library. Science fiction author Sarah Totton would be leading sessions on writing horror short stories. I shocked myself and my friends when I signed up.

I am probably one of the few people on this planet who couldn’t read past Chapter One of the first Harry Potter novel. As for vampires, werewolves, witches, zombies, and other such creatures, well, let’s just say I prefer to keep a polite distance. Instead, I like to curl up with historical and contemporary women’s fiction, psychological thrillers, cozy mysteries, and memoirs. These stories may unsettle me at times, but they don’t haunt my dreams.

While I hadn’t read any of Sarah’s short stories or novels, I was inspired by her work ethic and persistence. She had entered the Writers of the Future contest seventeen times before finally winning the grand prize.

As I took notes and participated in the exercises, I couldn’t help but notice the difference between me and the others in the room. Unlike me, they were not feverishly writing or asking questions about craft and technique. From their rapt attention and fascination, I gathered they were imagining storylines for paranormal romances and young adult dystopian novels.

And then the wheels started turning.

Could I write a paranormal romance or fantasy?

While driving home one evening, I thought about my favorite fairy tale, The Little Mermaid. The sad ending of the original version stayed with me, and even now, I still feel sorry for the mute ex-mermaid who could only smile when the handsome prince married someone else.

I wanted the little mermaid to marry the prince and live happily ever after. But when the Disney version was released, I still wasn’t happy with the ending. I wanted to see a different kind of mermaid —one who could lead a happy, successful life, with or without the prince. And maybe one who wasn’t quite so young or so beautiful.

Keeping this vision of an older and wiser mermaid in mind, I wrote Between Land and Sea, the first book in the Mediterranean trilogy. It was released in 2013 by Soul Mate Publishing.

Two years later, The Coming of Arabella followed.

Last month, I released Hippie Mermaid, a novelette featuring the origin story of Kendra Adams, a psychic ex-mermaid who had first appeared in Between Land and Sea. (This novelette can be read as a standalone.)

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Joanne Guidoccio enjoyed a rewarding career teaching mathematics, business, and co-operative education courses before retiring to pursue writing. A member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, she writes paranormal romances, cozy mysteries, and inspirational stories from her home base of Guelph, Ontario. Find her at https://www.joanneguidoccio.com

To purchase her novelette in the U.S.:

Hippie Mermaid by Joanne Guidoccio

From sea to shore, betrayal follows her wherever she goes.

On Christmas Eve, psychic Kendra Adams reveals the secret she’s hidden for decades—she was once Rosina, a mermaid torn between sea and shore. Betrayed in her ocean kingdom and desperate to escape banishment, she persuades a politician to smuggle her into the human world. But freedom on land comes at a cost, as she soon finds herself ensnared in another web, this one spun by the politician’s power-hungry sister.

Outside of the U.S., the book is also available at Amazon CA, Amazon UK, and Amazon AU.