Drowning Mermaids by Nadia Scrieva By Patricia Bates July 13, 2012 Topic: What inspired you to write the novel we're spotlighting? And what was the one part of it the most challenging? Many people ask about my inspiration for writing Drowning Mermaids, but the answer is not simple and easy to explain. A writer uses everything in their life for inspiration; there are always stories rattling around in his or her skull. I used to imagine scenes while listening to my iPod on long bus rides to school or work, and nowadays I often imagine dialogue while driving. When situations in my own life don’t go as planned, I often feel the need to rewrite them with an outcome more perfectly to my liking. When friends tell me stories about important events in their lives, I listen carefully and sometimes manage to work them into my writing. My friend Samantha was a huge inspiration for the character Aazuria in my Sacred Breath series, and not just because she has nearly drowned on three separate occasions. (One of those times involved a giant plastic octopus—suc… Read more
