The Siren Dialogues
A winter storm blows across a barrier island, a Siren calls from the deep reaches of the bay, and a strange woman washes ashore.
Literary fiction with a twist of magical realism
When Libby, a young ghostwriter haunted by a painful choice from her past, takes a job with a respected photographer on an idyllic island, she finds that what her employer really wants is help finding the lost love of his life—who he claims is a mermaid. Libby can no longer dismiss his story after a mysterious, half-conscious woman who may be the mermaid washes up on the beach and forms an inexplicable connection with her. As a hurricane threatens to destroy the island that Libby sees as a refuge from her troubles, she is forced to choose whether or not to confront her own past and embrace again that part of her that is as wild as the sea.
An excerpt from The Siren Dialogues was published in Best of The Sand Hill Review and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Elements from the complex, rich mythology of mermaids and sirens, in which I’ve long had an interest, are woven into the narrative.
The Siren Dialogues is seeking a home in the world of books. If you are an agent or publisher and The Siren Dialogues calls out to your publication wish list, please contact me for more information. I would be happy to send a full or partial manuscript for review.
From The Siren Dialogues
The photo showed the ocean. A swirl of sky. A blur in the corner of the shot. Bixby smiled, his eyes still burning through her. “Most people can’t understand this, but maybe you can. You have to. When I was twenty, younger than you are now, I rescued a mermaid right here on this island.”
Libby squinted at the blur.
“And here’s the thing, little girl,” he said. “I’m back this time to find her.”
The Siren Dialogues
Something told her she’d carry this place inside her, that it would still be her island long after her ticket had been punched for the final time.
The Siren Dialogues
Lisa Meltzer Penn 