Civil War incident inspired local author’s latest book
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Staff Report
PARKERSBURG -- A local writer has released a new book in the historical fantasy genre based on an incident during Reconstruction after the Civil War.
"The Mermaid Riot" by Joy E. Held of Parkersburg was inspired by a Charleston, S.C., newspaper story about a doctor thought to have captured a mermaid. Held reimagined the event, writing the story from the multiple perspectives of the mermaid and the young couple trying to return her to the sea.
"When a young man holds a mermaid in his arms, everything he's ever been told about life, love and family is almost dragged to the bottom of the sea, but he's saved by a clever friend who has always loved him no matter what," she said.
"The Mermaid Riot," published in March by Fire and Ice YA Books, is aimed at readers age 14 to adult. It is set in a fictional town trying to recover from war and economic disaster during Reconstruction after the Civil War.
The main characters are ages 18 and 19.
When people in Charleston heard a rumor that the apothecary captured a mermaid, people flooded the business demanding the mermaid be returned to the ocean to stop the rain, she said. The Daily News of South Charleston reported the event as the Mermaid Riot, but it has since become known as an incident rather than a riot, Held said.
"When I researched it, the idea begged me to write it. I finally had the time to sit down, plot, and write the book at the beginning of the pandemic," Held said. "Something good came from that sad period in world history as I created a fictionalized version of the mermaid story based on the original legend."
Held said that from the beginning she wanted to create a fictional town similar to Charleston, but not call it that because it's a fantasy novel.
"I took some poetic license, if you will, creating the characters and the story about the suspicious activities of a local apothecary and physician who had allegedly captured a mermaid," she said. "Locals blamed him for the horrible weather at the time and claimed it was the mermaid's relatives sending the storms," Held said.
"The storms were not going to stop unless the apothecary returned the mermaid to her home and family. Some local people went to the physician's place of business and home and demanded he take the mermaid back to the sea," Held said.
"The Mermaid Riot" is Held's fifth book. She has written two non-fiction books based on her writing workshops and several historical romance novels under a pen name.
"The Mermaid Riot" is available at major online retailers. The 369-page paperback is $18.99 and the Ebook version is $5.99.
Held is an author, book coach, editor, educator, yoga teacher, and the creator of My WriteDay subscription box for writers. Her award-winning nonfiction book "Writer Wellness: A Writer's Path to Health and Creativity," has long served as her platform as a writer and literary citizen.
She has published over 500 articles in trade magazines and newsletters about dance, theater, health and fitness. Held leads workshops online and at conferences on writer wellness and creativity and is an adjunct professor for Southern New Hampshire University Online MFA in creative writing and a member of The Authors Guild and The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.