Mermaids on the Moon
When thirty-eight-year-old France’s father calls to say that her mother, Grendy, has run off, France suspects foul play and heads south to investigate. Recently reunited with fellow former “mermaids” from Mermaid Springs, Florida – one of the Sunshine State’s premier, pre-Disney attractions – Grendy had successfully revived her career in kitschy underwater pageants. But if she doesn’t find herself or let herself be found soon, she’ll miss the big Labor Day show. While the other fin-toting “merhags” regale France with stories of old – particularly the night Elvis came to town – they’re suspiciously tight-lipped about Grendy’s disappearance. Increasingly convinced that Grendy is in trouble – and that a psychic cat might hold the clue – she makes a series of unexpected, extraordinary discoveries about Mermaid Springs, her mother, and in turn, herself.
Mermaids on the Moon: A Story Behind the Story
The author’s talent for creating unconventional characters and her clear insight into human nature converge in this page-turning tale centered around a group of older women who become young again as they glide and cavort in a special underwater world where fantasy and reality rarely collide.”
– Publisher’s Weekly
Stuckey-French…has a deep sensibility for the intimate dramas of unheralded lives played out on the miniscule stages of supermarkets, family restaurants and trailer parks.”
– Miami Herald
Hilarious and wacky, this story displays a variety of family loves and disappointments in a quirky, original way.”
– Elizabeth Strout, author of Olive Kitteridge
A lot of fun…Creates a believable world of women aging not with resigned grace but with feisty zest.”
– The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Funny and witty, filled with enough quirky characters to open it’s own amusement park.”
– San Francisco Chronicle
Seamlessly woven and warmly told…a by-woman-for-women tale of self-discovery, family and secrets.”
– St. Petersburg Times
