Skip to content
  • HOME
  • THE DREAMER
    • CONTACT
  • DISCLOSURES
  • HOME
  • custom-logo
  • THE DREAMER
    • CONTACT
  • DISCLOSURES
Books

The Mermaids of Lake Michigan // Guest Post by Suzanne Kamata

March 7, 2017 Crystal // Dreams, etc. 5 comments
The Mermaids of Lake Michigan // Guest Post by Suzanne Kamata

Suzanne Kamata shares some of the mermaid inspiration for her novel THE MERMAIDS OF LAKE MICHIGAN. // dreams-etc.comNote – I received a copy of this book from the publisher through TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. No affiliate links were used in this post.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a guest post from an author on my blog, so I’m so excited to be able to share some thoughts by Suzanne Kamata, author of The Mermaids of Lake Michigan. I signed up for the book tour as soon as I read the title. Anything that talks about mermaids will catch my attention… but lake mermaids? It was made for me! For those who don’t know, a friend and I have a group and a dream called Secret Life of Mermaids. We’ve had to put this on hold for the time being, but it’s something we both love. It’s first name was actually Minnesota Mermaids, because we thought, “Why do mermaids only live in oceans?” We live in the land of 10,000 lakes, there’s gotta be a mermaid or two swimming around in this state!

Head on over to Goodreads to read the official synopsis of the book!

My Thoughts

Reading The Mermaids of Lake Michigan was like reading a fairy tale–not a dark Grimm’s fairy tale, but not a Disney-fied fairy tale either. It was life with a mystical touch. I loved the dreamlike nature of this novel. Sometimes it felt like were flitting in and out of moments of Elise’s life. At times I wanted more, but it always felt like we saw exactly what we needed to see. I loved the Moulin Rouge-vibes to the narrative as well… it took me awhile to figure out what the narrative reminded me of and then a line brought Moulin Rouge to  mind and I thought, “Yes! That’s it!” This is a shorter book, one that you can read in an evening, which is how I read a majority of it.

[Tweet “THE MERMAIDS OF LAKE MICHIGAN is a dreamy fairy tale with Moulin Rouge vibes!”]

I asked Kamata about the inspiration behind all of the different mermaid threads that I read about in the description of the book (I hadn’t read the book at this point) and I loved reading what she wrote. A big thank you to Suzanne for sharing this with us!

Guest Post

[Tweet “Suzanne Kamata shares some of the mermaid inspiration for her novel THE MERMAIDS OF LAKE MICHIGAN!”]

I grew up in Grand Haven, a small town on the shores of Lake Michigan, which is the setting of my novel, The Mermaids of Lake Michigan. When I was a teenager, I thought the Midwest had to be the most boring part of America, and I couldn’t wait to get away. I had plans to go to New York City, or maybe to travel the world gathering exotic experiences, and then to become a writer. I did leave. When I was sixteen, my family moved to South Carolina due to my dad’s job, and later, I went to Europe on foreign study, and to Japan, to teach English. It was only then, a few years after I’d left, that I truly began to appreciate the magic of the place where I was born and raised. Grand Haven was the home of the world’s largest musical fountain as well as a beauty queen (Miss Coast Guard U.S.A.), and an annual festival that attracted visitors from all over.

The lake that is central to the story and appears on the cover of the book is like an inland sea – so wide and vast, that one cannot see to the other side. As a child, I often tried to imagine what was on other shore. And what, I wondered, was way down at the bottom? Pirate booty? Our own Lochness monster? It was easy to imagine that there might be mythical creatures in those depths – even mermaids.

Awhile back, I wrote a story called “The Diver,” which was inspired by Francis , a real-life wreck diver on the Great Lakes. According to an article that was published in a 19th century ladies’ magazine, on her first dive, she dove into a sunken ship to retrieve a diamond ring. On another dive, her oxygen was temporarily cut off when someone tripped over the onboard. In my version of the story, she is helped by a mermaid, who may, or may not have been illusion conjured by an oxygen-deprived brain. I liked the idea of a female wreck diver so much that I decided to weave one into my novel.

I was later interested to discover that mermaids appear in folklore all over the world. In Japan, where I live now, it is said that eating mermaid flesh will lead to immortality. I learned about Ghana’s mami-wata from a fellow expat writer. Other cultures have stories about mermaids as well.

I’ll leave it to the reader to decide if the mermaids of Lake Michigan are real or not.

Again, a big thank you to Suzanne Kamata for taking the time to share some of the inspiration behind her novel. If you’re interested in reading The Mermaids of Lake Michigan you can check it out in the following places.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Connect with Suzanne

Website | Twitter

 

What do you think? Could there be mermaids in Lake Michigan?

About Crystal

About Crystal

Hi! I'm Crystal, a millennial learning how to live slowly and sustainably, while still seeking adventure and following my dreams, etc.

Post navigation

Books Read in January 2017
Book Tour // The Mermaid’s Daughter by Ann Claycomb

5 comments

  1. tovar477573@mail.ru says:
    March 8, 2017 at 11:54 am

    Lot of climax and lot of danger we find from your content and i like to read this regularly. Most of the viewers are like to get such kind of story. I hope you should be success in your job.

    Reply
  2. My Urban Family says:
    March 8, 2017 at 10:04 pm

    I love visiting Grand Haven – which makes me want to read the book even more now!

    Reply
  3. Jessica Bradshaw says:
    March 10, 2017 at 9:52 am

    i love this cover! Moulin Rouge is one of my favorite movies. Great job!

    Reply
  4. Taylor Smith says:
    March 10, 2017 at 9:52 am

    That is kind of cool! I need to read the book!

    Reply
  5. HeatherTLC says:
    March 10, 2017 at 3:52 pm

    Thanks for being a part of the tour!

    Reply

Share Your Thoughts! Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

hi!

I'm Crystal, the storyteller behind Dreams, etc. I'm all about learning how to live slowly & sustainably, while also seeking adventure as we follow our dreams, etc.

Picture it. It’s the day after Thanksgiving. I d Picture it. It’s the day after Thanksgiving. I didn’t go on my weekly dam walk earlier in the week when I was excited about it. On this day I was tired after a long week and my least favorite holiday. My bed was oh so comfortable. I forced myself to roll out of bed and journey to the dam. It was filled with people and I was pokey…taking my time to get there and even journeying down one of the other paths to avoid walking across the dam. (Which isn’t long.) I finally joined the crowd and walked across. And then came back, happy to have made my weekly journey. This is when the top layer of the water started to freeze.
From March: an old mini vlog from a bagpipe rock c From March: an old mini vlog from a bagpipe rock concert, which is mostly me trying the say bagpipe rock. Some word combinations are hard! 😂 There was a sign asking us not to film, which is why there’s no concert footage.
Some of my weekly dam walks have been therapeutic Some of my weekly dam walks have been therapeutic and while the walks haven’t fixed the problems, they’ve help me breathe and connect with the world and relieve stress. 💕
April 2023. We got more snow, but it also melted. April 2023. We got more snow, but it also melted. The dam was almost overflowing. The animals are beginning to emerge. Spring is here!
Happy Independent Bookstore Day! After a coffee st Happy Independent Bookstore Day! After a coffee stop (of course) a friend and I checks out two indie bookstores that we have never been to before. I definitely want to go back to Uncle Hugo’s and Uncle Edgar’s! Did you do anything for #independentbookstoreday

#indiebookstore #indiebookshop
After watching some shopping ASMR videos I had to After watching some shopping ASMR videos I had to try it.

#asmr #groceryshopping #groceryshop  #asmrvideos
I’m a little behind in weekly dam walk reels. Le I’m a little behind in weekly dam walk reels. Let’s go back to the third week in November when there was just a little snow on the ground and the footprints in the snow seemed notable.
Happy Easter! Happy Easter!
March 2023. You felt like a million years, but als March 2023. You felt like a million years, but also ended in the blink of an eye.
See More Follow on Instagram

RECENT POSTS

  • Saying Goodbye to Crystal the Writer
  • The Day the Sorcerers Visited Baby Jesus
  • Thoughts on Hope
  • Christmas Playlist // 2022
  • Life Under Construction

CATEGORIES

  • Adventures (52)
  • Beauty (16)
  • Books (147)
  • Creativity (57)
  • Entertainment (18)
  • Life (224)
  • Uncategorized (539)
  • Wellness (8)

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

Follow
  • Book Review Policy
  • BOOKS
  • Contact
  • DISCLOSURES
  • Insta Links
  • Seint Links
  • THE DREAMER
Copyright © 2023 | All Rights Reserved | © 2023. All text and photos belong to Crystal Brutlag, unless otherwise stated. Theme designed by Little Theme Shop: https://littlethemeshop.com

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Dreams, etc. // Minneapolis Lifestyle Blog
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.