Mari is a mermaid who wants to have her independence. She runs a small touristy beach souvenir shop (located in the building the hero owns) and she plans to prove her mother and family wrong. She can make it on her own. She is betrothed to a merman from another tribe, but she has no intention of marrying him. She’s trying to figure out how to best break the news to everyone. She cares about her mom’s feelings, but there’s no way she’s marrying the guy someone else picked out for her. I’d hope that readers would be drawn to Mari’s independent spirit. She faces obstacles with a pretty good attitude, usually by whistling and taking a swim to think about things. Overall, she has a pretty balanced mood—maybe leaning more toward the glass half full personality. She also has saved her man from death. So, she’s strong! Not just physically, but emotionally. She’s had to live with the knowledge that she saved him without telling him—so it’s been difficult for her to love him from afar. But she keeps a good mindset and enjoys her fantasy life about him. She’s really good at pretending he’s a pirate. When he…

It’s that time of the year when our moods drop. The holidays are over and for many, the cold, winter months make the everyday seem like an impossible task. It’s also a month for change. People are trying to reorganize their priorities, hoping to take better care of themselves or start new endeavors. It’s easy to get lost in the process and overstress yourself. Thankfully there’s something I can rely out to get me out of those foul moods. Books are my medicine. If I’ve had a particularly long and grueling day, there’s comfort in knowing that I can slide into bed, curl up under the covers with a cup of hot tea and escape to a new world just by opening a book. I know that just reading a few pages can make me forget the day’s events and I can simply let my mind drift. Whether it’s the relaxing routine of settling down or the type of book you are reading, stories are a welcome distraction and it’s not hard to find a book that will fit the current mood you are in. There are so many that it took me a while to narrow it down this…