Ten Worlds Away
INFINITE WORLDS. INFINITE POSSIBILITIES.
A woman visits her teenage grandfather on the day he meets her grandmother. A young married couple comes to a fork in humanity’s road on Mars. A detective meets an unusual amnesiac in postwar New York City. A pair of explorers confront a frozen sky. An old man questions his sanity when he begins receiving strange calls. A little girl spends one last day with her beloved father before he goes off to war. A man loses the ability to worry while exploring a planet orbiting a distant star.
These are just some of the stories in Ten Worlds Away, a gripping collection of speculative fiction inspired by the classic science fiction of the mid-20th century and Rod Serling’s groundbreaking television series, The Twilight Zone.
"Mari (The Beachhead) collects 10 poignant and contemplative speculative shorts that run the gamut of human emotions, endeavors, and faults. ... This clever collection is sure to please fans of wistful sci-fi." —Publishers Weekly
The Mermaid in the Water Tower
A while back, my kids and I got stuck on an elevated train (an “el” to us old school New Yorkers) and I needed to entertain them—fast. When I glanced out the window and spotted a water tower, I cooked up a story about a mermaid living in it. They liked it so much that they asked me to write it down. The synopsis is below, along with the link to the story.
Strange things happen when you start wondering about things. If you're a really curious young mermaid like Libby, who wants to know everything and anything, you might learn that the whole Atlantic Ocean is stuck inside a water tower. And that legs sprout from your tail once your scales dry off completely. Oh, and that your parents might not have a clue. But most of all: that the world is far more than it seems and filled with wonders—if you're brave enough to look for them.
"The Mermaid in the Water Tower." Nov. 3, 2015.