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 Dear Reader,I’m writing to you with a great deal of excitement because today my new novel, The Mermaid Chair, makes its debut in bookstores. A lot of people have been asking me how it feels to have this novel come out in the wake of the success of The Secret Life of Bees. My answer is that it feels just fine. The Mermaid Chair is a different novel from The Secret Life of Bees. It is its own creation. My mother used to say you should never compare your children, but love them each for who they are. I’m taking her advice with my literary offspring. I’m content to let each book simply be itself. Last winter at an outdoor art show, my husband, Sandy, and I came upon this mermaid sculpture. It’s not like I didn’t already have enough mermaids. While writing The Mermaid Chair, the house became awash with them: mermaid prints, ornaments, stained glass, wind chimes, wind socks, soaps and chocolates. All of this was, I reasoned, inspiration. But the truth is that mermaids can be irresistible and very contagious. And this one was especially captivating. She had a beautiful, beguiling look about her, not to mention she was big. Life-sized! So yes, we took her home.  Not long after that, my editor sent me a copy of The Mermaid Chair, fresh off the press, and Sandy – in a moment of fun and celebration- set the novel in the mermaid’s hands and snapped this photo. I like the image because it suggests that she brought the book up from the deep. I think there is something true about this, at least metaphorically; novels do surface from mysterious places, from the rich, watery depths of the imagination. The novelist John Gardner wrote that a novel should “set off a vivid and continuous dream in the reader’s mind.” That is my wish for you, if and when you open The Mermaid Chair. And if I am coming anywhere near where you live on my book tour, I would love to see you. You can find my schedule at www.suemonkkidd.com/appearances.asp. So, from the mermaid’s hands... to my hands..., to yours– happy reading! Sue Monk Kidd |  |
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