Episode 2: The Mermaid’s Tale

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What makes a piece of art popular?

Joe brings that pertinent question to the conversation by introducing a novel that he really admires: A Mermaid’s Tale, by D. G. Valdron.

Joe loves Valdron’s fresh take on dark tropes in fantasy. The lead character, a female orc detective, is filled with self-loathing as she works a case in which a mermaid has been murdered. This theme resonates with Joe, and he thinks the world should be more worried about it. The idea of loathing others because of the way they look or their identity is antithetical to how Joe feels about the world.

Published in 2016, the book was shortlisted for the Kevin Van Rooy Genre Award:

In a city of majesty and brutality, of warring races and fragile alliances, a sacred mermaid has been brutally murdered. An abomination, a soulless Arukh is summoned to hunt the killer. As the world around the Arukh drifts into war and madness, her search for justice leads her on a journey to discover redemption and even beauty in the midst of chaos.
Goodreads.com

About the Guest

In the interest of full disclosure, Joe mentions that he and Valdron shared an editor, the great Robert Runte.

You can learn more about Joe at the About Us page, or even better, go look him up at his website, Assorted Nonsense. That is where you can find links to all of his work, including his first novel, A Time and a Place, of which Publisher’s Weekly said:

Mahoney’s work is great for those who like their speculative fiction thoughtful, eloquent, and messy
Publisher’s Weekly

Support the artist

D. G. Valdron is a wayward Maritimer, currently a denizen of the Canadian prairie.

He’s had the usual assortment of quirky writers jobs, mechanic, carpenter, projectionist, cook, waiter, woodcutter ditch-digger, journalist and school teacher. These days he’s a lawyer working in the field of aboriginal rights.

Valdron is well aware of the fickle nature of popularity, which Joe and Mark discuss in this episode:

“Writing is like buying lottery tickets, but with more humiliation and heartbreak. So if you’re going to write… have fun with it, love what you write, enjoy writing it. Because that may be all you get out of it. And, I’d like to think, if you’re having fun, the reader will have fun.”
denvaldron.com

The Mermaid’s Tale is available as an audiobook here:

Amazon.com: The Mermaid’s Tale (Audible Audio Edition)

Amazon.ca: The Mermaid’s Tale (Audible Audio Edition)

In ebook:

Scribd | Vivlio | Smashwords

In print soon.

You can find his other work at his website.