Arlene is on the SCENE

I had the honor to interview author Tony Seymour, whose wonderful book The Mermaid in the Gherkin Jar tells the story of Christopher, an eight year old boy living with cerebral palsy, and his relationship with a feisty mermaid, Azalea.  Like the Arlene series, Mermaid explores what it’s like to grow up with a so-called “disability,” but it does so through an engaging story filled with identifiable characters, a great plot, and plenty of humor. At the same time, Mermaid raises issues in a refreshingly honest way. No tip-toeing around here. Tony does a great job of exploring a range of reactions to living with a disability, from the main characters to the friends, family and teachers who surround them–or as he puts it, “the psychology of disability.” Read more below!

I really enjoyed this book and encourage others to check it out! It is available in Kindle format from Amazon.

What do you hope readers gain from reading your book?

First and foremost, I just want people to really enjoy the book. It would be great to think that kids really get into it and are entertained by it. If they pick up on the lessons or morals within the story, then that’s a wonderful bonus, but before any story can do that it must be convincing and grab the reader’s attention!

Why a mermaid? Why not a genie, troll, ghost?

Why not a troll indeed?! Don’t ask Azalea that! I was fascinated by the idea of mermaids as a child. I really did used to think (or wanted to believe) that mermaids lived in gherkin jars! There is an enchantingly mysterious side to the mermaid myth that I wanted to develop with Azalea. There is her mischievous, playful side, which draws Christopher to her at first. But there is her darker side that runs just below the surface that unnerves him. She is a siren of the sea, after all. You never quite know where you are with Azalea. And that’s what I like about her. She’s unpredictable.

What drew you to writing, and to writing children’s books rather than adult novels?

I’ve always loved writing. It’s one of the few things that really came naturally. The power to entertain or move someone through a good story is a wonderful thing! I prefer writing children’s books as I like all my stories to contain an element of fantasy. With children’s stories, you can really let your imagination off the leash. It’s a place where nothing is impossible and anything can happen. I have a few ideas for some adult novels, but even those will contain a good helping of fantasy. I think we all get a good dose of real life as it is!

What connections are there between your “real life” and your writing? Have you met a mermaid?

Have I met a mermaid? Well, of course I have! Honestly!

In the ‘Mermaid in The Gherkin Jar’, I think it’s fair to say that there is a strong link between the story and real life. Christopher represents where I was when I was a young lad growing up. I was aware that my cerebral palsy made me different and I did get a bit of name-calling at school, but on the whole I have happy memories of my childhood.

Azalea on the other hand is more a reflection of where I was as a teenager. I think you become horribly self aware at that period in your life. And if you have something that marks you out as different it can be exaggerated ten fold. In my mind Azalea behaves like a moody seventeen year old. She pretends to mock everyone else. She says she is proud to be different, but in many ways she just wants to fit in. I remember feeling like that at times as a teenager. Azalea is an outsider and quite a tough cookie. She’s been through a lot. But I think, sometimes, what she needs is just a big hug.

Lord Byron

Azalea also characterizes what I find so fascinating about the psychology of disability, especially the amazing levels of determination displayed by some disabled people. When I was a teenager, I read a biography on Lord Byron by Fiona McCarthy. As you probably know, Byron had a deformed foot, a disability which marked him out (in his eyes at least) as a freak. As well as his poems, he also wrote a number of plays. One of these was called “The Deformed Transformed.” In it, the hero, Arnold, is a cruelly deformed creature who is made an outcast by his own mother. There is one passage in the play which really stuck in my mind. It goes like this:

 “…Deformity is daring.

It is its essence to o’ertake mankind

By heart and soul, and make itself the equal-

Aye, the superior of the rest. There is

A spur in its halt movements, to become

All that the others cannot, in such things

As still are free to both, to compensate

For stepdame Nature’s avarice at first…”

I thought this was fascinating and wanted to use it in the book. Azalea’s words echo those of Arnold, when she says:

“Differences like yours and mine are nothing to be ashamed of, Christopher…They are not weaknesses, but strengths, spurring us on, driving us further than the rest…”

There are many differences between Arnold and Azalea. Arnold does, for a start exchange his disabled form with the ‘dark stranger’ in Byron’s play for a supposedly perfect physique – something which Azalea would never do! But the words spoken by Arnold are very powerful and I felt they encapsulated Azalea’s character very well.

Is this your first book? Will you be writing others?

My first one that I’ve finished properly, yes. I want to write others – my intention was to make The Mermaid in The Gherkin Jar into a trilogy, provided the feedback on the first one is good. I also want to put a book of short stories together.

What helps you in the writing process? Coffee? Classical music? Sitting by a lake looking for mermaids?

Lots of coffee, yes… and cups of tea. I write straight onto my laptop and tend to work in silence. Though I may well have the odd break where I play some inspirational music: American Anthems I and II as well as some real power ballads from the ’80s to drive me on.

Anything else you want readers to know?

I’d really love to adapt the book and make it into a musical play. My Mum trained as a classical concert pianist and has written ten pieces of music already to accompany the story and the characters. I have another friend who’s a professional dancer who said she wanted help also. But it’s a long road! For the the moment, I just hope people will read it and enjoy it!