The Middle-Grade Novel is a Dark Fantasy with a Light Tone, Featuring Inclusive Themes and A Properly Monstrous Mermaid Design
Crowdfunding pioneer C. Spike Trotman and Iron Circus Comics are helming their latest independent crowdfunding campaign for THE SEA IN YOU, a whimsical dark fantasy retelling of The Little Mermaid which will upend everything you thought you knew about magical creatures of the deep. The middle-grade novel from cartoonist Jessi Sharon follows the unlikely friendship between 15-year-old human Corinth and the deadly fanged mermaid Skylla, who mysteriously lets Corinth live after a chance encounter during a beach clean up. THE SEA IN YOU will be the third independently funded crowdfunding campaign from Iron Circus after the success of their campaigns for THE POORCRAFT COOKBOOK and LETTERS FOR LUCARDO: THE SILENT LORD earlier this year.
IN THE SEA IN YOU, Corinth was just trying to clean up the beach; she never expected to meet a mermaid, let alone be nearly drowned by one. But before long Corinth and mermaid Skylla grow closer through a cautious exchange of stories, gifts, jokes, and sign language. Mermaids, it turns out, eat people — but however terrifying Skylla may look, she’s a little younger, a little smaller, and perhaps a little too soft for all that. Bewitched by Corinth and their growing bond, she learns about all the best things in life on land: books, burgers, donuts, and this strange chattering human sound called laughter. But a storm is brewing – both at sea and in Corinth’s increasingly dangerous relationship with her obsessively jealous boyfriend – and a magical bargain may be the only thing that can save her, at a tremendous cost.
“The Sea in You is a perfect Iron Circus title,” said C. Spike Trotman. “Offbeat, totally unique, and a recentering and reimagining of themes it’s too easy to consider well-trodden territory that no longer holds any surprises for the reader. I can’t wait until kids get their hands on this.”
Featuring a properly monstrous mermaid design, complete with fangs, claws, and scales, this is a creeptastic story for monster kids who still need some heartfelt whimsy to lighten the tone. Similar in approach to retold fairytales like Wicked and Fairest of All, THE SEA IN YOU trades on the universal familiarity of the classic “Little Mermaid” story while upending it with a cute queer romance at its heart and the “prince” character as a villain. THE SEA IN YOU reflects the world as it is in a suspenseful tale of magic and wonder; Sheron’s diverse fantasy tale includes queer characters, body diversity, the active use of American Sign Language to build understanding, and the sensitive portrayal of an abusive relationship.
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