This week featured The Garden Party from Denny S. Bryce and Memory Garden by Kerri Carpenter. Recently, we corned our fellow mermaids in the lagoon and got the story behind their stories.

The Garden Party by Denny S. Bryce

The tension ratchets up in this romantic suspense tale of an FBI agent in a post-apocalyptic world hunting an orchid thief who has stolen her heart.

What inspired your Waterworld Mermaids: Come Inside Our Garden story?

Denny: I live a few blocks from the US Botanic Garden and visit it frequently, and when a garden was suggested as the setting for our ‘free read’ I selected my favorite garden in DC. Besides the Botanic Garden another inspiration was George Clooney. Yep, he strikes again. In 1998, he starred in a movie along side Jennifer Lopez who played a US Marshal chasing a bank robber (Clooney’s character). The movie by Steven Soderbergh (a favorite writer/director type) is called Out of Sight. A wonderfully sexy, edgy, romantic, but still gut-wrenching story, it stayed with me over the years. Maybe I’m just old school, but I also thought about Nick and Nora Charles of The Thin Man series – I’m a classic old movie buff, and that series was wonderful. Finally, what brought Joshua home in my head was a photo you can find on my blog here – the actor is Jason George (currently on Grey’s Anatomy). If I were a cop and he a thief I’d chase him. Bet you would, too. I hope you had a chance to read The Garden Party. I was thrilled to share it here.

Memory Garden by Kerri Carpenter

Two long-lost lovers find themselves together again surrounded by nature’s beauty, wondering if they can find nature’s greatest gift – love.

What inspired your Waterworld Mermaids: Come Inside Our Garden story?

Kerri: I hope you enjoyed Memory Garden. I wrote this short story as a prequel to my recently finished full length contemporary romance starring Lilah’s best friend, Penelope Walker. Much like Lilah, Penelope also has to deal with a lost love returning to her life. Second chances, happy endings and reuniting with important people – friends, siblings, lovers – always warms my heart. Especially when all turns out well in the end. And in the Mermaid Garden, how can it not?

As soon as this Mermaid-challenge (writing short stories unified by a garden) was presented, Lilah jumped right into my mind. I could see her as a young, naïve girl working at a country club as well as the professional meeting planner she turned into. I had a little trouble figuring out my hero Drew (particularly his name), but like any resourceful writer I turned to social media for help. I would like to give a hearty thanks to all of the Twitter and Facebook followers who helped me pick Andrew Hamilton, IV. (As well as the nickname Swagger.) I hope you all enjoyed the names, the garden and the story as much as I loved writing them.

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Come back on Monday to read The Fourth Date by Robin Covington.