Mermaid in a Bowl of Tears will be released by Cindy Brandner on June 26, 2007. In Mermaid, Cindy Brandner continues the saga of Exit Unicorns, her first novel. Brandner conveys the struggles of Northern Ireland through the lives of Casey and Pamela Riordan, Jamie Kirkpatrick and their friends, family, and associates.
Casey and Pamela left Belfast to start a new life in Boston, but corrupt politics and powerful thugs make life for the newly married couple dangerously complicated. Forced into making desperate choices that bear heavy consequences, the Riordan’s return to an Ireland on the brink of revolution.
Upon their return to Belfast, Casey strives to provide a normal life for he and Pamela, but is challenged at every turn by a legacy left behind by he and his father and grandfather before him. A friend from Casey’s past makes his efforts for normalcy more difficult, opening up old wounds and reminding Casey that he was “born” to lead the Irish fight.
But it’s not only Casey who struggles with the impact of the IRA and the many political issues churning during this time in Irish history. His wife Pamela, brother Pat, and many friends and associates are constantly aware of the heavy consequences laid upon each and every choice they make. The fear of the death and the knowledge of loss plague each character in this book.
“The two great passions of my life are writing and Irish history”, says Brandner. “I’ve traveled extensively in Ireland, particularly in the North where my story takes place. I walked the streets where history was made and smelled the smoke and blood of those times. I spoke with people on both sides of the political and religious divide about their beliefs and their struggles- this included a particularly memorable evening in an IRA pub. I drew from my own family history as well, the stories told by my great-grandmother who was a native of Belfast and left the country she loved because of political upheaval.”
