Ethel and the Merman

By Mia Fox

Ethel has made it her personal mission to avoid men. Twelve years ago, she fell for an actor whose charm and good looks won her over. That momentary lapse in judgement resulted in her getting pregnant.

Although she wouldn’t trade life with her son, Jonah, for anything, Ethel is constantly reminded that his father is less than responsible. Having nobody to lean on has made her leery of ever getting involved with another man. That is, until she meets Atlas, a Merman who is more man than any she has ever known.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evatopia Press
• Release date: Mar 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781630990183

Mia Fox

Mia Fox is a Los Angeles-based novelist who writes across varied genres including Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance, Steampunk, and Chick Lit. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from U.S.C.Before writing full time, she worked as an entertainment publicist, a career she chronicles in her novel, “Alert the Media.” However, she is happy to leave that world behind her, preferring that any drama in her life is only that which she creates for her characters.She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, three children, Casey, the Wonder Westie, and Bean, his brother.

Book preview

1

Isat in my kitchen , staring out the window and waiting for my ex-husband to show up for his day with Jonah. Waiting. Again.

He’s not coming, is he?

The look on my twelve-year-old’s face was enough to break my heart, although his father had already taken care of that numerous times over.

When minutes turned to an hour and still no answers to my text messages appeared, I turned to Jonah with an idea. I can take you.

You don’t like the ocean, he said glumly.

I said it was an idea...not necessarily one that was good or would go over particularly well. Still, I was determined to change the fact that my poor decision of the past continued to affect his present.

"I like looking at the ocean. Come on, we’ll do the tide pools and build a castle. It’ll still be fun...even if you don’t go surfing."

Jonah didn’t look convinced so I tried another tactic. It’s better than sitting around here all day.

Still no response.

We can get ice cream on the way home.

I was resorting to bribery.

Okay, deal.

So what convinced you? Spending time with me or the ice cream?

Jonah looked at me and beamed, his first real smile of the morning. I think I better get ready.

I messed up his hair before he ran up the stairs. It wasn’t easy being a single parent. It wasn’t the responsibilities or finances that weighed on me; I had always handled that part, even when Garrett was around. What was tough was accepting that my ex preferred to be single.

It was never clear if he ran from me or parenthood, but my guess was that it was a little of both and it left me unable to stick my neck out for love ever since.

Garrett couldn’t be tied down, or so he said, even though he seemed to find a string of women that were willing to try their luck. An actor with a Peter Pan complex, he drew me in. I had fallen for his boyish charm and good looks. We met after I went back stage to meet the cast of a community play performance. My girlfriend had dragged me along and I was resistant to act like a groupie until Garrett walked up and turned on the charm.

Then, I found myself not only wanting his autograph, but much more. He smiled at me and