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The Beauty of Life
A Sea Tail follows a retired dentist who is shown a dead fish with scales and skin, leading him to embark on an adventure to determine if mermaids exist. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I started working on A Sea Tail on a week-long vacation to Topsail Island, North Carolina. I had recently finished my first book, Shall Die by the Sword, and had gotten bogged down in the sequel. So, I was in a space where I was not writing anything major at the time. Being the father of two daughters, however, I was always trying to write books that appealed to them. And nothing appeals to a preteen girl like a mermaid. Furthermore, since I was a child, I have always been interested in fantasy and folklore. The final stimulus was a small sequence in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies that had a side story about a mermaid. That got me writing. And as for Venice, it is the most beautiful city in the world, and what a place to merge water, fantasy, and story.
What was your inspiration for Dr. Manque’s character, and how did you craft his outlook on life?
For the lead character I wanted someone with some quirks, and in contrast to my first book, I wanted to write the main character as a little older. Also, I wanted to paint him as someone who could be stone deaf to the beauty of Venice.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
That’s a good question. There are a lot of things I could talk about: how our modern age can be so sterile for one, and how we have distanced ourselves from our past for another, but maybe the theme I was most interested in was beauty, and by that I don’t mean physical beauty, although the mermaid is portrayed as staggeringly beautiful, what I was exploring was the beauty of life, and becoming aware of how a beautiful life is one connected to others. And how discovering that someone needs us is just about the most beautiful thing in the world.
What is the next book that you’re working on, and when can your fans expect it out?
Thank you for asking. My next book is The Ordinary Adventures of Somerset Soames von Hesse. This is a coming-of-age novel about a young boy growing up in a missionary family in Egypt, Lebanon, and the coming back to the states in the 60’s. The story centers around the fourth child, Somerset, and his quirks, and his fascinations. It also deals with the tension because he likes the Beatles and fiction, and both of those are highly discouraged in his faith group. The book will be out in paperback within the next couple of weeks.
Beyond that, I will be working on Volume 2 of my epic fantasy series.
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A Sea Tail
Marvin Brauer’s A Sea Tail is a curious blend of mystery, folklore, and personal transformation, set against the backdrop of Venice. The novel follows Dr. Ulysses Manque, a quasi-retired dentist who drifts into the city almost by accident and finds himself tangled in a story that begins with a strange fishtail in a canal and stretches into whispers of mermaids, secret investigations, and an undercurrent of myth that refuses to stay submerged. What begins as a chance discovery soon grows into a meditation on belief, longing, and the strange ways the extraordinary can seep into ordinary lives.
I loved the setting. Venice felt alive, not just in its architecture and canals but in the way small habits, daily walks, and quiet encounters stitched together the fabric of the story. The pacing at times wandered, and that worked for this book. Sometimes I was completely drawn in by the odd charm of Dr. Manque, his pigeons, his suits, and his obsessive rituals. Other times, I found myself wishing the narrative would push harder, dig faster into the mystery instead of lingering so long on side details. Still, that slow build did give the novel a thick and intriguing atmosphere.
The ideas at play here really stuck with me. I didn’t expect to be caught up in questions about myth and belief, about what happens when someone lets the fantastic leak into their daily routines. The mermaid, whether real or imagined, becomes a mirror for the protagonist’s loneliness and yearning, and I found that strangely moving. There were moments when the writing leaned into symbolism. I sometimes wanted less explanation, but even so, I couldn’t help but admire the ambition of weaving folklore into a modern story of self-discovery.
I felt a kind of bittersweet satisfaction. The book is not for readers looking for a fast-paced thriller or a tightly plotted mystery. It is more for those who enjoy atmosphere, who like to sit with odd characters and let their inner lives unravel slowly. If you’re drawn to Venice, or if you’ve ever wanted to believe that a city can hide its own secret myths beneath its stones and waters, this novel is worth your time. I’d recommend it to readers who like literary mysteries with a touch of magic.
Pages: 252 | ASIN : B0CTD13985
LITERARY TITAN 