An Ordinary Drowning

John Wilkerson wants a timeout from his life, and a week on a Caribbean island without his girlfriend Zoe sounds perfect. And it is, at least until he almost drowns -- only to be saved by a mysterious woman. After that, John's spring break turns into something much longer as he tries to figure out if the appealing young woman named Tamarind holds the key to his future. Over the course of one hot hurricane season, both John and Tamarind will learn that their romance is no fairy tale.

When John Wilkerson, a twenty-six-year-old graduate student, escapes to the island of Culebra over spring break, he's ready to abandon his studies and his girlfriend Zoe for less technology, fewer responsibilities, and quiet contemplation of nature. What he doesn't expect is almost drowning in less than ten feet of water and a mysterious rescuer. John's efforts to figure out what he wants to do with his life and who he wants in it are hampered by Ana, Culebra's resident folk healer, a rival named Jesus, and a darkly seductive woman named Raimunda. Then there's the quirky, innocent, and very lovely young Tamarind who keeps showing up in the most surprising places. In this adult fairy tale inspired by THE LITTLE MERMAID, the prince must grow up to win the girl of his dreams, the mermaid has to choose between love and power, and both will be tested by the ugliness that distinguishes reality from fantasy. AN ORDINARY DROWNING was originally published as Volume One in THE MERMAID'S PENDANT, a novel that The Midwest Book Review describes as a "beautifully crafted fantasy that shows much symbolism and wisdom."

LeAnn Neal Reilly graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a master's degree in professional writing. Along the way, she majored briefly in chemistry, served as opinion editor and then editor of her college newspaper, and interned for an international design firm. After graduate school, LeAnn worked first for a small multimedia startup and then a computer science research group. At the startup, she spent her time writing user manuals and scripts for multimedia software used to train railroad engineers. While writing among geeks, LeAnn became enamored and decided to take one home for herself. After getting married and starting a family, LeAnn returned to her adolescent daydreams of writing novels. She lives outside Boston with one husband, three children, a dog named Hobbes (after Calvin &), and a cat named Attila.