Seaborn Series

In the young adult novel Athlanmara, the Athlanmarans can survive at great depths in the sea by magic but Sperm whales are the real life deep divers. Sperm whales are one of the largest of the whales. They have been known to dive as deep as a mile under the surface and stay down for 2 hours at a time. The whales eat many kinds of squid and fish including the Giant and Colossal Squid. The Sperm whale has many biological adaptations to deal with the intense pressures deep under the surface of the ocean. One problem with the intense pressures is that air cavities inside of their bodies, like sinuses and the middle ear, could explode. Sperm whales have lots of blood vessels in these cavities and when they dive the vessels fill up displacing the air. Another problem with diving deep is the air in their lungs. The whales have a collapsible rib cage to get air away from their aveoli. This also prevents nitrogen from entering their blood stream which would give them the bends w...

Mermaid legends in the Mediterranean come from Greek mythology. The Greek god Poseidon was half man, half fish. He was the protector of seafarers. Mermaids on the other hand were called sirens and were considered dangerous. With their enchanting songs they lured sailors to their death on the rocks. In many ancient Greek art pieces the sirens are depicted as half bird, half woman. The legends eventually evolved into a half fish, half woman. In Homer’s Odyssey, Ulysses longs to hear the sirens song. He orders his men to stop their ears with wax and tie him to the mast. He tells them not to let him free no matter what he says. Though he hears the sirens song and begs to go to them, his men keep their word and don’t set him free. (photo "Ulysses and the Sirens" by H.J. Draper) Check out the website Seabornseries.com to find out more about the latest mermaid legend, Athlanmara: Seaborn Series Book 1!

In almost every ancient culture there are legends of mermaids. The tales call the half human, half fish creatures by different names but there are striking similarities between the stories. In Scotland they are known as selkies. The legend depicts creatures that are seal shape in the water but then remove their skins to reveal their beautiful human form. If a human can steal the selkies seal skin while they are in human form the selkie will be their bride. These tales usually end in tragedy as the selkie still longs for the sea and if she finds her seal skin she will return to the sea never to be seen again. Go check out the website Seabornseries.com. The young adult novel Athlanmara: Seaborn Series Book 1 tells of a new mermaid legend.