Rewriting My First Fantasy Novel and Getting it Right this Time

For some time now, I've had it in my mind to revisit my very first self published novel, in an attempt to rewrite the book and make it better.

This exceptionally long 452-page print version of my fantasy book was a story about mermaids, and was my first serious endeavor at writing fiction. 

Simply put, the novel failed.

I've always had the desire to go back and fix the things I now realize are broken, because I still believe the story has a lot of potential. There are so many good elements to it, and after all, who doesn't love a good mermaid story?

My initial book inspiration

Initially, I had the idea to write just one book about mermaids, but that eventually changed. Since then, I have bigger plans for what has turned into a mermaid saga, spanning over generations. 

The whole thing began when my love of mermaids was fueled even more than usual, due to speculation about mermaids. 

Much of the credit for this goes to the television program Mermaids: the Body Found, which aired on both the Animal Planet Network and the Discovery Channel in 2012. 

This controversial program, coupled with real life whale beachings in the New Zealand area during that same period, were the inspiration and motivation which propelled me into action.

I chose to use the real life happenings and events, in a way that added authenticity to my story.

My first mermaid story book plot

As it stands (when it was originally published), Experimenting with Murder (EWM) is about an island owned by a billionaire (Tyler Payne), who is also a heartless scientist and marine biologist, conducting unethical research. His two college friends are also scientists who specialize in marine life, and they work with him in his labs, both in public and in secret. 

When a pair of mermaids wash up on the secluded New Zealand island, Tyler becomes obsessed with experimenting on the creatures. But eventually, his colleagues refuse to continue participating, and all hell proceeds to break loose.

Among the elements that add to the intricacy of the story include the group of teenagers who show up on the island every year to visit their parents (the researchers who work there). 

The teens arrive and find themselves in the midst of a series of unbelievable events. They end up having to hideout in the familiar jungle where they all grew up playing, but this time they're in a fight for their lives.

A complicated plot becomes convoluted

There are many reasons and rookie mistakes that are responsible for the failure of my first book, but I've learned not to beat myself up about it.

EWM was my first serious attempt at self-publishing a large work of fiction. The only thing I was accustomed to writing before then, were non-fiction articles and ebooks.

That probably accounts for all the wordiness, which I realized later, was a recognizable problem in the EWM book.

The multiple title changes and book cover changes didn't help the situation either. 

There was also the issue of not properly identifying the correct book genre for positioning and marketing sake.

For years, I kept thinking about the complex EWM story arc I had created. I was able to understand just how convoluted things had gotten, simply because I attempted to put too much into one book.

My story not only focuses on two different species, but also two generations, over a long timeline. 

There's a lot going on, but that doesn't have to mean in a bad way.

Over time, I began experimenting (no pun intended) with writing various stand alone stories about different characters in the EWM universe, although not everything was canon to the original story.

By extrapolating and writing those mermaid short stories related to my original EWM universe, I've been able to envision the entire series that I aim to eventually construct and turn into Chronicles of Merquatica.

Final Thoughts

I'm finally determined to let 2026 be the year that I complete the rewrite of EWM, and publish the result: Mermaid Island: Experimenting With Murder (Chronicles of Merquatica - Book One)

As I've indicated, this is only the beginning.

Each week, after publishing a new chapter of my ongoing revisions in the "Chapters" community, I also plan to publish a brief story in the "Critique" community, in hopes of getting feedback about any specific challenges encountered during that week of writing.

And finally, I'll be sharing a few thoughts about my "rewriting" activities and how the process is going.

Please feel free to read and leave any constructive feedback you'd like to offer. 

Thanks for visiting.

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Be sure to read: 

Chapter 1 - Mermaid Island: Experimenting With Murder

Week 1 Issues with Mermaid Island: Experimenting with Murder REWRITE