Book Proposal - Freshwater Mermaid

 Book Proposal/Synopsis/Manuscript - Freshwater Mermaid

-Who I am as an Author;

I am a 25+ year Teacher, who just resigned from her 22 year assignment as an urban, inner city public school teacher. I have taught students aged Preschool-12th grade; My high school students could earn college credit from Columbus State Community College, where I was an adjunct professor in 2019. Also, I was an alumnus of this same district and college. During this time I became a divorce survivor and single mom. Mom of an almost 19 year white male. 

As an aspiring writer, during the Covid Crisis, I spent time working on my writing again. First, I met with a song lyricist and shared a piece I wrote. I have a BMI account but I am not sure, write songs, short stories or a book. I read books and am always researching. 

Freshwater Mermaid, started as a biographical lyric. 

I see her as a leader for young girls who love to swim. 

She will be a nameless character. For example, “Pete the Cat,” is a cat with the name Pete. I see Freshwater Mermaid having adventures and hardships in life as she struggles to be away from water. 

Freshwater Mermaid has 2 younger siblings. 

Her father works nights. Her mom works days. 

Her family dynamics are dysfunctional, but I want to showcase how she is resilient and focuses on the good. 

Similar Books;

-Pete the Cat

-Winnie the Pooh 

I know that there are girls who are on the swim team and have memberships at local YMCAs with pools. I have seen first hand the power in the activity of swimming. 

My book/story-line proposals include;

-Freshwater Mermaid Christmas Time

It’s too cold outside. What’s a mermaid to do. She asks her parents about an indoor pool, but their car is broken down. Thus, she starts filling the tub up and soaking. She has to be careful because her Dad gets mad when water splashed over the side. Also, she has to wait until everyone else is done, so she doesn’t use all the hot water. She stays in there so long, that everyone keeps knocking on the door to hurry her up. She begs, Please just a little longer. She goes under and practices her breathing. 

-Freshwater Mermaid Summer Days

She arises with the sun and hears her Dad coming in from work. Mom has already left for work. 

She runs downstairs. Dad, will we go to the pool today? He is mumbling while bent over in the fridge. He arises over the fridge door, holding a beer. “Yes, we will go but remember they don’t open until noon, let me sleep until 11:00am, clean up the toys and can you do these dishes?”  Yes, I will clean and get everything ready for the pool. 

-Freshwater Mermaid and Roy G. Biv 

This is a story about the colors in the rainbow. ROY G BIV = Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. The rainbow introduces itself with a song/lyric.

This is my original story/lyric. It is written for older, dating ladies. I would change the Introduction for the young girl. 

Freshwater Mermaid

Raised as an Ariel, no Prince yet. 

Some can be mean, selfish, liars, even narcissists.

Thank God Disney finally has Muana,

That girl followed her gut instinct, that feeling, just like me.

Chorus

What if a love story is how you chose to live?

What you give, to be kind

…to smile, give a helping hand, 

an ear to understand, 

That not everyone splashes or swims, 

Cause, even little mermaid didn’t want her fins. 

Nope she didn't want her fins.

Dads can be Titans, but mine he had a soft spot.

He knew I needed a pool, a lake water because

that is a freshwater mermaid's fate.

Dreamer I am.

Dreamer I must. 

Chorus repeat 

Now don’t lust. 

Somethings aren’t meant to be

That’s not the future I see

Freshwater Mermaids grow up 

Wading, floating, swimming, boating

Lake Erie, Ohio River or Little Darby Creek.

Thus, It takes a special Merman to not use his feet. 

Chorus repeat 

By -Rebecca McGrath-H.

mrs.mcgrathh@gmail.com

http://mcgrathhblogspot.com

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http://linkedin.com/in/rebecca-mcgrath-hinkle-289856b8

A Menstrual Cycle Story; I'm 43 years Fabulous & still Menstrating !

 1-10-22

Disclaimer; this is for a mature audience.

This week I discovered the Menstrual Cup. 

I was Uber ing a Shop order for a young lady, the app had a glitch while I was trying to explain to her what was in stock. I ended up viewing products at CVS and Walgreens. 

I posted pictures of these products as available at the CVS & Walgreens on my Facebook;

-Flex Menstrual Disc

-Ziggy Cup

-Diva Cup

-Walgreens Menstrual Cup 

I had comments from 18 women, 17 in favor of using one!

I am a tree-hugging recyclable gal, so I am all for the less waste and save $ factors. 

I found this article from 12-22-20 (link is below;

First, 

I am a little confused because the article used glass cups to stimulate the vagina. The article highlights how difficult it was to find the right item to simulate a vagina. Was it a man testing these for the article? I mean you just couldn’t survey some women who could actually use and report back? Of course, you can’t video or ask them to share because that would equal pornography, I think, or could it be exempt for educational purposes? Probably, no because some pervert would get off on it. 

However, I do agree with the low or high cervix explanation. 

This is a part of the article that I chose to share;

“Over the span of just three cycles, a reusable menstrual cup can save you money. And switching to a cup can immediately reduce the number of disposable tampons or pads you’d ordinarily toss in the trash. The best cup for you largely depends on your anatomy. After testing 33 different cups and two menstrual discs from 21 manufacturers since 2016, we’ve found that the Cora cup is the best cup for first-time users because it’s easier than most to fold, insert, and remove. For more size, shape, and stem options, consider our long-time recommendation, the MeLuna Classic. We also have picks for low cervixes, high cervixes, and wide vaginas.”

Copy and paste this link to review for yourself. 

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-menstrual-cup/#best-menstrual-cup-for-low-cervixes-meluna-shorty

I have a low cervix, so after reviewing this article, I am going to purchase the MeLuna, https://meluna-usa.com/

Size Large because I have given 1 vaginal birth. I thought medium, but upon reading further, it would be Large because I did birth that boy who just turned 19. 

Side story;

They warned a c-section and I was like oh excuse me, I’m going to push and stuff first, they said you got 1 more hour and thank God he came down, I thought I was gonna puke him out, so yes I had the vaginal birth. 

The Meluna cup comes from Germany for $32.15.

Another story;

I learned that I had a low cervix 20 years ago while being pregnant because my Doctor informed me that it was low, teachable, and asked if she could show a few Doctorate students. Being the Teacher that I am, of course, I agreed to let them see my cervix. Teacher by trade and a teachable cervix. 

I’ll let you know how my next menstrual cycle goes with the Meluna Cup. 

I read a tip, from WebMD (https://www.webmd.com/women/guide/menstrual-cup)

that you should carry a bottle of water while out, just in case you need to check it/clean it while in a not your home public bathroom, especially at first, in case it wasn’t in right… but you should be able to wait 12 hours. Hopefully, at 12 hours one would be home to remove, clean, and reinsert. That sounds interesting but doable. A couple of bottles of water instead of pads & tampons. 

Hopefully, my last 5 ish years of menstruating can go better. 

Please God, let me have 5 years or less, I have PCOS and my eggs have been no good since age 26, pretty please and thank you. 

I mean…

For the love of God, I started almost 30 years ago, well as of March of 2022, my Aunt was getting married back then and I was reading a passage during the ceremony. 

I was so freaked out that everyone could tell I was walking with this gigantic pad on. 

Thus, I will never forget it, it added a whole other nervous level to my performance. 

My Mom promised me that I looked normal because I swore I was walking funny. 

My Aunt has been happily married ever since and just became a Grandma in 2021.

So here’s to my Pre-menopausal, 43 years Fabulous but still menstruating life but now with a menstrual cup !