Maia Gosselin has always been interested in writing stories. She earned her master’s degree in children’s literature and has a bachelor’s in English.
“I have probably six or seven different manuscripts still in various states of completion, which I’m now motivated to finish,” Gosselin said.
Gosselin has now published her first story, The Mermaid’s Tear. The children’s book follows a little girl and her grandmother as they hunt for the most beautiful “mermaid’s tears.”
“Mermaid tears” is another word for sea glass, Gosselin explained. The exact origin of the nickname is unknown, but many folklores say mermaids cried for lost sailors. The different colors are sometimes linked to the mermaids’ eyes or the depth of their sorrow.
In reality, sea glass forms from discarded, broken glass that tumbles through the ocean, worn smooth by waves, sand, rocks and salt.
Gosselin created her own legend for The Mermaid’s Tear, imagining the saddest mermaid who lives in the harbor on Egg Rock. She sits on the rock and sings to the moon. Sailors listen, including one whose boat sank in a terrible storm. The mermaid saved him and pulled him onto Egg Rock, but after another boat rescued him, she never saw him again.
“To this day, she swims to Egg Rock looking for her love,” the book reads. “When the sun sets fire to the sky, she begins to cry. Sometimes when the wind blows across the waves, you can hear her weeping. That’s why the tears here are so beautiful.”
After a storm, the little girl and her grandmother find many mermaid tears along the shore, but after tripping, one special piece of red sea glass goes missing.
“It’s problem solving. It’s mermaids. It’s a mystery,” Gosselin said. “I felt that it encapsulated a lot of things that young children like. And for adults, it’s coastal and has to do with the grandmother and child making memories together. They’re sort of sentimental.”
The Mermaid’s Tear was inspired by Gosselin’s years living on the Swampscott coast. When her daughters were little, the family would “always hunt for sea glass” along the shoreline.
“The Swampscott shoreline, including the Lynn-side in King’s Beach, and then Fisherman’s, going all the way up, has beautiful sea glass,” Gosselin said. “It’s sort of open Atlantic right there, and I believe there’s a few ships that are sunk way out, so I think a lot of that comes into our beaches.”
Gosselin and her daughters have found a variety of sea glass over the years, from a heart-shaped piece to even a rare red one.
The book’s coastline, however, is meant to feel familiar to readers anywhere, Gosselin said. She wanted it to evoke any place someone knows or dreams of visiting.
“A couple of years ago, I just had that moment where I thought my kids were older. Of course they’re my legacy but I needed to do this,” Gosselin said.
Gosselin’s partner, Douglas Chisholm is a woodsman, “but he said, ‘I can try to paint. I want to paint a little,’ and I was like ‘You do?’’” Gosselin recalled.
“He came up with the mermaid, and he came up with the cover,” Gosselin said. “He did 100% of the illustrations.”
Now The Mermaid’s Tear is available for purchase at a variety of stores, from Barnes & Noble to Walmart, Amazon and Books-A-Million. People can also order directly through Gosselin at maiagosselin@gmail.com. Copies are available at the Swampscott Public Library, where Gosselin read to children last month.
“It checks a lot of boxes, I think, which makes it a nice gift for people, “Gosselin said. “The illustrations are beautiful. It does have the sentimental component to it, but it involves mermaids, and sea glass and crabs.”
Looking ahead, Gosselin still has many stories to tell. She’s working on a mystery book as well as one focused on her family’s dog. She also hopes to collaborate with groups like the Swampscott Recreation Department to host creative writing classes for children and encourage them to write their own stories.
