Crowdfunding pioneer C. Spike Trotman and Iron Circus Comics are helming their latest independent crowdfunding campaign for The Sea in You, a whimsical dark fantasy retelling of The Little Mermaid which will upend everything you thought you knew about magical creatures of the deep. The middle-grade novel from cartoonist Jessi Sharon follows the unlikely friendship between 15-year-old human Corinth and the deadly fanged mermaid Skylla, who mysteriously lets Corinth live after a chance encounter during a beach clean up.

In The Sea In You, Corinth was just trying to clean up the beach; she never expected to meet a mermaid, let alone be nearly drowned by one. But before long Corinth and mermaid Skylla grow closer through a cautious exchange of stories, gifts, jokes, and sign language. Mermaids, it turns out, eat people — but however terrifying Skylla may look, she’s a little younger, a little smaller, and perhaps a little too soft for all that. Bewitched by Corinth and their growing bond, she learns about all the best things in life on land: books, burgers, donuts, and this strange chattering human sound called laughter. But a storm is brewing – both at sea and in Corinth’s increasingly dangerous relationship with her obsessively jealous boyfriend – and a magical bargain may be the only thing that can save her, at a tremendous cost. 

We have an exclusive excerpt from The Sea in You! Check it out below and support the project now! The Sea In You campaign runs until June 30, 2022.