What was it like growing up with dragons for brothers and sisters?

Rowan laughs. Well, it was good and bad. When they’re little, they’re just like normal kids of course. They didn’t get any dragon abilities, like shifting, or using their water magic, until they were in their teens. By then, I was already an adult. I was twenty-two when Damrian shifted for the first time.

That didn’t stop me being a little jealous though. I mean, watching him shift, seeing him launch into the air for the first time, it was hard knowing I’d never do that. Mostly though, I was wondering how I’d keep them out of trouble now they could fly.

I love them, you know? They’re my family. And no matter how much I wish I could experience the things they experience, I’m still glad they can. I still love watching them. And I’d do anything at all to keep them safe.

When did you first see the mermaid?

Rowan’s eyes light up. It was right about the time Zara left, funnily enough. I was thirty-four, and I’d just broken up with probably the most serious relationship I’d had, a woman who worked at the resort. We’d been together about three years. It had just hit me that no matter how great the relationship was, it would never measure up.

Whenever I looked at my parents, and what they shared together, nothing else measured up. They loved each other more than anyone else I’d ever seen. And I wanted that.

Woah, that got a little off topic. Sorry. Next question?

That’s ok. I’m curious, why didn’t you ever tell your family that you’d seen a mermaid?

Rowan shrugs uncomfortably. Well, I meant to. When I came back to the resort after catching sight of her in Calm Water Cover, I was going to tell everyone. But Zara had just left, and Damrian was really cut up about it, I could see that. It seemed a little insensitive to mention it right then.

And then I got to wondering, if no one else had ever mentioned seeing her, that probably meant they hadn’t, right? So why had I seen her? I saw her again a few months later, and I began to wonder if she was only showing herself to me.

The idea seemed crazy, but I just couldn’t’ shake it. It started to feel like we shared something special, even though we’d never talked. And after a while, I just couldn’t face sharing that with anyone else. It became my secret. Mine and hers.

What was it like, growing up on a tropical island?

Ahh, well, that’s easy, it was awesome. I mean, who doesn’t long to wake up in the morning and be only a few steps from the beach? To see that beautiful sunshine, the fresh ocean air, the gorgeous water.

I spent a lot of time swimming, running up and down the mountains, exploring on my own in a way I wouldn’t have been able to if I’d lived in the city, or even still in Mungaloo.

I mean, it’s every kid’s dream, right? And I got to live it, every day. Not to mention the fact that I didn’t have to go to school. No school on the island.

But you still had to do school of some kind, right?

Sure. We did School of Distance, all of us. They’d send us out a big box of workbooks at the beginning of the year, and we were supposed to send back one a week. In reality, we usually skipped weeks, then crammed at the end. I managed to get through it all though, even high school. And I wasn’t the least bit sad to escape from all those bullies at school.

Did you ever wish you could fly, like your brothers and sister?

Rowan’s eyes get a faraway look. Of course. I mean, who doesn’t want to fly? My parents bought the helicopter when I was about sixteen, and encouraged me to learn how to fly, which was awesome, but it wasn’t the same. Calrian would take me on flights around the island sometimes, when there was no one nearby, and it was so magical. No noise, no fuss, just gliding over the mountains.

I’ve always longed to do that.

His expression snaps back to the present. But I’m a human, and I’m never going to be able to fly like that, and that’s ok. I still wouldn’t swap having dragon brothers and a sister for anything. My live is perfect, just the way it is.

Although it would be even better if I could just get close to that mermaid…

Mermaid Dreams will be out on the 26th of February

Having lived with dragon shifters, Rowan's expectations for love are higher than other humans, and at thirty-eight, he’s beginning to suspect he’s never going to find anyone who can live up to them. Maybe that's why he ends up chasing a mermaid near his parent's island resort—and catching her.

Or rather, she catches him.

Mermaid princess Cari has no interest in finding her mate and becoming who she is meant to be. She likes who she is now. That could be why she’s more fascinated by the human man she watches on the island than one of her own kind. But when she finds herself stuck in the human world, she faces an impossible choice.

Would she rather mate the person she loves, or return to her life below the waves?