About the Book One day Violet, a young Jamaican girl, surprises a mermaid near a remote beach in Jamaica. The mermaid accidentally drops her golden comb on the beach and asks Violet to retrieve it for her, but she is not to tell anyone about the mermaid. Violet is in a quandary and ends up telling her mother, who tells others. Violet retrieves the comb from the beach for the mermaid, who is grateful but upset that Violet told about her presence. But in the end, the mermaid gives Violet a valuable gift that lifts her and her family out of poverty. About the Author Bill Gerwick is a professor at the University of California, San Diego, studying marine algae as sources of new pharmaceuticals, such as new anticancer and antimalarial drugs. He has been scuba diving for more than 50 years but has never seen a mermaid. His research has taken him to many tropical locations around the world to make sample collections, including Jamaica. The Jamaican lady who told him this tale was a dear family friend.
