Teenage readers now are comparatively lucky in that they do have role models in books by not only myself, but also much more famous authors like David Levithan, Patrick Ness and Cassandra Clare. I would have especially loved one whose sexuality did not define him. I so dearly wish there had been just one book with a character who was a bit like me – just a normal teenage guy who happened to be gay. I was unaware gay people even existed and, when puberty hit, found myself more than a little lost. The things I've just written may seem absurd when featuring mermaids, but this was very much my reality growing up in a small town in the north.

I dearly wish I was a merman, but alas I am just a gay man. As it's The Guardian children's books site's LGBT week I was asked to write something as both a member of the LGBT community and as an author whose novels feature LGBT characters. As a PotO, I'm expected to understand what it's like to be a human or simply have nothing to read.īy now, you've hopefully worked out where this is going. Or is it that they feel they can't understand my experience? We're not aliens! We're exactly the same as you except for one tiny aspect. Is it that they think our stories won't appeal to the majority group? Well, that's depressing. I sometimes wonder if authors and filmmakers are scared to write about us. So rarely are we main characters, and so rarely are stories told through our eyes. Where we are featured in literature, PotO tend to be characteristically the same – we're often the best friend or a love interest for a human character. We have a range of jobs, hobbies and interests.

Ocean People are exactly the same as Land People. To suggest that all PotO sit around all day singing and wearing seashells is deeply oceanophobic. 'No we don't need any more books about mermaids,' publishing people said, 'it's been DONE.' Well I don't think Ariel's experience speaks for us all. Sadder still, after The Little Mermaid came out in 1989 (yikes, that makes me feel old) a lot of people seemed to think our story had been sufficiently covered forever. Stories which add to myths about my people are worse than no stories at all. PotO aren't bad people we aren't deviants we aren't trying to drown sailors with our mystical powers. This is about fair representation of a minority group. Those that did portrayed us in a very stereotypical fashion. You'll note that none of these books feature PotO characters. Like legged humans, I grew up on Point Horrors, Sweet Valley High, Doctor Who paperbacks and Babysitter's Club. As a fully-grown PotO, I am now hugely proud of my glistening scales and ability to breathe underwater, but I can't help but think life could have been so much easier had I had some early role-models in books.

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