A thought on writing this book*

Dear Mr. Echoes,
To write this book I had to become a sociologist of invertebrates. Spending long hours studying not merely the anatomy and physiology of the barnacle population, but of far grater importance, I studied their interactions with each other. It took some time to determine that it was in fact a barnacle who was charismatic enough to lead this story. Many others fought for Odessa’s position. One particularly charming character was a mayfly I met in my early twenties, he died quite quickly but was periodically and repeatedly replaces with his descendants, who had very little knowledge themselves of just how much time they were wasting convincing me to center my novel around them. Sweet line of mayflies, I believe tenacity was a genetic trait with them, otherwise they’d have never found the time to spend on me and still successfully mate.

But it was, in the end, a barnacle who captured my heartstrings. I believe that it was due in large part, however, to the contrast between a stationary barnacle and my beloved Auke Bay Flounder. Biff- now identified and seeking treatment for depression with a very successful therapist aboard the Princess Sofia shipwreck- was a true inspiration for working on this book. Daily she would appear gasping for death, and daily we would throw her back. Hoping that she would understand that it was not out of malice that we turned her away, but out of sheer artistic potential. Any animal with the level of commitment that Biff had was destined for great things. To be honest, if she were plump and healthy, and had we not been working at the time, it is likely that Biff's wish for death might have been fufilled. My cohorts and I are not above tenderly roasting and eating a fine flounder in a light lemon butter and white wine sauce. Biff, however, was slightly less than succulent. To eat her would have been to choke on her, not to mention to invoke the premature end to what has the potential to be an interesting story.

Odessa and Biff were meant to leave. I was happy to create an adventure for them. The mayfly, after all, would never have survived chapter one.

Left Sincerely,
Sebastian

*this insert may or may not be fictional