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Horseshoe Crab

2610.23 – Mermaid Minute – Throwing Horseshoes

23 October 2026 by Melissa

Horseshoe Crab

 

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2610.23-Mermaid-Minute-Throwing-Horseshoes.mp3

Description:

Horseshoe crabs aren’t crabs, they bleed blue, and they’ve outlasted the dinosaurs by bringing their own lever. Meet the ocean’s oldest beachgoers in this Mermaid Minute.

#MermaidMinute #monologues #horseshoecrabs #OceanLife #KeepSwimmingAndResist

Excerpt:

Archimedes said, “Give me a place to stand, and I will move the Earth.”

The horseshoe crab said, “I brought my own lever, thanks.”

Links and References:

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub and Mermaid Minutes are written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using Audacity.
  • BathtubMermaid.com header art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.
  • Video credit:  Pzaxe via 123RF.com
  • Art Credit: Pixelnestmart

Contact:

  • BlueSky: @melysse.bsky.social
  • Facebook: MissMelysse
  • Instagram: @Melysse
  • Mastodon: @Melysse
  • Email: missmelysse@gmail.com
  • Or, leave a comment on this page.

Read My Stuff!

  • Twice-Told Tides
  • MissMeliss.com 

MeMe Orange Swimming

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2610.23-Mermaid-Minute-Throwing-Horseshoes.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:11 — 3.0MB)

Mermaid Minute Tales from the Tub Easter vibeskep swimmin and resistMe-Me del MareMermaid MinuteOcean Life
2608.20-DaryaAban-Thumbnail

TBM-2608.20 – DDOP-02 – Meles obstinatus and Camelus latimeria

20 August 2026 by Melissa

2608.20 - Burrowbrock and Camelocant

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/TBM2608-20-DDOP-AmphigoryBurrowbrockCamelocant.mp3

Description:

You landwalkers call our mostly aquatic planet Earth. Your record-keeping is similarly questionable. Therefore I bring you this lecture series, introducing you to some of Aquatopia’s more notable creations. 2608.12 - DaryaAban400

Today, let’s talk about the Burrobrock and Camelocant

This pair makes the same argument for stubbornness from two opposite directions. One needs no water at all. The other needed almost none to begin with. Judge for yourselves which of them made the wiser bargain.

#audio #short #humor #amphigory #daryaaban

Links and References

  • Dog Days of Podcasting
  • Meles obstinatus and Camelus latimeria

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid header art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.   Ship’s Bell and Background Shore Sounds

Contact

  • BlueSky: @melysse.bsky.social
  • Facebook: MissMelysse
  • Instagram: @Melysse
  • Mastodon: @Melysse
  • Email: missmelysse@gmail.com
  • Or, leave a comment on this page.
https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/TBM2608-20-DDOP-AmphigoryBurrowbrockCamelocant.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:50 — 4.8MB)

Amphigory of Lost Creatures Dog Days of Podcasting Tales from the Tub AmphigoryAmphigory of Lost CreaturesBurrowbrockCamelocantCamelus latimeriaDarya AbanDDoPDDOP 2026Dog Days of PodcastingMeles obstinatus

TBM-2608.12 – DDOP-01 – Aukiris Frigidorum

12 August 2026 by Melissa

2608.12 - Aukiris

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/TBM-2608.12-DDOP-01-Aukiris-Frigidorum.mp3

Description:

You landwalkers call our mostly aquatic planet Earth. Your record-keeping is similarly questionable. This month, I am introducing you to some of the creatures you seem to have misplaced.

Today, let’s talk about the Aukiris — Aukiris frigidorum. Some centuries ago, a colony of auks looked at the sky, looked at the water, and made a decision the rest of us have been quietly admiring ever since. The wings did not disappear. They simply retired from flying and took up a more practical line of work.

#audio #short #humor #amphigory #daryaaban

Links and References

  • Dog Days of Podcasting
  • Aukiris Frigidorum

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid header art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

  • BlueSky: @melysse.bsky.social
  • Facebook: MissMelysse
  • Instagram: @Melysse
  • Mastodon: @Melysse
  • Email: missmelysse@gmail.com
  • Or, leave a comment on this page.
https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/TBM-2608.12-DDOP-01-Aukiris-Frigidorum.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:55 — 3.8MB)

Amphigory of Lost Creatures Dog Days of Podcasting Tales from the Tub AmphigoryAmphigory of Lost CreaturesAukirisAukiris FrigidorumDDoPDDOP 2026Dog Days of Podcasting
The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub

TBM-2608.12 – DDOP-00: Calamities and Other Updates

12 August 2026 by Melissa

Meme-Podcast-Square

 

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/TBM-260812-DDOP-00-Calamities-and-Other-Updates.mp3

Description:

So, MeMe del Mare is taking a well-deserved vacation and doing some field research for the Aquatopia Amphigory of Lost Creatures. In her place, Professor Darya Aban of Atlantis University, curator of the Amphigory, will be stepping in to introduce us to some of the remarkable creatures in the collection. I can’t wait for you to meet her. In about 12-15 hours.  #audio #unscripted #lifeupdate #short

#audio #short #humor #mermaidminute

Links and References

  • Dog Days of Podcasting

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid header art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

  • BlueSky: @melysse.bsky.social
  • Facebook: MissMelysse
  • Instagram: @Melysse
  • Mastodon: @Melysse
  • Email: missmelysse@gmail.com
  • Or, leave a comment on this page.
https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/TBM-260812-DDOP-00-Calamities-and-Other-Updates.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:05 — 3.2MB)

Dog Days of Podcasting Tales from the Tub CalamitiesDDoPDDOP 2026Dog Days of PodcastingIntroPostLife Updates
MeMe Orange Swimming

2604.05 – Mermaid Minute: Happy Easter

5 April 2026 by Melissa

MeMe Orange Swimming

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/260405-MermaidMinute-Easter-Patreon-.mp3

Description:

Eggs. Bunnies. Chocolate logistics that raise more questions than answers. 🐰🥚

Meanwhile, under the sea, we’re imagining bioluminescent egg hunts, judgmental eels, and a holiday that glows instead of melts.

Celebrate however you like—just maybe don’t drop the plastic grass overboard.

#MermaidMinute #monologues #EasterVibes #OceanLife #KeepSwimmingAndResist

 

Links and References:

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub and Mermaid Minutes are written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using Audacity.
  • BathtubMermaid.com header art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

  • BlueSky: @melysse.bsky.social
  • Facebook: MissMelysse
  • Instagram: @Melysse
  • Mastodon: @Melysse
  • Email: missmelysse@gmail.com
  • Or, leave a comment on this page.

Read My Stuff!

  • Twice-Told Tides
  • MissMeliss.com 
https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/260405-MermaidMinute-Easter-Patreon-.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:44 — 2.3MB)

Mermaid Minute Tales from the Tub Easter vibeskep swimmin and resistMe-Me del MareMermaid MinuteOcean Life
MarchPodcast Square

TBM-260315-Salt, Coffee, Showtime

14 March 2026 by Melissa

MarchPodcast Square

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TBM-260310-Salt-Coffee-Showtime.mp3

Description:

Three stories. Two guest readers. One mermaid, back from a very long bath.

The Bathtub Mermaid returns with ‘Salt Logic,’ ‘Caffeine Theology,’ and ‘Fifteen Minutes to Showtime’ — flash fiction about oceans that apologize, coffee as religion, and the fifteen minutes before everything changes. Featuring readers Paul Maki and Jack Mangan.

Excerpt:

The ocean started apologizing on a Wednesday. I was halfway through reheating yesterday’s chowder when the first buoy pinged.

Guest Voices:

  • Paul Maki
  • Jack Mangan

Links and References:

  • Salt Logic
  • Caffeine Theology 
  • 15 Minutes to Showtime

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid header art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.
  • Music for this episode is from Uppbeat.

Contact:

  • BlueSky: @melysse.bsky.social
  • Facebook: MissMelysse
  • Instagram: @Melysse
  • Mastodon: @Melysse
  • Email: missmelysse@gmail.com
  • Or, leave a comment on this page.

 

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TBM-260310-Salt-Coffee-Showtime.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:14 — 23.6MB)

Tales from the Tub coffeeFictionFlash FictionJack ManganMusicOceanPaul MakiScience FictionSpaceSpeculative FictionSplash Fiction

TBM-2512.24 – Dog Days of Advent: Midnight

24 December 2025 by Melissa

DDOA 24

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TBM-2512-24-DDOA-Midnight.mp3

Description:

Welcome to the Dog Days of Advent. I made a list of prompts, and wrote a bite-sized story for each one. They don’t live in the same universe, but they’re all a little off-kilter from what you might expect from holiday fare. And if you pay attention, you’ll notice that the last line of each story becomes the first line of the next. Today’s prompt is Midnight. 

Excerpt

Jean—called Grandma Love by strangers more often than family—felt that familiar tilt in the air. The almost-midnight tilt. Midnight wasn’t a time so much as a mood, a soft doorway between one thing and the next. She’d always been good with doorways.
 

Episode Cast:

Melissa A. Bartell

Links and References

  • Transcript: Midnight
  • Dog Days of Advent

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid blog header art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects and Music are from Freesound and UppBeat
  • Music Used: O Holy Night

Contact:

  • BlueSky: @melysse.bsky.social
  • Facebook: MissMelysse
  • Instagram: @Melysse
  • Mastodon: @Melysse
  • Email: missmelysse@gmail.com
  • Or, leave a comment on this page.

 

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TBM-2512-24-DDOA-Midnight.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:58 — 9.5MB)

DDOP Advent Tales from the Tub Advent 2025DDoADog Days of AdventFictionFlash FictionMelissa A BartellMissMeliss

TBM-2512.23 – Dog Days of Advent: Sled

23 December 2025 by Melissa

DDOA 23

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TBM-2512-23-DDOA-Sled.mp3

 

Description:

Welcome to the Dog Days of Advent. I made a list of prompts, and wrote a bite-sized story for each one. They don’t live in the same universe, but they’re all a little off-kilter from what you might expect from holiday fare. And if you pay attention, you’ll notice that the last line of each story becomes the first line of the next. Today’s prompt is Sled. 

Excerpt

She set the sled down.  Ran her glove over the wooden slats.  Felt her heartbeat double-tap behind her ribs.

Then she climbed on.

The world tipped. Not dangerously.  Not wrong.  Just… sideways enough.

 

Episode Cast:

Melissa A. Bartell

Links and References

  • Transcript: Sled
  • Dog Days of Advent

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid blog header art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects and Music are from Freesound and UppBeat
  • Music Used: Winter

Contact:

  • BlueSky: @melysse.bsky.social
  • Facebook: MissMelysse
  • Instagram: @Melysse
  • Mastodon: @Melysse
  • Email: missmelysse@gmail.com
  • Or, leave a comment on this page.

 

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TBM-2512-23-DDOA-Sled.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:24 — 7.1MB)

DDOP Advent Tales from the Tub Advent 2025DDoADog Days of AdventFictionFlash FictionMelissa A BartellMissMeliss

TBM-2512.23 – Dog Days of Advent: Gift and Train

23 December 2025 by Melissa

DDOA-21-22

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TBM-2512-23-DDOA-Gift-Train-.mp3

Description:

Welcome to the Dog Days of Advent. I made a list of prompts, and wrote a bite-sized story for each one. They don’t live in the same universe, but they’re all a little off-kilter from what you might expect from holiday fare. And if you pay attention, you’ll notice that the last line of each story becomes the first line of the next. Today’s prompts are Gift and Train. 

Excerpt:

It was finished. Actually finished. She and Trisha had built it with their own four hands, two questionable YouTube tutorials, and one bottle of wine.

 

Episode Cast:

Melissa A. Bartell

Links and References

  • Transcript: Gift
  • Transcript: Train
  • Dog Days of Advent

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid blog header art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects and Music are from Freesound and UppBeat
  • Music Used:
    1) The Magic of Christmas
    2) On the Snow

Contact:

  • BlueSky: @melysse.bsky.social
  • Facebook: MissMelysse
  • Instagram: @Melysse
  • Mastodon: @Melysse
  • Email: missmelysse@gmail.com
  • Or, leave a comment on this page.

 

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TBM-2512-23-DDOA-Gift-Train-.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:14 — 12.9MB)

DDOP Advent Tales from the Tub Advent 2025DDoADog Days of AdventFictionFlash FictionMelissa A BartellMissMeliss

TBM-2512.22 – Dog Days of Advent: Ritual, Thread, and Magic

22 December 2025 by Melissa

DDOA-18-19-20

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TBM-2512-22-DDOA-Ritual-Threads-Magic.mp3

Description:

Welcome to the Dog Days of Advent. I made a list of prompts, and wrote a bite-sized story for each one. They don’t live in the same universe, but they’re all a little off-kilter from what you might expect from holiday fare. And if you pay attention, you’ll notice that the last line of each story becomes the first line of the next. Today’s prompts are Ritual, Thread, and Magic. 

Excerpt:

Across the Coalition of Aligned Worlds, she could imagine this same carol rising in a hundred places at once: sung in English, Centauran Creole, SolCommon, Vulhari, SynthCant. Sung in domed colonies, hydroponic farm chapels, mining outpost rec halls, starship sanctuaries. Sung by people who had never stepped on Earth, yet carried its stories like inherited starlight.

.

Episode Cast:

Melissa A. Bartell

Links and References

  • Transcript: Ritual
  • Transcript: Thread
  • Transcript: Magic
  • Dog Days of Advent

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid blog header art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects and Music are from Freesound and UppBeat
  • Music Used:
    1) A Moment, A Miracle
    2) Ding Dong – Jazzily
    3) Silent Night

Contact:

  • BlueSky: @melysse.bsky.social
  • Facebook: MissMelysse
  • Instagram: @Melysse
  • Mastodon: @Melysse
  • Email: missmelysse@gmail.com
  • Or, leave a comment on this page.

 

https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TBM-2512-22-DDOA-Ritual-Threads-Magic.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:35 — 18.2MB)

DDOP Advent Tales from the Tub Advent 2025DDoADog Days of AdventFictionFlash FictionMelissa A BartellMissMeliss

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  • 2610.23 – Mermaid Minute – Throwing Horseshoes 23 October 2026
  • TBM-2608.20 – DDOP-02 – Meles obstinatus and Camelus latimeria 20 August 2026
  • TBM-2608.12 – DDOP-01 – Aukiris Frigidorum 12 August 2026
  • TBM-2608.12 – DDOP-00: Calamities and Other Updates 12 August 2026
  • 2604.05 – Mermaid Minute: Happy Easter 5 April 2026
  • TBM-260315-Salt, Coffee, Showtime 14 March 2026
  • TBM-2512.24 – Dog Days of Advent: Midnight 24 December 2025
  • TBM-2512.23 – Dog Days of Advent: Sled 23 December 2025
  • TBM-2512.23 – Dog Days of Advent: Gift and Train 23 December 2025
  • TBM-2512.22 – Dog Days of Advent: Ritual, Thread, and Magic 22 December 2025

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What I’m Writing: MissMeliss.com

Profile Completion: 99%

The applications are always due at midnight, which is when the house is finally quiet and the only one awake to witness your professional ambitions is the dog, who has seen you cry in three different lighting scenarios and still believes you are the best thing in the world.

Aquatopia Amphigory of Lost Creatures: Featherfox and Glasshart

Aquatopia Amphigory of Lost Creatures: Featherfox and Glasshart

Today’s species both know how to make an impression. The Featherfox does it with a flourish, while the Glasshart simply waits for the sun to go down.

Aquatopia Amphigory of Lost Creatures: Driftneck and Eavenspike

Aquatopia Amphigory of Lost Creatures: Driftneck and Eavenspike

This pair makes the same argument for stubbornness from two opposite directions. One needs no water at all. The other needed almost none to begin with. Judge for yourselves which of them made the wiser bargain.

What I’m Reading: Bibliotica

New Cover Reveal: UNBREAKABLE TEXAS WOMEN by Joanne Kukanza Easley

New Cover Reveal: UNBREAKABLE TEXAS WOMEN by Joanne Kukanza Easley

I’m so excited to be sharing the new covers for this book series.  Take a look, consider buying one or all, and be sure to scroll down to enter the giveaway. 

Book Review: The New Year’s Man by Michael Scott Clifton

Book Review: The New Year’s Man by Michael Scott Clifton

It’s not easy to combine a compelling legal drama with a rom-com and not have it feel like all the worst stereotypes of a Hallmark movie, but Michael Scott Clifton does it with style and a little bit of actual wand-waving in The New Year’s Man.

Book Review: Lift and Let Die by Helen Golden

Book Review: Lift and Let Die by Helen Golden

There’s something bittersweet about discovering a series just as it’s coming to an end. Lift and Let Die is the sixteenth and final installment in Helen Golden’s A Right Royal Cozy Investigation series, and while I had no trouble following the mystery as a newcomer, I couldn’t help feeling that I’d arrived rather late to a very entertaining party.

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