A Word From The Author
“I grew up watching Brazilian and Mexican telenovelas. It was a gathering time for my family, my neighbors, and my entire community. Cleaning ladies, like my mother, who have an eighth grade education, can sit in front of a television after dinner, and watch the same program the President of Brazil is likely watching. This equalizing experience is what I aim to achieve with my books. I want to make my books accessible to a population that believes reading is a luxury. I want my mother to read her first novel - mine, and to not feel like she should be cleaning, or cooking, or doing something else she considers more productive. I want her to sit with my book, which I hope is the first of many, as if she is sitting down watching a telenovela, to feel like she deserves a break after a long day, and to feel no different and no less than the President of Brazil.” - Mery Vieira
Debut Novel
Debut Novel
The Fisherman’s Daughter
A forbidden romance. A devastating hurricane. A young woman thrust into a political scandal. Not all is paradise on the island.
Devastated by a tropical storm the small beach community of Boa Vista, Cape Verde faces their harshest hurricane season yet. Small business owners along the seaport find their properties completely destroyed. Faced with the debilitating wreckage the locals must pull together to rebuild their beach community.
However, the government has other plans for restoring the island, which includes seizing their collective properties to build the island’s first hotel resort.
Maya, a spirited young woman and proud fisherman’s daughter, won’t stand for it, and sets out to fight for what’s rightfully hers and her people - only to find herself entangled in a web of corruption and falling for the very man who wants to destroy her community.
About The Author
Mery Vieira was born in a fishing community on the island of Boa Vista, Cape Verde and immigrated to the US at the age of seven.
Like many Cape Verdeans who migrate to New England, Mery grew up in The Ocean State of Rhode Island, where she attended Rhode Island College and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature.
She is a Telly Award-winning producer and brand strategist who lives in Oak Park, IL with her daughter.
This is her debut novel - an invitation to experience the hardships and the joys of the people who made her.
“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”
— WILLIAM JAMES
Nautical Roots
Cape Verde, also called Cabo Verde, is an island country off the West Coast of Africa known for its turquoise waters, eclectic seafood dishes, folk music, and hospitable people.
The 10 archipelago islands were colonized by the Portuguese in 1476 and gained its independence in 1975. The young developing country is slowly emerging as a top tourist destination and is a hidden gem for water sports enthusiasts.
Little Rhody
Cape Verdeans began migrating to the US in the late 1800s as sailors on merchant ships.
As of July 2022 an astonishing 350,000 Cape Verdeans currently live in New England, with the majority living in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, compared to the nearly 570,000 population of Cape Verdeans who live in the native country.
Other Cape Verdean-Americans have made a home away from home in Connecticut, New York and the coastal cities of Southern California.
“The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.”
— Robert Wyland
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