Norfolk, Va. ? Lisa Suhay had just moved to Norfolk from New Jersey for her husband’s new job when Hurricane Isabel hit in September 2003.

To occupy herself and her three young sons while the power was out for nine days, the former freelance writer made up a tale about something unique to their new city: the 200-plus colorful mermaid sculptures around town that were part of a public art project.

Her effort evolved into two equally colorful illustrated children’s books that are making money for charities and patient care at a local hospital.

“This is the way I can afford to give to charities,” says Suhay, who recalls her own children being the recipients of care packages when the family lived for five years on a 37-foot sailboat and had little money. “I create something, set the perpetual motion machine going and give it.”

The Virginian-Pilot newspaper published “There Goes a Mermaid! A NorFolktale” in paperback in October 2004, with illustrations by Pilot artist Sam Hundley. The book has sold 14,000 copies locally, raising about $70,000 divided between The Virginian-Pilot Joy Fund, which gives holiday gifts to needy children, and The Literacy Partnership, which works to improve the local literacy rate. Suhay also donated some of her royalties to the Red Cross.

The title comes from her three sons repeatedly shouting “There goes a mermaid” as Suhay’s husband, Robert, a designer at the newspaper drove the family around Norfolk to look at the sculptures. Fascinated by the mermaids, the boys peppered Suhay with questions about them.

“We spent the rest of those nine days (after the hurricane) with a yellow legal pad and a Coleman lantern at night, trying to figure what the mermaids are doing here, what they do for a living, etc.,” says Suhay, author of “Dream Catchers” and other children’s books.

“There Goes a Mermaid!” explains that the sculptures are more than artworks; they are the mermaids’ city apartments. The pipes that connect the sculptures to their bases lead to the river and to the sea.

The book includes a “Mermaid Spotting Map” for downtown Norfolk that marks the locations of 17 mermaids at prominent locations. Suhay also was involved in creating a city walking trail around some of the mermaids that is popular with tourists as well as locals.

“The thing about the mermaids that amazes me is that it’s completely across the boards, from my 2 1/2 year-old son to my 75-year-old mother,” Suhay said. “There’s this kind of gentle fascination with mermaids. There’s this sort of floating feeling of grace with them. If you don’t have it, you want to touch it and have it in your life.”

Lisa Suhay, author of the children's book There

Yellow Jack

For a follow-up book, Suhay wrote “The Mermaids and Yellow Jack: A NorFolktale,” which was published in paperback this August, with illustrations by artist Joan O’Brien. Sales totals were not available yet.

The book is based on the true story of the yellow fever epidemic that swept through Norfolk and Portsmouth about 150 years ago, killing 2,000. Nuns from the order of the Daughters of Charity went from house to house to care for the sick, laying the groundwork for what today is Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk. The hospital sponsored the book, published in conjunction with the hospital’s 150th anniversary. Profits will go to patient care at the hospital, with the author receiving no royalties. The book is being sold nationally.

In the story, a girl’s tears falling into the water at a pier summon a mermaid from the healing sea gardens of France to Norfolk to help the city fight yellow fever, which sailors dubbed “Yellow Jack.” That mermaid calls additional “nursemermaids” to town to comfort the “heads and hearts of the sick.”

“My stumbling block was, I didn’t want to be irresponsible and have children think you can cure people magically,” Suhay said. So, as happened in history, the yellow fever epidemic ends in the book when the weather turns cold.

Town motto

The mythical sirens of the sea began making a real splash in Norfolk in 1998, when officials wanted to find a logo that would evoke the city’s connection to the water, sailors and seagoing merchants. The city, home to the world’s largest naval base, adopted a mermaid with outstretched arms and long, wavy hair as its official symbol along with the motto: “Life. Celebrated Daily.”

In 2000, Norfolk started a public art project, “Mermaids on Parade,” to raise money for local arts groups and nonprofit organizations. Artists and hobbyists decorated fiberglass mermaids, 10 feet long from tip to tail, modeled after the logo, to be sold at auction.

Each mermaid is different. They’re adorned with flowers, marine life, ships and stars, or they’re made up to look like bakers, sailors and wild animals.

While similar art projects in other cities – such as cows in Chicago in 1999 – have come and gone, Norfolk’s sculptures have remained on the streets for years, becoming a symbol of civic pride.

“Back in 2000, we never thought the mermaids would still be out in public in 2006,” said city spokesman Bob Batcher. “The difference was, our community really embraced the mermaids as theirs. … That’s why they can’t go away.”

Raising thousands

Batcher estimated the project has raised more than $200,000, including $85,000 from auctioning off the sculptures, which are privately owned but often displayed on public property.

Suhay’s books have helped further establish the mermaids’ connection to Norfolk in the minds of residents and tourists, Batcher said.

“They’ve raised some bucks for nonprofits, but they’ve also helped to interest kids in reading, and there’s a lot of nonfinancial value that comes with that,” he said.

“And if just one little kid will refer to it as ‘The Norfolk Mermaid’ instead of ‘The Little Mermaid,’ then we’re OK.”