Interview + Guest Post with Krista Holle, the author of The Lure Of Shapinsay (+GIVEAWAY)

I'm joined today by Krista Holle, the author of the paranormal romance novel, The Lure of Shapinsay. She is here with us to talk about her book, her passion for writing and some of her favorite Valentine's-Day-related stuff! Enjoy the interview, the  fantastic guest post (explaining the mythology behind her book), and don't forget to enter to WIN a copy of the book + a cool T-Shirt! 

The Lure of Shapinsay

ebook, 260 pages

Published December 16th 2011 by Krista Holle

    

      Ever since KaitSwanney could remember, the old crones of the village have been warning her to stay away from the selkies. They claim that like sirens of old, the seal men creep from the inky waters, shed their skins, and entice women to their deaths beneath the North Sea. But avoiding an encounter becomes impossible when Kait is spotted at the water’s edge, moments after the murder of a half-selkie infant. 

     Kait is woken unexpectedly by a beautiful, naked selkie man seeking revenge. After she declares her innocence, the intruder darts into the night, but not before inadvertently bewitching her with an overpowering lure. 

      She obsesses over a reunion deep beneath the bay and risks her own life to be reunited with her selkie. But when she lands the dangerous lover, the chaos that follows leaves Kait little time to wonder—is it love setting her on fire or has she simply been lured?

About the author: 

Krista has been writing since she was nine-years-old when she scribbled out her first adolescent work entitled Merish, the completely illogical but heartfelt story of a girl who was part mermaid, part fish.  As a young mother, Krista added to her repertoire some middle grade readers and picture books she’s wary of mentioning. 

In 2004, Krista began an intensive four year period working part-time as a critical care nurse while homeschooling her four children.  During this hectic time, courses of writing were taught and learned,and rules of syntax were scolded to memory. Ironically this period of study equipped Krista with the tools she needed to enter the next phase of her writing experience. 

Now equipped with the mysteries of the comma, Krista was ready to tackle a much bigger project—a full-fledged novel.

After the kids were enrolled in public school in 2009, it occurred to Kristathat there is an insatiable audience of women and girls who want to read books filled with stories about true love, not just vampires.  Convinced that there was an unfulfilled audience waiting for what she love to write—romance, she sat down inthe family’s dungeon, a.k.a. the basement, and began to furiously type.  In no time, her first novel was drying on crisp white paper. 

Krista currently resides in Midlothian, Virginia with her husband, four daughters, and aneccentric cat with a weird attachment to the family’s socks.  She continues to write obsessively every chance she can get and will be releasing more books later this year.

E: Evie
KH: Krista Holle

E: Welcome to Bookish, Krista! Thank you so much for joining us for the Valentine's Day event! Can you please tell us a bit about your newly released paranormal romance, The Lure of Shapinsay?

KH: I would love to. The Lure of Shapinsay is a very unique paranormal romance because it takes place in 1848 on the tiny Scottish island of Shapinsay. But the thing that makes it most unique, is the rarely read about mythical creatures—selkies! Selkies are beautiful men and women who live their life as seals under the water, but occasionally shed their skins to come on land. The men are notorious for seducing women before luring them to their deaths deep beneath the sea. In the “Lure” you’ll meet Eamon, a criminally good looking selkie with a penchant for killing sheep. He loathes everything on land, especially humans (land loupers). It’s a pickle for Kait, the feisty blonde, who’s magically lured by the very selkie who wants her dead. She’ll do anything to win her seal man’s heart—even follow him under the sea.

E: Who or what inspired you to write it?

KH: Paranormal romance is super-hot right now, so I knew I wanted to write something in this genre. I was first introduced to selkies in 1994 with the release of the movie, The Secret of Roan Inish. Later I discovered the wonderful picture book, The Seal Prince by Sheila MacGill-Callahan. The illustrations in this book will take your breath away. These two things inspired me to do more research on these fascinating creatures! The more I found out about them, the more I loved them.

E: How would you describe your book in 5 words?

KH: Hmmmm, how about unique, sexy, mythological, sweet, epic.

E: Are any of your characters inspired by people in your own life? Which one of them would you say is the most like you?

KH: All of my characters are creations from deep within my sick cookie brain.  Kait is most like me, though.  We are both passionate about the sea; we both love to swim, and we’re both fascinated by seashells.  I have an obsessive collection of seashells from around the world.

E: Have you always wanted to be a writer? At what point in your life did you decide that writing is something you want to do?

KH: I’ve always enjoyed writing, but I knew I wanted to make a career out of it when I sent one of my young adult novels to a fifteen-year-old beta reader I’ve never met.   The young woman stayed up all night to read my book in one sitting because she couldn’t put it down.  Hearing this was the best feeling in the world.

E: If your book had a soundtrack to accompany it, what songs would be on it?

KH: I’m actually working on a book trailer now.  It’s going to have some mystical Irish/Scottish music crooning in the background.  I love the lyrics in Brandon Flowers’ (Killers) “Crossfire”.  It tells of a relationship caught between heaven and hell.  This describes Kait and Eamon’s relationship perfectly.  There’s an exquisite sweetness at being together, but the odds of this land/sea relationship working are pretty slim.  It’s agonizing at the same time.

E:  Valentine's Day is almost here! Could you share with us your three favorite romantic books?

KH:  Pride and Prejudice, Twilight, The Notebook.

E:  What's the ultimate Valentine's Day date you would like to experience?

KH: I’d spend the day with my soul mate of course—my husband Mike of twenty-years.  We’d go snorkeling in the Florida Keys then feast on crab legs and Key lime pie.  This would all take place on the seaside patio of a dilapidated restaurant painted pink.

E: Who is your favorite book couple?

KH: Bella and Edward.

E:  If you could act in any romantic movie, what would it be?

KH: I think it would be fun to trade places with Daryl Hannah in Splash and be a mermaid.

Krista, thank you so much for joining us today!  

I'm looking forward to reading your book!

I hope you guys enjoyed the interview, for more information about Krista Holle and her book, please visit her blog.


And now the fabulous guest post!

Lovers and Killers from the Deep

This author loves the seashore.  It’s evidenced by my large collection of seashells and my almost neurotic need to recharge within a rock’s throw of the Atlantic.  There’s just something so fiercely romantic about the crashing swells and the steely grey horizon.  Perhaps this draw to the beach in part explains my love of selkies, the most sensuous mythical creatures of the ocean.

But you won’t find selkies lurking in the salty waves of the Atlantic.  These fabled creatures are products of Irish and Scottish folklore.  Selkies are seal men and women who live the majority of their life under the sea as seals, but occasionally shed their skins to pose as humans on land.  The men and women are renowned for their beauty, with eyes as dark as night and skin that’s white as cream.  But don’t be fooled by these seemingly innocent shape shifters.  For hundreds of years, the selkie men have been creeping out of the cold North Sea to seduce women to their deaths deep beneath the waves.

The old Scottish legends are largely romantic tragedies because of the selkies almost magnetic draw to the sea.  Traditionally a female is captured off guard and forced to marry the brusque fisherman who’s hidden her skin.  She’s as meek as she is lovely and children soon follow in this seemingly sweet arrangement.  But it’s not a match made in heaven.  Every day the selkie bride stares across the bay, aching for her hidden skin so she can return to her one true love—the sea.   The story usually ends when her child stumbles across a silky coat hidden in the most remote of places.  The child naively presents the skin to his mother who quickly escapes into deep water. 

The males are as dangerous as they are beautiful.  The legends tell of an almost magical lure over human women.  If a girl went missing, her selkie lover had most assuredly taken her to his watery domain.  Sigh.  Land/sea relationships are more than juicy; they are the makings of a most unique paranormal romance.

The Lure of Shapinay takes place in the year 1848 on the windy Orkney island of Shapinsay.  In it you’ll meet Eamon, the criminally good looking selkie with a penchant for killing sheep.  He loathes everything on land, especially humans.  It’s more than a small problem for Kait, the feisty blonde, who’s magically lured by the very selkie who wants her dead.  She’ll do anything to win her seal man’s heart—even follow him under the sea. 

There’s something magical about a warm salty breeze and the feel of hot granular sand between my toes, but even more wonderful is the possibility of what lies beneath the ocean’s glassy surface.  The selkie folk have captivated the Scottish for hundreds of years.  It’s no wonder.  These lovers and killers of the deep are as timeless and fascinating as the sea itself.  Kait and I have something in common—we’ve both been lured.

GIVEAWAY 

Thanks to the wonderful author, we have an eCopy of The Lure of Shapinsay and a beautiful T-Shirt up for grabs! 

To be entered in the draw please leave a comment on this post! (don't forget your email!)

Open to: US/CANADA

Ends: February 25th 

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About the Author

Evie is the Blogger behind Bookish. She enjoys reading many different genres, especially YA, Paranormal, Contemporary Fiction and Fantasy.

She loves talking to authors and is always happy to welcome them for interviews, and guest posts. She also likes spreading the love for awesome books and  chatting with fellow book-worms.

You can find Evie here: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Shelfari | The Library Thing