Friday, September 21, 2012

Interview & Review: The Selkie by Rosanna Leo

I'm so happy to have author Rosanna Leo her with me today! She has a NEW release called The Selkie! Let's get know Rosanna a little better.



Do you prefer...

 
Milk chocolate or Dark?  Mmm, milk. Even though it’s so bad for you.


Coffee or tea? Coffee. Tried decaf. Didn’t stick to my ribs.


Vodka or tequila? Neither. I’m a beer girl. Sleeman’s Clear or Honey Brown Ale are my faves.


Romance or a Thriller? Well, romance! Although I love a scary story too.

Mystery or Horror? Mystery. When I started writing, I thought I’d be a mystery writer, but my mind doesn’t work that way.



Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a happily-married mom of two boys from Toronto, Canada. My sons are wonderful, even though they think there are too many “male abs” on Mom’s covers! My youngest has chosen to take that as an affront. I work in my local library when not writing, and love it. Libraries are my other passion. To be surrounded by books, and to be able to write them, is a dream come true.

I’ve been writing about ten years, but my first book was published this April. I am now the happy author of 4 romances with Liquid Silver and have submitted a fifth. Oh, and number 6 is on its way!
  


Did you always want to be an author?
In a way, yes, although I didn’t always realize it. I always adored writing and researching. However, I got sidelined a bit with a classical singing career when I was younger. That was fun, but very stressful. I found I turned to writing again as a stress reliever…voila, my first novel was born from that experience.



What authors had an impact on you growing up and as an adult?
As a child, I adored books by CS Lewis. The Narnia Chronicles are my faves. As an adult, I began to turn to the works of Karen Robards, Diana Gabaldon and Suzanne Brockmann. However, there are so many I love. Kathy Love and Meg Cabot, to name a couple of others.



Did anyone in your life influence you or encouraged you to be a writer? 

Strangely enough, although I’ve always had support, no one really knew about my writing obsession. I didn’t even tell my husband when I began to scribble. For a while, it was just something for me. Then I realized that the characters in my head needed a greater outlet. The stories had to be told, so I began submitting. Since then, I’ve had nothing but support. Even the librarians at my work cheer me on!


What is your writing atmosphere like?

It’s the spare bedroom, actually. My desk and laptop are set up there. I’m surrounded by reference materials and lots of papers. Oh, and my cat Sweetie comes to sit with me during the day when I write. She curls up in the sun and keeps one eye on me.



What is your favorite aspect or writing? Your Least Favorite?

My fave aspect is when you hit that moment when you know your story is clicking. There’s nothing like it. I hate getting writer’s block, so when everything becomes clear, it’s such a wonderful release. I guess the worst part is not having enough time to write. I’d love to sit there all day long and scribble, but life gets in the way sometimes! J

Your current book your promoting is:

The Selkie. This is a paranormal romance set in Orkney, Scotland. Here is the blurb:

This was supposed to be her year. However, after losing her job and discovering her fiancé cheating, Maggie Collins has her doubts. When her grandmother dies, she hits rock bottom. Maggie travels to her grandmother’s home in Orkney, Scotland to sort through her gran’s things, only to discover the old woman has left her a seal pelt as her inheritance. She also learns that others are after the pelt.

To add to her frustration, Maggie’s dreams are filled with luscious images of a long-haired man, images that draw her to the magical beaches in Orkney. Although she’s lost her trust in men, this dream man inspires her with a lust she’s never known before.

Calan Kirk has also been dreaming. Dreaming of Maggie, the mortal woman who arouses him as no other woman ever has. Meeting her in the flesh when she arrives in Orkney is nothing short of spontaneous sexual combustion. But she is a human, and not to be trusted. He needs the seal pelt, not a red-haired temptress.

As a thief ransacks Maggie’s grandmother’s house, Maggie and Calan are thrust together. They must search for the animal skin, a mythical relic which once found, will either bring them together or rip them apart forever.




How did you come up with the your story line?

I do a lot of reading about mythology and had come upon the selkie myth some time ago. I loved how evocative it was, and how sad it can be. Selkie love affairs are destined to end badly, for the selkie will always want to return to the sea, leaving a devastated lover behind. This is how all the myths end. I wanted to play with the legend a little bit, and see if I could make it my own.


How do you choose your characters names?

LOL! I have a notebook, one I’ve kept for years. Every time I hear a name that rings well with me, I jot it down. Whenever I create a character, I go to this notebook and see if one stands out. I don’t tend to choose names based on traits (i.e. Mr. Storm), but I do keep characteristics in mind. Mostly, I choose a name that helps me paint the picture best. And I am conscious of picking names that sound good together. For example, I would never name a hero Andy and then call his heroine Ann.


The Selkie ~


This was supposed to be her year. However, after losing her job and discovering her fiancé cheating, Maggie Collins has her doubts. When her grandmother dies, she hits rock bottom. Maggie travels to her grandmother’s home in Orkney, Scotland to sort through her gran’s things, only to discover the old woman has left her a seal pelt as her inheritance. She also learns that others are after the pelt.

To add to her frustration, Maggie’s dreams are filled with luscious images of a long-haired man, images that draw her to the magical beaches in Orkney. Although she’s lost her trust in men, this dream man inspires her with a lust she’s never known before.

Calan Kirk has also been dreaming. Dreaming of Maggie, the mortal woman who arouses him as no other woman ever has. Meeting her in the flesh when she arrives in Orkney is nothing short of spontaneous sexual combustion. But she is a human, and not to be trusted. He needs the seal pelt, not a red-haired temptress.

As a thief ransacks Maggie’s grandmother’s house, Maggie and Calan are thrust together. They must search for the animal skin, a mythical relic which once found, will either bring them together or rip them apart forever.

Excerpt:
She was attempting to stand on her wobbly legs, only to fall back down on her bottom, when she heard the sound of splashing water. Thinking it was her seal, Maggie turned to look.

Her breath caught in her throat. It wasn’t the animal at all.

It was a man. He was rising out of the waves, walking toward her. She froze. He was nude, utterly nude, and was staring at her with overflowing intimacy. As if they’d had, God help her, relations.

And she realized, with sudden panic, they’d had! In her dreams. He was the seal-man from all her sex dreams.

No. Impossible.

Her first instinct was to call for help, but there was no one near. And then she realized with frightening awareness that she didn’t want any help anyway. Glued to her spot, she couldn’t help but drink him in.

He was beautiful, if unnervingly wet and naked. He had long, shiny, brown hair that hung down past his shoulders. His face could have belonged on an ad for expensive cologne, and he had a body to match. Sculpted shoulders gave way to arms corded in muscle. His defined chest was blanketed by a smattering of sparse, brown hair that led tantalizingly to his rock-hard abs.

Maggie held her breath as her gaze traveled lower on his body, taking in trim calves and thighs a quarterback would envy. And, she noted with simultaneous hunger and horror, his penis was the biggest she’d ever had the pleasure of seeing. It was thick and long and glistening with the droplets of water that yet cascaded over his body. And it seemed to be reaching for her. She gulped, and forced herself to look back up at his face.

There was a faint glow about his skin, a shimmery aura. Dismissing it as a trick of the moonlight, she shook her head.

He was almost upon her, and his full lips were taut in a teasing grin. Maybe he was a surfer who’d lost not only his board, but his shorts in the waves. She knew she should be frantic, but wasn’t. There was something in his brown eyes that was so familiar, so soothing, even as they swept over her own body with lustful appreciation.

He stopped in front of her, and stood boldly, unashamed of his glorious nakedness. She managed to spit out one hushed word. “You.”

“You,” was his equally awed reply.

Buy Links:   Liquid Silver   Amazon   ARe



Author Bio:

Rosanna Leo has her degree in history and literature, as well as in classical singing. She currently resides in Toronto, Canada. Her favorite things are her family, libraries, and her mother's gnocchi. Rosanna loves it when the geeky, awkward girl gets the hot guy, and has made it her mission to see this happen in her books as much as possible.

Links:   Facebook  Site   Goodreads 




~My Review~

Those of you who know me or follow my on Facebook you know that have a fascination with all thing Selkie. For those of you who don't know what a Selkie is, it's a seal shifter. I fell upon a book about 6 months ago and have sought out Selkie books since. 

On Facebook when I say that Miss Leo had one coming out I was counting down the days until I could dive into it!

The Selkie is an AMAZING story. How can you not love a hot, wet, sexually driven man! The Selkie is the first book I've read by this author and trust me I'll be checking out her other ones!

Miss Leo spins a heartbreaking tale of a young woman. Maggie's life has not been easy and now she has to go to Scotland because her gran's life is failing. After the memorial service her life takes a turn when she meets a mysterious man, one that she's been dreaming about shows up on the beach... wet and naked!

Maggie's life spins guickly out of control when she comes to terms with her feelings and what Calan Kirk really is.

This is a must read!


I give The Selkie 5 out of 5 StarFish!





  


7 comments:

  1. Tamarian, thank you very much for your review and your support. It means the world to me! Especially coming from such a talented writer! :)

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  2. OMG...I put in an extra "n" in your name...such fat fingers! Sorry!

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  3. Awesome review. I'm excited to read my copy.

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    1. Thanks very much, my dear Brenda! I am so pleased to have your support and hope you love it. You're wonderful!

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  4. I enjoyed this interview. I was a bit hesitant, seeing a naked man and a paranormal title on the cover, so reluctantly I came here to support a fellow author, but without much hope. I found the excerpt compelling, though, and extremely hot! I look at these things through the androgynous eyes of a writer, so the fact that your selkie hypnotised Maggie felt real to me. I have been hypnotized by a woman before, so I know the feeling!

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    1. Thanks so much Aquablogger! I really appreciate you taking a moment to check out something that was new to you! So glad you enjoyed the excerpt!

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