When I was asked to participate in the blog tour for
Call of the Sea, I jumped on the chance. How could I not when selkies and pirates were involved in the story? I had to hear more about the mastermind behind this tale, and I had the opportunity to have a, pardon the pun, Heart-to-Hart chat with Rebecca. I hope everyone enjoys the interview.
Amy: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Rebecca: I’ve always considered myself a writer, but only a serious one for about the past eighteen months. A writer is anyone who pens stories to my thinking. Now, author… it wasn’t until very recently that I felt I earned the right to call myself one.
Amy: Where do you feel most “in the zone” when you’re writing? Is there anything in particular that you need in order to feel prepared to write such as tea or coffee to drink or have music playing in the background?
Rebecca: The writing zone is such an elusive place for me. I don’t have a writing space, really. Most of Call of the Sea was written sitting on the bed next to my partner, Pete with a laptop on my thighs. I usually need to tune myself up with a little mood music before I sit down to write. What I listen to depends on what I’m going to be writing that particular day.
Amy: What initially inspired you to write Call of the Sea?
Rebecca: Aside from my personal obsession with all things pirate, I felt there was a distinct lack of gender twisting pirate tales out there. Why were the really cool, kick-ass pirate characters all men? Then I thought, if I can twist up the typical female role, why not the male one, too? And, well, here we are.
Amy: Was there a playlist of songs that you listened to while writing Call of the Sea? If not, is there one song that you feel would best represent Call of the Sea?
Rebecca: I listened to a lot of the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack while writing Call of the Sea. There were some more contemporary artists in the mix, but that made up about 80% of my playlist.
Amy: With the multitude of creatures available to authors, vampires, werewolves, fairies, and mermaids seem to be the most commonly used supernatural creatures in books. Why did you choose selkies to be your paranormal element?
Rebecca: One major reason was the lack of stories featuring selkies in the paranormal stories out there. The few I do know of feature female selkies, and not male ones. I knew they existed, and felt they could use a little spotlight time. The myth surrounding the selkie also isn’t as well know of that as say a vampire or a werewolf, so it left more room for me to tweak and twist the myths to suit the story.
Amy: What do you do when you’re not writing?
Rebecca: Working, working, some more working. If that doesn’t keep me busy enough, I have two daughters at home and (according to him) “a needy” boyfriend to keep me occupied. For fun I play softball in a women’s league two nights a week, and I also recently started working as the Social Media Manager for the publisher of Call of the Sea, Inkspell Publishing.
Amy: What advice can you offer aspiring writers?
Rebecca: I feel so cliché even saying this, but, believe in yourself. Never be afraid to write down the stories rumbling around in your brain. You may be amazed by how many are genuinely interested in reading them when you’re done.
Amy: Thank you so much for visiting and answering my questions, Rebecca!
About Rebecca Hart
Rebecca Hart is a single parent, full time IT geek, and reformed gaming addict living in Upstate NY. When not at the office with her nose buried in a laptop trying to fix it, she can be found at home with her nose buried in a laptop, writing instead. Her debut novel, a Paranormal Romance titled CALL OF THE SEA, will be published by Inkspell Publishing with a release date of June 21, 2012, giving Rebecca one more reason to look forward to summer. Rebecca’s short stories have been featured in anthologies published by Pill Hill Press, Wicked East Press and DFE Quarterly (erotica). She enjoys hearing and interacting with her readers.
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About Call of the Sea
Call of the Sea will be on sale 30% off from June 21st through June 30th from Inkspell!
Elysandra Winters has always yearned for a life of adventure on the rolling seas and is willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill her dream. When her Privateer father continually refuses to allow his only daughter to sail, Ellie defies him, disguises herself as a boy, and goes in search of a captain who will give her a chance to prove her worth.
Thanks to the cursed Selkie blood coursing through his veins, Daniel O'Rourke needs the sea to survive. After giving up on his humanity and spending three years in seal form, he decides to give his human side another chance. Daniel goes in search of a job and a sense of normalcy, earning himself a position aboard Captain Winter’s ship, The Siren's Call. However, his new captain’s first assignment has nothing at all to do with sailing, and everything to do with his headstrong young daughter.
Years later, when the leader of a band of bloodthirsty pirates murders Captain Winters, Daniel and Elysandra’s lives come crashing back together with the force of a hurricane. Both experts in deception, they must find a way to trust each other in order to quell the raging storm between them or have any hope of hunting down the captain’s killer.
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