Interview with Rebecca Hart

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.
Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Inkspell

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.

Blog Tour Schedule

June 7 - The Book CellarX
June 8 - Through the Looking Glass
June 9 - Terri Rochenski
June 11 - Starting the Next Chapter
June 12 - Seeing Night Reviews
June 13 - Rai29 BookReadNReview
June 14 - Bookaroo-ju-Review
June 15 - Dreaming in Books
June 17 - DJ Librarian Dishes
June 18 - Jeanz BookReadNReview
June 19 - Pages of Forbidden Love
June 20 - BookBratz
June 21 - RELEASE DAY! - BookshelfBanter
June 22 - Romance Novel News
June 23 - Alluring Reads
June 24 - BookLove101
June 25 - BlookGirl
June 26 - The Book Vortex
June 27 - Bitten by Paranormal Romance
June 28 - Night Owl Reviews

ARC Review: Call of the Sea by Rebecca Hart + Giveaway

Title:  Call of the Sea
Author:  Rebecca Hart
Pages:  278
Genre:  Fantasy
Publisher:  Inkspell Publishing
Obtained:  From Publicist for Blog Tour
Summary:  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 Winters' 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 if they are to have any hope of hunting down the captain's killer.

The Dish:  All Elysandra Winters desires to do is to sail the seas aboard her father's ship, The Siren's Call. The sea is in her blood and even as a child, Ellie can hear it calling to her. However, her father has other plans for his fiery daughter when he hires young Daniel O'Rourke as the new cabin boy to serve on The Siren's Call. When Ellie doesn't take this news well, Captain Winters gives a new task to Daniel which in turn further entwines the paths of his daughter and his new cabin boy over the next ten years.

Ellie is one of the most headstrong and stubborn heroines I have had the opportunity to find in a debut title. She knows what she wants and she's willing to do what it takes in order to get what she wants, even if it means disobeying her father. I admire Ellie for that trait, yet it's also a bit worrisome that it will make her blunder into danger. This is actually why she has someone like Daniel to help look after her, especially since he is nearly as stubborn as her. I was smitten with Daniel right from his introduction until the very last page from his loyalty to Captain Winters to his growing fondness of Ellie. So what if he has to change into a seal one month out of the year? These two were definitely made for each other even with Ellie's initial reservations while she was so focused on her own goals rather than looking at the overall picture.

I haven't read much in the way of selkie folklore, and I'm happy to say that Rebecca Hart's is the first novel I've read featuring selkies as the supernatural element. Hart's descriptions of Daniel's various transformations either from seal to human or from human to seal were rather detailed, and I found myself almost cringing with the cracking of bones. It added a sense of realism to the selkie's transformation that goes beyond just magically changing into another form. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more novels that feature selkies.

While the first part of the story is a bit slow, the pace picks up as soon as Ellie makes a break for the sea, soon sending her father and Daniel in search of her. Readers who enjoy a high-seas adventure story with supernatural and romantic elements won't be disappointed with Call of the Sea.

***Giveaway***

In celebration of the release date, I'm giving away a signed copy of Call of the Sea courtesy of the publicist. The giveaway will run until the official release date on June 21st, so good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stacking the Shelves (4)

We are all book lovers and the need to share our enthusiasm is sometimes overwhelming. Stacking the Shelves, created and hosted at Tynga's Reviews, is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course ebooks!

Call of the Sea ARC by Rebecca Hart (From Publisher for Blog Tour, thank you Kelly!)

The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegan (Interlibrary Loan FTW)
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (Library)

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg (Library)

What did you stack your shelves with this week? ^_^