Monday, January 16, 2012

Giveaway and Guestpost of The Lure of Shapinsay


Hello my Lovies!! Today I have Krista Holle Guest Posting on my blog about Conflict. Yep, the stuff that makes readers want to throw the book or snuggle it close. I've thrown quite a few in my day..only to pick it back up because as disgusted as I was, I HAD to know what happened next!!! LOL...Be sure to fill out the rafflecopter below for your chance to win an ecopy of the book and a T-shirt!! Take it away Krista!!


Conflict—Sweet—Conflict

Every romance needs conflict and each source of woe is as delicious as the next. There’s the love triangle, the long distance relationship, the unrequited love, and the clash of clans like Romeo and Juliet. What I’d like the reader to consider is a little love story with almost insurmountable odds. It’s called The Lure of Shapinsay and the year is 1848. His name is Eamon and he’s a very naughty selkie from the sea; Kait’s a land dweller with a razor sharp tongue. The attraction may be powerful, but even the ancient Norse gods frown on this relationship caught in the crossfire somewhere between heaven and hell.
There’s a reason why almost all of the selkie legends are romantic tragedies. For those of you who aren’t familiar with these mythical creatures, selkies are beautiful men and women who live as seals in the sea, but occasionally shed their skin to come onto land. 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 beautiful 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 presents the skin to his mother who quickly escapes back to the sea leaving a stunned family behind.
Selkie males are a wonderful inspiration for conflict. Traditionally the males were blamed for nearly every drowning on the Orkney Islands, the setting for The Lure of Shapinsay. For hundreds of years they’ve crept silently on land to seduce women before luring them to their deaths deep beneath the sea. It’s no wonder that Kait risks more than a broken heart when she first lays eyes on Eamon’s pearly white body—she risks her life. It’s because of his siren like lure, that Kait would gladly follow him under the waves and end her life. Eamon struggles with his own demons and would just as soon kill Kait for simply being a land dweller. But even before their first sumptuous kiss, these two understand they are meant to be together despite the very habitats that tear them apart. The Lure of Shapinsay is the story of two simple souls who shouldn’t be together. If staying together is an adventure, then staying alive will be a miracle.
That's a pretty accurate description. Let's take a look at the book:


Ever since Kait Swanney 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?





Teaser Excerpt:

A hand slid over my mouth and stifled my scream before I was even fully awake. When my eyes sprung open, I was ready to be filled with the image of a most ghastly villain, but instead it was forewarned magick that filled my eyes, and I was filled with awe. A man in the lightest sense of the word, loomed over me with eyes so wide and feral, I thought he might howl to the moon. His words came out rough and breathy. “If you make a sound, I’ll snap your scrawny neck.”


For your chance to win a prize pack which includes a T-shirt and e-copy of the book, fill out the rafflecopter below!!!  The T-shirt looks like this:



a Rafflecopter giveaway







18 comments:

Christy said...

I have quit reading books, because they got boring. I didn't try to read them again. Last one like this was Prisoner of the Flames by Dawn MacTavish. I wanted to say that is a beautiful story about the selkie you told. christina_92 at yahoo.com

Sandy said...

This sounds like a great book to read! Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

sandy(dot)wolters(at)q(dot)com

In Julie's Opinion said...

I know that I have done this before but I can't think of a single book at the moment! I've actually loved every book I've read lately - they've all been "can't put it down" as opposed to "throw it against the wall then go get it again" books! Loved the post :D

Denise Z said...

Last summer I was tasked with writing a review for a blog. It was my first effort in this type of forum and I had to choose a book from a list of pending reviews. I those The Necromancer's Apprentice by R.M. Prioleau as it sounded like it would be something I would really enjoy. I started reading and for me it was just too descriptive and I was really having a hard time. I put the book down and looked up the author and tired to find out a little more. I found that the author was also a game designer and artist and this was her first book, which made the the light-bulb turn on and the writing style made so much more sense. I picked it up again because I had to, I had committed myself to doing a review and I was really glad I did. By the end of the book I had to know what was going to happen and how and I no longer saw the things that initially annoyed me. I would have really missed out on a very interesting read had I not finished this book:) You are now presenting me with a new intriguing title and I am looking forward to reading more.

Anonymous said...

I have thrown a book before but I do not remember the title. I remember it was a romance book and the heroine was exasperating in her stupidity but i did eventually pick it back up.

Thanks for the giveaway!
Rachel V

Shadow said...

i know that ive thrown books, put them down and stopped reading them but at the moment i cant think of a book that ive done that to lately. there have been a few that ive picked back up just to see what happened with the ending. thank you!
shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

msmjb65 said...

This looks like a great read and the T-shirt is super cute! Thanks the giveaway.
MJB
msmjb65 AT gmail DOT com

msmjb65 said...

Sorry. Didn't do the blog comment on the rafflecopter until after I wrote my previos comment. So, if I stop reading a book because I don't like or it's boring or too annoying for words, I will not pick it back up. Usually, I will delete from my nook or whatever program I am reading it through. That said, I most often muslce my way through the most tragically written books and all I get is more annoyed as it goes on. I have to stop torturing myself and just dum it!
Thanks again,
MJB
msmjb65 AT gmail DOT com

Angelia said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Angelia said...

thankyou for the giveaway, i recently read halfblood and i wanted to put it down because it was very similar to another book i read but i kept reading to see if the ending was different.

i_love_pups8@hotmail.com

Barbara said...

Well, I didn't throw it...but I sat it aside for a couple of days because I was so disappointed in how it was going...then came back and finished it...quickly. Charlaine Harris, Dead In The Family.

Anonymous said...

Mockingjay. I just got to mad with all the people dying, especially Finnick... so it took me a while to finally finish it.

stephanie.verhaegen@hotmail.com

blanshire said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
blanshire said...

Its my first time hearing about this Selkies. The Selkie women reminds me of celestial maidens who came down from the earth with there celestial robes, fishermen would hide them so the celestial maidens could never go back from the heavens.


Also about the question, The Socieity of S, is a book I would literary put down, because I find it very boring, but I was curiuos on who she really is and where did her father gone to.

Helen said...

I usually read my books all the way through. I am OCD and never put down a book until I finish it.

Emma said...

Haha, I had that with deadline - Mira Grant. There was a part in the book where I was like: NO! NO! This is not happening! AAAAH. And I threw it aside, took a shower, made some food and then started reading again! lol

Great giveaway!

Unknown said...

Adam, by Jacquelyn Frank--because I totally hated the "situation" in the world she built (trying to keep it non-spoiler here). I hated the first 90 pages of the book, but I HAD to see what happened!! lol

elizabeth @ bookattict . com

roro said...

wake by lisa mcmann

it was boring and annoying

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