Welcome to the Next Big Thing Blog Hop! What a wonderful way to learn about what writers are up to. Please be sure to check out my fellow Next Big Thing bloggers: Rhys Ford, Anne Barwell, E.M. Lynley, Elizabeth Noble, Thea Nishimori, Michael Rupured, Lou Sylvre, Rowena Sudbury, Ana Bosch, Grace Duncan, and Tinnean.
As always, I have multiple WIPs (works in progress) I’m juggling. I thought I’d tell you all about one of my favorite projects, and a bit of a change of genre for me. Stealing the Wind is a gay romance, but instead of my usual contemporary, it’s a fantasy/paranormal novel, the first of at least two in a series of stories about pirate shifters. So, here goes with the Q&A:
What is the working title of your book?
The title is based upon an old maritime expression, “Stealing the Wind.” When two sailing ships were engaged in battle, the attacking ship would try to get upwind of the enemy vessel and spread its sails out full, literally stealing all the wind and leaving the enemy “dead in the water.” The attacking ship could then ram the enemy, cutting it in half and sinking it.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
My husband is an avid sailor and we have a 35′ catamaran at the North Carolina coast we sail on regularly. Being out on the water, and being in North Carolina, where there are numerous shipwrecks (NC used to be a haven for pirates), my imagination kept taking me back to the heyday of pirates. I also love merfolk lore, so I got the idea for a story about pirates and shifters who can transform into merfolk.
What genre does your book fall under?
Stealing the Wind is sort of a hybrid paranormal/fantasy story that blends elements of merfolk lore, pirate lore, and magic. Oh, and of course, it’s a romance, first and foremost!
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?
There are two main characters, Eoin Dunaidh, the captain of the Phantom (the pirate shifters’ fastest ship), and Taren of Laxley, a former indentured servant/slave who is rescued by Eoin’s ship after he is lost at sea. For Eoin, I could see Viggo Mortensen. For Taren, someone a bit younger, like Kevin Zeggers. Yum!
What is a one sentence synopsis of your book?
Former slave is lost at sea and saved by mermen, then finds out he is a merman, too.
Will your book be self published or represented by an agency?How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? What other books would you compare this story to within your genre.
I’ll be submitting Stealing the Wind to Dreamspinner Press (I hope they’ll take it). The manuscript isn’t quite finished yet, but it will probably take me a total of four months from start to when I submit it in March of this year. I’m not sure what this story compares to, honestly. It’s a bit along the lines of Rachel Haimowitz’s fantasy book, Counterpoint and its sequel, but the subject matter is completely different. I was definitely inspired by the writings of Marion Zimmer Bradley in writing this one–she loved to write romantic stories with adventure and world-building.
Who or What inspired you to write this book?
My overactive imagination and our time on our boat! And I’ve always love merfolk lore and shifter stories–it seemed like a great mix.
What else about your book might interest the reader?
Stealing the Wind is a bit sexier (smuttier?) than my other books. It starts out with a menage, although the HEA/main pairing is strictly a couple. Taren is kidnapped from the tavern where he works as an indentured servant (a slave, really) and taken aboard a pirate ship (these pirates are human). The captain gives him his freedom in return for three years of “servitude” that includes sharing the bed of the captain and first mate. Taren is fascinated and attracted to both men, and some very hot sex ensues! Taren grows to love both Rider and Bastian, not only as lovers, but as men. But when Taren meets Eoin several years later, it’s clear that there is something very powerful between them. I won’t tell you any more, since that would spoil it, but suffice it to say Taren and Eoin’s relationship is written in the stars.
Want to read an excerpt from Stealing the Wind? Click here!
Welcome to the Next Big Thing Blog Hop! What a wonderful way to learn about what writers are up to. Please be sure to check out my fellow Next Big Thing bloggers: Rhys Ford, Anne Barwell, E.M. Lynley, Elizabeth Noble, Thea Nishimori, Michael Rupured, Lou Sylvre, Rowena Sudbury, Ana Bosch, Grace Duncan, and Tinnean.
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