Sealing the Selkie Deal

Seal the Deal available HERE

Seal the Deal is my first step into not only the selkie world, but also it’s my first ever shifter story.

My biggest concern going into this story was that I’d never be able to get the attention to shifter detail just right. I spent weeks cooing and awing at seal You Tube clips, and studying up on Port St. Mary where the story is set.  I took long walks along the coastline with a tour guide on You Tube, and took virtual drives thanks to Google Maps. While it’s true I’ve never stepped foot on any of the British Isles, thanks to all the wonderful people who have taken the time to upload videos of their home town, I feel as if I have. From how to talk Manx to weather updates and fishing talks, I have never been so well studied in a story before, nor so engaged. From start to finish, I lived for my selkies and the little community I had created on Port St. Mary.

I’m working on book two now, and already feel as if I’m right back in Port St. Mary.

When a shifter book works, for me, it’s always  been because the author created characters who are one hundred percent human, but  embodied the characteristics of their animal spirit.

So how about I give you a little taste of Seal the Deal with a scene from the opening chapter.

Soft cotton towels against his whiskers, the warm touch of the sun on his shoulders as he worked the farm, tasty homemade soup tangy on his tongue. Soft flesh of a woman beneath him. Oh, to be admired for his manliness rather than his cutesy seal features and bubble-blowing talents. Fragmented recollections of the little things were all that had survived years of watching the shoreline.

Tensing, he pulled his attention to how much he needed legs again. Long legs. Long, running legs. Resting legs…. And feet! Oh, to walk again.

Shivers wracked his body, flippers quaking hard, fast. Sharp stabbing pain seared him, pins and needles prickling every inch. Darkness closed around him. His tensed muscles turned to mush, and his pounding heart eased. And then, nothing but darkness.

Black-and-clear vision returned, but blurred. A seagull squawked above. Focusing on the bird in flight, Finn’s sight sharpened and colorized.

He rubbed his eyes.

The pads of his fingers were hard against his skin. Fingers? He sat, willing digits and toes to wiggle. Blinking, he pinched his soft, warm cheeks. Pulling at the skin, he stretched his mouth into a wide smile and clamped his fingers between his sharp teeth. Ouch. Had the plan really worked? Was he staring at limbs? Were they really a part of him? Was he human again? To be sure his mind wasn’t playing tricks, he dragged his feet along the wet sand and waved an arm. Fantastic. Then he kicked the air. Delighted with the certainty, laughter roared from deep within.

No time for celebrations. To make his reprieve from the ocean stick, Finn had to find his soul mate. Fast. His father had promised to be ready for this night. God, he prayed he would be. Finn believed in his father’s convictions—he always came through on promises.

The February air bit his naked bottom and sent shudders racing through him. Covering his groin with his shed sealskin—in case he crossed paths with ramblers or fishermen, both of whom frequented the area—he hopped from one rock to the next, navigating the beach. He then raced through the overgrown meadows, focused on each foot landing on ground, the damp, rich green grass poking between his toes, tickling them. Determination fired him up. Alive with an electric buzz he had never experienced before, he ran. And ran.

 "Another magical read from JoAnne Kenrick. Passion, thrills, and romance, this book has it all. A must read!" ~ USA Today Bestselling Author, Marie Harte.

Find all buylinks here: http://www.joannekenrick.com/2013/08/selkie-romance-pnr.html

After being ditched at the altar, Finn Kneale isolates himself at Port St. Mary’s magnificent lighthouse. A violent storm ravishes the coastline, pitching the maritime tower into the Irish sea and transforming Finn into a seal. Carefree at first, he soon longs to walk as a man again. When leap year arrives, bathing land and sea in magic, Finn temporarily regains his human form. If he can’t find his soul mate in twenty-four hours, he’ll be back to cavorting among the waves.

Anne Ward—resident midwife and newcomer to Port St. Mary, Isle of Man—guards some wild secrets of her own while avoiding entanglements with married doctors. A believer in fate, she seeks out

Madame Eve’s exclusive agency to help find her destined mate. 1Night Stand matches these two lonely souls. But will their extraordinary date allow Finn and Anne to open their hearts to magical possibilities and Seal the Deal?

"JoAnne Kenrick transports her readers to that land between myth and reality where romance is all the magic you need. Don't miss your chance to visit!" ~ Heather Long, bestselling author of the Always a Marine series.

"Ms. Kenrick created a magical, romantic, and sexy world with vivid details that pull you in and make you beg for more. Seal the Deal is a wonderful, steamy addition to the 1Night Stand series and a must read." ~ Bestselling romance author, Lia Davis.

How to Become a Werewolf...

...according to folkore in the middle ages, of course ;) You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?

By Mina Carter

I write wolves a lot, so over the years I’ve done a lot, believe me a LOT of research on them and the mythology that surrounds them. Some of the most fascinating are the instructions for becoming a werewolf. Yeah, there’s the obvious being bitten by one, but that tends to cast you in the role of victim. What about those who intentional seek to become a werewolf (without the obvious becoming lunch part of the whole deal?)

There are various methods in folklore, from the simple to the ridiculously complicated (like me trying to read a cookery book). The simplist method is

Buy Wolf Bond HERE

the removal of clothing and putting on a belt made of wolfskin, although no mention is made of how you would go about obtaining such a belt. I mean, I’m pretty sure the wolf in question wouldn’t be too pleased about that. In other cases the body is rubbed with a magical salve, and in certain areas of Europe it was said you could become a werewolf by sleeping outside on a certain wednesday or friday night in the summer with the full moon shining on your face. Another tale suggests drinking water from a wolf’s paw-print. Again, seems a little risky to me if there are wolves in the area, although another tale seems to suggest that being born on certain days such as Christmas day, or a full moon was the trick. The most common way to become a werewolf though, appears to be through a curse so apparently just annoying the wrong person could get you a furry problem every month.

The werewolves in the Lyric Hounds series are mainly born werewolves. In their world, the trait is passed down through the family, like eye colour and hair colour. Not all those born to a werewolf family will be a werewolf, they’re what is known as a potential. Saxon, the heroine in Wolf-Bond, is one such potential, her wolf dormant until a death comes a’knocking, then the wolf comes out to play...

Wolf-Bond (Lyric Hounds 2)

Barrett Simmons, head of security for the famous rock band, Lyric Hounds, has managed to avoid the band members’ less-than-subtle matchmaking attempts. Since the woman he loved was killed in action, his heart has been as dry and dusty as the sands she fell on. He doesn’t want to date, in fact he can’t think of anything worse. But he didn’t count on his sister, Melody, making a call to Madame Eve....

A car crash to two years ago left werewolf Saxon Reeves with amnesia and nightmares—but the nightmares aren’t of the crash. Instead she dreams of a soldier. A human soldier she can’t get out of her head. When her family pushes her to mate with a wolf from a neighboring pack, she decides on to take one night, just for herself, and contacts 1Night Stand.

The last thing she expects when she walks through the door is to come face to face with her soldier....

Knock knock.

He froze at the soft sound, index finger poised over the screen. Shit, she’s here. He glared at the door as though it were a creature from a nightmare. Fuck, what should he do? Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and opened them again.

Okay. It didn’t matter who the woman on other side of the door turned out to be. It made no difference if she was a walking wet-dream, he couldn’t do it. He didn’t want a tall, leggy supermodel or the ultimate fantasy, he wanted small, curvy and sassy. He wanted Sax and always would.

Putting the phone back on the table, he strode across the room, his decision made. He’d let the poor girl in, explain the situation, then leave. She could have the room for the night and he’d reimburse Madame Eve whatever costs were necessary so his date wouldn’t be out of pocket. It wouldn’t be fair otherwise. She expected a night of romance and…. He cut the rest of the thought off. Not her fault he couldn’t go through with it.

Approaching the door, he paused for a second in front of it, hand flat on the smooth, cool wood. His heart ached, throbbing as a pang of longing filled him. He’d heard stories of Madame Eve’s abilities, whispered rumors of more-than-human abilities spanning time and space that she brought to bear to create a perfect match. Why couldn’t…. He sighed. Time and space, but not death itself, and the last time he checked, the Grim Reaper didn’t run a matchmaking service.

He reached for the door handle.

Time to face the music.