Please welcome Naomi Clark to the M&M blog to talk about her new Evernight release, The Sea Wife!
It's probably no secret that I love shapeshifters, but normally I stick with werewolves. What can I say, I'm a traditionalist when it comes to these things! For THE SEA WIFE though, I branched out. It's impossible to be a fan of folklore and mythology and not know about selkies. There are loads of different stories surrounding these seal shifters, but I think probably the best-known is the idea that, if a man steals a seal-woman's skin, she's trapped and forced to become his wife. It's a sad story, but then, romantic tragedy seems to be a key element of selkie lore.
In THE SEA WIFE, I
wanted to play on that element, but hopefully you won't find Charley and
Nessa's story too sad! I like a little hope and happiness in my love stories
after all!
THE SEA WIFE
Charley and Nessa are
from two different worlds. Nessa is a selkie and Charley is all too human. When
selkies and humans fall in love, tragedy can follow. For Charley and Nessa,
that never seems to matter when they're together. But when Nessa's seal skin is
stolen, the lovers uncover all the reasons humans and selkies should stay in
their separate worlds.
EXCERPT
In seconds, Nessa was up on the ledge beside her, and Charley pulled her
into her arms to kiss her fiercely. Nessa tasted of sea spray and sunlight, her
long dark hair smelt of sea lavender, and her body fit perfectly against
Charley’s, just as it always had. Now Charley was truly home.
They
didn’t need words to greet each other, not really. They’d been meeting in this
cave since Charley was fifteen. They’d been kissing since she was sixteen.
Nessa slid her hands into Charley’s hair, freeing the messy red waves from the
loose knot she’d tied them in. Nessa’s fingers trailed down Charley’s throat as
they kissed, then down to grab the hem of Charley’s t-shirt. They broke the
kiss briefly so Nessa could pull the t-shirt off and toss it aside. She fumbled
with Charley’s bra, as she always did, and Charley giggled, as she always did,
and slipped it off for Nessa. That too, was tossed away carelessly.
Charley
skimmed her hands down Nessa’s bare back, relishing the little shivers she
caused. She pushed away Nessa’s heavy locks and kissed the curve of her neck,
licking drops of seawater from her skin while Nessa cupped Charley’s breasts
and ran her fingers round her nipples. Charley sighed, burying her face in
Nessa’s hair and soaking up her light, delicate touches. They’d been apart too
long and she needed Nessa with an urgency that wouldn’t settle for light or
delicate. She slid her arms round Nessa’s waist and pushed her to the blanket.
She stood quickly, hopping like an idiot to kick her jeans off, and Nessa
watched her with barely-contained laughter.
“If
you just didn’t bother with clothes at all…”
“I’d
be arrested for public indecency and you’d never see me again.” Charley dropped
to her knees beside Nessa, trailing her fingers over Nessa’s stomach and down
between her legs.
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About the Author
Naomi likes writing, perfume,
fancy tea, and unfathomable monsters from the dark spaces between the stars,
not necessarily in that order. She has been writing stories ever since she
learned how to write, but is still trying to master the art of biography
writing. When she's not dealing with werewolves, demons, or sea monsters, she's
hanging out with her cat and probably watching a documentary about Bigfoot. If
the cat isn't available, she's with her fiancé watching cookery shows and
silently plotting her next book.
Find me online:
