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Photo by Nowaczyk About this photo:Mikladalur, Faroe Islands, Kalsoy – July, 2021: Kópakonann – selkies, mythological beings capable of therianthropy…
The Selkie – Shedding That Skin – A Road Not Taken
Song of the Siren, a Dragon Soul Press Anthology Just got my story Beneath the Prismed Light accepted by Dragon Soul Press! I am over the moon 🌝 …
My Story in a new anthology!!
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This Sunday on my Spotlight – Romance Writing With Sevannah Storm!
Click on A Song of the Siren below to lock in your copy.
About this photo:
Mikladalur, Faroe Islands, Kalsoy - July, 2021: Kópakonann - selkies, mythological beings capable of therianthropy, changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin. Kingdom of denmark. Europe
I’ve been doing a few more happy dances this week because the anthology Song of the Siren just went up for Pre Order. Submitting a story to a publisher for the first time was quite an experience, and to be accepted… well, for me hitting the send button was going down The Road Not Taken inspired by the poem from Robert Frost. That was the prompt this week for a writing group I belong to who blog together three months out of each year from winter solstice to the spring equinox. It’s a marvelous idea. And I’ve learned so much from these experienced bloggers, creators, podcasters, and authors.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
Robert Frost
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
The Selkie
unknown
Once I had this dream
To shed my skin
And take to the sea
To swim amongst the stars
And for a time forget
I wanted to go so far
To a place no one had seen
Where I’d slip the bonds of man
And explore an underwater Eden
Ah, but on waking I faced the truth
My choices were different than assumed
The beckoning of the sea
Was not a journey I could take so soon
This life that I have chosen
Now that you’ve enjoyed some poetry, I’ll get back to my twisty, amazing road in February and the fascination with selkies. Having finally taken formal submission step makes me feel like endless possibilities are ahead of me. That’s a great feeling when you’re nearing 60. But the best part of this heretofore scary unknown road? There are a lot of people traversing it. It’s packed! All kinds of surprises have popped up on this journey. Writings to Share has been one, the Fantasy Sci Fi Writers Alliance another, and then from groups like these, a handful of new amazing friends.
My anthology short story Beneath the Prismed Light is about a selkie and a lighthouse keeper and finding a future together in a world that seems to have lost one; and they most definitely face taking “the road less traveled”. I hope to write more stories influenced by the amazing myths and lore of the Celts. Here is a little about the mythology of the selkie, though the photo at the top says a lot. Isn’t she beautiful? Maybe shedding one’s skin is like taking that road. I thoroughly enjoy it when community themes converge with life events.
From Wilderness Ireland – What is a selkie? Also called the seal people, the sea people or the mermaid – a selkie is a marine legend that tells of people who are half fish, and half-human. In the water, they are seals, but on land, they shed their skin and take on human form. And for some reason, they are irresistible to ordinary humans, who are apt to fall in love with the seal people.
Popular on islands and rural coastal communities, the legend of selkie has endured over the age, and though less, there are still supposed sightings even in relatively modern times.
Some say that the origins of the selkie myth actually stem from Scottish and Irish ancient peoples coming into contact with Finnish and/or Sami travellers who were thought to be selkies for their use of sealskin coats and kayaks.
As they became waterlogged, the boats would start to submerge, and so the Sami traveller would be required to stop and dry their sealskin clothing and boats out before continuing onwards.
Take their “fishtails” away from them, and it’s true enough that the “selkie” cannot return to the sea. Spot a person removing their sealskin clothing and setting it down to dry on the rocks and you just might think that you’ve witnessed transformation from seal to man (or woman). This idea was proposed by a Victorian-era folklorist, but it’s still quite a tantalising concept to consider! ~
My writing friend in Scotland sent these snapshots from a vintage book he found at a charity shop in Edinburgh. Dylan and I have a lot of fun reading each other’s stories and sharing all manner of writing tips and resources, and he’s currently working on a story with a Kelpie, which is a mythological water dwelling horse.
I really need to travel to Scotland and the isles north because it is rich in the kind of lore that fascinates me the most.
Dylan says he is starting to take the idea of submitting his stories seriously now that he’s been on the journey with me, and that made this whole experience all the better.
I think I’ll summarize this piece by saying that going down the road not taken in no way has to be a lonely trip, and you never know what might happen if you’re willing to shed that old skin.
If your appetite has been whetted for more about selkies, here is a WordPress blog I found with this charming illustration and story of a Selkie Bride.
She has dreamed all her life about the man in the whitewashed tower beneath the prismed light. He suffers the bitter loneliness of being the last of his kind in a dying world and dreams of an impossible love with a mythical creature. What happens when one steps from the sea and offers not just a dream, but an astonishing solution?
Mikladalur, Faroe Islands, Kalsoy – July, 2021: Kópakonann – selkies, mythological beings capable of therianthropy, changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin. Kingdom of denmark. Europe
We’ll be chatting about the exciting relaunch of his series, A Pendale Tale. Available on Amazon!
This is so awesome; to finally have a chat with you, Sevannah, after meeting up on NaNoWriMo in 2021. I want to first say how much I appreciated your encouragement during my first ever November novel writing challenges. And I was so impressed with your speedy progress. Since then, I’ve seen how you can churn out the novels. Let’s go in reverse and start with where you are today. Tell us about your body of work available on Amazon and how it feels to have so many exciting stories published.
Can you share your process and yearly writing goals?
I’m a spreadsheet gal. Everything’s captured, from future books, current release schedules, to who does/doesn’t get an ARC. As to speed at which I write? I like to type as fast as I think. Writing in notebooks just made me a typist and doubled the work. So straight into the right document template it goes and I work on no other WIP. I even create a preliminary cover.
My goal is to get all of my written work out there. For 2023, I have two novels for The Gifting Series (scifi romance) on the cusp of release. I have three standalones (2 x scifi, 1 x fantasy romance) I will be releasing this year. AND! I need to write two more novellas for my Plump Playwright series.
Now that we know how you get things done, let’s chat about what interested you in becoming a writer and how you got started.
The usual. I had a dream. It wouldn’t leave me alone and added scenes/chapters every night. This was Dec 2017. I feared a month of no sleep. So I wrote the dream to rid my mind of it. And Soul Forged was born. It was a piece of shite, but awesome hubs read it and suggested I pursue writing. I wrote another four books within 5 months after that.
D. I love it. And here you are six years later with so many fabulous listings on Amazon. You can also keep posted on Sevannah’s projects on her website and newsletter.
The best part of planning our chat in February is being able to indulge in romance! You write in what I have to admit is one of my favorite genres. Hot romance! And I love the choices you give us between going alien, or taking a journey with your average plus-sized erotica fiction writer. I’m currently enjoying the first in your Plump Playwright series, Plump Jane. Ah. Max… I need to share an excerpt here if I may:
First Chapter, Plump Jane
"Are you all right?" Max leaned over her, his face above hers, and for a moment, as the sun haloed his golden locks, she thought Gabriel himself had come down from heaven. "Bad news?" *** His touch burned where he gripped her waist, and before she could warn him that chiropractic appointments were expensive, he hoisted her off the ground. *** "I'm a recluse. This is it for me." She gestured to the park. "Here, and home." "Well, if we work toward the function, maybe you'll feel more prepared." He wrapped his fingers around her upper arm, as if to steady her. "Nine at the Rose Mall, Jane." He tapped her nose with his fingertip. "Don't keep me waiting." She watched him jog off, his long strides covering the distance to the parking lot. Fudgeknuckles, what the hell had just happened? It sounded like a date, but she knew better. He hoped to inspire in her the love of exercise when chocolates, writing, and her male characters owned all the acreage of her heart. Not even for the Adonis that he was would she grant exercise a square foot of prime real estate.
D. I already know I will be bingeing the series! You can find Plump Jane on Amazon here.
Tell us how you decided on your genre.
I have been reading romance since I was twelve, stealing my gran’s Mills & Boons from her bookshelf. I branched out to historical, I even wrote a novel in my teens. But once I discovered scifi romance, that was it for me. I also write fantasy, paranormal, contemporary, whatever inspires the muse.
D. In the mood for sassy female leads and hot aliens? Click here.
Who and/or what were your biggest influences?
Johanna Lindsey (introduced me to scifi romance), Laurann Dohner, Christine Feehan (The Dark Series (vampires), Anna Carven (scifi romance) then the usual, music, games, and movies.
Any works/series in progress? Where can we find you and stay posted on the latest?
The Shikari will become a series (scifi fantasy romance meets the Firefly.) I do have something planned for December, a new paranormal-Christmas series. It’s hush-hush until I’ve written the first book. Because it’s not my primary genre, I’ll only be releasing a book every December for the next ten years. I’m Sevannah Storm across all social media platforms, but my newsletter (bi-monthly) has the juicy news, ARCS, freebies, cover reveals, and sales.
D. Ooh. Thanks for giving us a heads up here! It’s exciting!
What is the writing community like in South Africa? Are there ways you are able to share your work locally? How about online communities? I know you do well with Facebook. Any advice about where to focus attention to find support?
Writing communities in South Africa aren’t helpful with regards to guidance or marketing. I opted for international because South Africa is a small market, and with eleven official languages, quite hard to break into. I don’t speak/write Afrikaans well enough.
Finding one’s champions is across platforms. It’s like real life, who you click with naturally. I try to pay it forward and meet so many amazing authors that way. Try critiquing/beta reading for writers. Make friends that way. Not only are you helping, but you’re learning to be a better beta reader/critiquer and this in turn will improve your writing craft.
D. Thank you for sharing that. Good advice.
How did you find your support services, editors, beta readers, arc readers, cover artists, etc.? Can you share some highlights or tips you’ve collected on this process and how to find satisfactory collaborations?
I googled my first editor. Kathy Bosman was a patient and incredible editor who worked on Soul Forged (75 pages at the time.) She taught me so much.
Beta/ARC readers are through my newsletter sign-up forms.
Savvyauthor’s critique match-up helps with critique partners.
I also have close author friends who help me out in times of great self-doubt.
Cover artists? Nope. I do all my covers. I studied art for seven years, web design, photoshopping, so it made sense to do them myself and save a ton of money. The covers I have done so far are on my website.
D. Fantastic! Thank you. Check out Sevannah’s website for her cover designs.
How do you balance all your pursuits with life and work? I would love to know your secret to writing so profusely. Any other secrets you can impart on time management?
When my day-job ends, my author-job starts. I have two full-grown kids (21/18), so my evenings are mine. Hubs is so supportive. Before signing up on social media, I wrote hours a night. Now, I’m trying to juggle everything, as well as learn how to create promotional videos. As to writer’s block, sprints work. They help me to push through. Words written is better than a blank page. When I do get to write, I aim for 2500 words at a time.
D. I love hearing how writers set up their schedules. It does seem to really work having a set time for writing, so other things aren’t neglected. I’m still working on that. But I do get lots of time for writing thanks to my hubby, too. They are the best!
What are your future plans?
I just climbed on the TikTok wagon and am learning how best to market my books. Ideally, I’d like to quit my day job. As to this year, Camp Nano is coming in April and July. Not sure if I’m participating. And depending on how far I am on 2023’s goals, I might be doing NaNoWriMo. I thoroughly enjoyed Nano 2022. I spent 2022 editing so getting to write was amazing.
I hope this February brings you much success in sharing your dreamy, steamy stories, and the best all year. Thanks so much for stopping by. Do you have any parting advice for our readers who want to pursue their creative passions?
Don’t quit. Expect to fail. It’s in failing that you grow. Remember, 10000 hours are needed to master anything.
When Sevannah and I chatted about her art background, she was kind enough to share some of her sketches. As my readers know, I love to mix art with writing. It’s so fun to find like-minded writers. Yes, that is Sevannah’s zebra in my promo piece at the top.
What Ho, Wee Readers and welcome to the second glory of the Nine Glories of the Rings of Power. Remember to sign up to the Wee Mailing List before …
The Nine Glories of the Rings of Power: The Second Glory
By D. L. Lewellyn 