Guest Post: Author Krista Holle

In October, I reviewed The Lure of Shapinsay (my review) , a paranormal novel inspired in folklore. This novel was written by author Krista Holle and today we have her here to share with us about the luring magic of the selkie creature. Today this writing space is hers with her piece Lovers and Killers from the Deep.


Lovers and Killers from the Deep
by Krista Holle

This author loves the seashore. It’s evidenced by my large collection of seashells and my almost neurotic need to recharge within a rock’s throw of the Atlantic. There’s just something so fiercely romantic about the crashing swells and the steely grey horizon. Perhaps this draw to the beach in part explains my love of selkies, the most sensuous mythical creatures of the ocean.
But you won’t find selkies lurking in the salty waves of the Atlantic. These fabled creatures are products of Irish and Scottish folklore. Selkies are seal men and women who live the majority of their life under the sea as seals, but occasionally shed their skins to pose as humans on land. The men and women are renowned for their beauty, with eyes as dark as night and skin that’s white as cream. But don’t be fooled by these seemingly innocent shape shifters. For hundreds of years, the selkie men have been creeping out of the cold North Sea to seduce women to their deaths deep beneath the waves.

The old Scottish legends are largely romantic tragedies because of the selkies almost magnetic draw to the sea. 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 lovely 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 naively presents the skin to his mother who quickly escapes into deep water.

The males are as dangerous as they are beautiful. The legends tell of an almost magical lure over human women. If a girl went missing, her selkie lover had most assuredly taken her to his watery domain. Sigh. Land/sea relationships are more than juicy; they are the makings of a most unique paranormal romance.

The Lure of Shapinsay takes place in the year 1848 on the windy Orkney island of Shapinsay. In it you’ll meet Eamon, the criminally good looking selkie with a penchant for killing sheep. He loathes everything on land, especially humans. It’s more than a small problem for Kait, the feisty blonde, who’s magically lured by the very selkie who wants her dead. She’ll do anything to win her seal man’s heart—even follow him under the sea.

There’s something magical about a warm salty breeze and the feel of hot granular sand between my toes, but even more wonderful is the possibility of what lies beneath the ocean’s glassy surface. The selkie folk have captivated the Scottish for hundreds of years. It’s no wonder. These lovers and killers of the deep are as timeless and fascinating as the sea itself. Kait and I have something in common— we've both been lured.