The Lure Of The Selkie

First, thanks to Delilah for having me on the blog today!  Glad to be here.

Second, I’m thrilled to talk about one of my favorite magical creatures.

My favorite stories are those made of myth and magic.  For me, a supernatural hero is the ultimate bad boy.  He usually struggles with the fact he’s trapped between the human and magical worlds and that can make for great conflict.  One such creature I’ve always been fond of is the Selkie. Below are some magical facts about the Selkie.

Selkies are magical, shapeshifting seal people born of myth from Celtic legend, especially Irish and Scottish legend.  But similar seal creatures exist in many cultures. They’re usually very good looking. And very sexy.  It’s been said male Selkies come ashore for the sole purpose of finding a mortal woman in need of a good romp.

If a Selkie comes ashore and sheds his/her skin, then he/she must remain in human form until the skin is found.  This also means they cannot return to the sea until their pelt is recovered.

According to legend, if a mortal woman wished to meet a male Selkie, she could do so by crying seven tears into the sea. Those tears would be answered by her Selkie who would then come ashore for an amorous encounter.

If a mortal male found a discarded female Selkie skin, and stole it, the Selkie woman would then remain land-bound and become his wife. In the latter, it is usually the children of the Selkie who eventually return the skin to their mother, who then leaves them for the call of the sea.  Selkie children often have webbed fingers or toes.

In my novella, IN THE SHADOW OF THE SELKIE, my Selkie hero is also part vampire.  His enemy comes from the Fin-folk—a darker, not-so-nice sea shifter from Celtic legend.  My heroine is part-human, part-Selkie.

I’d love to know what’s your favorite magical creature. And if you have a favorite myth or legend you like to read.

In the Shadow of the Selkie
ISBN: 1-59998-874-7
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Red Hots!
Length: Novella
Buy at: Samhain | Amazon | B&N | Kobo

In the dangerous world of the selkie underground, a selkie vampire king and a mortal woman join forces to fight the queen of darkness that would destroy them all.

Lady Theodosia Barrett is blackmailed by Dubheasa, Queen of the Dark Fin-Folk, and forced to stalk the Cu Maran crypts in search of a selkie king’s pelt. What she finds is the king himself—and he isn’t only a selkie, but also a vampire. Calling upon her skills as a vampire hunter, Theo stakes him. But she doesn’t complete the kill. A year later, King Roane comes back, demanding her hand in marriage.

Theo has no choice. To protect her family, she must accept.

Selkie vampire King Roane Cu Mara is determined to keep his people safe from the Dark Fin-Folk. To do so, he must first solve the puzzle as to why Theo, a soul born to protect the selkies, tried to kill him. Until he can figure out why she betrayed her own kind, Roane sets out to keep a close eye on her by making her his bride.

But even as Theo begins to warm Roane’s cold, vampyric heart, Queen Dubheasa plots to destroy selkie-kind in a twisted quest to make Roane her own. For she knows something that Roane doesn’t—Theo’s soul holds the key to keeping the selkie kingdom alive.

AUTHOR BIO:
M.A. duBarry is a native New Yorker who’s as zany as the city she grew up in. As a child her favorite toy was Emerald The Witch, a small doll with green eyes, green hair and purple skin.

Miss duBarry’s books and novellas have garnered numerous awards and nominations, including the Sapphire Award, P.E.A.R.L. Award & Word Weaving Award. Her books have also been featured on Midwest Book Review’s Book Watch TV. M.A.’s first novel, COME THE NIGHT (w/a Angelique Armae), made Fictionwise’s Best of the Best list, rounding out the top five best selling dark fantasy books of the year. Her most recent novel, SHADOWS OF THE SOUL (w/a Angelique Armae) made the Amazon Kindle and Books bestsellers lists.

When not working, Ms. duBarry enjoys traveling, learning about the ancient Celts, exploring history and learning new languages (she’s fluent in English and Italian and speaks some French). M.A. studied history and French literature at SkidmoreCollege.

Visit her website