It’s a pleasure to welcome my friend Katie O’Sullivan to the blog today. Katie and I went through the pre-launch jitters together as we waited for our books to launch within weeks of each other. We also were part of the group of five authors putting together a giant Twitter party. The one that ended up being a Facebook party when Twitter let us down. Katie is a wonderful person and a talented author and I’m honored that I was able to get to know her over the last couple months. Her new book, Son of a Mermaid, is a fun and engaging read and perfect for summer! Please join me in welcoming her to my blog.
Read on for more about Katie and Son of a Mermaid…
About Katie O’Sullivan
Katie O’Sullivan lives with her family and big dogs next to the ocean on Cape Cod, drinking way too much coffee and inventing new excuses not to dust. She writes YA and romantic suspense novels, and works as an editor making other people’s words sparkle. For the last four years, she’s been the Editor of CapeWomenOnline.com magazine and writes a column entitled “The Write Way.”
She hopes her debut YA novel, Son of a Mermaid, will make a big splash this summer, engaging young readers with a Cape Cod tale of a boy who discovers both his roots and his destiny far below the waters of Nantucket Sound.
About Son of a Mermaid
Shea MacNamara’s life just got complicated.
After a freak tornado devastates his Oklahoma farm, the fifteen-year-old orphan moves to Cape Cod to live with a grandmother he’s never met. Struggling to make sense of his new surroundings, he meets a girl along the shore who changes his life forever.
Kae belongs to an undersea world hidden from drylanders. The daughter of royal servants, she knows the planned marriage of her Princess to the foreign King should put an end to the war between the clans. Two things stand in the way of lasting peace: an ambitious Regent and rumors of a half-human child who will save the oceans.
Sparks fly when she meets Shea, but could the cute drylander really be the Son of a Mermaid?
Now let’s shine the spotlight on Katie!
Maer: Katie, thanks for joining us today! I loved the premise of Son of a Mermaid. Where did the inspiration for your book come from?
Katie: I’ve always loved mermaids, and when my daughter was old enough to be beyond Disney’s Ariel, I looked around for other mermaid books… and at the time, there weren’t many choices. I live year round on Cape Cod with my family, and the ocean plays a huge role in our day-to-day life. Putting these two things together, I decided to write my own mermaid fantasy for YA readers.
Maer: Could you give us a one-line synopsis for Son of a Mermaid?
Katie: Set along the beaches of Cape Cod, Son of a Mermaid follows fifteen-year-old Shea MacNamara through his process of discovering his roots and his destiny, both of which stretch well below the surface of the Atlantic.
Maer: So, is this a stand-alone or can we look forward to more adventures from The Deep?
Katie: Son of a Mermaid is the first book of a planned series about Shea and the secret undersea world of merfolk. I’ve signed a contract for the second book, which is currently in the editing process. The third book is still percolating… but I have a few ideas rolling around…
Maer: Which character other than Shea is one of your favorites to write and why?
Katie: I had fun writing the main bad guy, Demyan, mostly because I had a blast coming up with undersea expletives for him to spout!
I also enjoyed writing Zan, Demyan’s second in command and a conflicted soul. In a previous version of the story, Zan had a bigger role which then got cut down, but he gets to play a pivotal character in the next book.
Maer: Now that sounds intriguing. I’m looking forward to reading Book 2. Katie, if you had to pick a color to describe Shea what would it be and why?
Katie: My main character, Shea MacNamara, would best be described as True Blue. He’s totally loyal to his friends, doesn’t like bullies, and tries to always do the right thing, even if he’s breaking rules.
Maer: I can completely see him as blue. Who are your favorite authors to read?
Katie: An avid reader, I’m not sure I can keep my list of favorite authors short enough for this interview! I was an English major in college, and I actually love Shakespeare and Chaucer, Mark Twain and Charles Dickens, Steinbeck and Salinger… and my tastes are eclectic in contemporary authors as well, since I love Jennifer Crusie, Charlaine Harris, Ken Follet, Marie Force… and all of my fellow authors at Crescent Moon Press! Our publisher rocks at choosing new and unique voices, don’t you agree, Maer?
Maer: I do, indeed, Katie! We have an awesome group of writers. I’m making my way through our library and loving the talent at CMP. Turning back to you now, would you share a bit about your current project?
Katie: I have two projects going at the moment – one is the sequel to Son of a Mermaid, which has working title of Blood of a Mermaid. I’m excited to work with the same editor who helped me with book one, Kathryn Steves. The current blurb reads:
At fifteen, Shea McNamara discovered his mother’s a mermaid and he’s heir to an undersea kingdom. And even more important, he fell in love…with a mermaid. Big life changers for a former farmboy from Oklahoma.
Seventeen-year-old Zan commands powerful magick, and owes his allegiance to Prince Demyan. Kidnapping the heir’s girlfriend is just another step in Demyan’s twisted plans for world domination. But Zan has never met anyone like the beautiful mermaid Kae. She makes him feel things that he never thought he deserved, and he makes promises that put both their lives at risk.
Kae is torn between two mermen battling not only for her affections, but also for the future of the undersea world they inhabit. In the clashes between good and evil, the lines are not always clearly drawn. Especially when love is involved.”
My other project is my latest romance, which is more contemporary than suspense this time around. The working title is My Kind of Crazy and it’s out on submission right now (fingers crossed!) This story is also set on Cape Cod, and the blurb reads like this:
Kendall Roarke is betting everything on turning her Harwich Port B&B into the premier wedding destination on Cape Cod, despite her own recent (and messy) divorce.
Jonathan Reynolds moved back East to take over his uncle’s business and start fresh after his own marriage ended. He’s not looking for anything complicated – until he meets Kendall, with her wild mop of curls and big plans for the future.
Throw an uptight new neighbor and an unruly Saint Bernard puppy named Midget into the mix and things get a little crazy. Now Kendall has to decide if it’s the kind of crazy that she can live with…for the rest of her life.”
Maer: Katie, you are certainly a busy lady! They both sound fascinating. So, what do you do when you’re not writing?
Katie: I have three very active teenagers, so there’s not a lot of downtime around here, lol. They’re involved in sports, music and drama and it seems like I’m always driving someone somewhere or attending an event or awards ceremony or something!
For the last four years, I’ve worked as the editor of an online magazine, but this summer I’m taking a step back from that role, at least temporarily. With our house under renovations, my new book releasing and our oldest looking at colleges, I couldn’t make it all work. I had to give up something. I’m still writing my literary column for the magazine, but handed over the editing reigns. For now.
Maer: Like I said, you’re a busy lady! What influenced you to write in your genre? Do you write in others?
Katie: As I mentioned, I write romance in addition to Young Adult fantasy. My first two published books were romantic suspense, but I really love the YA genre and reaching young readers.
Maer: What music, if any, do you like to listen to while writing?
Katie: We listen to lots of music in our house – did I mention one of my teens is a rock musician and plays guitar and bass? But when I’m writing, I need it to be quiet. Well, quiet doesn’t happen too often. But I need to be able to tune out the sound – so I can’t write when I’m listening to music. Doesn’t work. I don’t really understand how other writers don’t get distracted by the lyrics and the stories the songs tell…
Maer: I coudln’t listen to songs, but I love my soundtracks. Katie, it’s been so much fun having you on, today. Do you have anything you’d like to add?
Katie: Thank you so much for inviting me to be your guest today, Maer! I’ve been having fun on my “Splash Into Summer” tour, visiting people and being interviewed. As part of the tour, I’m hosting a Rafflecopter Giveaway – there’s an ebook up for grabs, as well as a mermaid beach stone necklace and a swag pack. Make sure to enter!
You can buy Son of a Mermaid
A FABULOUS RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
eBook copy of SON OF A MERMAID
A “transmutare” (beach stone) necklace
Swag Pack
You can keep up with Katie at the following links:
Thanks for inviting me to be in your spotlight, Maer! This was a fun visit!
Thanks for being my guest! Awesome answers, Katie. 🙂