A SPECIAL WELCOME TO OUR INAUGURAL GUEST, AUTHOR OF "ROMANCING THE SEAS," CAIT O'SULLIVAN

Today I am thrilled to be kicking off my new site with author Cait O'Sullivan. Cait and I have become acquaintances just recently, but it didn't take me long to figure out that she was a great gal and someone I knew you'd love to meet. Perhaps it is because Cait is from Ireland, the land of my ancestors. Perhaps it is because Cait is a fellow romance writer. Or perhaps it's just because she's as much as a goof as I am. Read on. 

Hi, Cait! Thanks for joining us today.  

Thanks MJ for having me here on your blog today, I very much appreciate it :).

My pleasure entirely! So, let's dig in.  Why don't we start by you're telling me when your love for writing started?

I think I was 16 when I discovered that writing essays was the best thing ever! But I forgot about it for a while and it was only when I traveled the world that I could see the effect writing had on me – for example if I sat down to email whilst in a negative mood, I would arise from the seat after writing happy again. It’s the same now, if something upsets me, writing helps settle me.

What is something you struggle with when you write?

Time! Having the time to write. It’s rare, having a day to myself. Tends to happen maybe 3 times a year, for a couple of days at a time. Not enough, in my opinion.

How do you balance the demands of your everyday life and your writing life?

I’m only muddling through at the moment, still learning. I go through phases: rising at 5 to get some writing in before my two young daughters wake, then spending a couple of hours writing when they’re out learning. The afternoons are then spent looking after them/doing homework/getting the dinner, interspersed with online networking. That’s the ideal. Holidays/sick children/other work tend to tip this fine balance regularly! But it’s what I long to get back to.

Do you have hobbies that you’d like to share?

Music and dancing – I couldn’t live without them. My current music-love is West African, I simply love love love the kora – a cross between a harp and a lute. The notes and chords created by the 28 strings sound like ‘light dissolved in star showers thrown’ (thanks to Percy Shelley for that wonderful quote). As I have the good fortune to live in London, I can find lots of gigs to fuel my soul. I go and I dance, and I dance and I dance. Come back home again all inspired and full of gorgeous creativity. It’s divine.

Another thing in common, our love for music. But I think I'd rather sing it, where you'd rather dance to it. So you live in London, where would you love to live?

Would love to live in New Zealand…although it’s very far away and I wouldn’t get my West African fix! But when travelling, I fell in love with this country – it’s beautiful and breath-taking. I spent 10 weeks hiking – or tramping as they call it in NZ – around both islands, but mainly the south. So that’s one place. I would love to go back home too, to Ireland.

Okay, now for a couple of fun questions. If you could be any animal, what animal would you choose, and why?

A lion – brave, strong and fearless. I love them.

When trick-or-treating as a kid, was there any kind of candy that you didn’t like to get?

Yes – but it wasn’t candy, it was fruit! Yup, sometimes walking the roads in Ireland, I used to get mandarins.  But it was entirely different over here then compared to in the US anyway. For a start, we had to sing a song/recite a poem/tell a joke in order to get a treat. I still ask the kids here to do something when they arrive at my door but I’m generally looked at as though I’m mad.

What was one of the best Christmas presents you ever received?

A Mickey Mouse watch when I was 18. LOL. 8 maybe.

What CD is in your CD player right now?

Baaba Maal Television.

Name your favorite children's story.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Oh, I love that one! And all of the C.S. Lewis Narnia books! I used to read them to my kids and give them to my nieces and nephews for Christmas. What is your concept of a fruitful day?

Writing, networking, spending constructive time with my girls, and having them eat a nice healthy dinner. (yeah I’m a bit of a dork when it comes to their diets – I just love it when we get the balance right – guess this counts for me too actually)

Sounds quite sensible to me. Well, thanks for joining me today. Now let's entice folks with an excerpt from "Romancing the Seas!"

She tilted her head to the side, and looked upwards at him, her eyes turquoise in the firelight. “Well done. You’ll be buying her a primrose private jet soon.”

“No way. I love hiking, climbing even, but hey, don’t get me in the air in only a tin can. I can’t do it.”

“What do you mean?” she watched his lips as he spoke and he had to look away from her bright gaze.

“I can’t fly.” He laughed, a bright sound that took him by surprise. “Well obviously I can, otherwise I wouldn’t be on the other side of the world to where I grew up. I hardly sailed here. No, I mean I hate flying. Brings me out in a cold sweat every time. Long-haul flights are the easiest to cope with, being as there’s a stretch of time between take-off and landing, so I can attempt to relax. But short flights? Hell no. You wouldn’t catch me dead on one.”

Pippa bent her head to look at him lopsided. “I guess we all have stuff to deal with.”

The words sounded dreamily husky to him and he caught her clear, honest gaze in her upturned face, glowing in the light of the fire. She smiled at him, and he could see her genuine interest in him and what he was saying.

He cleared his throat, trying to clear the salacious thoughts that were coming hot and fast.

“Are there more blankets?” He had to get away before he did something silly. He walked around the corner, smiling to see a dark blue blanket folded neatly on the kitchen table for him. His jacket had withstood most of the wet, so his t-shirt was dry enough to leave on. But so much for waterproof trousers — they still had a way to come before they were as efficient as the jackets.

As he came around the corner, having stripped off from the waist down and wrapped a blanket around him, Jonathon paused to watch Pippa. A faint blush from the fire graced her cheeks, and her rosebud mouth shone red. Perfectly formed ringlets corkscrewed around her face, with curls alternating between a burnished bronze colour and a glowing amber. He couldn’t drag his eyes away, just wanted this moment to last forever. Something outside the window warranted her undivided attention, as her white teeth were busy chewing on her lower lip, and even from her profile, he saw she wore a small frown.

He gave a little cough, afraid that if he looked at her unawares for much longer, there would be no hiding his reaction to her. The fire crackled like a machine gun as his less than noble thoughts started charging the atmosphere.

Bio-

Cait O’Sullivan is a romance author with a love of words and magic, having had the good fortune to grow up in Ireland. The wanderlust in her blood sent her out to travel the world and now, residing in a leafy suburb of London, it is her thoughts and memories that journey far and wide in order to create her stories.

"Romancing the Seas" is now available for order from Amazon,  BookStrand or Crimson Romance

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