Ellie O’Neill is the debut author of the refreshingly bewitching Reluctantly Charmed due for release this October. We were one of the lucky sites able to be involved in her blog tour and I got to ask her 5 questions, that had to be ones I didn’t think anyone would have asked before…. I must say I found it more challenging than I was expecting. I hope you enjoy her answers.
Reluctantly Charmed is an absolute gem. It has a little bit of everything and I can’t wait to finish it, this is one I would have loved to curl up with in one sitting but alas life with a baby, and a husband and a house and 2 other children, means that’s not always possible.
The Blurb, courtesy of the Simon & Schuster website:
It’s Kate McDaid’s birthday and she’s hoping to kickstart her rather stagnant love-life and career when she gets some very strange news. To her surprise, she is the sole benefactor of a great-great-great-great aunt and self-proclaimed witch also called Kate McDaid, who died over 130 years ago. As if that isn’t strange enough, the will instructs that, in order to receive the inheritance, Kate must publish seven letters, one by one, week by week.
Burning with curiosity, Kate agrees and opens the first letter – and finds that it’s a passionate plea to reconnect with the long-forgotten fairies of Irish folklore. Instantly, Kate’s life is turned upside down. Her romantic life takes a surprising turn and she is catapulted into the public eye.
As events become stranger and stranger – and she discovers things about herself she’s never known before – Kate must decide whether she can fulfil the final, devastating step of the request . . . or whether she can face the consequences if she doesn’t.
Reluctantly Charmed is about what happens when life in the fast lane collides with the legacy of family, love and its possibilities… and a little bit of magic.
Hi Ellie and welcome to Beauty and Lace.
I am left wondering, have you discovered your fairy name?
No. Nothing yet! But I think it’s a lovely idea.
What is the strangest piece of folklore you unearthed in your research for Reluctantly Charmed?
The very nature of folklore allows for ambiguity. Most of the stories are passed along by word of mouth from one village to the next, from one generation to the next one down. There’s a lot of room for details to be lost in translation, and for creative licence to take hold. It’s very difficult to question the story or the story teller. It’s also what makes it a lot of fun. A lot of cultures have an idea of a changeling which I think is very strange altogether, and in Ireland we have it too, the idea is that the spirit of a baby was taken and replaced by a fairy. In order to prevent this happening you could place some iron near your baby or hold your baby over a fire, fairies are scared of iron or fire, the thinking was that the fairy would jump out of your baby and up the chimney! Madness – who in their right mind would hold their baby over a fire? There’s plenty of strange stories out there.
The friendly giant canine who befriends Kate has a name which I had never come across. Setanta is an unusual name, can you tell us where it came from and what it means?
Setanta is the name of an ancient Irish mythological hero, who raced around in a chariot and fought and won wars singlehandedly, as you do. It’s a name that’s still popular for boys in Ireland today as it represents strength and loyalty.
Is there anything you can tell us about your next book?
Well I’m in the middle of writing it at the moment so I’m a bit nervous about giving too much away just yet, but I can tell you it’s set on a fictitious island off the west coast of Ireland that holds a big and scary secret which, much to the islanders dislike, is about to be uncovered.
What does being a woman mean to you?
Being able to multi task, never being happy with my weight, feeling a depth and wealth of emotions, empathy, softness, strength, giggles, having wonderful compassionate and understanding female friendships, crying, needing to buy ridiculous shoes/handbag/jewelry, loving rom coms and having a full on love affair with white wine and chocolate in equal measures.
Please be sure to stop in at the other sites on Ellie’s blog tour.
You can also follow Ellie on Facebook, Twitter and her Website.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Fabulous Q & A – some great questions there.
I enjoyed this interview, thanks for sharing. I was wondering about Setanta as well!