Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for The Call of the Sea by Sian Ann Bessey, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: The Call of the Sea On the eve of her betrothal to a nobleman she’s never met, Rhiannon seeks comfort on the shores of the sea she loves so well. But instead of offering peace to her uneasy heart, the ocean heralds doom with the arrival of dreaded Viking ships. A vicious raid leads to the death of her beloved father and leaves Rhiannon’s life in tatters. Heartbroken, she travels to Ynys Môn, where she takes up residence at the royal court of Owain Gwynedd.
Leif loves voyaging on the open water. As the son of a Viking chief, he’s accustomed to his people’s practice of plundering and looting. But when one of his companions ruthlessly kills an old man in front of the man’s beautiful daughter, Leif is haunted by the memory. Desperate to find forgiveness for the atrocity he allowed to occur, he’s offered a chance at redemption through the kindly teachings of an Irish priest and the unexpected arrival of a royal fugitive. Suddenly thrust into the midst of the Cymry’s political turmoil, Leif is reunited with the dead man’s daughter—Rhiannon. Forced to work side by side to uncover the truth behind the turmoil, they come to discover that love can grow from even the most tragic of beginnings. But with such incompatible backgrounds, surely a future together can never be theirs.PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookBub
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sian Ann Bessey was born in Cambridge, England, but grew up on the island of Anglesey off the coast of North Wales. She left her homeland to attend university in the U.S. and earned a bachelor's degree in communications with a minor in English.
She began her writing career as a student, publishing several magazine articles while still in college. Since then she has published historical romance and romantic suspense novels, along with a variety of children's books. She is a USA Today best selling author, a Foreward Reviews Book of the Year finalist, and a Whitney Award finalist.
Although Sian doesn't have the opportunity to speak Welsh very often anymore, she can still wrap her tongue around, "Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch." She loves to travel and experience other cultures, but when she's home, her favorite activities are spending time with her family, cooking, and reading.
Connect with Sian by visiting sianannbessey.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Welcome, Sian! Thank you for
taking the time to answer my questions and allowing my readers a chance to get
to know you and your new book The Call of the Sea.
I like to start these interviews the same way, with something fun to break the
ice. Can you share 5 random facts about you that we will not find in your bio?
~If I’m struggling to write,
I’ll take a few hours away from my computer and spend them in the kitchen.
Baking is a different kind of creative outlet, and I love it. My friends accuse
me of procrastabaking.
~I reward myself for
finishing writing a book by reading a book I’ve been dying to read.
~The three things I miss most
about Wales are the food, the history, and the scenery.
~I have seen King Charles
twice (once when he was Prince of Wales and once after he was made king.)
~I like dark chocolate better
than milk chocolate.
When did you first discover you had a passion for writing?
I’ve always enjoyed writing.
The British school system requires a lot of writing, so I had plenty of practice
in my youth. I think the first time I became really excited about it though,
was after I published my first book and realized I could write another.
The Call of the Sea is a historical novel. What type of research
went into writing this book?
This book involved the most
challenging research I’ve done so far. Not much is written about the 1100s, and
in the intervening years, place names have changed, languages have changed, and
cultures have changed. I had to research the Viking, Irish, and Welsh people,
along with keeping track of the historical timeline of the real events featured
in the book. I did a lot of reading and a lot of digging online to find
information.
While this is a historical novel, you’ve also written some contemporary novels as
well. How does your writing process differ between the genres?
The biggest challenge is
switching gears when it comes to the type of language the characters use. You
can’t use “mayhap” in a contemporary, and you can’t use “hey, guys” in a
historical. I have to adjust how formal the language is too. My writing process
is similar for both, but takes me a few days to fully make the jump.
What was the most challenging part of bringing this story to life? The most
rewarding?
The most challenging part was
weaving the factual timeline into a fictional story. The most rewarding was
probably the same thing. It was like magic watching the pieces come together.
Can
you tell us a little bit more about The Call of the Sea?
It’s a story based on actual events that happened in the 1140s.
It involves the Vikings living in Ireland at the time, and is set in what is
now Wales. It’s a rather unique blend of historical, suspense, mystery, and
sweet romance. I love the characters in this book—from the hero and heroine to
many of the secondary characters.
What do you hope readers will take away from the book?
I hope they will feel uplifted, that they will learn something new
about this period of time, and that when they finish the book, they’re sorry to
leave the characters behind.
Thank you again for taking the time to answer these questions. Before you go,
are there any other projects you are currently working on that you can share?
The next book in my Georgian Gentlemen series, The Unassuming
Curator, releases in April 2023, and I’ve just started writing another Viking
book.
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(1) winner will receive a signed copy of The Call of the Sea, $25 Amazon Gift Card, swag bundle (including stickers, bookmark, button, cross necklace), virtual book club kit, and ebook of The Heart of the Rebellion.
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight October 31, 2022 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on November 7, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
I'm not very familiar with this time period and look forward to learning more about the Vikings and Wales as well. The story sounds fascinating.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a good read.
ReplyDeletegreat interview! Thanks for being on the tour :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading the interview and getting to know a little about you, Sian, The Call of the Sea sounds like a great book for my mom and me to read!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing it with me and have a terrific day!
I liked the author interview. Sounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your interview, bio and book details, I have enjoyed reading about you and your work and I am looking forward to reading The Call of the Sea
ReplyDeleteThank You for the review.
ReplyDeleteMarion
I am so looking forward to reading this. That poor girl. I can't imagine marrying a man I had never met. I hope he is kind to her.
ReplyDelete