Today, Kayleigh Sky is here on a visit, and she’s gonna answer some questions for us 😀 Welcome, Kayleigh!
Which writers inspire you and why?
Off the top of my head, I can name Cormac McCarthy and Ernest Hemingway. Both use a spare, clear prose that just sings to me. Ernest Hemingway has one of the most exquisite first paragraphs (in A Farewell to Arms) I’ve ever read, and Cormac McCarthy has one of the most emotional and heartbreaking last paragraphs (in The Road) I’ve ever read. Both wrote down to the bone in terms of the truth about the human experience. Neither one shied away from the hard stuff, and I love both their works.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
So many things! Lol. Most of what I do actually fuels my writing in one way or another. I love to meditate and practice yoga, and I’m a huge advocate of walking. I also really love photography, and I read tarot. I don’t think I could function without my bullet journal. Other times, I enjoy getting together with family or friends, playing with my cats, and reading, of course!
As a writer, what would choose as your mascot/spirit animal?
My forever cat, Sammy. I lost him two and a half years ago, but he was with me day and night as I wrote. And he was the sweetest, happiest, most loving animal I’ve ever known. I write to him everyday in my journal, so I like to think he’s still a part of my journey.
How do you select the names of your characters?
Mostly by osmosis. I’m only half joking. If I don’t get the name right, the character won’t speak to me clearly. I wrote the first draft of A Vampire’s Heart with the wrong name for Jessa. I just couldn’t get his character down. I kept looking through books and online for the right name, and then I saw Jessamine, and thought, yes! I rewrote all his parts, and he just came alive in all his sunny sweetness. For Doll Baby, I instantly knew the character’s initials, but not their full names, so I had to go looking again. Sometimes the name just comes to me without any problems. Jody in Wandering a Luminous Sea was Jody right away. In my WIP, I had so much trouble with one of MC’s names, I finally just said, fine, be a dick. In fact, that’s what I’ll call you. Dick. So I did and realized not far into the story, that that was his name! So anyway, it’s always a challenge, and I come to their names in many different ways.
Wandering a Luminous Sea
Happy ever after, pearls, and murder—what else is true love made of?
After escaping his cold fish of an ex, Jody Knox had everything—a new career, his goofy dog, and the love of his life, Merik. He couldn’t believe his luck…
Until it changed. In the worst way.
After stumbling onto the love of his life, Merik Lighthouse had a dilemna—solve the mystery of the missing mer and return to the sea, or confess his secret identity and risk losing Jody. He couldn’t decide…
Until someone decided for him. Permanently.
Or maybe not…
Wandering a Luminous Sea is for you if you love paranormal contemporary fantasy, gay love stories, fairytales, and suspense.
Oh… and a loveable poodle named Ellery Queen.
Buy now or read on Kindle Unlimited today!
Please note: this is an intense love story with a happy ending, but it is not a traditional romance. It is a paranormal fantasy with a central love story.
Excerpt:
Soft kisses dragged sparks across his jaw, glowing like hot coals against his neck. He groaned and hugged the strong body in his arms.
Why not believe in magic and happy endings? What if all it took was Jody opening his eyes and letting the pixie dust be real? Not telling himself it wasn’t? Not playing along with what everybody else said?
What if he believed?
And Merik’s words were as though Jody had written them. “I came back for you.” From the ends of the earth. From the deeps of the sea. From across time. “For you.”
For me.
Ofelia Grand 