I’ve been bursting to share this podcast I recorded with the wonderful Lauren Keegan a few weeks ago, and here it is!
Lauren and I have both written novels that explore these magical creatures, and have long been fascinated by this branch of Celtic folklore, so we thought, why not get together and delve deeper into the origins of these stories?
It was such a pleasure to chat about selkies with someone equally obsessed, and we managed to cover quite a bit of ground, though we could have talked for another hour at least…
In this episode we discuss everything from why selkies and Scottish folklore continue to resonate, the origins of the seal skin and the ways we’ve both incorporated these stories into our novels, drawing particularly on themes of postpartum mental health, coercive control, and women re-connecting with their wild selves.
If you’re interested in folklore and want to hear more about selkie myths and how Lauren and I have used them in our novels, this is the episode for you!
You can also access the conversation on Lauren’s substack here, or your podcast platform of choice.
Lauren’s brilliant novel The Woman in the Seal Skin was published by Affirm press just a couple of weeks ago. You really don’t want to miss this one! You can find out more about Lauren and her work and writing here
My debut novel, ‘Daughters of the Tide’ is very soon to be released (26th May), and you can currently pre-order it from Dymocks Hobart or Fullers Bookshop for a discount, and go in the draw to win a book voucher!
Arianne James 