Learning to Swim (Hearts Out
of Water #1)
by Annie Cosby
Release Date: 03/01/14
Summary from Goodreads:
"... a darkly romantic
beginning to what promises to be an unusual contemporary YA fantasy
series."
- Serena Chase, USA Today
When Cora's mother whisks the family away for the summer, Cora must decide between forging her future in the glimmering world of second homes where her parents belong, or getting lost in the bewitching world of the locals and the mystery surrounding a lonely old woman who claims to be a selkie creature-and who probably needs Cora more than anyone else.
Through the fantastical tales and anguished stories of the batty Mrs. O'Leary, as well as the company of a particularly gorgeous local boy called Ronan, Cora finds an escape from the reality of planning her life after high school. But will it come at the cost of alienating Cora's mother, who struggles with her own tragic memories?
As the summer wanes, it becomes apparent that Ronan just may hold the answer to Mrs. O'Leary's tragic past-and Cora's future.
- Serena Chase, USA Today
When Cora's mother whisks the family away for the summer, Cora must decide between forging her future in the glimmering world of second homes where her parents belong, or getting lost in the bewitching world of the locals and the mystery surrounding a lonely old woman who claims to be a selkie creature-and who probably needs Cora more than anyone else.
Through the fantastical tales and anguished stories of the batty Mrs. O'Leary, as well as the company of a particularly gorgeous local boy called Ronan, Cora finds an escape from the reality of planning her life after high school. But will it come at the cost of alienating Cora's mother, who struggles with her own tragic memories?
As the summer wanes, it becomes apparent that Ronan just may hold the answer to Mrs. O'Leary's tragic past-and Cora's future.
Buy Links:
Learning
to Swim is free on Amazon from Dec. 8-12, and the sequel, Learning to Live, is out now!
Excerpt:
"Do you know of Shoney, dearie?"
I shook my head. "What's that?"
"They say he was a spirit that dwelled in the waters near Scotland. Seonaidh, my Seamus would call him. Seamus had a great love of ale; it was the Celt in him. Do you know, people used to wade into the water and give an offering of ale to Shoney? It was meant to appease him and secure them a good harvest."
I thought of drunken old Scottish men stumbling into the ocean and draining buckets of beer-draining just as much into their stomachs as the water. I didn't say as much.
"But of course my Seamus liked to make a mockery of it. He was Irish, you know. He would go into the water with his ale and drink it all down-some might say that was a slight to Shoney."
"I don't think he'd mind," I mumbled.
"Seamus liked to enjoy his ale, right here on this beach. You know, that is how we met. Me, swimming along minding my own business, and my Seamus roughhousing with ale and good friends."
So she had met her husband when he was stark raving drunk. How quaint.
"I'd seen him before, of course. Every day, when I was swimming." She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, possibly to see if I was listening. The parallels of the story were unsettling. Swimmers, spying, crushes, wanting to see the world? Who exactly had this old woman been talking to? Shit-did Ronan know more than he was letting on? Or was this woman just clairvoyant?
"But it took me a long time to make the change. To tell my mother. So when I came to the beach and met him, there he was with his ale. He was very taken with me. We moved into this little house and had a grand life altogether. Of course, as nature will do-it stifles things. Feelings. I started to yearn for a return to the water, but my Seamus kept me here."
I shook my head. "What's that?"
"They say he was a spirit that dwelled in the waters near Scotland. Seonaidh, my Seamus would call him. Seamus had a great love of ale; it was the Celt in him. Do you know, people used to wade into the water and give an offering of ale to Shoney? It was meant to appease him and secure them a good harvest."
I thought of drunken old Scottish men stumbling into the ocean and draining buckets of beer-draining just as much into their stomachs as the water. I didn't say as much.
"But of course my Seamus liked to make a mockery of it. He was Irish, you know. He would go into the water with his ale and drink it all down-some might say that was a slight to Shoney."
"I don't think he'd mind," I mumbled.
"Seamus liked to enjoy his ale, right here on this beach. You know, that is how we met. Me, swimming along minding my own business, and my Seamus roughhousing with ale and good friends."
So she had met her husband when he was stark raving drunk. How quaint.
"I'd seen him before, of course. Every day, when I was swimming." She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, possibly to see if I was listening. The parallels of the story were unsettling. Swimmers, spying, crushes, wanting to see the world? Who exactly had this old woman been talking to? Shit-did Ronan know more than he was letting on? Or was this woman just clairvoyant?
"But it took me a long time to make the change. To tell my mother. So when I came to the beach and met him, there he was with his ale. He was very taken with me. We moved into this little house and had a grand life altogether. Of course, as nature will do-it stifles things. Feelings. I started to yearn for a return to the water, but my Seamus kept me here."
About the Author
I'm the YA author of the USA Today recommended HEARTS OUT OF WATER series and the brand new HUMMINGBIRD SAGA.
I'm the YA author of the USA Today recommended HEARTS OUT OF WATER series and the brand new HUMMINGBIRD SAGA.
When I'm not writing, I'm usually freelance editing for awesome clients like Anna Katmore (formerly Piper Shelly) and Month9Books/Swoon Romance!
I split my days between my hometown, St. Louis, and my adopted love, Galway, Ireland.
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