Q&A With C.W. Rose 

I am delighted to be doing this Q&A with C.W. Rose who recently released her debut romantasy novel Oceansong. The novel is described as Romeo & Juliet meets The Little Mermaid. After reading the description and seeing such a beautiful cover, did I add it to my Want To Read List on Goodreads? You bet I did! 

Q: Christine, would you please give a brief description of Oceansong? What made you want it to be a Romeo & Juliet meets The Little Mermaid story?

A: Hi Bianca! Thank you for this opportunity and I’m so excited to chat with you today. Oceansong is an adult contemporary romantasy that’s an Asian Romeo & Juliet meets The Little Mermaid, set in the grittiness of the real world.

24-year-old aspiring marine biologist Angie Song has returned to her Alaskan hometown for the summer to work at her family’s docks. She learns that fish are mysteriously disappearing from the sea, starving her small fishing village. When she investigates and finds merfolk to be responsible, her family declares war on the mer, resulting in a brutal fight for control of the sea’s resources. In the midst of the conflict, she falls in love with a Mer-Prince, putting everything and everyone dear to her in danger.

It has all the elements that I personally love, and I hope readers will, too! I love forbidden romance, especially when families are at war, and as an ocean child at heart, I also love mermaid mythology, so what better than to put them all together into a high-stakes story?

Q: How long did it take you to plot & write Oceansong? 

A: I consider myself to be a slow drafter. It took me about a year to outline and finish the first draft – 6 months to plan and outline, and then 6 months to complete the draft. It then went through several rounds of revisions over a period of another 6 months or so before I started to query it. 

Q: When creating your characters did you use traits of real people you know? 

A: I like to say that there’s a little bit of everyone I’ve ever known in all my characters. My protagonist, Angie, is snarky and prickly on the outside, but she’s a softie inside who will do anything for the people she loves. Mer-Prince Kaden is just as snarky as she is, and wants nothing more than to protect his home, the sea, and all her creatures. Neither are based on anyone I know specifically, but subconsciously, I feel like Angie is who I would want to be. She’s not afraid to stand up for what she believes in and is assertive and brave. Kaden was a conglomeration of the type of man I would want to be with in real life. He’s kind, caring, and inquisitive, but he’s not afraid to fight if need be.  

Q: What lessons & emotions do you want readers to learn and feel after reading Oceansong? 

A: I’d love for my readers to take away what they will from it. I always said that under the surface, Oceansong is a tale of the power of love and family, whether blood or found, and ultimately, the importance of learning to accept a group of people that may be very different from us. As far as lessons, I’d love to share what my protagonist, Angie, would tell us. To never be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. Society and some cultures teach women to be docile and give people the benefit of the doubt. Angie would say screw that, and to be brave but smart, assertive, and loyal, and restore and maintain the beauty of the oceans and all her creatures.

Q: Are you currently writing a sequel to Oceansong or will your next novel be a standalone novel with a new story and characters?

A: The sequel’s first draft is actually done, and the outline is with my publisher! It will be the conclusion to Angie and Kaden’s story. On the side, I’m thinking of a potential third book in the series, but it would be an interconnected standalone and featuring a different couple. I’m also working on a separate project, a second-chance contemporary romance set in my childhood home of Singapore.  

Q: How does it feel knowing that New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author of The Hurricane Wars Thea Guanzon giving Oceansong such high praise? Thea called Oceansong, “A brilliant and moving addition to the fantasy genre, each page brimming with all the rhythm & depth of the Bering Sea.” It sounds like such an honor! 

A: Oh, it was amazing (and I was a little starstruck when it came to replying to her and her agent)! I had reached out to her agent for a blurb because I had loved The Hurricane Wars so much, and especially because it’s set in a Southeast Asia-inspired world, and I grew up in SEA. I knew to have zero expectations when it came to soliciting blurbs, and I also knew that the bigger the author, the less of a chance they’ll say yes and provide a blurb. The blurb deadline came and passed, and I didn’t hear back, so I assumed she either didn’t have time to read the book, or read it and didn’t like it. Imagine my surprise when I was working out, 2 weeks after the deadline (but still with enough time for the blurb to make it into the book), I got an email from her agent with the blurb. I nearly dropped the weight on my face in happy surprise. All I could do was read it over and over, because it was such high praise coming from such a talented author.    

Q: If & when Hollywood gets the rights to Oceansong, who would be the perfect dream cast to play the characters you created? The entertainment industry needs original content again and could use more great books! 

A: Wouldn’t this be the dream, to have our books turned into movies? My fancast list would be Roseanne Park as Angie, James D. Kim as Prince Kaden, James Kyson Lee as Zixin/Baba, Allison Teng as Mia, Gong Li as Queen Serapha, Andrea Brillantes as Princess Adrielle, and Song Weilong as Crown Prince Cyrus. All these celebrities best portray the characters’ appearances closest to how I had imagined them.