[edit on] Welcome to my home on the web. My name is Sela Carsen and I write romance with a touch of Elegant Whimsy . [Elegant Whimsy? What was I thinking?!? Could I sound any more pretentious? Well, probably. If I worked at it.]

What does that mean? [God only knows.]

I write across several sub-genres of romance, including paranormal, contemporary, historical and fantasy – even the occasional fairy tale – but most of what I write has a wry, funny little twist, so there’s the element of Whimsy. [Ok, I get it. "Whimsy" is still over the top.]

Elegant speaks for itself. A touch of class, an oasis of calm. Knowing that trendy won’t last the season, but that classics wear forever.

Romance never goes out of style. [Oy. Freaking. Vey. For serious? I swear to y'all, I'm not this full of myself.]

Let me show you around the site a bit.

Let’s do the fun stuff first. The freebies!

Most of my Free Reads are short and sweet. Dublin Dreaming over at Coffee Time Romance is no exception.

For two years now, I’ve participated in the Romance Divas E-Book Challenge. Romance By The Cup is another sweet, short, contemporary story.

The other Diva challenge story is my first attempt at a retold fairy tale. I hope you enjoy Runespell.

As part of the group blog, Beyond the Veil, I also wrote a quick, funny, quirky paranormal story set in the fabulous DunVegas resort. Nightmare in DunVegas is one of several tales available in our download. Enjoy them all!

[Man, it's been a while since I updated this. I wrote a flash fiction fairy tale for a blogging day at Samhain. The Dreamer Wakes.]

Now, onto the rest of the tour.

As you’ve already seen, you’ll find updates about adventures in publishing here on the Home page. I’ll let you know what’s coming out and when, as well as directing you to any contests I may run or any appearances and chats I do.  [Ok, I'm going to be completely honest. I forget to update this page, as you can see from my notes. If you want to know what's really happening, read the blog. Seriously. I won't be on my Welcome page again for months.]

You can find out more about me on the…wait for it…About Me page! I know. The last place you’d think to look. Details, trivia, and a picture of my dog, Oliver. [It's an old picture, but he's still very, very cute. You should see. Go look.]

The Bookshelf will give you some info about the stories I’ve published, exciting excerpts, and where you can purchase them. That sounds terribly mercenary of me. [I'm getting better about being mercenary.]

Click Blog and find out “What Was I Thinking?” I update it a few times a week, so catch up with me there.

Links will direct you to some of my favorite places on the web — not all about writing, either. I’m a foodie, a retired military wife and a mom, too, so enjoy looking through them.

Finally, if you’d like to drop me a line, hit the Contact button. Operators are standing by!

Now, you may be wondering about the inspiration for this website. My designer, the fabulous Haven Rich, was extremely patient with me as I waded through picture after picture, trying to determine a style that reflected Elegant Whimsy.

I found my inspiration in the illustrations and art of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements. My favorite artist of the period is Kay Nielsen. He used the long, clean lines common in Art Deco and applied them to the natural, earthy themes of Art Nouveau.

[Blah, blah, blah. I've changed taglines and themes this time around, as you can see. No Art Nouveau here, although I do still love the style. Haven of the Neverending Patience, still takes care of all my techy needs. If there's anything here that you love, attribute it to her.]

I hope you enjoy browsing through the site. Again, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to contact me by e-mail or leave a comment on my blog. [The blog! I love when people read my blog!]