It’s great to have Anne Barwell visit with the launch of her latest book, Prelude to Love. She’s provided a fascinating guest post plus there’s a giveaway!
The Right Note
Thanks for hosting me today as part of my blog tour for Prelude to Love, a Dreamspun Desire novel from Dreamspinner Press.
I have a Rafflecopter running as part of the tour so be sure to enter.
Music plays a huge part in Prelude to Love.ย Everything in this soundtrack is mentioned in the story.ย Iโve always had a soft spot for Chopin, and I still have the sheet music for both the prelude and nocturne in this post, although itโs falling to bits now as the book was handed down to me by my father as he used to play piano too. Sadly Iโm very out of practise so Joel is a much better pianist than I am now.
With it being set in New Zealand, I wanted to include some local talent, hence the inclusion of some songs by The Mutton Birds.ย I had fun choosing the music for Joelโs concert, and have played and/or performed all of those pieces.ย We have a local community orchestra for young people that I played in when I was at high schoolโthat is still going strongโand I also taught choirs in several primary schools while I was still music teaching, so Iโve have also taken music from those repertoires.
Incidentally the title for this post was the original title for the book, but I changed it as there was already a book with a similar title.
Chopinโs โPrelude #17 in Ab Major. Opus 28โ is the piece the book is named for.ย Joel plays it for Marcus before they kiss for the first time, and he also performs it at the school concert.
โDonโt Fear the Reaperโ is the first of the songs by The Mutton Birds. I listened to their Best of CDโโFlockedโโas I wrote Prelude to Love. Itโs also on The Frightenersโ soundtrack.
โDominion Roadโ is the second. Dominion Road is a street in Auckland.ย Classic Kiwi Rock.
โRadetzky Marchโ is by Johann Strauss Jr. One of those pieces that youโll know it when you hear it.ย Fun to play too.
Iโve always loved Leroy Anderson. My dad introduced me to his music. The Syncopated Clock is one of my favourites.
Back to something New Zealand now with โHine e Hineโ, a Mฤori lullaby.
Moving forward in time a little with โPuttinโ On The Ritzโ by Irving Berlin. This version is Robbie Williams, but I taught a choir this for Artsplashโthe Wellington area combined school choir performanceโone year.
Joel wanted to choose something familiar for the choir so they wouldnโt be so nervous.ย โA Whole New Worldโ fits this perfectly.
And another Chopin to finish off. This time a nocturne for a HEAโEb Major Opus 9 #2.
Blurb
Music speaks directly to the heart.
Two very different men face turning points in their lives after the collapse of long-term relationshipsโฆ.
Joel is a music teacher who knows itโs time to forget his ex and move on, while Marcus runs a lawn-mowing business and has come to Wellington to escape the reminders of a recent breakup. Although theyโre opposites, when Joel and Marcus connect, their romance has the potential to hit all the right notes.
Too bad neither of them feels ready for new love.
With family and friends in common, dating is riskyโthings could get messy if it doesnโt work out. The sweet song of possibility draws them to each other, though, and they share a kiss following a Chopin prelude.ย But it will take some practice and perseverance to find their perfect harmonyโฆ.
Excerpt
Joel stood on the stage at the front of the orchestra. He looked up when the door opened, and smiled.
Several of the kids in the orchestra turned around to see what Joel was looking at. A couple of the girls sitting in the front row of violins glanced back at Joel and then again at Marcus, but didnโt say anything.
Joel cleared his throat. โOkay, letโs take that one from bar thirty. Everyone found that? Itโs two bars before the first time bar, so weโre going to play from there and do the repeat. Iโll give you a bar for nothing.โ He raised his baton. โOne. Two. Three.โ
The orchestra began playing one of the tunes Joel had been humming the week before.
Marcus found a seat at the front of the hall, next to a woman about his own age. She tapped her foot along with the music and kept her eyes on Joel more than the musicians did.
A few other adults sat around them, listening. One woman seemed absorbed in whatever was on her tablet, although she nodded in time with the music and looked up when the flutes began to play.
Probably parents come to pick up their kids.
Marcus suddenly felt the odd one out, although he didnโt regret coming. Joel had an intensity about him when he conducted that was missing when he gave piano lessons. Although heโd been focused on his students then too, this felt different. Conducting was something Joel clearly lovedโit reminded Marcus of when Joel had played the prelude for him.
A trumpet blared, jarring Marcus from his thoughts.
Joel lowered his baton, and although most of the orchestra stopped, the kid playing the trumpet didnโt seem to notice.
โQuentin!โ Joel called, and the kid suddenly stopped playing.
โYes, Mr. Ashcroft?โ
โI think youโre a couple of bars ahead of the rest of us,โ Joel said. โYouโre sounding great, but it doesnโt quite work if you come in at the wrong place.โ He spoke softly, so it didnโt sound like a reprimand.
One of the boys playing clarinet grinned, and the girl next to him giggled.
โEveryone makes mistakes,โ Joel said. โNext time it might be someone else coming in at the wrong place. Even me.โ
The whole orchestra laughed.
โNow,โ Joel said, โI think we can run this through from where we were before, but this time weโll just keep going until the end of the piece. So play the second time bar instead of the first. Okay?โ
Buy Links
Dreamspinner Press
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Giveaway
Click here to enter the Rafflecopter
Blog Tour Details
You can find the list of sites taking part in the blog tour here:
https://annebarwell.wordpress.com/2018/01/01/blog-tour-prelude-to-love/
About the Author
Anne Barwell lives in Wellington, New Zealand.ย She shares her home with two cats who are convinced that the house is run to suit them; this is an ongoing “discussion,” and to date it appears as though the cats may be winning.
In 2008 she completed her conjoint BA in English Literature and Music/Bachelor of Teaching. She has worked as a music teacher, a primary school teacher, and now works in a library. She is a member of the Upper Hutt Science Fiction Club and plays violin for Hutt Valley Orchestra.
She is an avid reader across a wide range of genres and a watcher of far too many TV series and movies, although it can be argued that there is no such thing as “too many.” These, of course, are best enjoyed with a decent cup of tea and further the continuing argument that the concept of “spare time” is really just a myth. She also hosts other authors, reviews for the GLBTQ Historical Site โOur Storyโ and Top2Bottom Reviews, and writes monthly blog posts for Love Bytes.
Anneโs books have received honorable mentions five times, reached the finals four timesโone of which was for best gay bookโand been a runner up in the Rainbow Awards.ย ย She has also been nominated twice in the Goodreads M/M Romance Readerโs Choice Awardsโonce for Best Fantasy and once for Best Historical.
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great except…….
Thanks, Jodi ๐