#FriendlyFriday with Anne Barwell

Today it gives me great pleasure to introduce my friend, Anne. She joins us with a guest post about Sunset in Pencarrow, a romance set in New Zealand and co-written with Lou Sylvre. There’s also an excerpt.

Land of the Long White Cloud

 Thanks for hosting us, Nic!  Lou Sylvre and I are stoked to be here a part of our re-release of Sunset at Pencarrow with JMS Books.

When Lou asked me if I’d like to co-write a story set in New Zealand, I jumped at the opportunity.  We’d already started writing together so I knew the co-writing part would be a great experience—which it was.

I love reading New Zealand set stories, and I think there needs to be more of them, and particularly in Wellington, as most of what I’ve read take place in other parts of the country.

While I also enjoy reading about other places in the world, I get a kick out of recognising places and references I know.  Writing something set locally was a wonderful experience as I could write more about what I know.  The thing I didn’t expect, though, was to have to double check details about a few places I hadn’t visited in a while or the idioms I use without thinking. So when someone—in this case my lovely co-author—asked me about them, I found myself second guessing myself. Growing up in a NZ/Australian household, some of my expressions reflect that.

New Zealand is a beautiful country, and I love the fact that we have a huge range of scenery here.  We highlighted some of that in Sunset at Pencarrow. Nate and Rusty start out at the airport in the fog—a situation everyone who lives here will recognise immediately—before moving out to the suburbs.  We’re surrounded by water here, and are never too far from either the ocean or a river.  A short distance in one direction in the Wellington leads to the bush and the middle of nowhere with no mobile reception, and another to the beach, and/or the city.  And of course no story set here would be complete without a reference to Wellington’s wind, changeable weather and tendency toward earthquakes.

We’re aiming to write more New Zealand romances, but we’ve headed for Scotland for our next story. The Harp and the Sea is an historical fantasy set in 1745, and releases from NineStar Press later this year.

Blurb

Kiwi Nathaniel Dunn is in a fighting mood, but how does a man fight Wellington’s famous fog? In the last year, Nate’s lost his longtime lover to boredom and his ten-year job to the economy. Now he’s found a golden opportunity for employment where he can even use his artistic talent, but to get the job, he has to get to Christchurch today. Heavy fog means no flight, and the ticket agent is ignoring him to fawn over a beautiful but annoying, overly polite American man.

Rusty Beaumont can deal with a canceled flight, but the pushy Kiwi at the ticket counter is making it difficult for him to stay cool. The guy rubs him all the wrong ways despite his sexy working-man look, which Rusty notices even though he’s not looking for a man to replace the fiancé who died two years ago. Yet when they’re forced to share a table at the crowded airport café, Nate reveals the kind heart behind his grumpy façade. An earthquake, sex in the bush, and visits from Nate’s belligerent ex turn a day of sightseeing into a slippery slope that just might land them in love.

Buy Links

https://books2read.com/sunsetatpencarrow

https://www.jms-books.com/anne-barwell-c-224_425/sunset-at-pencarrow-p-3131.html

 

Excerpt

Nate turned off the water, toweled himself dry quickly, and yanked on his clothes. When he reached the bedroom, he was surprised to find it empty and the pile of blankets Rusty had slept on neatly folded on the end of the bed. He heard voices in the kitchen and hoped Amy wasn’t telling Rusty anything she shouldn’t. Nate ran a comb through his hair, glanced at himself in the mirror, and walked, he hoped nonchalantly, out to the kitchen.

Rusty sat at the table, nursing a cup of what smelled like coffee, an empty bowl in front of him. He gave Nate a smile, and Amy looked up from the pantry. She had a couple of cereal packets in her arms—the only two kinds they had.

“Morning,” Nate said to Rusty. “Hope you slept well.”

“I slept really well, thanks,” Amy said. She grinned at him, then had the decency to at least look apologetic. “Sorry about last night. I didn’t realize you were bringing a date home. Thought you were supposed to be in Christchurch?”

“It’s not a date,” Nate and Rusty said at the same time.

Nate’s face flamed again but he averted his gaze so he didn’t notice whether Rusty’s did as well.

“Our flight was delayed because of the fog,” Rusty explained. “Nate was kind enough to offer me somewhere to stay for the night. The airport chairs didn’t look all that comfortable.”

“Nate’s good like that,” Amy said, giving Rusty a huge smile. “He’s a good guy. I wouldn’t be flatting with him otherwise.” She put the cereal boxes on the table. “And your choice for breakfast this morning is…Weet-Bix or muesli. Or if they don’t work for you, we have toast with an amazing variety of spreads to go with it.” She turned back to the pantry. “Let’s see. Vegemite, Marmite—because some people have no taste—jam, and peanut butter.” Amy picked up the peanut butter jar and peered inside. “Sorry, no peanut butter. Someone used it all, put the empty jar back in the cupboard, and didn’t put it on the shopping list.”

“Ask your boyfriend,” Nate muttered. “He eats all the food and never replaces it. And,” he added, “there’s nothing wrong with Marmite. Not my fault if you eat that other stuff.”

Rusty looked as though he was trying not to laugh. “Whatever you have will be fine, thanks, although I’ll pass on the Vegemite <i>and</i> the Marmite.”

About the authors:

Anne Barwell lives in Wellington, New Zealand.  She shares her home with Kaylee: a cat with “tortitude” who is convinced that the house is run to suit her; this is an ongoing “discussion,” and to date, it appears as though Kaylee may be winning.

In 2008, Anne 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 and reviews for other authors, and writes monthly blog posts for Love Bytes.  She is the co-founder of the New Zealand Rainbow Romance writers, and a member of RWNZ.

Anne’s books have received honourable mentions five times, reached the finals four times—one of which was for best gay book—and been a runner up in the Rainbow Awards.  She has also been nominated twice in the Goodreads M/M Romance Reader’s Choice Awards—once for Best Fantasy and once for Best Historical.

Website & Blog—Drops of Ink: http://annebarwell.wordpress.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/anne.barwell.1

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/annesbooksandbrews/

Joint Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/KiwiAuthorsRainbowReaders/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/annebarwell

Sign up for my newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/39edaba3e3ad/annebarwellauthor

 

Lou Sylvre loves romance with all its ups and downs, and likes to conjure it into books. The sweethearts on her pages are men who end up loving each other—and usually saving each

other from unspeakable danger. It’s all pretty crazy and very, very sexy. As if you’d want to know more, she’ll happily tell you that she is a proudly bisexual woman—a mother, grandmother, lover of languages, and cat-herder—of mixed cultural heritage. She works closely with lead cat and writing assistant, the (male) Queen of Budapest, Boudreau St. Clair. She lives in the rainy part of the Pacific Northwest, and hearing from a reader unfailingly brightens the dreary weather.

For more information, visit sylvre.rainbow-gate.com.