Thanks for hosting us. Lou Sylvre and I are delighted to be here today as part of our blog tour for Sunset at Pencarrow.
We have a Rafflecopter running as part of the blog tour so be sure to enter—which you can more than once. Use the discount code PENCARROW for 30% off Sunset at Pencarrow only from the Dreamspinner Press store from 31st May-30th June.
As Sunset at Pencarrow is set in New Zealand and part of Dreamspinner Press’ World of Love series, we thought it might be fun to ask some New Zealand trivia questions. Lou will be posting the answers on the 7th as part of her regular author monthly blog post here at Love Bytes Reviews.
Have a go and see how many you know!
How many stars are on the New Zealand flag?
What is the capital of New Zealand?
What is the name of the body of water that separates New Zealand’s North and South Islands?
What year did same-sex marriage become legal in New Zealand?
The Māori name for New Zealand is ‘Aotearoa.’ What is the translation of this word?
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.
World of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the globe.
Excerpt:
“I don’t bloody believe this.” Nathaniel “Nate” Dunn took a deep breath. “So, any idea when my flight might actually leave?”
The woman at the counter gave him what she probably thought was a pleasant smile. Instead it came across as condescending with a touch of oh help me, God, how stupid is this guy?
“I’ve already told you—” She glanced at his ticket. “—Mr. Dunn… Nathaniel… I don’t have that information. The fog will lift when it decides to lift, and we can’t begin to reschedule flights until that time. In the meantime, you’ll have to wait like everyone else.”
“You don’t understand. I have to be in Christchurch this afternoon. I have a job interview tomorrow.”
“Of course you do.” The woman seemed ready to dismiss him but then appeared to reconsider. “If you’re desperate, perhaps you can catch the afternoon ferry sailing to Picton and then a flight from either Blenheim or Nelson.”
“The ferries are full.” Nate read the name on her badge—Heather Rawlins. “Ms. Rawlins, I’ve already thought of that.” He waved his hand to indicate the very full airport. Many of those in line behind him were students. Several of them looked very young, and they had parents hovering around them. Probably their first time away from home, and not a great start to a course of study at either Canterbury or Otago universities. “Uni starts back last week of February. That’s next week. There’s only me and several hundred others trying to make it to the South Island.”
“You’d better settle in and wait, then, hadn’t you? This might take a while.” Heather looked past him. “Next, please.”
“Charming,” Nate muttered. Why the hell had the fog decided to pick today of all days to turn up? Beautiful weather for weeks, and on the only day he needed to fly out of Wellington, the bloody stuff foiled his plans. His flatmate, Amy, had warned him to be prepared for delays when they hadn’t been able to see the airport from across the harbor that morning, but he hadn’t listened. Fog in the morning didn’t mean the stupid stuff would hang around all day. Typical of his luck lately. “Windy Wellington” and today there wasn’t even a breeze to blow the fog out.
It was a conspiracy.
Much like the rest of his life. One could only take so much of pretending everything was hunky-dory and plastering on a false smile. He was sick of it. Bad enough that Glenn—who he’d thought was the “one,” the guy he’d be with forever—had dumped him, but to find out his job of the last ten years was finishing as well? And now this….
“Next, please,” Heather repeated.
“Excuse me, sir,” a man behind him said in an American accent. “There’s a line here, and I’m sure the lady has done all she could to help you.”
Buy Links
Dreamspinner Press (Discount code PENCARROW from 5/31-6/30, 30% off, DSP store only.)
Anne bio:
Anne Barwell lives in Wellington, New Zealand. She works in a library, is an avid reader and watcher across genres, and is constantly on the lookout for more hours in her day. Music often plays a part in her stories, and although she denies being a romantic at heart, the men in her books definitely are. Anne has written in several genres—contemporary, fantasy, historical, and SF— and believes in making her characters work for their happy endings.
Lou bio:
Lou Sylvre loves romance with all its ups and downs, and likes to conjure it into books. The romantics on her pages are men who fall hard for each other, end up deeply in love, and often save each other from unspeakable danger. It’s all pretty crazy and very sexy. Among other things, Lou is the creator of the popular Vasquez and James series, which can be found at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, and many other online vendors.
Contact links:
Anne:
Website: http://annebarwell.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/anne.barwell.1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annebarwell
Email: darthanne@gmail.com
Lou:
Website: http://www.sylvre.rainbow-gate.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLouSylvre/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sylvre
Email: lou.sylvre@gmail.com
Lou and Anne’s shared Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sylvrebarwellhoffmann/
We hope you’ll join us for the other stops on the tour. Click here to see the complete schedule and links to the blogs.
Although I’va always wanted to go to New Zealand, I must recognise I did not know most of the answers to those questions… I’ve found some new things today!
Congratulations on the release. It sounds really good
Thanks, Susana. It was difficult choosing questions, so glad they worked.
Being a Brit I knew some of the answers like the flag stars but I’d forgotten the capital I always think it’s Auckland and it is Wellington. I visited New Zealand many years ago it is a beautiful country saw the hot springs at Rotorua did all the tourist things it was a great experience.
I was watching a Brit game show last week and that was one of the questions. The guy said Auckland and they said ‘right’ and moved on. I was mortified. Glad you enjoyed your visit here – it is a beautiful country.
i have always wanted to visit New Zealand but as of yet it is still on my bucket list. The book sounds great and will be on my TBR list. Good luck with the release!
Thank. Hope you get here some day.
I’ve always been intrigued by New Zealand, can’t wait to read this!
Thanks, Trix. We loved New Zealand as a setting for the story.
[…] You can read the post here […]
Tbh, one of the book’s main pull for me is the New Zealand setting. Thank you for sharing the excerpt, Anne. Can’t wait for release date!
Thanks, Didi. One of the things I loved about writing this story was setting it in New Zealand.
I don’t know the answer to any of those questions. I think the capitol is Auckland but am not sure. I could google them but that would be cheating.
*whispers* It’s Wellington. And it’s okay to google – it’s all about learning new things. Thanks for commenting 🙂
I have to admit, without Googling, I didn’t know any answers to the questions.
Well i am ashamed to say that i only knew Wellington, and that’s only because i have relatives who emigrated there from England about 30 years ago!
That makes you ahead of the TV quiz show I watched the other week who marked a contestant correct for saying Auckland. Thanks for commenting!
The only answers I know are Wellington and Cook Strait, lol. And that’s due to some paper I had to deliver for a uni project last year.
Anyway, congrats on the new release! I don’t remember ever reading a book set in New Zeland.
Thanks, Serena. I’d love more books set in NZ too, and plan to do something about that. Thanks for commenting!
Thanks for this post. I have to admit that i didn’t know the answers. But i had fun looking them up using google LOL
Congrats on the release 🙂
Thanks, Angela, and for commenting. I think a lot of people had to look them up so you’re not alone in that. 🙂