Thanks, Dani, for hosting me today. I’m excited to be here, and to share my cover by Anne Cain for One Word, which is being released by Dreamspinner Press on 6^th November. I love the way in which Anne takes an idea and turns it into such a beautiful cover that captures the characters so well.

 

The mathematical equations in the background of the cover represent Ethan who is a high school maths and science teacher. He’s the kind of guy who wants proof for stuff, and needs things to be ordered and make sense. Given the reason for his visit to Oakwood, he’s going to find himself out of his depth very quickly.

 

Readers of the series will recognise the green Morris Minor. It’s Donovan’s pride and joy, although it hasn’t always behaved when he’s needed it to, and doesn’t in this story either. As an aside, it’s also the car I first learned to drive in, so including it in the series, and especially on this cover brings back a lot of memories for me.

 

Hidden Places is a fantasy series, yet One Word fits more into the mystery genre, and has also been described as romantic suspense. However, Oakwood itself brings a hint of fantasy to the story, as does the answer to Ethan’s ‘quest’ to find his missing friend. I love the way the background of the cover also has that hint of the surreal.

 

Oh, and sheep. That was an added bonus. Although the story is set in a small English village, we Kiwis tend to notice sheep.

 

While One Word is the third book in my Hidden Places series, it’s a side story to book one—Cat’s Quill.   We meet Donovan in Cat’s Quill, but although Tomas’s friend, Ethan, is mentioned he doesn’t appear ‘onscreen’ until book two—Magic’s Muse. To Tomas’s surprise, Donovan and Ethan met and became a couple while he was having his own adventure with Cathal. The comment is made that a lot can happen in six weeks. One Word is the story of what happened during those six weeks.

 

After this, there is one more book to come to complete the series, and as Ethan and Donovan play a big part during that story, they wanted their own told first.

 

Books in this series all have an epigraph at the beginning of the story, and the title of this one comes from a quote from Sophocles: One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.

As part of this cover reveal I’m offering a giveaway of an ebook copy of book one in the series—Cat’s Quill—to someone who comments on this post.

HERE WE GO!

Blurb:

A Hidden Places Story

Ethan Leavitt arrives in the idyllic village of Oakwood to search for a missing friend. Having always prided himself on his ability to find rational explanations, Ethan’s trust in concrete evidence and logic is tested by the mystery of Oakwood and Tomas’s disappearance.

 

Donovan Campbell’s happy, sometimes flippant, exterior hides a past he’d rather forget. As he struggles with his memories and to hold on to the inn he owns with his best friend, the last thing Donovan needs is for some guy he’s only just met to start getting under his skin. When a bank robbery escalates into a dangerous situation, Donovan must embrace a part of himself he can no longer ignore in order to save a future that might never have the chance to exist.

 

Ethan learns that often the person you’re looking for is not the one you find. But have he and Donovan both realized that too late….

Preorder Links:

Dreamspinner Press eBook

Dreamspinner Press Paperback

 

Anne Barwell lives in Wellington, New Zealand. 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 “Our Story” and Top2Bottom Reviews, and writes monthly blog posts for Authors Speak and Love Bytes.

 

Anne’s books have received honorable mentions four times and reached the finals three times 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.

 

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Dreamspinner Press Author Page:

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/authors/anne-barwell-65

DSP Publications Author Page: https://www.dsppublications.com/authors/anne-barwell-49

Queeromance Ink Author Page: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/anne-barwell/