The Woodcarver’s Model by Peter E. Fenton
General Release Date: 19th April 2022
Word Count: 59,056
Book Length: NOVEL
Pages: 237
Genres:
ACTION AND ADVENTURE,CONTEMPORARY,GAY,GLBTQI,ROMANCE
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Book Description
Sometimes the truth is the hardest thing to reveal.
Travel writer Rob Hanson has been from the summit of Mount Everest to the markets of Mogadishu. He loves adventure, he loves his job, and he loves the freedom of being single. At least that’s what he tells himself.
Everything changes when an assignment takes him to a small, idyllic west-coast island where he falls in love with the local woodcarver. From the first moment he sets eyes on Mitch, he feels like he’s found his perfect match. But things are never that simple for Rob.
Before long he finds himself involved with devious deals, jealous ex-lovers, and secrets from the past that refuse to go away. Rob knows that the only way to get what he needs is to reveal the truth. But does he have the courage to do what must be done in time to save himself and the man he loves?
Reader advisory: This book contains references to past drug addiction, past non-consensual prostitution, alcoholism, animal death, and serious injury.
After a good long sleep and a light breakfast, Rob sat at his desk, coffee within reach, typing away at the keyboard, transcribing his notes, occasionally writing out phrases and making structural comments which would form the shape of his story. And what a story this one would be. A sixty-thousand-word tale of ugliness and violence among a beautiful people who could not be crushed. This was what he lived for—shining a light into the dark, illuminating a path into a new world for his readers. Now, if only he’d been shot on that last night. Not seriously, just a flesh wound. He would have had Errol photograph it. A nice rich black-and-white image focused on the wound. What a cover that would have made for One Man in Mogadishu. It would be a bestseller. He needed one of those right about now. It had been five years since One Man Against the Mountain had won him the Governor General’s Award for non-fiction and a modest film deal. It wasn’t a huge amount of money, but how many people could claim that Tom Cruise had played them in a film?
His phone rang. Rob was so focused on his writing he answered without checking caller ID.
“Rob Hanson.”
“Robert, sweetheart. How are you?” said a raspy voice that spoke of years of too many cigarettes and too much scotch. It was Estelle, Rob’s seventy-year-old literary agent.
“Estelle. How are you?”
He stood and took his coffee into the living room. A call from Estelle could last a while. Through the window, his eye caught the sight of a majestic three-masted tall ship sailing towards the harbour.
“…invoice from Errol.” There was a long pause on the phone. “Are you even listening to me?” she asked.
“Sorry, Estelle. The brain’s still a bit drifty. What did you say?”
“I asked if it was all right to go ahead and pay the invoice from Errol?”
“Of course you can. Wait—you never ask me about things like that. What’s up?”
“How was your trip?”
There was another long pause as he looked out the window. He’d always wanted to take a cruise on a ship like that. It took him back to his childhood—
“Look, if you’re too busy right now…”
“No. No…ah. It was great. I think the manuscript will write itself. In the meantime, I can come up with a teaser piece for you to send out to the magazines.”
“That’s what I like to hear. So, it all went smoothly,” she coughed out.
“Couldn’t have gone smoother.”
“Aside from the street killing.”
Rob hadn’t planned on telling her this soon. “Who snitched?”
“You keep secrets from me, Robert. I keep some from you. Look, I’m not your mother. I don’t judge you. You don’t judge me. So, now that the gunfight at the OK Corral is over and done with, I need you to do me a favour. You like islands?”
“Y—es,” he said hesitantly.
“I figured. You live on one, after all. Anyway, my friend at West Coast Travel magazine needs a quick two thousand words on Marsh Island. Ever heard of it?”
“Never.”
“Neither have I. But Cedric needs an article and I’m not about to let him down.”
“Cedric,” Rob thought aloud. “Isn’t that the name of the guy you’ve been seeing?”
“Yes, Mr Nosy. He flies into Toronto for visits, and he’s the best lay I’ve had since the first Trudeau was in power, so I’m not about to fuck this up. So, are you going to help me out?”
“If it’ll help your sex life, you bet.” He laughed.
“Good. Now, his secretary’s sick so you’ll have to sign the contract when you get out there. Okay?”
“Sure thing.”
“And thanks for not making me beg for it. I get enough of that from Cedric. Now this’ll be a nice, gentle piece after Somalia.”
“So, where is this place?”
“Who the hell knows and who cares, other than you, of course. It’s probably one of those little rocks off the coast of Vancouver. I thought it might be a perfect excuse to visit Jessica.”
“Jessica?”
After a moment she threw him a lifeline. “Your sister.”
“Crap.”
“I thought you might like to visit her… Her birthday’s coming up.” She coaxed him into putting the pieces together.
“Crap again.”
“It’ll be her thirty-fifth, so you can stop taxing that poor brain of yours. Strangely, it falls on the same date as it did last year. And you’re welcome for remembering.”
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Peter E. Fenton
Peter E. Fenton’s previous work was focused on writing for the stage, with award-winning productions of The Giant’s Garden, Newfoundland Mary, and Bemused.
He spent many years working in palaeontology in remote locations including the Canadian Rockies, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Peter lives in Toronto, Canada with his partner of more than twenty years, Scott White. At heart, he is an incredible romantic.
The Woodcarver’s Model is his first novel.
Find out more about Peter at his website and blog and follow him on Instagram.
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