Bitterwood: A Guest Post and Giveaway with Author Rowan Speedwell

We’re so pleased to welcome author Rowan Speedwell today, on the tour for her latest novel, Bitterwood. Enjoy her guest post and then be sure to check out the giveaway details below.

Welcome, Rowan.

Romances tend to be about the young. People seem to enjoy reading stories about hot young bodies and beautiful people. It’s natural, I guess. Flab and wrinkles just aren’t sexy.

But sometimes, one gets tired of the young and the restless. Sometimes, one wants to make the acquaintance of someone who’s a little bit weathered, a little bit wise. Someone who’s seen things and done things, and while they’re not yet ready to be put out to pasture, aren’t going to go off half-cocked.

Joss Daene isn’t old by any stretch of the imagination. But he’s mature, settled, a father and lord of his manor. He’s a practical man who looks out for his responsibilities. No one in the Daene lands is going to go hungry or homeless on his watch.

Captain Faran isn’t young, either. He’s seen too much to ever be young. He has only his position—no family, no wealth, no home, not even a last name—but he tends to his own responsibilities as carefully as Joss, whose family is older than the kingdom. He has nothing but his honor, an honor he holds as dear as he will a lover.

But time is their adversary. As it is for all of us.

And no one more so than the youth of the story—those who should have the most time of all. They aren’t the beautiful and the confident—they are barely more than children. Joss and Faran have to bear the responsibility of their fates as well.

Young Meric also has no time for an adversary. He has to rely on the wisdom of Joss and the courage of Faran, or his life is forfeit. And Joss’s son Eissa, just barely out of childhood, still has the joy and lightness of spirit that a child has. He has the courage of a child, too, untested.

But they have men of strength and honor beside them. Men who have already stood the test of time.

Who could ask for more?

~ Rowan Speedwell ~

About the Book

Outrunning a winter storm in the north, Captain Faran of the King’s Guard leads his men and a young mage named Meric to shelter at Bitterwood Manor, the ancestral home of the Daenes. Faran and his troops have been searching for weeks for a mysterious, lion-like beast that reportedly haunts the uncharted northern woods. For Meric, finding that prophesied cat is a matter of life and death.

Though Faran is deeply focused on their mission, the enigmatic Joss Daene, Lord of Bitterwood, fascinates him. Strong and proud, Joss is everything Faran wants in a lover. More, if he were honest. But Joss belongs to Bitterwood, and Faran to his duty.

Together they will need to brave the oldest, darkest part of the Bitterwood in the coldest, deepest snows of winter to find the legendary cat. But time is running out—for Meric, for the kingdom, and for Faran and Joss’s fledgling love.

Purchase at Riptide Publishing

About the Author

An unrepentant biblioholic, Rowan Speedwell spends half her time pretending to be a law librarian, half her time pretending to be a database manager, half her time pretending to be a fifteenth-century Aragonese noblewoman, half her time . . . wait a minute . . .  Hmm.  Well, one thing she doesn’t pretend to be is good at math.  She is good at pretending, though.

In her copious spare time (hah) she does needlework, calligraphy and illumination, and makes jewelry.  She has a master’s degree in history from the University of Chicago, is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, and lives in a Chicago suburb with the obligatory Writer’s Cat and way too many books.

Connect with Rowan: Website || Twitter @RowanSpeedwell || Goodreads

The Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Bitterwood, one lucky winner will receive a $15 Amazon Gift Card! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on September 24, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!