The Weather Baker’s Son (World of Love) by Peter Grover
Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 21, 2016

Cover Artist: Brooke Albrecht

Purchase it here

Thank you Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Reviews for having me on your blog!  My book, The Weather Baker’s Son, second one issued in the Dreamspinner World of Love project, takes place in southern France.  I have ensured much local color is found in the book.  Here are my answers to your questions:

• Where do you normally draw your inspiration for a book from?  A memory, a myth, a place or journey, or something far more personal?

Most often from the memory of a place and the sights seen in that place.  Sometimes it does involve the journey along the way as well. The quirky things one sees in someplace new are always an inspiration. I am also working on a project that is inspired by an event that occurred 2,000 years ago, and how it impacts people today.

• Are you a planner or a pantzer when writing a story? And  why?

I am currently a hybrid or plantzer.  I started as a pantzer as I love to dwell on certain scenes, almost as standalone and create the vibe around them, the interaction between the characters as well as add any of the local beauty that should be incorporated. As a result, and as predicted by those who are planners I have had to delete much, rearrange other things and waste a lot of time. But at the same time, I have enjoyed my distractions.  However, the advantages of planning have not been lost on me.  I have been practicing planning from day one with a new project which is now several months into writing while at the same time being a pantzer again with another project. I have found the one being planned interesting to do and have gained a great appreciation for the complexity of the process. The planning is indeed helping me but occasionally I need to break out of the process to sketch an entire chapter just for the love of it!

• Contemporary, supernatural, fantasy, or science fiction narratives or something else?  Does any genre draw you more than another when writing it or reading it and why does it do so?

That’s a hard question as all have attracted me over time.  I was a voracious reader of science fiction as a youth.  I also studied at university the great classics of European and Latin American literature for many years and have degrees in modern languages. Regarding my own current writing however I am mainly drawn to contemporary narratives.

• Can an author have favorites among their characters and do you have them?

Yes and yes! In The Weather Baker’s Son I am in love with the weather baker’s son in every way and also have a more subdued affection for the weather baker herself! They are definitely my favorites characters.

• If you were to be stranded on a small demi-planet, island, or god forbid LaGuardia in a snow storm, what books would you take to read or authors on your comfort list?

Authors could be any or all of Ogden Nash, Oscar Wilde, Amy Lane, Kim Fielding, Damon Suede, Anna de Noailles.

• How early in your life did you begin writing?

Probably around the age of 9 and into my teenage years but I never did anything with the output and much of it is lost. Then came a long career as a legal wordsmith in a commercial environment. While it may sound dry I really enjoyed it and I believe my opinions were respected for their thoroughness and clarity.  Only now am I back into creating fiction for my own enjoyment and hopefully that of my readers.

• Were you an early reader or were you read to and what childhood books had an impact on you as a child that you remember to this day and why?

I come from a family of voracious readers and we all read constantly and early on.  As my parents both did shift work we were not often read to, but we were always encouraged to read! I would say I especially enjoyed science fiction, notably the greats like Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury but I would also devour non-fiction, such as history and biographies.

About The Weather Baker’s Son

Nature’s call of desire among golden fields and intoxicating red-lipped poppies seems to proclaim a path to love and healing in southern France. Yet Peter, an American university student struggling with self-doubt following a failed love affair, is determined never to be hurt again. While on a vacation with his widowed mother, Peter is smitten by Gaston, a handsome local baker. Gaston, less bold than Peter, is drawn to Peter as well but fearful of the loss of family esteem—particularly the respect of his cousin Mario, who looks up to Gaston. Their friendship grows into more as Peter continues to visit the bakery, but their increasing intimacy does not go unnoticed. The road to fulfillment becomes increasingly obscured, and internal doubts and external events spiral out of control. The arrival of a handsome stranger, suspicions of murder, and the threat of harm might spell the end of more than just their relationship.

World of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the globe.

About the Author

Peter Grover has received no end of inspiration from his life with his husband and a gaggle of ghosts in a Gothic Victorian house.  Peter has now arisen from a pile of dusty law books to relaunch his background in languages and literature, early passions before his career. Combining these passions with his many travels for work and pleasure has allowed him to illustrate local poetry, arts and landscapes that draw the reader into other, often exotic worlds.  Peter loves to hike the deserts and mountains of the Southwest US in the winter while enjoying the lush scenery and lakes of Central Canada in the summer.