Summer
Season by Rebecca Cohen
Blurb:
A Treading the Boards Novella
A trip down to Cornwall is just what Ryan Penniford needs to recover from the daily grind of London life. Ryan and his amateur dramatics society, the Sarky Players, are traveling to Porthcurno to perform at the stunning Minack Theatre.
Stuart Box has returned to Cornwall after earning his PhD, and is killing time as he looks for a job back in London. Spending time with Ryan from the Sarky Players is a great way to take his mind off things.
During their first meeting, sparks fly, but not in a good way, and they must work to get past their initial hostilities to discover they have great off-stage chemistry. Stuart soon learns Ryan is not the superficial man people assume he is, and Stuart likes what he sees. The feeling is entirely mutual.
Pity Ryan is only visiting for two weeks, but both men want to see where this holiday romance might take them.
A trip down to Cornwall is just what Ryan Penniford needs to recover from the daily grind of London life. Ryan and his amateur dramatics society, the Sarky Players, are traveling to Porthcurno to perform at the stunning Minack Theatre.
Stuart Box has returned to Cornwall after earning his PhD, and is killing time as he looks for a job back in London. Spending time with Ryan from the Sarky Players is a great way to take his mind off things.
During their first meeting, sparks fly, but not in a good way, and they must work to get past their initial hostilities to discover they have great off-stage chemistry. Stuart soon learns Ryan is not the superficial man people assume he is, and Stuart likes what he sees. The feeling is entirely mutual.
Pity Ryan is only visiting for two weeks, but both men want to see where this holiday romance might take them.
Excerpt:
The Sarky Players began to slowly organize
themselves. By the way Owen was giving out orders, Stuart suspected that he was
the director, but the others didn’t seem to mind being told what to do and
began carrying items from the back of the van into the top level of the
theater. He wasn’t at all surprised when everything came to a halt as those
who’d never been to the Minack before got their first view of the theater.
“Oh
my God, look at it!” cried Penny.
The
rest of the Sarky Players murmured in agreement at the sight of the
amphitheater built into the cliff face and the endless sea behind.
Ryan gasped in awe, and Stuart watched him
take a few steps away from the other players, drinking in the theater. Stuart
couldn’t blame him.
He
knew of nowhere else like it.
Perhaps Ryan wasn’t quite as shallow as he’d
assumed.
Owen chivvied his troops, using exaggerated
arm movements to herd them back into action. “I know it’s beautiful, but you’ll
have all week to stare at it, and just think how amazing it will be to be on
the stage.”
The
words seemed to do the trick as the players formed a line to pass everything
down the steps to the next level. Several more people arrived, making Stuart
more hopeful they’d be through with the get-in and stage setup by late
afternoon.
Piece by piece was passed down the chain, and
having seen other productions of A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, Stuart wasn’t surprised at the collection they’d
brought with them. Fake trees and rolls of green fabric would be used to dress
the stage as a forest. On first glance, the costumes of the fairies were
gaudier than he’d seen before, but then every troupe that came down here had to
fight to hold the audience’s attention. Picking Shakespeare was always a
popular choice, but competing with the elements and the Atlantic Ocean were not
battles most plays had to face.
A ripple of laughter made Stuart turn
around while carrying a selection of fairy wings. He ground his teeth as he
spotted Ryan pretending to balance on an edge of a step and wobbling about.
“Oi!” Stuart shouted, covering the short
distance between them in a few long strides. “Be careful.”
Ryan turned to stare at him. “I am being
careful. I was just having a giggle to break up the monotony of lugging all
this stuff.”
“It
won’t be a giggle if you slip and crack your head open on the way to the
bottom.”
“Oh
please.”
“Look, I know you think it’s a bit of fun, but
no one will be laughing if we have to lift you out of here by air ambulance.”
Ryan put his hands on his hips and puffed out
his cheeks. “You’re overreacting. I’m not doing anything sillier than anyone
else in this line, so why are you picking on me?”
“Because you’re the one acting like an idiot.”
“Who died and made you King Joykiller?”
Bio and Links:
Rebecca Cohen is a Brit abroad. Having swapped
the Thames for the Rhine, she has left London behind and now lives with her
husband and baby son in Basel, Switzerland. She can often be found with a pen
in one hand and a cup of Darjeeling in the other.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/R_Cohen_writes
DSP author
page: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_462
Blog Tour:
Rebecca
Cohen – Summer Season Blog Tour
October
Giveaway:
$20
gift card for Amazon or Are, 2 ebooks from back catalogue (excluding Summer
Season). Giveaway closes 21st October 2015.
Oh, good question. I don't think I have a favourite location as such but the places I like to travel to are those where I'm guaranteed good weather and can do both the lazing on the beach and the cultural enrichment.
ReplyDeleteI really don't have a favorite destination. I haven't been on a vacation in a long time. When my kids were small we spent almost every summer down in Williamsburg, VA. Loved those days. Would love to take a tropical vacation one day.
ReplyDelete