Made In Portugal by Ana Newfolk Blog Tour, Guest Post, Excerpt & Giveaway!

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Hi guys! We have Ana Newfolk stopping by today with the tour for her new release Made In Portugal, we have a brilliant guest post from Ana with a short excerpt, and a fantastic giveaway where there’s 3 $5 Amazon GC’s up for grabs so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~

Made In Portugal

by

Ana Newfolk

At 10 years old Joel was uprooted from his home and everything he knew in Portugal to start a new life in the States. At 26 he finds himself returning for the first time in thirteen years. So what if looking into the eyes of his childhood best friend again still makes his heart race out of his chest?

Living in sunny, laid-back Portugal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. For David, dreams of being a pastry chef come second to working in his family’s café where his renowned custard tarts draw in the crowds. Seeing Joel brings old feelings back. Feelings he’s not sure he’s brave enough to acknowledge to anyone other than himself.

With the inspiration of an old travel journal, the two friends embark on a real journey through memories in a country where looking back into the past runs as deep as the blood that courses through their veins.

Falling in love was never meant to be a stop along the way, but maybe inevitable when you have the adventurous spirit and courage to pursue what you want, make love under the stars, and even figure out how to jumpstart an old Citroen 2CV in the middle of the Alentejo countryside.

Ana Newfolk!

Writing Process

The blank page terrifies me. Looking at it is a sure way for all the ideas I have in my head to evaporate.

In the very beginning I outlined the bones of Made In Portugal on a spreadsheet. As the story evolved I started making more and more notes, then wrote down chunks of dialogue. I ended up with two notebooks and countless sticky notes full of information that I used to carry with me everywhere. Let’s see if I manage to be a little more organized for the second book.

When I’m writing I get into a space in my head where everything disappears and all I have is the story and the characters. It all runs like a film, which is great when I need the detail of what’s around the characters, how did they feel, how they interact with their surroundings and particularly with each other.

I also really enjoy writing dialogue. Having my characters interact with each other can be so much fun and it tells us a lot about who they are.

Here’s a little excerpt of David and Joel at the beach bar from Joel’s POV:

I was wrapping the journal in its scarf again when Pedro arrived and spotted us immediately.

“Jesus Christ if this is not a blast from the past,” I looked towards the voice I recognized to see Pedro walking toward us. “Joel, I haven’t seen you in years. How are you, my man?” He said as he came over for a one arm hug and a firm pat on the back.

“I’m good, thanks, Pedro. How are you?”

Pedro nodded and turned to David, “And you master chef, I don’t see you often enough, you might as well be living in America too.”

“That’s quite an exaggeration, Pedro. You see me run past here at least a couple of times a week.”

“Running past here won’t help me feed my kids. You need to stop and get a drink.”

“You don’t have any kids Pedro,” David said deadpan.

As I observed the exchange between the two men I was both sad at the years missed this easy friendship, and happy that I was here now.

“I could have kids.” Pedro insisted unwilling to lose that particular argument. “Anyway, what’s that you got there Joel?” he leaned closer, “I have a feeling I’ve seen it before.”

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About Ana!

Ana Newfolk author picAna Newfolk was born in Portugal where she grew up surrounded by sunshine and countryside. She has always had a deep love of reading, and ever since she can remember her favorite presents and treats have always been books. She would often be found in her not-so-secret spot reading her favorite adventure books (when she was younger) and romance novels (when she discovered boys). At 20 years old she moved to the UK where she has lived since.

In 2015 Ana stumbled across her first MM romance novel by chance, and she was hooked. She loves reading about men falling in love, hard, fast and ever so sweetly. This new found love for LGBTQ+ romance has opened a new world for Ana, and in 2017 she decided to finally listen to the voices in her head and write them down.

In addition to the time she spends reading and writing Ana has a full-time job that involves meeting lots of people with interesting stories to tell. She also loves baking as much as she loves watching people eat what she creates, much to the delight of family, friends and work colleagues alike.

You can follow Ana on FacebookTwitterInstagram or through her blog for up to date news of her book releases.

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Giveaway!

Win 3 x $5 Amazon Giftcards!

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Check out the other blogs on the tour!

June 5 – Katie’s Book Corner
June 6 – The Novel Approach
June 8 – Love Bytes
June 11 – MM Good Book Reviews
June 13 – Making It Happen
June 15 – Bayou Book Junkie
June 18 – Joyfully Jay
June 20 – Gay Book Reviews
June 22 – My Fiction Nook
June 25 – Diverse Reader
June 27 – Two Chicks Obsessed