An unacceptable love.
Clergyman’s son John Waterfield, newly returned from an apprenticeship in Venice, suddenly finds himself society’s most celebrated new portraitist. Distractingly handsome, disappointingly modest, he is assured of success, so long as his secret desires remain secret–from society, and from himself. But when his scandalous portrait of a lady brings him to the attention of Viscount Penrith, John is catapulted into a notoriety he would prefer to avoid.
Tristan Hay, Viscount Penrith, is under no illusions: his position is dependent on his father’s sufferance, his brother’s legacy, his own desire to build a future for himself after the reckless indulgences of his youth.
When Tristan commissions a portrait from John, the course of both their lives changes forever, challenging John’s religious upbringing and Tristan’s deeply held belief in his own corrupt nature. As love grows between them, they dare to imagine a life together…until someone from Tristan’s unsavoury past resurfaces.
Rumour, jealousy, and blackmail force John and Tristan to face a devastating choice. Will society tear them apart, or will their deep bond defy a world where their very love is deemed a crime?
Dramatic, heartbreaking, and rich in emotion, RESTRAINT is the story of an impossible love that endures sacrifice and tragedy to echo across time and into our hearts today.
About the book cover
From the time I began writing this story, I envisioned a book cover showing Penrith After a Ride, the portrait that Tristan commissions from John in the opening scene. How I and a very creative group of people got from idea to beautiful result is a bit of a saga.
I bought the chair on Craigslist and slip-covered it with an old curtain off eBay. I sewed the poet shirt (from a sheet) and the brocade waistcoat (from a fancy pillow at the thrift shop). I bought “breeches” (white jogging pants) and dyed them buckskin yellow.
I hired a model (the handsome and patient Matthew Shulz, who brought his big sister along to the shoot in case the photographer and I turned out to be lecherous ladies).
Helen McConnell took the photos (on a phone!), and Nancy Pecore did the initial photoshopping, adding Tristan’s luxuriant red locks and arching eyebrows.
Allan Gibbons, a painter in his own right and a master craftsman in layout, design, and Photoshop, performed the final magic, turning the photo into a painting.
You can see some of the intermediate stages here.
Cover design, logo design and art: Allan Gibbons
Cover model: Matthew Schulz
Cover photographer: Helen McConnell
Typesetting: Adobe InDesign