With fifty days to go until the publication of One Night in Hartswood, we are DELIGHTED to welcome author Emma Denny to our blog to introduce main characters Raff and Penn.

One Night in Hartswood is the compelling debut historical queer romance from Romance Includes Everyone winner, Emma. It has dagger fights, forbidden romance, secret identities and a beautiful love story – perfect for fans of Stephanie Garber and Freya Marske! 

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Meet Penn…

Running from an arranged marriage to a woman he’s never met, Penn will do anything to escape his cruel father’s keep. When he’s found starving and half-frozen in Hartswood Forest by the intriguing hunter who’s been playing on his mind since their kiss the night before, it’s easy for Penn to hide his true identity in order to secure his help.

But when their relationship begins to blossom into something more, the continued concealment threatens to ruin everything. Penn’s guilt gnaws at him, but how can he admit his deceit when the lie is what keeps them together?

Meet Raff…

When searching for his sister’s missing groom in Hartswood Forest, Raff stumbles across a runaway servant… a man he only knows from the moonlit kiss they shared the night before. Raff offers his help, hoping he can give him the freedom they both crave. As their journey north progresses, he soon finds himself drawn to the man in a way he’d never expected, giving in to his desire and the memory of that brief moment in the woods.

With their time together coming to an end, Raff must finally decide what he truly wants… but long-concealed secrets could destroy it all.

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One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny

Oxfordshire 1360

When Penn and Raff meet in Hartswood Forest the only truth they know of each other is a brief moonlit kiss they had shared the night before. But Penn is escaping an arranged marriage to a woman he has never seen. Raff is tracking the elusive missing groom of his sister to restore his family’s honour. Neither are looking for a travelling companion. Yet both men find themselves drawn to each other in ways neither imagined.

Unaware of their true identities they venture north together through Hartswood Forest. And, as their bond deepens, their fates become irrevocably entwined. But, with one escaping a life of duty and one tracking a fugitive, continued concealment threatens everything they know and trust in each other. So when secrets are finally revealed, and the consequences of their relationship become clear, both must decide what they will risk for the man they love.

Pre-order here.

Emma has also shared the playlist she created when writing Raff and Penn’s story. Listen here.

By Lauren Gardiner