My first novel, Beneath Madrid, coming May 12, 2016

You’ve read the headline right, folks! The novel I’ve been working hard to make a reality over the past few years has a firm release date, May 12. That’s May 12 of this year, I promise.

It’s certainly been an adventure since I decided to make my dream of writing a novel a reality some five years ago. As a matter of fact, Beneath Madrid, the novel I’m releasing in May, is the third one I’ve worked on during that time. The first two were false starts that I now know will become novels one day but were victims of the flawed methodologies of a novice writer.

Fortunately, I gathered the will power to try for a third time starting in the summer of 2014, discovered a routine that clicked, and saw the project through to its end. The result is a rather dark psychological thriller with some touches of mystery that’s not only set in Madrid but gives Madrid a voice of its own and, subject to interpretation, even makes it the story’s antagonist.

In fact, Madrid plays such a strong role in this book that I decided it was only fitting to launch it close to May 15, which is the annual festival in honor of the city’s patron saint, San Isidro.

Without further ado, here’s a sneak peek at the full print cover and synopsis:

A struggling American writer in Madrid gets a novel idea sure to put his life and relationship back on track. But his research soon pits him against a murderous housing developer and his own personal demons.

Donny, an American expat teaching English in the Madrid, Spain of the Great Recession, is a recovering addict who’s spent the last ten years struggling to write a novel. To fulfill his lifelong dream, he’s put everything else on hold, including his friendships, career, and starting a family with Alba, the woman who rescued him from his vices.

One day, he spots the remains of a water supply tunnel dating back to the height of the Spanish Empire at a construction site across the street. The discovery becomes an obsession that fuels inspiration for a new novel, but Donny realizes the only way to write the story, and unblock his life and relationship, is to live it.

So Donny embarks on a murky adventure that brings him face-to-face with Madrid’s seedy temptations, his own addictions, a seductive politician, and a murderous housing developer intent on keeping the water supply tunnel a secret. Can he navigate his way through the dangers, expose the archaeological crimes, and live happily ever after with Alba? Or will he lose Alba, his sanity, or worse yet, his life?

Beneath Madrid, Jason Paul Barker’s stunning debut novel, explores the inner struggle pitting our true selves against whom society has preordained us to be. Dreams and desire clash with conformity in this layered psychological thriller that will not only leave you guessing what’s real and what’s fiction, but wondering how much of our lives are scripted…and by whom.

Just as in his short story collection, Guilt Trips, Barker weaves an accessible, yet emotionally charged and disturbing, tale that will appeal to both readers of page-turning mystery thrillers and more demanding readers of literary fiction alike.

Get Beneath Madrid to find out Donny’s fate today!