Andrew Grey's Blog, page 50
March 27, 2011
New Cover - A Serving of Love
Blurb:
Sebastian Franklin has waited a long time to prove himself as front of the house manager at Cafe Belgie, but his first night in charge while Darryl, his boss, is on vacation is less than a success. The restaurant is robbed at closing time, and the Good Samaritan who foiled the robber comes with his own complications.
Robert Fortier is the county’s newest judge, and a reluctant one at that. He is well aware that a public life is not always easy, especially when your personal life makes you the target of a media frenzy. Still, Robert enjoys Sebastian’s company, and Sebastian is never without a serving of happiness and flair for his favorite public figure. But Sebastian is not without his issues either—family chaos and an ex in trouble will put the pressure on as they struggle for even footing in this new romance.
March 26, 2011
A Troubled Range - Available for Kindle
For all you Kindle users, A Troubled Range is available for Amazon Kindle.
Here's a link if you need it: http://www.amazon.com/Troubled-Range-Stories-ebook/dp/B004TTWL00/ref=zg_bs_10148_6
Book of the Week - Accompanied by a Waltz
http://www.longandshortreviews.com/WC/index.htm
Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!
March 25, 2011
New Cover - Seven Days
Seven Days is releasing next month and I just go the cover for it and I thought I'd share. When I wrote this story, I started with the premise that in every life there are days that change everything, this story has seven of them. The release is in April.
Can a person’s life change in just one day? How about seven?
This is the story of seven pivotal days in Evan Donaldson’s life. Evan was a teenage street hustler when Father Valentin talked him into coming to Saint Bartholomew’s Academy. In that one day, Evan’s entire life changed. That’s the day he met his roommate, Clay Mueller, and the day Evan began to live. But Evan’s life would change again and again, from abuse to first love, to separation and heartbreak, and eventually to starting his own family. Through it all, whenever a door closed for Evan, a window opened, and the window was Clay.
From the first day of finding faith and connecting with Clay through their relationship’s twists and turns, this is a glimpse into seven decisive days and the critical, amazing way a single moment can change destiny.
March 24, 2011
Amazing Review for Accompanied by a Waltz
Lilyraines said: What I found appealing about this book is the poignancy of the characters' stories, the characters themselves, the setting, and the writing that makes at least this reader think of a well-orchestrated dance that, when watched, lulls you one moment, before bringing you awake the next.
Link to the review
A Troubled Range Releases at Midnight Tonight.
Blurb:
The neighboring Holden and Jessup ranches are anything but neighborly—Jefferson Holden and Kent Jessup loathe each other. But despite his father’s long-held grudge, Haven Jessup just can’t bring himself to hate, especially after Dakota Holden takes him in during a violent storm and Haven meets Dakota’s friend, Phillip Reardon.
Phillip accepts Haven for who he is, seeing through the mask Haven uses to hide his attraction to men, but their tentative and secret relationship will be under a huge amount of stress. Sabotaged fences, injured animals, unsavory plans, and Jessup family secrets will threaten Haven’s newfound happiness and his hopes of a future with Phillip.
Purchase from Dreamspinner Press Starting at Midnight
Excerpt:
Phillip got up and walked to his friend, receiving a hug, surprised when Dakota was followed in by a younger man, almost as broad and tall. Turning, Dakota spoke to the stranger. “Haven, I’ll give you a ride home as soon as I get my dad to bed.” Dakota looked at Phillip. “You gonna be up for a while?”
“Sure. Wally went to bed a while ago, but I can stay up for a bit,” Phillip answered, noticing that the other man kept looking at him. Phillip knew that look—one of confused desire that closeted boys got when they saw something that they were attracted to, but weren’t sure if they wanted to kiss or kill. Phillip saw Dakota take the nearly full beer bottle from his dad before wheeling him away down the hall toward his bedroom. The kid, Dakota had said his name was Haven, sat on the far edge of the sofa. “I’m Phillip, Phillip Reardon. Do you work for Dakota?”
Haven shook his head. “Haven Jessop. My dad’s ranch is just to the east of Dakota’s place.” He seemed nervous and uncomfortable, but Phillip felt confident that he wasn’t the source. There seemed to be something else that had the man wound as tight as a drum.
“Did you get the fence fixed?”
“Yes,” Haven answered, and he seemed to wind himself even tighter. Leg bouncing on the floor, eyes darting around the room, Haven almost seemed as though he was ready to explode at any minute. Dakota’s footsteps in the hall seemed to trigger him, and Haven jumped to his feet as Dakota entered the room. “That section of fence was fine this afternoon,” he blurted out excitedly, like he’d been waiting hours to say something.
“It couldn’t have been. The post was rotten.”
Haven stepped closer, looking earnestly at Dakota. “I know it looked rotten, which is why I checked it by hand. I saw it when I was on Jake and tested it. The post looked bad, but it didn’t budge when I tugged on it.” Haven was speaking louder, and Dakota looked dubious. Footsteps in the hall silenced everyone.
“Kota,” Wally said from the hallway, “you’re being an ass. I can tell from here that he’s telling the truth, and since when do we call people liars who just spent two hours helping us fix fences and get our cattle back in their ranges?”
Phillip had never seen the wind fly out of Dakota’s sails so fast before, but Wally wasn’t done. “I believe Haven’s telling the truth, and I think you should have a better look at the post tomorrow morning, when you can see. In the meantime, he needs to go home before his father has some sort of conniption, and you need to come to bed.” Without another word, Wally turned back down the hall.
“Let me take you home,” Dakota said to Haven.
“I’ll do it, Dakota. You go on to bed. You’re dead on your feet.” Phillip walked toward his room. “I’ll put on some shoes.” Phillip went to his room and slipped on some sneakers. When he returned, the two men were talking quietly and most of the tension had thankfully dissipated. “You ready to go?” Phillip asked, and Haven nodded, as Dakota covered a yawn with his hand.
“I promise I’ll check the post in the morning. I had the men throw it in the back of the truck.”
“Thanks,” Haven replied with a slight smile before following Phillip outside and across the yard to his car. “My dad’s gonna blow a gasket. I was supposed to be home hours ago,” Haven said just before Phillip started the engine.
Phillip put the car in gear and pulled down the drive. “Just say you were helping Dakota out. He should understand. Doesn’t everybody help everyone else out around here?”
Haven had him turn left. “My dad and Dakota’s dad have been enemies for years. Don’t know why, but if my dad finds out I was at the Holden ranch, he’ll skin me alive. It’s been that way ever since I could remember.” Haven pointed out the window. “The drive’s just up on the left about another half mile.”
Phillip watched for the drive and turned, pulling up to the small house, stopping the car. “I’ll see you around, and I promise not to tell your dad where you were.”
Haven smiled, his face warming, eyes sparkling with a touch of happiness. “Thanks, I appreciate that.” Haven opened the door and climbed out of the car. “I’ll see you around.”
The door closed, and Phillip watched as Haven climbed the steps to the house, disappearing inside. Phillip turned his car around and headed back down the drive toward the ranch.
Parking out of the way, Phillip got out of the car, surprisingly not at all sleepy. He looked toward the foreman’s cabin, its windows dark, thinking of Mario and the times he’d spent in that cozy little house with Mario keeping him warm. Wally was right. It had been foolish and unfair of him to think Mario would be waiting for him to come back. Truthfully, Phillip had started to wonder if he was made to settle down, but the bouts of loneliness were becoming more frequent, and he found himself becoming more and more jealous of the couples he seemed to be spending time with. Phillip smiled as he could almost hear Wally’s voice asking him what it was he wanted. He’d always thought he’d fall for a huge guy with muscles and strength, both inside and out.
Without thinking, Phillip found himself wandering into the barn, a small light at the far end enough for him to see the large heads poking out of the stalls to see what was going on. “It’s okay, guys, didn’t mean to disturb you,” Phillip told the horses before turning around. Leaving the barn, he wandered toward the front porch and into the house. Tired or not, he wasn’t going to sort his life out in a few minutes.
Opening the door quietly, he lightly stepped through the nearly dark house, making his way toward the bedroom. Cleaning up as softly as he could, Phillip slid beneath the crisp sheets and did his best to let the worries and cares that seemed to follow him lately fall away. Once he relaxed, Phillip smiled as he thought of Haven and the warmth in the brief smile he’d seen and the earnest way he’d needed Dakota to believe him. The boy was cute; he had to give him that.
March 23, 2011
Excerpt of A Shared Range in celebration of A Troubled Range Releasing Friday
Purchase A Shared Range from Dreamspinner Press
Add A Troubled Range to your Wish List at Dreamspinner Press
Blurb: After a year in medical school, Dakota Holden returned home to take care of the family business full time and help his father cope with multiple sclerosis. Devoted to his family, Dakota allows himself just one week of vacation a year, which he spends in some exotic location having all the fun he can stand. On his last vacation, a cruise, Dakota struck up a friendship with Phillip Reardon, and it fills an important role in Dakota’s life.
So when Phillip decides to take Dakota up on his invitation to visit the ranch, Dakota is happy to see him and meet his veterinarian friend, Wally Schumacher. Despite Wally’s inclination to help the wolves Dakota’s men shoot to protect the cattle, he and Dakota find they have a lot in common, including a fierce attraction. But they’ll have to decide if the Wyoming range is big enough for Dakota’s cattle, Wally’s wolves, and their love.
Excerpt.
A truck pulled into the yard, and Wally saw a small pack of dogs race out of the barn to the truck and then race back to begin circling his legs. “What’s all this?” He knelt down and was mobbed by the ragtag bunch. “Are they friendly?”
“Goodness, yes.” The smallest, some sort of terrier mix, jumped into Wally’s arms and began licking his face. “The mutt giving you a bath is Max. The lab is Libby, and the boxer mix is Sparky.” At the mention of his name, Sparky made a lunge and knocked Wally on his butt before he, too, joined in the lovefest. Wally made the mistake of laughing and got a doggie tongue in his mouth, but didn’t really care too much as he handed out scratches behind ears and received lots of doggie love.
“Mario,” Dakota called, and the man from the truck walked over. “This is Wally.”
Wally tried to shake hands, but the wiggling, squirming dogs sort of got in the way.
“Wally, this is Mario, my foreman.” Dakota started to laugh as Wally tried to get up, only to be jumped again by the dogs.
Wally finally got to his feet and extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” They shook hands quickly.
“Boss, we had a few problems in the north range.” Mario turned his attention to Dakota, his face serious.
“That wolf again?” Dakota’s smile faded and his voice darkened. “Did we lose anything?”
“That’s the strange thing. It was definitely him, but there’s no sign that he tried to take down any of the herd. He just stood by the edge of the wooded area and watched until I took a shot at him.”
“Maybe he wasn’t hungry.” Wally spoke up, and saw both men looking at him like he was from outer space. “Wolves don’t kill for sport. They kill because they’re hungry or to feed their mate or young, and they’re more likely to take down small game than a full-grown steer.” Wally was on a roll and hadn’t realized his strong feelings had made him raise his voice. “And you took a shot at him?” Wally glared at the foreman and felt his anger build. “Excuse me.”
Turning away, Wally walked back toward the house, muttering under his breath. He really wasn’t sure if they could hear him, but at the moment he didn’t care. “Great, if you don’t understand something, just kill it and mount it on the wall. That’ll take care of everything.” Wally opened the door and walked into the house, letting the screen bang behind him.
As soon as he reached the living room, he stopped himself and flopped on the sofa. Jesus, he’d been here less than an hour and he’d insulted his host.
“What’s going on?” Phillip sat next to him.
“I shot my mouth off and made an ass of myself.” Wally looked up and saw through the window that Dakota was on his way in and didn’t look happy.
March 19, 2011
Nice Review for Crunch Time
I already got a really nice review of Crunch Time from Dawn's Reading Nook. Thank you so much Dawn for the review. I'm so glad you liked the story.
Dawn said: CRUNCH TIME is one story that will leave you smiling in the end. It's a sweet, romantic story of two people who start out as teacher and student and falling for one another. Andrew Grey is one talented author who is a master at creating character driven stories that resonate with the readers. I love this author's writing. It's like coming home from a long time away to find you never really left.
Read the entire review
Purchase Crunch Time at Dreamspinner Press or at Amazon
A Troubled Range - Releasing Friday March 25
Blurb:
The neighboring Holden and Jessup ranches are anything but neighborly—Jefferson Holden and Kent Jessup loathe each other. But despite his father’s long-held grudge, Haven Jessup just can’t bring himself to hate, especially after Dakota Holden takes him in during a violent storm and Haven meets Dakota’s friend, Phillip Reardon.
Phillip accepts Haven for who he is, seeing through the mask Haven uses to hide his attraction to men, but their tentative and secret relationship will be under a huge amount of stress. Sabotaged fences, injured animals, unsavory plans, and Jessup family secrets will threaten Haven’s newfound happiness and his hopes of a future with Phillip.
Excerpt:
“Why’s your dad hate Dakota so much? He’s never been anything but nice to everybody, far as I know. Helps everybody out when they need it and more than most, from what I hear.” Kade didn’t look up as he watched the pastureland around him, looking for anything that could make the cattle sick.
“The only thing I can figure is because Dakota’s queer.” Haven saw Kade’s head jerk up at the word. He knew he shouldn’t have used it, especially with the feelings he himself had had for as long as he could remember. Haven knew Kade was looking at him and he needed to cover somehow. “Not that it matters to me, but then Dad always held with that church stuff. I never paid it no mind,” he added as nonchalantly as he could. Haven made his way toward the fence line, with Kade a little ways away watching the ground. “Maybe it’s just ’cause Dad’s jealous or something. Everything that happens, he tries to blame it on the Holdens, always has. God himself could sweep down in a blaze of glory, and he’d blame the Holdens that God’s brightness hurt his eyes.”
Kade snickered, but said nothing more before riding off to continue checking the range. Haven moved closer to the fence, watching the wire and posts as Jake followed the route he knew well. A few of the posts looked as though they might be ready to give, and Haven dismounted, holding Jake’s reins as he checked, but they held fine, and he remounted, continuing on his way. In a few places, he saw where posts had already been replaced, and he made a note to thank Dakota the next time he saw him. There was no way he’d tell his dad, who would only yell that Holden had been on his property rather than being grateful that the man had actually fixed the fence for them.
At the far end of the range, Haven looked back along the line before starting down the back section. He saw Kade weaving through the range and let his thoughts wander. He liked it out here alone where he could think, away from his father’s stiflingly vocal self-righteous convictions. Fencing and posts passed by as he and Jake slowly made their way along the back of the range. Post after post, acre after acre, passed by them. A few times, he pulled Jake up to check posts and to help keep his eyes sharp.
At the far corner of the range, he dismounted and fished in his saddlebags for pliers. Jake lowered his head, feeding, looking content, as Haven worked to fix a break in the fence. Twisting the barbed wire back together, Haven worked carefully, keeping his gloved fingers away from the barbs, but as he repaired one break, another section of wire pulled away from the post. “Damn it!” Haven swore—there just wasn’t quite enough wire left to really fix it. After working awhile, Haven finally managed to knit the break back together.
Crack! The sound had Haven jumping out of his skin. Looking around, he saw the dark clouds of a storm rolling in fast from the west. “It’s okay, Jake. Let’s go home.” Haven could feel the horse’s nervousness, and he opened the saddlebag to put his tools away. Crack! Boom! Thunder rolled through the air, making the ground shake. Jake reared, and Haven found his butt bouncing on the ground as Jake raced away in a complete panic, hooves tearing up the ground as he got smaller and smaller, galloping back toward the barn faster than Haven could ever hope to.
“Shit!” Haven hollered as the wind picked up. With nothing else to do, Haven began walking the fence line back the way he had come. If he were lucky, the storm would be dry, bringing wind and noise, but no rain. But that he doubted as the next gust of wind carried the scent of water on it, and he picked up the pace, practically running.
Haven looked around, but knew what he’d see: nothing at all for miles in any direction except open range and fence. There had once been a range cabin just beyond the fence, but it had fallen down in a storm a few years earlier, and his dad was too cheap to rebuild it. So he had no choice; he had to walk and pray. He knew Kade was far away and had hopefully made it back to the ranch.
Another crack was followed instantly by a clap of thunder that had Haven holding his ears and clamping his eyes shut. He swore he could almost feel the heat; he sure as hell could smell the crackling in the air. Looking up, he saw smoke rising from the range just to the west. “Holy fuck,” he said to himself, eyes wide in fear, “the range is on fire!” Haven hurried, racing along the fence line as the smoke grew in intensity, spreading in the nearly dry grass.
The first raindrop splatted against his shoulder, big and full, followed by several more. Looking up at the nearly black sky, Haven checked for swirls, but saw none. As he continued to hurry along the fence line, the wind picked up again as the sky opened up, sheets of rain wetting him to the skin in an instant. At least he didn’t have to worry about the fire, but the rain picked up even more, buckets of water driven past him by gale-force winds, his wet shirt flapping in the wind.
With no shelter at all, his only choice was to continue trying to get home. Haven knew it wasn’t safe out in this weather, but he didn’t have a choice.
Finally, he reached the fence corner and began the turn toward the house. He could barely see, the water blowing into his eyes. “Haven.” Hearing his name in the wind, he tried to call back, but just got a mouthful of water. Peering through the gloom, he saw a figure on horseback materialize on the other side of the fence. “Haven, is that you?”
“Yes,” he called into the wind as a horse and rider came closer on the other side of the fence. “Dakota?” He couldn’t see for sure who it was in the yellow rain gear.
“Climb through the fence.” Dakota got off the horse and carefully spread the wire. Haven did the same, gingerly threading himself between the sharp barbs before standing next to the snorting horse. “Get on behind me, and we’ll get you inside.” Dakota mounted the huge horse before pulling Haven up behind him. Haven held on tight as the horse began to move.
“How can you see in this?”
“I can’t, but Roman knows the way, and he’ll get us back to the house. Just hang on.”March 17, 2011
Busy Day Today
I did an interview with SJD Pererson. It's live on her blog. Here's a link if you'd like to check it out:
http://sjdpeterson.blogspot.com/2011/03/getting-to-know-andre-grey.html?zx=c184345b3372e7dc
http://sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com/2011/03/inspiration-at-gym_17.html?showComment=1300398824986#c4631118925271502423
