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Monday, February 14, 2022 Whit and Eddie are just getting back into Daytona Beach after attending the Super Bowl in Los Angeles. Even though the Matadors turned their season around and got closer than anyone might have imagined, they didn't make it all the way. Maybe next year! Meanwhile, filming is underway on the long-delayed feature, It Was Raining Then . Interiors are being shot at Monumental-Daytona and Eddie is back in town just in time to watch the setup for the pivotal sex scene before cast and crew depart for Kauai to shoot the exteriors on the very same beach where South Pacific was once filmed. In the middle of all this, Whit and Eddie both realize they've forgotten about Valentine's Day. Again! Repeating what they did a few years earlier, Whit quickly organizes a dinner cruise down the Halifax River with their friends Howard and Ronnie as well as the star of the movie and his husband, the producer. That enchanted evening turns out to be a pebble that starts an avalanche. Whit's life is about to be upended in ways that no one is expecting, not even Eddie and his ghost friends. This story starts off in Daytona Beach, moves east, and ends in Poland, just across the river from Ukraine. As usual with our cowboy and his little bear, it's a wild ride full of unexpected twists and turns some of which come out of nowhere and some of which are hardly surprising. In the end, though, the love Whit and Eddie share only deepens, becoming more real and solid and, above all things, more tested and enduring than either man would have ever thought possible. * * * WARNING! This is a sappy love story! No crimes will be investigated nor will any bombs be going off or anything like that. You've been given fair notice. Proceed with caution .
414 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 20, 2022
1 person is currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Frank W. Butterfield
123 books106 followersFrank W. Butterfield, not an assumed name, loves old movies, wise-cracking smart guys with hearts of gold, and writing for fun.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 1, 2022
Situation (Whit & Eddie 13)
By Frank W. Butterfield
Published by the author, 2022
Five stars
The world gets very real in this episode of Whit and Eddie’s life on the page. There was a moment when it felt like an episode of “The Purge,” but what this book really is is a pivotal moment in Whit and Eddie’s relationship, triggered by events, both personal and international, over which they have—in spite of their vast wealth—no control.
Things go on as usual in Whit and Eddie’s weird new life. They’re filming a new take on a classic old film—with an interracial gay twist; they’ve acquired a huge chain of Florida newspapers (sort of transforming them, in my mind, into the benevolent gay version of the Roys from television’s “Succession”); and they’re building a proper, secure residential compound on the beach at Daytona.
Then the proverbial shoes start to drop, and the story shifts in emotional tone as the shadow of the current, awful invasion of Ukraine by Russia begins to loom. Suddenly, Whit’s ethnicity and his complicated birth family moves to center stage, and our two dear friends face challenges they’ve never had to face before. Even as they get more comfortable being among the richest and most powerful men on earth, they are confronted with the limits of what even they can do to protect each other.
The Whit & Eddie series, in which we are always reminded of the past history of WilliamsJones and its founders, is truly episodic. The books stand alone, but they really need the context of the extraordinary universe that Frank Butterfield created back when Nick Williams first popped into his mind. Indeed, for some reason, I was constantly thinking of the series that originally inspired Butterfield’s own creativity, J.B. Sander’s Glen & Tyler books. Even with all they have and all they’ve learned with each other, Whit and Eddie find that the world can be an overwhelming place. As always, the panoply of curious and endearing characters, and Butterfield’s loving presentation of them, keeps the story vibrant and emotionally charged.
As one character notes in passing, the people at WilliamsJones seem to do a lot of crying. Indeed.
By Frank W. Butterfield
Published by the author, 2022
Five stars
The world gets very real in this episode of Whit and Eddie’s life on the page. There was a moment when it felt like an episode of “The Purge,” but what this book really is is a pivotal moment in Whit and Eddie’s relationship, triggered by events, both personal and international, over which they have—in spite of their vast wealth—no control.
Things go on as usual in Whit and Eddie’s weird new life. They’re filming a new take on a classic old film—with an interracial gay twist; they’ve acquired a huge chain of Florida newspapers (sort of transforming them, in my mind, into the benevolent gay version of the Roys from television’s “Succession”); and they’re building a proper, secure residential compound on the beach at Daytona.
Then the proverbial shoes start to drop, and the story shifts in emotional tone as the shadow of the current, awful invasion of Ukraine by Russia begins to loom. Suddenly, Whit’s ethnicity and his complicated birth family moves to center stage, and our two dear friends face challenges they’ve never had to face before. Even as they get more comfortable being among the richest and most powerful men on earth, they are confronted with the limits of what even they can do to protect each other.
The Whit & Eddie series, in which we are always reminded of the past history of WilliamsJones and its founders, is truly episodic. The books stand alone, but they really need the context of the extraordinary universe that Frank Butterfield created back when Nick Williams first popped into his mind. Indeed, for some reason, I was constantly thinking of the series that originally inspired Butterfield’s own creativity, J.B. Sander’s Glen & Tyler books. Even with all they have and all they’ve learned with each other, Whit and Eddie find that the world can be an overwhelming place. As always, the panoply of curious and endearing characters, and Butterfield’s loving presentation of them, keeps the story vibrant and emotionally charged.
As one character notes in passing, the people at WilliamsJones seem to do a lot of crying. Indeed.
April 22, 2022
I agree with the previous reviewer. It was an emotional rollercoaster. It dealt with not just with Whit and Eddie coming to terms with loss of friends and family, but also with the state of the world today. I think that it was good to learn more about the people that they surround themselves with also. I still think with every book it is like catching up with friends. Definitely recommend reading.
May 10, 2022
epub via Patreon, on kobo; 270 pages
Very nearly contemporary (February/March 2022) - and with Whit's Ukrainian background it should be no surprise that the threatened invasion features. The action moves from Daytona to Texas, Paris and Poland. A number of deaths occur (not war-related) and the sensitives in the cast have a lot to doe; Whit and Eddie have some friction in their relationship.
It's startling to realise the book is so up-to-date - a distinct advantage to self-publishing! - and a salutary reminder of the 'global village'... Despite that shadow this is a worthy addition to the Whit&Eddie story and one that will bear rereading. Most of the usual supporting cast appear, some more briefly than others...
Very nearly contemporary (February/March 2022) - and with Whit's Ukrainian background it should be no surprise that the threatened invasion features. The action moves from Daytona to Texas, Paris and Poland. A number of deaths occur (not war-related) and the sensitives in the cast have a lot to doe; Whit and Eddie have some friction in their relationship.
It's startling to realise the book is so up-to-date - a distinct advantage to self-publishing! - and a salutary reminder of the 'global village'... Despite that shadow this is a worthy addition to the Whit&Eddie story and one that will bear rereading. Most of the usual supporting cast appear, some more briefly than others...
December 20, 2022
Poignant and raw, impactful and socially relevant.
That’s a bit more than the “sappy love story” disclosed in the book’s description. It’s a powerful, emotional roller coaster that brings Whit and Eddie to a new set-point in their marriage.
Over the course of a few days, events occur one after another, affecting Whit and Eddie’s inner circle. Starting with a dinner cruise with friends and lovers, soon death and loss arise. So much for our guys to process, with so many conflicting feelings. Grieving the loss of those loved, and the loss of those in strangling, love/hate relationships.
Quick on the heels of that, war seeps into their world. A trust is broken. Feelings of shock, hurt, anger, betrayal, and abandonment are very much at the forefront. And now, grief at such a loss of trust.
With a resolve to move beyond that to salvage their relationship, Eddie realized, “Forgiveness wasn’t about forgetting - it was about love.”
As is Frank’s signature style, this story flows seamlessly because of character dialogue and realistic blending of current events with fictional portrayals. Although it’s a love story, it’s not for the faint of heart.
That’s a bit more than the “sappy love story” disclosed in the book’s description. It’s a powerful, emotional roller coaster that brings Whit and Eddie to a new set-point in their marriage.
Over the course of a few days, events occur one after another, affecting Whit and Eddie’s inner circle. Starting with a dinner cruise with friends and lovers, soon death and loss arise. So much for our guys to process, with so many conflicting feelings. Grieving the loss of those loved, and the loss of those in strangling, love/hate relationships.
Quick on the heels of that, war seeps into their world. A trust is broken. Feelings of shock, hurt, anger, betrayal, and abandonment are very much at the forefront. And now, grief at such a loss of trust.
With a resolve to move beyond that to salvage their relationship, Eddie realized, “Forgiveness wasn’t about forgetting - it was about love.”
As is Frank’s signature style, this story flows seamlessly because of character dialogue and realistic blending of current events with fictional portrayals. Although it’s a love story, it’s not for the faint of heart.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews