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  <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks</id>
  <title>Andrew Grey</title>
  <subtitle>Making the World Sexier One Reader at a Time</subtitle>
  <author>
    <name>andrewgreybooks</name>
  </author>
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  <updated>2013-05-09T22:52:08Z</updated>
  <lj:journal userid="19357842" username="andrewgreybooks" type="personal"/>
  <link rel="service.feed" type="application/x.atom+xml" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/data/atom" title="Andrew Grey"/>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:139364</id>
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    <title>The Fight for Identity - Releasing Tonight at Midnight!!!</title>
    <published>2013-05-09T22:52:08Z</published>
    <updated>2013-05-09T22:52:08Z</updated>
    <category term="the fight for identity"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;xml:namespace ns="livejournal" prefix="lj"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;The Fight for Identity releases tonight at Midnight.&amp;nbsp; This is the third story in The Good Fight series.&amp;nbsp; Now as a treat and by special arrangement, Rainbow eBooks has the story available today, one day early, along with a special short story, Takoda and Horse that is being offered for free.&amp;nbsp; Of course, The Fight for Identity will be available tomorrow at all the usual places including Amazon. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt; &amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;img alt="The Fight for Identity MD" height="302" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/46151/46151_original.jpg" title="The Fight for Identity MD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;Blurb&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;Will Martin&amp;rsquo;s racist father, Kevin, hates Native Americans and wants to keep them off his property, never mind that part of the ranch land is sacred ground for the Sioux. When they request access for prayer, Kevin refuses&amp;mdash;but Will doesn&amp;rsquo;t share his father&amp;rsquo;s views. Ever since he first saw Takoda Red Bird during one of the Sioux sacred ceremonies, Will has been fascinated. He grants the tribe access.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;Takoda defies Kevin on a regular basis. He often sneaks to the sacred site on the rancher&amp;rsquo;s land for prayer and knows Will has seen him there. When, out of spite, Kevin places the land up for auction, Takoda knows it is time for action and bands together with Will to stop the sale.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;In the fight that follows, Will gets more than he expected. He starts out helping the tribe preserve their identity&amp;hellip; and ends up finding his own.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;Purchase from Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3804"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3804&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;Purchase from Rainbow eBooks:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://www.rainbowebooks.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=10795&amp;amp;osCsid=4qqimv0rhnbqkkgeqh2jvc8vu2"&gt;http://www.rainbowebooks.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=10795&amp;amp;osCsid=4qqimv0rhnbqkkgeqh2jvc8vu2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;Excerpt:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;When Will opened his eyes again, movement caught his eye. A lone man sat cross-legged on the ground, gently swaying back and forth. He didn&amp;rsquo;t seem to be wearing a shirt, his skin almost providing a type of camouflage against the red-brown land. Slowly, Will led Midnight down the far side of the rise, closer to where the man sat. As he approached and dismounted, the man&amp;rsquo;s posture stiffened, but he made no move to get up.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;If you&amp;rsquo;re here to kick me off, you can just go about your business,&amp;rdquo; the man said in a deeply rich voice.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Why would I do that? You aren&amp;rsquo;t hurting anything,&amp;rdquo; Will said. He didn&amp;rsquo;t come too close. &amp;ldquo;You might get trampled by the cattle if they wander this way, but that&amp;rsquo;s the only kicking anyone is going to do.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;The man opened his eyes, and Will stared into the deepest set of brown eyes he&amp;rsquo;d ever seen in his life.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I know you, and I know this horse,&amp;rdquo; the man said, and he slowly unfolded his legs and stood up, tall and proud. &amp;ldquo;I saw this horse and probably you a long time ago.&amp;rdquo; He met Will&amp;rsquo;s gaze. &amp;ldquo;I was coming to say hello when your grandfather pulled you away.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;Will swallowed as his gaze traveled over the man&amp;rsquo;s body before quickly returning to his face. He didn&amp;rsquo;t want to be too obvious, but damned if this guy wasn&amp;rsquo;t some sort of god come down to earth. &amp;ldquo;I remember you,&amp;rdquo; Will said, his mind conjuring up the memory. &amp;ldquo;I was watching the ceremony when I was a kid, and I remember you on your horse, riding bareback. I wondered at the time if I could ride like that on Midnight here, but I never tried it.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;How do you know it was me?&amp;rdquo; the man asked.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I remember the scar on your shoulder. The boy I saw had the same one, but it was fresher then. Now it&amp;rsquo;s an old wound, but not then.&amp;rdquo; Will met the man&amp;rsquo;s gaze. &amp;ldquo;What are you doing here?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Praying,&amp;rdquo; he answered. &amp;ldquo;This place is very special to me and my people. I come here sometimes to pray to the gods to help my people, but they don&amp;rsquo;t listen.&amp;rdquo; He sounded angry. &amp;ldquo;Instead, they let your father keep us away from this land and bar us from coming here.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;He did that?&amp;rdquo; Will asked. Not that he was surprised. Thinking back, his father had probably stopped them from using the land as soon as Grandpa died. Even now, Will didn&amp;rsquo;t know why his father hated Native Americans so much, but he&amp;rsquo;d found out that the man he&amp;rsquo;d thought his father was through young teenage eyes turned out to be far different from the man Will saw through adult eyes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yes. He stopped my people from coming here two years ago. Now I&amp;rsquo;m the only one who comes. Your father would call the police if he found me, but I don&amp;rsquo;t care. It&amp;rsquo;s more important to practice my people&amp;rsquo;s beliefs than it is to obey the wishes of some small-minded, hard-hearted white man.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;Will didn&amp;rsquo;t move, but Midnight began to stomp and pull on the reins. He was getting impatient. &amp;ldquo;My father isn&amp;rsquo;t so bad,&amp;rdquo; Will said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Then why does he keep my people from this place? We do no harm, and we only commune with nature and establish a connection to our heritage and customs. This place is sacred, and it figures into one of our earliest stories.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I know. My grandfather used to tell me the stories he knew. He said he had a friend who was Sioux, and he shared the stories with him. I think that&amp;rsquo;s why Grandfather understood and didn&amp;rsquo;t interfere with you.&amp;rdquo; Will began to move to appease Midnight. &amp;ldquo;He told me the day I watched you that you&amp;rsquo;re coming here was the same as us going to church.&amp;rdquo; The man nodded. &amp;ldquo;Then I give you and your people permission to come here and to hold your ceremony.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;Will led Midnight farther away and got ready to mount, but stopped when he heard the other man laughing. &amp;ldquo;I know it&amp;rsquo;s your father who owns the land, or thinks he owns the land. But no one can own nature or the land. Not even you.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;Will stomped over to where the man stood, knowing Midnight would stay. &amp;ldquo;Look, you can play the stereotypical stoic Indian all you want. But I meant what I said. I happen to believe you should be able to practice your beliefs. So you can either act like an ass or say thank you.&amp;rdquo; Will stared at the annoying man, wondering why he was bothering at all.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Native American,&amp;rdquo; the man said. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m Native American, not Indian, and why should I say thank you for allowing my people to practice beliefs we&amp;rsquo;ve held and passed down for thousands of years?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;God, the man was a smartass. &amp;ldquo;Okay, then don&amp;rsquo;t practice your beliefs and stay away. It&amp;rsquo;s no skin off my nose,&amp;rdquo; Will said as he climbed back into the saddle. &amp;ldquo;I was trying to help.&amp;rdquo; Will turned Midnight&amp;rsquo;s head toward home and clicked his teeth to start the horse moving.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;You were,&amp;rdquo; the man said, and Will pulled Midnight to a stop. &amp;ldquo;I should be grateful. At least my people will be able to come here for the ceremony this year.&amp;rdquo; When Will nodded, the man extended his hand and said, &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m Takoda Red Bird.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Will Martin,&amp;rdquo; he said as he shook the offered hand, once again looking the man over. He had to stop that, but he couldn&amp;rsquo;t seem to help himself.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;You know your father is going to raise hell if he finds out what you said,&amp;rdquo; Takoda added. &amp;ldquo;You don&amp;rsquo;t have to do this. Your father has something against my people, and none of us knows what it is, but you don&amp;rsquo;t have to provoke his temper. Your grandfather was a good man, and I believe he understood, but your father doesn&amp;rsquo;t. You don&amp;rsquo;t have to put yourself in harm&amp;rsquo;s way for us.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s the right thing to do, Takoda. I&amp;rsquo;ll deal with my father.&amp;rdquo; Will nudged Midnight, and he started up the rise. It was the right thing to do, and what his grandfather had done. When they reached the top, Will raised his hand in greeting, and Takoda did the same. As his grandfather would say, his dad would have two strokes and a hemorrhage if he found out what Will had done. But it was still the right thing to do. Too bad he had forgotten that no good deed goes unpunished.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/xml:namespace&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:139128</id>
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    <title>The Fight for Identity - Releasing Thursday Night at Midnight!!!</title>
    <published>2013-05-04T13:25:03Z</published>
    <updated>2013-05-04T13:26:13Z</updated>
    <category term="andrew grey"/>
    <category term="the fight for identity"/>
    <category term="mm romance"/>
    <category term="romance"/>
    <category term="gay romance"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;xml:namespace ns="livejournal" prefix="lj"&gt;&lt;xml:namespace ns="livejournal" prefix="lj"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;A number of months ago, I read in the newspaper about a piece of land, sacred to the Sioux, that was going to be auctioned off piece by piece.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Part of their creation story takes place on this land.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;So once again, I got fired up and decided, in my own way, to write about that struggle.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;This is a story about the struggle for identity as a people as well as personally.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;I really hope you enjoy it.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt; &lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;img alt="The Fight for Identity MD" height="302" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/46151/46151_original.jpg" title="The Fight for Identity MD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="display: none;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Will Martin&amp;rsquo;s racist father, Kevin, hates Native Americans and wants to keep them off his property, never mind that part of the ranch land is sacred ground for the Sioux. When they request access for prayer, Kevin refuses&amp;mdash;but Will doesn&amp;rsquo;t share his father&amp;rsquo;s views. Ever since he first saw Takoda Red Bird during one of the Sioux sacred ceremonies, Will has been fascinated. He grants the tribe access. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Takoda defies Kevin on a regular basis. He often sneaks to the sacred site on the rancher&amp;rsquo;s land for prayer and knows Will has seen him there. When, out of spite, Kevin places the land up for auction, Takoda knows it is time for action and bands together with Will to stop the sale.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;In the fight that follows, Will gets more than he expected. He starts out helping the tribe preserve their identity&amp;hellip; and ends up finding his own.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Preorder a copy from Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href='http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3804'&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3804&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Excerpt:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;When Will opened his eyes again, movement caught his eye. A lone man sat cross-legged on the ground, gently swaying back and forth. He didn&amp;rsquo;t seem to be wearing a shirt, his skin almost providing a type of camouflage against the red-brown land. Slowly, Will led Midnight down the far side of the rise, closer to where the man sat. As he approached and dismounted, the man&amp;rsquo;s posture stiffened, but he made no move to get up.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;If you&amp;rsquo;re here to kick me off, you can just go about your business,&amp;rdquo; the man said in a deeply rich voice.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Why would I do that? You aren&amp;rsquo;t hurting anything,&amp;rdquo; Will said. He didn&amp;rsquo;t come too close. &amp;ldquo;You might get trampled by the cattle if they wander this way, but that&amp;rsquo;s the only kicking anyone is going to do.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;The man opened his eyes, and Will stared into the deepest set of brown eyes he&amp;rsquo;d ever seen in his life.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I know you, and I know this horse,&amp;rdquo; the man said, and he slowly unfolded his legs and stood up, tall and proud. &amp;ldquo;I saw this horse and probably you a long time ago.&amp;rdquo; He met Will&amp;rsquo;s gaze. &amp;ldquo;I was coming to say hello when your grandfather pulled you away.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Will swallowed as his gaze traveled over the man&amp;rsquo;s body before quickly returning to his face. He didn&amp;rsquo;t want to be too obvious, but damned if this guy wasn&amp;rsquo;t some sort of god come down to earth. &amp;ldquo;I remember you,&amp;rdquo; Will said, his mind conjuring up the memory. &amp;ldquo;I was watching the ceremony when I was a kid, and I remember you on your horse, riding bareback. I wondered at the time if I could ride like that on Midnight here, but I never tried it.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;How do you know it was me?&amp;rdquo; the man asked.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I remember the scar on your shoulder. The boy I saw had the same one, but it was fresher then. Now it&amp;rsquo;s an old wound, but not then.&amp;rdquo; Will met the man&amp;rsquo;s gaze. &amp;ldquo;What are you doing here?&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Praying,&amp;rdquo; he answered. &amp;ldquo;This place is very special to me and my people. I come here sometimes to pray to the gods to help my people, but they don&amp;rsquo;t listen.&amp;rdquo; He sounded angry. &amp;ldquo;Instead, they let your father keep us away from this land and bar us from coming here.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;He did that?&amp;rdquo; Will asked. Not that he was surprised. Thinking back, his father had probably stopped them from using the land as soon as Grandpa died. Even now, Will didn&amp;rsquo;t know why his father hated Native Americans so much, but he&amp;rsquo;d found out that the man he&amp;rsquo;d thought his father was through young teenage eyes turned out to be far different from the man Will saw through adult eyes.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yes. He stopped my people from coming here two years ago. Now I&amp;rsquo;m the only one who comes. Your father would call the police if he found me, but I don&amp;rsquo;t care. It&amp;rsquo;s more important to practice my people&amp;rsquo;s beliefs than it is to obey the wishes of some small-minded, hard-hearted white man.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Will didn&amp;rsquo;t move, but Midnight began to stomp and pull on the reins. He was getting impatient. &amp;ldquo;My father isn&amp;rsquo;t so bad,&amp;rdquo; Will said.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Then why does he keep my people from this place? We do no harm, and we only commune with nature and establish a connection to our heritage and customs. This place is sacred, and it figures into one of our earliest stories.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I know. My grandfather used to tell me the stories he knew. He said he had a friend who was Sioux, and he shared the stories with him. I think that&amp;rsquo;s why Grandfather understood and didn&amp;rsquo;t interfere with you.&amp;rdquo; Will began to move to appease Midnight. &amp;ldquo;He told me the day I watched you that your coming here was the same as us going to church.&amp;rdquo; The man nodded. &amp;ldquo;Then I give you and your people permission to come here and to hold your ceremony.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Will led Midnight farther away and got ready to mount, but stopped when he heard the other man laughing. &amp;ldquo;I know it&amp;rsquo;s your father who owns the land, or thinks he owns the land. But no one can own nature or the land. Not even you.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Will stomped over to where the man stood, knowing Midnight would stay. &amp;ldquo;Look, you can play the stereotypical stoic Indian all you want. But I meant what I said. I happen to believe you should be able to practice your beliefs. So you can either act like an ass or say thank you.&amp;rdquo; Will stared at the annoying man, wondering why he was bothering at all.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Native American,&amp;rdquo; the man said. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m Native American, not Indian, and why should I say thank you for allowing my people to practice beliefs we&amp;rsquo;ve held and passed down for thousands of years?&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;God, the man was a smartass. &amp;ldquo;Okay, then don&amp;rsquo;t practice your beliefs and stay away. It&amp;rsquo;s no skin off my nose,&amp;rdquo; Will said as he climbed back into the saddle. &amp;ldquo;I was trying to help.&amp;rdquo; Will turned Midnight&amp;rsquo;s head toward home and clicked his teeth to start the horse moving.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;You were,&amp;rdquo; the man said, and Will pulled Midnight to a stop. &amp;ldquo;I should be grateful. At least my people will be able to come here for the ceremony this year.&amp;rdquo; When Will nodded, the man extended his hand and said, &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m Takoda Red Bird.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Will Martin,&amp;rdquo; he said as he shook the offered hand, once again looking the man over. He had to stop that, but he couldn&amp;rsquo;t seem to help himself.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;You know your father is going to raise hell if he finds out what you said,&amp;rdquo; Takoda added. &amp;ldquo;You don&amp;rsquo;t have to do this. Your father has something against my people, and none of us knows what it is, but you don&amp;rsquo;t have to provoke his temper. Your grandfather was a good man, and I believe he understood, but your father doesn&amp;rsquo;t. You don&amp;rsquo;t have to put yourself in harm&amp;rsquo;s way for us.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s the right thing to do, Takoda. I&amp;rsquo;ll deal with my father.&amp;rdquo; Will nudged Midnight, and he started up the rise. It was the right thing to do, and what his grandfather had done. When they reached the top, Will raised his hand in greeting, and Takoda did the same. As his grandfather would say, his dad would have two strokes and a hemorrhage if he found out what Will had done. But it was still the right thing to do. Too bad he had forgotten that no good deed goes unpunished.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/xml:namespace&gt;&lt;/xml:namespace&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:138950</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/138950.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=138950"/>
    <title>College Chemistry Was Never Like This</title>
    <published>2013-04-27T13:14:05Z</published>
    <updated>2013-04-27T13:14:05Z</updated>
    <category term="organic chemistry"/>
    <category term="andrew grey"/>
    <category term="romance"/>
    <category term="gay romance"/>
    <content type="html">I wrote Organic Chemistry on a whim.&amp;nbsp; An internet friend had told me that her son has Asperger&amp;#39;s Syndrome and that he never really got to see himself in a story.&amp;nbsp; So I set out to change that.&amp;nbsp; I am by no means an expect on Asperger&amp;#39;s but I did some basic research, threw in some of my own imagination, and came up with Brenson.&amp;nbsp; By the time I was done writing the story, I&amp;#39;d pretty much fallen in love with the guy.&amp;nbsp; He&amp;#39;s smart, sweet, to a degree very innocent, but also willing to open himself to love, once he pulled his mind out of&amp;nbsp;his research and realized that&amp;#39;s what&amp;#39;s being offered.&amp;nbsp; Josh on the other hand was much simpler.&amp;nbsp; I&amp;#39;m a geek at heart and in creating Josh, I wanted Brendon to hit the boyfriend jackpot, so to speak.&amp;nbsp; There is another story in the series, Biochemistry.&amp;nbsp; It will be released later this year.&amp;nbsp; It centers on new characters, but both Josh and Brendon make an appearance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="OrganicChemistryMD" height="302" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/45978/45978_original.jpg" title="OrganicChemistryMD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;Brendon Marcus lives for his work. A boy genius who fast-tracked his way to college professor by his early twenties, he doesn&amp;rsquo;t know any other way to be. People confound him. So when Josh Horton, the assistant football coach, pursues him, Brendon isn&amp;rsquo;t sure what to make of him. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;Josh has his own problems. His successful parents aren&amp;rsquo;t particularly happy with his career path, and some of the players don&amp;rsquo;t like having a gay assistant coach. He begins to have doubts, but Brendon makes the world look a little brighter. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" size="3"&gt;But when Brendon&amp;rsquo;s department head starts to make trouble, Josh and Brendon discover that standing up for each other is the first step to standing up for themselves.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Purchase from Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3775"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" size="3"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/p&lt;wbr&gt;roduct_info.php?products_id=3775&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Purchase from Amazon: &lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-ebook/dp/B00CHYPGZ6/ref=zg_bs_10169_17"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" size="3"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-ebook/dp/B00CHYPGZ6/ref=zg_bs_10169_17&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Purchase from Rainbow eBooks: &lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.rainbowebooks.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=10733"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" size="3"&gt;http://www.rainbowebooks.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=10733&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; An hour later, he didn&amp;rsquo;t have much. His frustration was blocking his thought processes, he knew that, but he was so angry at himself. And to make matters worse, the text he&amp;rsquo;d received that had caused the whole collision earlier was some marketing thing from his service provider. Texting and driving was dangerous, Brendon reminded himself, but he shouldn&amp;rsquo;t walk and text at the same time&amp;mdash;it could be detrimental to his research.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;A knock sounded on his door, which Brendon ignored at first because he was just starting to make progress. It sounded again, and he reached behind him and opened the door before returning to his typing. &amp;ldquo;Can I help you?&amp;rdquo; Brendon asked as he finished getting down one of the ideas he&amp;rsquo;d had.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m sorry, but I think you dropped this earlier.&amp;rdquo; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Brendon turned to see the huge man he&amp;rsquo;d collided with in the hall holding the notepad. Brendon nearly snatched it out of his hand and then looked through it.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thank you,&amp;rdquo; he said with a relieved sigh. It was all there, and as soon as he saw his writing, the ideas he&amp;rsquo;d had flooded through his mind once again.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I found it halfway down the hall, and it took me a while to locate you. I kept looking for a student,&amp;rdquo; he said, and Brendon glanced up to find the man looking him over. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m Joshua Horton. And no, I&amp;rsquo;ve never heard a who.&amp;rdquo; Brendon looked at him blankly, wondering what he was talking about. &amp;ldquo;Dr. Seuss, you know.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Brendon shook his head. &amp;ldquo;Never read any of that stuff.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;No way,&amp;rdquo; Joshua said. &amp;ldquo;How could you have missed that?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;When other kids were interested in things like that, my mother was helping me read &lt;i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"&gt;Treasure Island&lt;/i&gt;.&amp;rdquo; Brendon put down the notepad. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m Brendon Marcus,&amp;rdquo; he said, holding out his hand. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m an associate professor of chemistry.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;My friends call me Josh or Freight Train. I&amp;rsquo;m the new assistant football coach,&amp;rdquo; Josh said as he pumped Brendon&amp;rsquo;s hand hard. When Josh released it, Brendon&amp;rsquo;s hand tingled, and he wondered where that had come from. Maybe Josh had caused nerve damage or something. &amp;ldquo;Sorry I bumped into you and spilled all your stuff. Did you get everything back?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I did now,&amp;rdquo; Brendon said with a smile of relief. &amp;ldquo;Thanks again. I had a bunch of ideas in there, and it was going to take a lot of time to try to recreate them.&amp;rdquo; Brendon wondered exactly how long he had to chitchat before he could return to his work. Eventually he began to shift in his chair. &amp;ldquo;Um, I need to get back to work now.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay. I should be going, then,&amp;rdquo; Josh said, and Brendon turned around and returned to his computer, but he didn&amp;rsquo;t hear Josh leave and eventually he turned back around. &amp;ldquo;Is there something I forgot?&amp;rdquo; He started to run through the social conventions his mother had taught him. Brendon never seemed to understand other people. He didn&amp;rsquo;t read facial expressions well, and vocalisms like sarcasm were simply beyond him. Lots of people thought he didn&amp;rsquo;t care, but he did care&amp;mdash;he simply didn&amp;rsquo;t understand. Should he have offered Josh coffee? He didn&amp;rsquo;t think so. They really didn&amp;rsquo;t know each other. He reached for his wallet. &amp;ldquo;Do you need a reward?&amp;rdquo; He already had his wallet in his hand when Josh touched his arm.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;No,&amp;rdquo; Josh said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Brendon looked at him, confused. &amp;ldquo;I need to go back to work, but you&amp;rsquo;re still standing here. Therefore I must have forgotten something, but I can&amp;rsquo;t figure out what it is.&amp;rdquo; Brendon was becoming agitated as he twisted his seat around and stared up at Josh, the Freight Train guy.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;You didn&amp;rsquo;t forget anything, String Bean. I was just trying to figure out how to ask if you might like to get some dinner or something?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Brendon blinked. &amp;ldquo;No, thank you. I&amp;rsquo;m not hungry and I have to finish my work.&amp;rdquo; Brendon turned around to face his computer again. If the man didn&amp;rsquo;t leave now, he didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he could get him to go. He heard nothing from behind him, and for a second he thought Josh might have left, but then he heard laughter. &amp;ldquo;I don&amp;rsquo;t think I said anything funny,&amp;rdquo; Brendon said, looking over his shoulder.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I wasn&amp;rsquo;t asking you to get dinner now. I thought I could come back here about five o&amp;rsquo;clock, and we could walk someplace nearby to get something to eat.&amp;rdquo; Brendon felt Josh place his hand on the back of his chair. &amp;ldquo;You do eat, don&amp;rsquo;t you?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Of course I eat,&amp;rdquo; Brendon said. &amp;ldquo;Everyone has to eat.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Then would you have dinner with me tonight?&amp;rdquo; Josh asked.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay,&amp;rdquo; Brendon said and then turned back around to go to work. &amp;ldquo;But I don&amp;rsquo;t eat squishy food or fishy food.&amp;rdquo; He began typing. &amp;ldquo;Or stringy meat.&amp;rdquo; He shivered at the thought of eating any of that stuff. &amp;ldquo;It all feels funny.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay,&amp;rdquo; Josh agreed. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll meet you here at a little after five for a nonsquishy, nonfishy, no-stringy-meat meal.&amp;rdquo; Brendon nodded and continued working. &amp;ldquo;Okay, I&amp;rsquo;ll see you then,&amp;rdquo; he heard Josh say, but he was already descending into his work and he barely noticed when the door closed. Brendon continued working for about five minutes and then stopped, resting his fingers on the keyboard. He was having dinner with someone. Like, as a friend. Without thinking, he brought up the Internet and began searching for articles on the right social conventions for a situation like that. Did he need to bring a gift? Should he have money to pay? The sources he found said he didn&amp;rsquo;t need to bring anything unless he was going to someone&amp;rsquo;s home for dinner, in which case he should bring something small, but it also said he should be prepared to pay for his own meal. He decided he could handle that, so he went back to his work.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:138615</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/138615.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=138615"/>
    <title>Organic Chemistry - College was Never This Fun or This Hot - Now Available for Kindle</title>
    <published>2013-04-24T22:45:48Z</published>
    <updated>2013-04-24T22:45:48Z</updated>
    <category term="organic chemistry"/>
    <category term="andrew grey"/>
    <category term="romance"/>
    <category term="gay romance"/>
    <content type="html">Organic Chemistry, the first in a new series, was just released today by Dreamspinner Press.&amp;nbsp; I&amp;#39;m very much a geek at heart so this story is rather special for me.&amp;nbsp; I specifically wanted to write a story where the geek wins in the battle for love.&amp;nbsp; And, just so you know, college chemistry class was never this much fun or this hot.&amp;nbsp; Though I sure wish it had been!!!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="OrganicChemistryMD" height="302" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/45978/45978_original.jpg" title="OrganicChemistryMD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;Brendon Marcus lives for his work. A boy genius who fast-tracked his way to college professor by his early twenties, he doesn&amp;rsquo;t know any other way to be. People confound him. So when Josh Horton, the assistant football coach, pursues him, Brendon isn&amp;rsquo;t sure what to make of him. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;Josh has his own problems. His successful parents aren&amp;rsquo;t particularly happy with his career path, and some of the players don&amp;rsquo;t like having a gay assistant coach. He begins to have doubts, but Brendon makes the world look a little brighter. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" size="3"&gt;But when Brendon&amp;rsquo;s department head starts to make trouble, Josh and Brendon discover that standing up for each other is the first step to standing up for themselves.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Purchase from Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3775"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" size="3"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/p&lt;wbr&gt;roduct_info.php?products_id=3775&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Purchase from Amazon: &lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-ebook/dp/B00CHYPGZ6/ref=zg_bs_10169_17"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" size="3"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-ebook/dp/B00CHYPGZ6/ref=zg_bs_10169_17&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Purchase from Rainbow eBooks: &lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.rainbowebooks.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=10733"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" size="3"&gt;http://www.rainbowebooks.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=10733&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; An hour later, he didn&amp;rsquo;t have much. His frustration was blocking his thought processes, he knew that, but he was so angry at himself. And to make matters worse, the text he&amp;rsquo;d received that had caused the whole collision earlier was some marketing thing from his service provider. Texting and driving was dangerous, Brendon reminded himself, but he shouldn&amp;rsquo;t walk and text at the same time&amp;mdash;it could be detrimental to his research.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;A knock sounded on his door, which Brendon ignored at first because he was just starting to make progress. It sounded again, and he reached behind him and opened the door before returning to his typing. &amp;ldquo;Can I help you?&amp;rdquo; Brendon asked as he finished getting down one of the ideas he&amp;rsquo;d had.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m sorry, but I think you dropped this earlier.&amp;rdquo; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Brendon turned to see the huge man he&amp;rsquo;d collided with in the hall holding the notepad. Brendon nearly snatched it out of his hand and then looked through it.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thank you,&amp;rdquo; he said with a relieved sigh. It was all there, and as soon as he saw his writing, the ideas he&amp;rsquo;d had flooded through his mind once again.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I found it halfway down the hall, and it took me a while to locate you. I kept looking for a student,&amp;rdquo; he said, and Brendon glanced up to find the man looking him over. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m Joshua Horton. And no, I&amp;rsquo;ve never heard a who.&amp;rdquo; Brendon looked at him blankly, wondering what he was talking about. &amp;ldquo;Dr. Seuss, you know.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Brendon shook his head. &amp;ldquo;Never read any of that stuff.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;No way,&amp;rdquo; Joshua said. &amp;ldquo;How could you have missed that?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;When other kids were interested in things like that, my mother was helping me read &lt;i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"&gt;Treasure Island&lt;/i&gt;.&amp;rdquo; Brendon put down the notepad. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m Brendon Marcus,&amp;rdquo; he said, holding out his hand. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m an associate professor of chemistry.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;My friends call me Josh or Freight Train. I&amp;rsquo;m the new assistant football coach,&amp;rdquo; Josh said as he pumped Brendon&amp;rsquo;s hand hard. When Josh released it, Brendon&amp;rsquo;s hand tingled, and he wondered where that had come from. Maybe Josh had caused nerve damage or something. &amp;ldquo;Sorry I bumped into you and spilled all your stuff. Did you get everything back?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I did now,&amp;rdquo; Brendon said with a smile of relief. &amp;ldquo;Thanks again. I had a bunch of ideas in there, and it was going to take a lot of time to try to recreate them.&amp;rdquo; Brendon wondered exactly how long he had to chitchat before he could return to his work. Eventually he began to shift in his chair. &amp;ldquo;Um, I need to get back to work now.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay. I should be going, then,&amp;rdquo; Josh said, and Brendon turned around and returned to his computer, but he didn&amp;rsquo;t hear Josh leave and eventually he turned back around. &amp;ldquo;Is there something I forgot?&amp;rdquo; He started to run through the social conventions his mother had taught him. Brendon never seemed to understand other people. He didn&amp;rsquo;t read facial expressions well, and vocalisms like sarcasm were simply beyond him. Lots of people thought he didn&amp;rsquo;t care, but he did care&amp;mdash;he simply didn&amp;rsquo;t understand. Should he have offered Josh coffee? He didn&amp;rsquo;t think so. They really didn&amp;rsquo;t know each other. He reached for his wallet. &amp;ldquo;Do you need a reward?&amp;rdquo; He already had his wallet in his hand when Josh touched his arm.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;No,&amp;rdquo; Josh said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Brendon looked at him, confused. &amp;ldquo;I need to go back to work, but you&amp;rsquo;re still standing here. Therefore I must have forgotten something, but I can&amp;rsquo;t figure out what it is.&amp;rdquo; Brendon was becoming agitated as he twisted his seat around and stared up at Josh, the Freight Train guy.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;You didn&amp;rsquo;t forget anything, String Bean. I was just trying to figure out how to ask if you might like to get some dinner or something?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Brendon blinked. &amp;ldquo;No, thank you. I&amp;rsquo;m not hungry and I have to finish my work.&amp;rdquo; Brendon turned around to face his computer again. If the man didn&amp;rsquo;t leave now, he didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he could get him to go. He heard nothing from behind him, and for a second he thought Josh might have left, but then he heard laughter. &amp;ldquo;I don&amp;rsquo;t think I said anything funny,&amp;rdquo; Brendon said, looking over his shoulder.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I wasn&amp;rsquo;t asking you to get dinner now. I thought I could come back here about five o&amp;rsquo;clock, and we could walk someplace nearby to get something to eat.&amp;rdquo; Brendon felt Josh place his hand on the back of his chair. &amp;ldquo;You do eat, don&amp;rsquo;t you?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Of course I eat,&amp;rdquo; Brendon said. &amp;ldquo;Everyone has to eat.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Then would you have dinner with me tonight?&amp;rdquo; Josh asked.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay,&amp;rdquo; Brendon said and then turned back around to go to work. &amp;ldquo;But I don&amp;rsquo;t eat squishy food or fishy food.&amp;rdquo; He began typing. &amp;ldquo;Or stringy meat.&amp;rdquo; He shivered at the thought of eating any of that stuff. &amp;ldquo;It all feels funny.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay,&amp;rdquo; Josh agreed. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll meet you here at a little after five for a nonsquishy, nonfishy, no-stringy-meat meal.&amp;rdquo; Brendon nodded and continued working. &amp;ldquo;Okay, I&amp;rsquo;ll see you then,&amp;rdquo; he heard Josh say, but he was already descending into his work and he barely noticed when the door closed. Brendon continued working for about five minutes and then stopped, resting his fingers on the keyboard. He was having dinner with someone. Like, as a friend. Without thinking, he brought up the Internet and began searching for articles on the right social conventions for a situation like that. Did he need to bring a gift? Should he have money to pay? The sources he found said he didn&amp;rsquo;t need to bring anything unless he was going to someone&amp;rsquo;s home for dinner, in which case he should bring something small, but it also said he should be prepared to pay for his own meal. He decided he could handle that, so he went back to his work.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:138331</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/138331.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=138331"/>
    <title>Organic Chemistry Releases Tonight At Midnight.  You'll Wish This Was Your College Chemistry Class</title>
    <published>2013-04-24T00:22:06Z</published>
    <updated>2013-04-24T00:25:09Z</updated>
    <category term="organic chemistry"/>
    <category term="excerpt"/>
    <category term="andrew grey"/>
    <category term="romance"/>
    <category term="gay romance"/>
    <category term="glbt"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;My novella, Organic Chemistry releases tonight at midnight Eastern Time from Dreamspinner Press. This story is set in my home town of Carlisle Pennsylvania and I used a bit of dramatic license to place my professor at Dickenson College. This story is fun and I had a ball writing it. So I hope you enjoy this excerpt and fall in love with Brendon and Josh just like I did.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: center; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" size="3"&gt;&lt;img alt="OrganicChemistryMD" height="302" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/45978/45978_original.jpg" title="OrganicChemistryMD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;Brendon Marcus lives for his work. A boy genius who fast-tracked his way to college professor by his early twenties, he doesn&amp;rsquo;t know any other way to be. People confound him. So when Josh Horton, the assistant football coach, pursues him, Brendon isn&amp;rsquo;t sure what to make of him. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;Josh has his own problems. His successful parents aren&amp;rsquo;t particularly happy with his career path, and some of the players don&amp;rsquo;t like having a gay assistant coach. He begins to have doubts, but Brendon makes the world look a little brighter. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" size="3"&gt;But when Brendon&amp;rsquo;s department head starts to make trouble, Josh and Brendon discover that standing up for each other is the first step to standing up for themselves.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Purchase from Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3775"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" size="3"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3775&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;An hour later, he didn&amp;rsquo;t have much. His frustration was blocking his thought processes, he knew that, but he was so angry at himself. And to make matters worse, the text he&amp;rsquo;d received that had caused the whole collision earlier was some marketing thing from his service provider. Texting and driving was dangerous, Brendon reminded himself, but he shouldn&amp;rsquo;t walk and text at the same time&amp;mdash;it could be detrimental to his research.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;A knock sounded on his door, which Brendon ignored at first because he was just starting to make progress. It sounded again, and he reached behind him and opened the door before returning to his typing. &amp;ldquo;Can I help you?&amp;rdquo; Brendon asked as he finished getting down one of the ideas he&amp;rsquo;d had.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m sorry, but I think you dropped this earlier.&amp;rdquo; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Brendon turned to see the huge man he&amp;rsquo;d collided with in the hall holding the notepad. Brendon nearly snatched it out of his hand and then looked through it.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thank you,&amp;rdquo; he said with a relieved sigh. It was all there, and as soon as he saw his writing, the ideas he&amp;rsquo;d had flooded through his mind once again.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I found it halfway down the hall, and it took me a while to locate you. I kept looking for a student,&amp;rdquo; he said, and Brendon glanced up to find the man looking him over. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m Joshua Horton. And no, I&amp;rsquo;ve never heard a who.&amp;rdquo; Brendon looked at him blankly, wondering what he was talking about. &amp;ldquo;Dr. Seuss, you know.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Brendon shook his head. &amp;ldquo;Never read any of that stuff.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;No way,&amp;rdquo; Joshua said. &amp;ldquo;How could you have missed that?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;When other kids were interested in things like that, my mother was helping me read &lt;i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"&gt;Treasure Island&lt;/i&gt;.&amp;rdquo; Brendon put down the notepad. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m Brendon Marcus,&amp;rdquo; he said, holding out his hand. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m an associate professor of chemistry.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;My friends call me Josh or Freight Train. I&amp;rsquo;m the new assistant football coach,&amp;rdquo; Josh said as he pumped Brendon&amp;rsquo;s hand hard. When Josh released it, Brendon&amp;rsquo;s hand tingled, and he wondered where that had come from. Maybe Josh had caused nerve damage or something. &amp;ldquo;Sorry I bumped into you and spilled all your stuff. Did you get everything back?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I did now,&amp;rdquo; Brendon said with a smile of relief. &amp;ldquo;Thanks again. I had a bunch of ideas in there, and it was going to take a lot of time to try to recreate them.&amp;rdquo; Brendon wondered exactly how long he had to chitchat before he could return to his work. Eventually he began to shift in his chair. &amp;ldquo;Um, I need to get back to work now.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay. I should be going, then,&amp;rdquo; Josh said, and Brendon turned around and returned to his computer, but he didn&amp;rsquo;t hear Josh leave and eventually he turned back around. &amp;ldquo;Is there something I forgot?&amp;rdquo; He started to run through the social conventions his mother had taught him. Brendon never seemed to understand other people. He didn&amp;rsquo;t read facial expressions well, and vocalisms like sarcasm were simply beyond him. Lots of people thought he didn&amp;rsquo;t care, but he did care&amp;mdash;he simply didn&amp;rsquo;t understand. Should he have offered Josh coffee? He didn&amp;rsquo;t think so. They really didn&amp;rsquo;t know each other. He reached for his wallet. &amp;ldquo;Do you need a reward?&amp;rdquo; He already had his wallet in his hand when Josh touched his arm.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;No,&amp;rdquo; Josh said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Brendon looked at him, confused. &amp;ldquo;I need to go back to work, but you&amp;rsquo;re still standing here. Therefore I must have forgotten something, but I can&amp;rsquo;t figure out what it is.&amp;rdquo; Brendon was becoming agitated as he twisted his seat around and stared up at Josh, the Freight Train guy.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;You didn&amp;rsquo;t forget anything, String Bean. I was just trying to figure out how to ask if you might like to get some dinner or something?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Brendon blinked. &amp;ldquo;No, thank you. I&amp;rsquo;m not hungry and I have to finish my work.&amp;rdquo; Brendon turned around to face his computer again. If the man didn&amp;rsquo;t leave now, he didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he could get him to go. He heard nothing from behind him, and for a second he thought Josh might have left, but then he heard laughter. &amp;ldquo;I don&amp;rsquo;t think I said anything funny,&amp;rdquo; Brendon said, looking over his shoulder.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I wasn&amp;rsquo;t asking you to get dinner now. I thought I could come back here about five o&amp;rsquo;clock, and we could walk someplace nearby to get something to eat.&amp;rdquo; Brendon felt Josh place his hand on the back of his chair. &amp;ldquo;You do eat, don&amp;rsquo;t you?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Of course I eat,&amp;rdquo; Brendon said. &amp;ldquo;Everyone has to eat.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Then would you have dinner with me tonight?&amp;rdquo; Josh asked.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay,&amp;rdquo; Brendon said and then turned back around to go to work. &amp;ldquo;But I don&amp;rsquo;t eat squishy food or fishy food.&amp;rdquo; He began typing. &amp;ldquo;Or stringy meat.&amp;rdquo; He shivered at the thought of eating any of that stuff. &amp;ldquo;It all feels funny.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay,&amp;rdquo; Josh agreed. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll meet you here at a little after five for a nonsquishy, nonfishy, no-stringy-meat meal.&amp;rdquo; Brendon nodded and continued working. &amp;ldquo;Okay, I&amp;rsquo;ll see you then,&amp;rdquo; he heard Josh say, but he was already descending into his work and he barely noticed when the door closed. Brendon continued working for about five minutes and then stopped, resting his fingers on the keyboard. He was having dinner with someone. Like, as a friend. Without thinking, he brought up the Internet and began searching for articles on the right social conventions for a situation like that. Did he need to bring a gift? Should he have money to pay? The sources he found said he didn&amp;rsquo;t need to bring anything unless he was going to someone&amp;rsquo;s home for dinner, in which case he should bring something small, but it also said he should be prepared to pay for his own meal. He decided he could handle that, so he went back to his work.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: 27.35pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:138052</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/138052.html"/>
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    <title>New Cover for The Fight for Identity - Coming May 10</title>
    <published>2013-04-19T18:32:10Z</published>
    <updated>2013-04-19T18:32:10Z</updated>
    <category term="andrew grey"/>
    <category term="cover"/>
    <category term="the fight for identity"/>
    <category term="gay romance"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;I thought I&amp;#39;d share the cover I just received for The Fight for Identity.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I really hope you like it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Fight for Identity releases on May 10 from Dreamspinner Press. The amazing Anne Cain did the work on this cover. &lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;This story is the third in the Good Fight series.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="The Fight for Identity MD" height="302" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/45590/45590_original.jpg" title="The Fight for Identity MD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Will Martin&amp;rsquo;s racist father, Kevin, hates Native Americans and wants to keep them off his property, never mind that part of the ranch land is sacred ground for the Sioux. When they request access for prayer, Kevin refuses&amp;mdash;but Will doesn&amp;rsquo;t share his father&amp;rsquo;s views. Ever since he first saw Takoda Red Bird during one of the Sioux sacred ceremonies, Will has been fascinated. He grants the tribe access. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Takoda defies Kevin on a regular basis. He often sneaks to the sacred site on the rancher&amp;rsquo;s land for prayer and knows Will has seen him there. When, out of spite, Kevin places the land up for auction, Takoda knows it is time for action and bands together with Will to stop the sale.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;In the fight that follows, Will gets more than he expected. He starts out helping the tribe preserve their identity&amp;hellip; and ends up finding his own.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.andrewgreybooks.com"&gt;www.andrewgreybooks.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;andrewgrey@comcast.net&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:137616</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/137616.html"/>
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    <title>5 Stars from MM Good Book Reviews</title>
    <published>2013-04-12T22:00:29Z</published>
    <updated>2013-04-12T22:00:29Z</updated>
    <category term="a wild ride"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;img alt="AWildRide_FinalMD" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/45426/45426_original.jpg" title="AWildRide_FinalMD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;5 Hearts for A Wild Ride form MM Good Book Reviews:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;The chemistry is undeniable, but they&amp;rsquo;ll face a lot of obstacles on their journey to be together. The illness of a loved one, homophobia and a gay bashing remind us of the day-to-day struggles that gay men have to deal with in order to maintain a relationship. But they also get to have some mind-blowing sex along the way!&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;Read the entire review: &lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/a-wild-ride-by-andrew-grey/"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/a-wild-ride-by-andrew-grey/&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Blurb:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Dante Rivers just lost the rodeo by two one hundredths of a point: he&amp;rsquo;s frustrated as hell, needs to get laid, and he knows just where to go. That night he meets Ryan Abbott and catches his eye&amp;mdash;Ryan watched the rodeo and is still riding high on the rush. The chemistry between them ignites, but Dante, unable to deal with complications, leaves while Ryan&amp;rsquo;s asleep.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Ryan figures he&amp;rsquo;ll never see Dante again, but they&amp;rsquo;re fatefully reunited when Dante&amp;rsquo;s grandfather, Hy, hires Ryan to help straighten out some old investments. The attraction between Ryan and Dante still sizzles. Sex slowly turns to more, but obstacles abound: Hy&amp;rsquo;s failing health, Dante&amp;rsquo;s homophobic sponsor, an attack on Ryan, and Dante&amp;rsquo;s own struggle with his identity. Any one thing would be enough to separate them permanently&amp;hellip; unless they both decide to hang on for the wild ride.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Purchase from Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3696"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3696&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Dante stepped out onto the arena floor, the sand crunching lightly beneath his boots. A murmur went through the small crowd gathered at the rail, and a bit of the excitement that had begun to slip away returned. He eyed the crowd and saw a group of kids&amp;mdash;looked like a scout troop or something. He walked in their direction and was greeted by young, awed faces and even a few jumps. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Did you like it?&amp;rdquo; Dante asked, and they answered yes as he took their programs and signed each one. &amp;ldquo;Hello, sweetheart,&amp;rdquo; Dante said as he crouched carefully in front of a little girl next to the boys. She had on a little cowgirl outfit and was holding her daddy&amp;rsquo;s hand. She looked at him shyly and then up at her daddy.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;She can&amp;rsquo;t talk,&amp;rdquo; he said, and Dante smiled at the little girl, taking the program from her hand.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;What&amp;rsquo;s her name?&amp;rdquo; Dante asked.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Gabrielle,&amp;rdquo; her father answered. Dante usually just signed programs, but he signed Gabrielle&amp;rsquo;s to his &amp;ldquo;favorite little cowgirl&amp;rdquo; and handed it back, saying good-bye and getting a smile from the little girl before moving on.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Dante signed a number of programs and then stepped back, waving to everyone before turning to leave the arena floor. Some of the other riders were still signing, but he&amp;rsquo;d had more than enough. Just before he reached the tunnel, he saw the scoreboard, the numbers still displayed. &lt;i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"&gt;Two one-hundredths of a point.&lt;/i&gt; The numbers seemed to mock him. Anger welled inside as the fatigue that had begun to take over subsided. Dante turned away and marched back toward the locker room.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ve got to take off,&amp;rdquo; Harvey said outside the locker-room door. &amp;ldquo;Are you okay to drive?&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Was he? Dante took stock of his injuries. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m fine,&amp;rdquo; he answered. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll see you soon.&amp;rdquo; Harvey nodded and then hurried away toward the exit, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he went. Dante went back into the locker room. He took off his vest with a sigh and set it aside before stripping off the chaps and the rest of the gear, packing it away before heading toward the exit.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Tough luck about the score,&amp;rdquo; Bobby Varton said as they passed. Dante paused for a split second, trying to figure out if the sentiment was genuine or a rib. Knowing Bobby, it could go either way.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Dante shrugged lightly, hoping like hell to avoid more pain. &amp;ldquo;What can you do?&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bobby nodded. &amp;ldquo;Best ride I&amp;rsquo;ve seen in a long time, though.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Dante nodded before moving on. He left the arena carrying his bag and walked to his truck, parked in the designated area. The lot was largely empty, most everyone already gone. Dante unlocked the door and threw his gear behind the seat before climbing in. He started the engine and willed the air-conditioning to cool the damned sauna down. When the cold air began to blow, Dante closed the door, but he didn&amp;rsquo;t pull out. Not yet.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;His leg shook with excess energy. Tired as he was, he couldn&amp;rsquo;t stop his heart from pounding. &amp;ldquo;Two hundredths of a goddamned point,&amp;rdquo; Dante yelled, pounding his fist against the steering wheel. &amp;ldquo;I was that fucking close!&amp;rdquo; His entire body thrummed with energy that wasn&amp;rsquo;t going to go away. Adrenaline still coursed through him, and it would for a long time yet. As hyped up as he was, from his jittery legs to his cock throbbing in his jeans, it wasn&amp;rsquo;t going to dissipate soon.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;He threw the truck in gear and tore out of the parking lot and onto the access road before getting on the freeway and heading toward the north end of Houston. There was no way he was going to waste all this energy. What he wanted, no, &lt;i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"&gt;needed,&lt;/i&gt; was a hard, down-and-dirty fuck. And he knew just where to get it.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:137332</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/137332.html"/>
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    <title>5 Stars for A Wild Ride from Paranormal Romance Guild</title>
    <published>2013-04-09T22:26:32Z</published>
    <updated>2013-04-09T22:26:58Z</updated>
    <content type="html">&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="AWildRide_FinalMD" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/45426/45426_original.jpg" title="AWildRide_FinalMD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Linda at Paranormal Romance Guild had wonderful things to say about A Wild Ride.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;This is a beautiful story about two men who need each other, but have to be willing to accept each other the way they are.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Although they eventually realize that they care about each other, neither man can express what they feel in words. Will they finally find the words to tell each other how they feel and will Dante ever realize his dream of being a winner?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Read the entire review: &lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/reviewsandrewgrey.htm"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/reviewsandrewgrey.htm&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Blurb:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Dante Rivers just lost the rodeo by two one hundredths of a point: he&amp;rsquo;s frustrated as hell, needs to get laid, and he knows just where to go. That night he meets Ryan Abbott and catches his eye&amp;mdash;Ryan watched the rodeo and is still riding high on the rush. The chemistry between them ignites, but Dante, unable to deal with complications, leaves while Ryan&amp;rsquo;s asleep.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Ryan figures he&amp;rsquo;ll never see Dante again, but they&amp;rsquo;re fatefully reunited when Dante&amp;rsquo;s grandfather, Hy, hires Ryan to help straighten out some old investments. The attraction between Ryan and Dante still sizzles. Sex slowly turns to more, but obstacles abound: Hy&amp;rsquo;s failing health, Dante&amp;rsquo;s homophobic sponsor, an attack on Ryan, and Dante&amp;rsquo;s own struggle with his identity. Any one thing would be enough to separate them permanently&amp;hellip; unless they both decide to hang on for the wild ride.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-indent: 0in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Purchase from Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3696"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3696&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Dante stepped out onto the arena floor, the sand crunching lightly beneath his boots. A murmur went through the small crowd gathered at the rail, and a bit of the excitement that had begun to slip away returned. He eyed the crowd and saw a group of kids&amp;mdash;looked like a scout troop or something. He walked in their direction and was greeted by young, awed faces and even a few jumps. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Did you like it?&amp;rdquo; Dante asked, and they answered yes as he took their programs and signed each one. &amp;ldquo;Hello, sweetheart,&amp;rdquo; Dante said as he crouched carefully in front of a little girl next to the boys. She had on a little cowgirl outfit and was holding her daddy&amp;rsquo;s hand. She looked at him shyly and then up at her daddy.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;She can&amp;rsquo;t talk,&amp;rdquo; he said, and Dante smiled at the little girl, taking the program from her hand.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;What&amp;rsquo;s her name?&amp;rdquo; Dante asked.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Gabrielle,&amp;rdquo; her father answered. Dante usually just signed programs, but he signed Gabrielle&amp;rsquo;s to his &amp;ldquo;favorite little cowgirl&amp;rdquo; and handed it back, saying good-bye and getting a smile from the little girl before moving on.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Dante signed a number of programs and then stepped back, waving to everyone before turning to leave the arena floor. Some of the other riders were still signing, but he&amp;rsquo;d had more than enough. Just before he reached the tunnel, he saw the scoreboard, the numbers still displayed. &lt;i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"&gt;Two one-hundredths of a point.&lt;/i&gt; The numbers seemed to mock him. Anger welled inside as the fatigue that had begun to take over subsided. Dante turned away and marched back toward the locker room.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ve got to take off,&amp;rdquo; Harvey said outside the locker-room door. &amp;ldquo;Are you okay to drive?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Was he? Dante took stock of his injuries. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m fine,&amp;rdquo; he answered. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll see you soon.&amp;rdquo; Harvey nodded and then hurried away toward the exit, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he went. Dante went back into the locker room. He took off his vest with a sigh and set it aside before stripping off the chaps and the rest of the gear, packing it away before heading toward the exit.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Tough luck about the score,&amp;rdquo; Bobby Varton said as they passed. Dante paused for a split second, trying to figure out if the sentiment was genuine or a rib. Knowing Bobby, it could go either way.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Dante shrugged lightly, hoping like hell to avoid more pain. &amp;ldquo;What can you do?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bobby nodded. &amp;ldquo;Best ride I&amp;rsquo;ve seen in a long time, though.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Dante nodded before moving on. He left the arena carrying his bag and walked to his truck, parked in the designated area. The lot was largely empty, most everyone already gone. Dante unlocked the door and threw his gear behind the seat before climbing in. He started the engine and willed the air-conditioning to cool the damned sauna down. When the cold air began to blow, Dante closed the door, but he didn&amp;rsquo;t pull out. Not yet.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;His leg shook with excess energy. Tired as he was, he couldn&amp;rsquo;t stop his heart from pounding. &amp;ldquo;Two hundredths of a goddamned point,&amp;rdquo; Dante yelled, pounding his fist against the steering wheel. &amp;ldquo;I was that fucking close!&amp;rdquo; His entire body thrummed with energy that wasn&amp;rsquo;t going to go away. Adrenaline still coursed through him, and it would for a long time yet. As hyped up as he was, from his jittery legs to his cock throbbing in his jeans, it wasn&amp;rsquo;t going to dissipate soon.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;He threw the truck in gear and tore out of the parking lot and onto the access road before getting on the freeway and heading toward the north end of Houston. There was no way he was going to waste all this energy. What he wanted, no, &lt;i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"&gt;needed,&lt;/i&gt; was a hard, down-and-dirty fuck. And he knew just where to get it.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:137059</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/137059.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=137059"/>
    <title> 5 Sweet Peas for A Wild Ride and A Contest from Mrs.Condit and Friends Read Books</title>
    <published>2013-04-08T23:51:30Z</published>
    <updated>2013-04-08T23:52:25Z</updated>
    <category term="a wild ride"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="AWildRide_FinalMD" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/45426/45426_original.jpg" title="AWildRide_FinalMD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;Mrs. Condit and Friends awarded A Wild Ride 5 Sweet Peas.&amp;nbsp; You can read the review by following the link below.&amp;nbsp; You can also enter to win a copy of A Wild Ride as well as read an interview with Ryan from A Wild Ride.&amp;nbsp; Good luck!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;Mrs. Condit said:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; It is a tribute to Mr. Grey that he is able to guide the reader through complicated crossing story lines without getting anyone confused or distracted from where the overall story arc is going.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;I loved this story and the ending just makes me beg for a sequel, even if Ryan and Dante are minor characters in it. The ranching world built in this story is realistic and I want more! Great story, great characters, and a wonderful conclusion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Read the entire review and interview with Ryan as well as enter the contest:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index.php/?p=11462"&gt;http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index.php/?p=11462&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Purchase from Dreamspinner Press:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3696"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3696&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:136821</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/136821.html"/>
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    <title>Are You Ready for A Wild Ride</title>
    <published>2013-04-08T17:23:35Z</published>
    <updated>2013-04-15T15:24:02Z</updated>
    <category term="a wild ride"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;A Wild Ride is now available form Dreamspinner Press.&amp;nbsp; Hot men, cowboys, bull riders,&amp;nbsp;its all there.&amp;nbsp;So ride em cowboy!!!! Or is it the cowboy who gets ridden?&amp;nbsp; You&amp;#39;ll have to read it to find out.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt; &lt;img alt="AWildRide_FinalMD" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/45426/45426_original.jpg" title="AWildRide_FinalMD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Blurb:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Dante Rivers just lost the rodeo by two one hundredths of a point: he&amp;rsquo;s frustrated as hell, needs to get laid, and he knows just where to go. That night he meets Ryan Abbott and catches his eye&amp;mdash;Ryan watched the rodeo and is still riding high on the rush. The chemistry between them ignites, but Dante, unable to deal with complications, leaves while Ryan&amp;rsquo;s asleep.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Ryan figures he&amp;rsquo;ll never see Dante again, but they&amp;rsquo;re fatefully reunited when Dante&amp;rsquo;s grandfather, Hy, hires Ryan to help straighten out some old investments. The attraction between Ryan and Dante still sizzles. Sex slowly turns to more, but obstacles abound: Hy&amp;rsquo;s failing health, Dante&amp;rsquo;s homophobic sponsor, an attack on Ryan, and Dante&amp;rsquo;s own struggle with his identity. Any one thing would be enough to separate them permanently&amp;hellip; unless they both decide to hang on for the wild ride.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Purchase&amp;nbsp;from Dreamspinner Press: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3696"&gt;&lt;span style="color: blue;"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3696&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Dante stepped out onto the arena floor, the sand crunching lightly beneath his boots. A murmur went through the small crowd gathered at the rail, and a bit of the excitement that had begun to slip away returned. He eyed the crowd and saw a group of kids&amp;mdash;looked like a scout troop or something. He walked in their direction and was greeted by young, awed faces and even a few jumps. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Did you like it?&amp;rdquo; Dante asked, and they answered yes as he took their programs and signed each one. &amp;ldquo;Hello, sweetheart,&amp;rdquo; Dante said as he crouched carefully in front of a little girl next to the boys. She had on a little cowgirl outfit and was holding her daddy&amp;rsquo;s hand. She looked at him shyly and then up at her daddy.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;She can&amp;rsquo;t talk,&amp;rdquo; he said, and Dante smiled at the little girl, taking the program from her hand.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;What&amp;rsquo;s her name?&amp;rdquo; Dante asked.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Gabrielle,&amp;rdquo; her father answered. Dante usually just signed programs, but he signed Gabrielle&amp;rsquo;s to his &amp;ldquo;favorite little cowgirl&amp;rdquo; and handed it back, saying good-bye and getting a smile from the little girl before moving on.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Dante signed a number of programs and then stepped back, waving to everyone before turning to leave the arena floor. Some of the other riders were still signing, but he&amp;rsquo;d had more than enough. Just before he reached the tunnel, he saw the scoreboard, the numbers still displayed. &lt;i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"&gt;Two one-hundredths of a point.&lt;/i&gt; The numbers seemed to mock him. Anger welled inside as the fatigue that had begun to take over subsided. Dante turned away and marched back toward the locker room.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ve got to take off,&amp;rdquo; Harvey said outside the locker-room door. &amp;ldquo;Are you okay to drive?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Was he? Dante took stock of his injuries. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m fine,&amp;rdquo; he answered. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll see you soon.&amp;rdquo; Harvey nodded and then hurried away toward the exit, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he went. Dante went back into the locker room. He took off his vest with a sigh and set it aside before stripping off the chaps and the rest of the gear, packing it away before heading toward the exit.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Tough luck about the score,&amp;rdquo; Bobby Varton said as they passed. Dante paused for a split second, trying to figure out if the sentiment was genuine or a rib. Knowing Bobby, it could go either way.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Dante shrugged lightly, hoping like hell to avoid more pain. &amp;ldquo;What can you do?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Bobby nodded. &amp;ldquo;Best ride I&amp;rsquo;ve seen in a long time, though.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Dante nodded before moving on. He left the arena carrying his bag and walked to his truck, parked in the designated area. The lot was largely empty, most everyone already gone. Dante unlocked the door and threw his gear behind the seat before climbing in. He started the engine and willed the air-conditioning to cool the damned sauna down. When the cold air began to blow, Dante closed the door, but he didn&amp;rsquo;t pull out. Not yet.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;His leg shook with excess energy. Tired as he was, he couldn&amp;rsquo;t stop his heart from pounding. &amp;ldquo;Two hundredths of a goddamned point,&amp;rdquo; Dante yelled, pounding his fist against the steering wheel. &amp;ldquo;I was that fucking close!&amp;rdquo; His entire body thrummed with energy that wasn&amp;rsquo;t going to go away. Adrenaline still coursed through him, and it would for a long time yet. As hyped up as he was, from his jittery legs to his cock throbbing in his jeans, it wasn&amp;rsquo;t going to dissipate soon.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;He threw the truck in gear and tore out of the parking lot and onto the access road before getting on the freeway and heading toward the north end of Houston. There was no way he was going to waste all this energy. What he wanted, no, &lt;i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"&gt;needed,&lt;/i&gt; was a hard, down-and-dirty fuck. And he knew just where to get it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:136521</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/136521.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=136521"/>
    <title>A Wild Ride Releases Tonight at Midnight</title>
    <published>2013-04-07T20:11:11Z</published>
    <updated>2013-04-07T20:11:11Z</updated>
    <category term="a wild ride"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Dreamspinner Press is releasing A Wild Ride tonight at midnight. In this story you&amp;#39;ll meet Dante and Ryan. Dante is a bull rider who spends his days taking care of his grandfather, the family ranch, and just about everything else in his life. Theree are times when he needs someone to take care of him. But admitting he needs someone else in control is just a bit more than his ego will allow. But Ryan seems to see right through him and the results are explosively hot. So ride em cowboy!!!! Or is it the cowboy who gets ridden?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt; &lt;img alt="AWildRide_FinalMD" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/45426/45426_original.jpg" title="AWildRide_FinalMD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Blurb:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Dante Rivers just lost the rodeo by two one hundredths of a point: he&amp;rsquo;s frustrated as hell, needs to get laid, and he knows just where to go. That night he meets Ryan Abbott and catches his eye&amp;mdash;Ryan watched the rodeo and is still riding high on the rush. The chemistry between them ignites, but Dante, unable to deal with complications, leaves while Ryan&amp;rsquo;s asleep.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Ryan figures he&amp;rsquo;ll never see Dante again, but they&amp;rsquo;re fatefully reunited when Dante&amp;rsquo;s grandfather, Hy, hires Ryan to help straighten out some old investments. The attraction between Ryan and Dante still sizzles. Sex slowly turns to more, but obstacles abound: Hy&amp;rsquo;s failing health, Dante&amp;rsquo;s homophobic sponsor, an attack on Ryan, and Dante&amp;rsquo;s own struggle with his identity. Any one thing would be enough to separate them permanently&amp;hellip; unless they both decide to hang on for the wild ride.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Purchase an advance copy from Dreamspinner Press: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3696"&gt;&lt;span style="color: blue;"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3696&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Dante stepped out onto the arena floor, the sand crunching lightly beneath his boots. A murmur went through the small crowd gathered at the rail, and a bit of the excitement that had begun to slip away returned. He eyed the crowd and saw a group of kids&amp;mdash;looked like a scout troop or something. He walked in their direction and was greeted by young, awed faces and even a few jumps. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Did you like it?&amp;rdquo; Dante asked, and they answered yes as he took their programs and signed each one. &amp;ldquo;Hello, sweetheart,&amp;rdquo; Dante said as he crouched carefully in front of a little girl next to the boys. She had on a little cowgirl outfit and was holding her daddy&amp;rsquo;s hand. She looked at him shyly and then up at her daddy.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;She can&amp;rsquo;t talk,&amp;rdquo; he said, and Dante smiled at the little girl, taking the program from her hand.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;What&amp;rsquo;s her name?&amp;rdquo; Dante asked.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Gabrielle,&amp;rdquo; her father answered. Dante usually just signed programs, but he signed Gabrielle&amp;rsquo;s to his &amp;ldquo;favorite little cowgirl&amp;rdquo; and handed it back, saying good-bye and getting a smile from the little girl before moving on.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Dante signed a number of programs and then stepped back, waving to everyone before turning to leave the arena floor. Some of the other riders were still signing, but he&amp;rsquo;d had more than enough. Just before he reached the tunnel, he saw the scoreboard, the numbers still displayed. &lt;i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"&gt;Two one-hundredths of a point.&lt;/i&gt; The numbers seemed to mock him. Anger welled inside as the fatigue that had begun to take over subsided. Dante turned away and marched back toward the locker room.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ve got to take off,&amp;rdquo; Harvey said outside the locker-room door. &amp;ldquo;Are you okay to drive?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Was he? Dante took stock of his injuries. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m fine,&amp;rdquo; he answered. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll see you soon.&amp;rdquo; Harvey nodded and then hurried away toward the exit, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he went. Dante went back into the locker room. He took off his vest with a sigh and set it aside before stripping off the chaps and the rest of the gear, packing it away before heading toward the exit.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Tough luck about the score,&amp;rdquo; Bobby Varton said as they passed. Dante paused for a split second, trying to figure out if the sentiment was genuine or a rib. Knowing Bobby, it could go either way.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Dante shrugged lightly, hoping like hell to avoid more pain. &amp;ldquo;What can you do?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Bobby nodded. &amp;ldquo;Best ride I&amp;rsquo;ve seen in a long time, though.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Dante nodded before moving on. He left the arena carrying his bag and walked to his truck, parked in the designated area. The lot was largely empty, most everyone already gone. Dante unlocked the door and threw his gear behind the seat before climbing in. He started the engine and willed the air-conditioning to cool the damned sauna down. When the cold air began to blow, Dante closed the door, but he didn&amp;rsquo;t pull out. Not yet.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;His leg shook with excess energy. Tired as he was, he couldn&amp;rsquo;t stop his heart from pounding. &amp;ldquo;Two hundredths of a goddamned point,&amp;rdquo; Dante yelled, pounding his fist against the steering wheel. &amp;ldquo;I was that fucking close!&amp;rdquo; His entire body thrummed with energy that wasn&amp;rsquo;t going to go away. Adrenaline still coursed through him, and it would for a long time yet. As hyped up as he was, from his jittery legs to his cock throbbing in his jeans, it wasn&amp;rsquo;t going to dissipate soon.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;He threw the truck in gear and tore out of the parking lot and onto the access road before getting on the freeway and heading toward the north end of Houston. There was no way he was going to waste all this energy. What he wanted, no, &lt;i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"&gt;needed,&lt;/i&gt; was a hard, down-and-dirty fuck. And he knew just where to get it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:136280</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/136280.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=136280"/>
    <title>Heat Under Fire Is Burning to be Read</title>
    <published>2013-03-29T02:01:34Z</published>
    <updated>2013-03-29T10:37:39Z</updated>
    <category term="heat under fire"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;My latest story, Heat Under Fire is now available.&amp;nbsp; &amp;ldquo;You&amp;rsquo;re a man, of course you&lt;span class="text_exposed_hide"&gt;...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="text_exposed_show"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt; did something wrong.&amp;rdquo; Justin smiled slightly. &amp;ldquo;He&amp;rsquo;s a man too. He could have done something wrong.&amp;rdquo; &amp;ldquo;True,&amp;rdquo; Jane said as she continued working. &amp;ldquo;But the chances are since you are both men, it&amp;rsquo;s likely you both acted like asses.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="text_exposed_show"&gt;&lt;img alt="HeatUnderFire_LG" height="525" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/45217/45217_original.jpg" title="HeatUnderFire_LG" width="350" /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Justin Briggs can shout out directions all day on his job as a traffic cop, but put him in front of a hot guy, specifically firefighter Rock Sparks, and he clams up. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Rock finds Justin confusing. While saving a busload of children hanging off the edge of a highway overpass, the cute rookie is cool and confident. But when Rock tries to chat him up, he stutters and chokes. Frustrated, Rock teases Justin, and boy, is his temper hot.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;Though Rock and Justin share a steamy kiss, Justin keeps his distance, still tongue-tied. Then, when Justin is injured on the job, Rock takes him to the hospital, and some of the barriers start to crumble. But getting his enigmatic sweetheart to open up brings up more questions about Justin&amp;rsquo;s past.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;Purchase from Dreamspinner Press:&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3675"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/p&lt;wbr&gt;roduct_info.php?products_id=3675&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Purchase from Amazon:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Heat-Under-Fire-ebook/dp/B00C1VKJZ2/ref=zg_bs_172503011_4"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Heat-Under-Fire-ebook/dp/B00C1VKJZ2/ref=zg_bs_172503011_4&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Purchase from Rainbow eBooks:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://www.rainbowebooks.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=10523"&gt;http://www.rainbowebooks.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=10523&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Purchase from All Romance:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-heatunderfire-1148429-145.html"&gt;https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-heatunderfire-1148429-145.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;Excerpt:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;About an hour later, a speeding car heading out of town caught Justin&amp;rsquo;s attention, and he flipped on his lights and pulled out to follow the car. He&amp;rsquo;d just gotten behind the driver and was about to radio in the call when a long screech, like nails on a blackboard, crawled up his spine. Justin looked up from the car in front of him and saw a school bus facing him on the freeway overpass. It took him a second to realize the bus was hanging over the edge of the overpass, and by then, he&amp;rsquo;d already disengaged from the speeder, who had sped up again and was heading up onto the freeway.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Bus accident on I-81 South,&amp;rdquo; Justin radioed in. &amp;ldquo;Don&amp;rsquo;t know number of people involved. Need emergency services. Bus hanging over overpass, need South Hanover closed both ways. On my way to assist at the scene.&amp;rdquo; Traffic was already stopping on the surface streets. Justin needed to get up to the freeway, but the lane to the on-ramp was clogged, so he went up an off-ramp and turned so he went the wrong way down the freeway shoulder, siren and lights blaring so he could get to the bus.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;It was teetering on the edge, and as soon as he stopped his car and got out, he could hear children on the bus, screaming. Cars on the highway were slowing, and Justin got the first cars to hold. He knew he was backing things up, but he needed to help those kids. &amp;ldquo;Stay there,&amp;rdquo; he told the drivers, and they held still, effectively closing the freeway. The bus screeched, and Justin saw it move slightly.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s all right, kids,&amp;rdquo; Justin yelled, and the screaming subsided. &amp;ldquo;I want you all to slowly move to the back of the bus. Don&amp;rsquo;t move fast or suddenly, but slowly walk to the back of the bus.&amp;rdquo; He saw the kids begin to move inside and heard sirens approaching from what seemed like all directions, but he kept his eyes on the kids. &amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s it. Keep walking slowly,&amp;rdquo; Justin encouraged as the back wheels of the bus settled back down onto the pavement. &amp;ldquo;Good, now all of you stay where you are. We&amp;rsquo;re going to get you out, but it will take a few minutes. No one move,&amp;rdquo; Justin said. &amp;ldquo;Is the driver with you?&amp;rdquo; he asked the kids through an open window.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;No,&amp;rdquo; a small kid about seven answered. &amp;ldquo;He&amp;rsquo;s in his seat with red stuff all over him.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s blood,&amp;rdquo; one of the other kids said, and a few of the kids began to cry.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s okay, you&amp;rsquo;re going to be all right. We&amp;rsquo;re going to help you, and then we&amp;rsquo;ll get the driver out too. I promise,&amp;rdquo; Justin said, trying anything he could to calm them down. Other emergency vehicles arrived, and Justin continued working to keep the children calm. &amp;ldquo;Is anyone hurt besides the driver?&amp;rdquo; Justin asked.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I hit my knee,&amp;rdquo; one little boy said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I hit my head.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;My arm hurts.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Is anyone bleeding?&amp;rdquo; All the kids he could see shook their heads. &amp;ldquo;Is anyone else bleeding?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Timmy&amp;rsquo;s hiding under the seat,&amp;rdquo; one girl said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Make sure he&amp;rsquo;s okay,&amp;rdquo; Justin said, and he waited a few seconds as the girl&amp;rsquo;s ponytailed head disappeared.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;He&amp;rsquo;s just scared,&amp;rdquo; she reported. &amp;ldquo;He told me so.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Very good. Please don&amp;rsquo;t move around, and we&amp;rsquo;ll get you all out as fast as we can,&amp;rdquo; Justin said, then turned around to the gathering group of vehicles.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;How many are hurt?&amp;rdquo; Rockland Sparks asked him, and for a brief second Justin&amp;rsquo;s composure failed him. Damn, why did he have to be the one who responded? Every time the EMT was around, Justin got completely tongue-tied. Rock, as everyone called him, was just that: built solid, with arms that stretched his shirt sleeves. Justin swallowed and opened his mouth to respond, hoping like hell some sort of sound came out.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:136032</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/136032.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=136032"/>
    <title>Heat Under Fire Releases Tuesday Night At Nidnight</title>
    <published>2013-03-24T23:29:42Z</published>
    <updated>2013-03-24T23:29:42Z</updated>
    <category term="heat under fire"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Heat Under Fire, a novella related to the stories in the By Fire series releases Tuesday night, Wednesday morning at midnight Easter time from Dreamspinner Press. The firemen you loved from the By Fire stories do appear in this novella.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;In this story, you&amp;rsquo;ll meet Justin, a police officer who can&amp;rsquo;t talk to guys.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Rock is the firefighter he finds almost irresistible, but he can&amp;rsquo;t say a word to him, so Justin let&amp;rsquo;s his temper take over.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &amp;nbsp;Here&amp;#39;s an excerpt to give you a taste.&amp;nbsp; I hope you like it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;img alt="HeatUnderFire_LG" height="525" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/45217/45217_original.jpg" title="HeatUnderFire_LG" width="350" /&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Justin Briggs can shout out directions all day on his job as a traffic cop, but put him in front of a hot guy, specifically firefighter Rock Sparks, and he clams up. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;Rock finds Justin confusing. While saving a busload of children hanging off the edge of a highway overpass, the cute rookie is cool and confident. But when Rock tries to chat him up, he stutters and chokes. Frustrated, Rock teases Justin, and boy, is his temper hot.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;Though Rock and Justin share a steamy kiss, Justin keeps his distance, still tongue-tied. Then, when Justin is injured on the job, Rock takes him to the hospital, and some of the barriers start to crumble. But getting his enigmatic sweetheart to open up brings up more questions about Justin&amp;rsquo;s past.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;Preorder your copy from Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3675"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3675&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;Excerpt:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;About an hour later, a speeding car heading out of town caught Justin&amp;rsquo;s attention, and he flipped on his lights and pulled out to follow the car. He&amp;rsquo;d just gotten behind the driver and was about to radio in the call when a long screech, like nails on a blackboard, crawled up his spine. Justin looked up from the car in front of him and saw a school bus facing him on the freeway overpass. It took him a second to realize the bus was hanging over the edge of the overpass, and by then, he&amp;rsquo;d already disengaged from the speeder, who had sped up again and was heading up onto the freeway.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Bus accident on I-81 South,&amp;rdquo; Justin radioed in. &amp;ldquo;Don&amp;rsquo;t know number of people involved. Need emergency services. Bus hanging over overpass, need South Hanover closed both ways. On my way to assist at the scene.&amp;rdquo; Traffic was already stopping on the surface streets. Justin needed to get up to the freeway, but the lane to the on-ramp was clogged, so he went up an off-ramp and turned so he went the wrong way down the freeway shoulder, siren and lights blaring so he could get to the bus.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;It was teetering on the edge, and as soon as he stopped his car and got out, he could hear children on the bus, screaming. Cars on the highway were slowing, and Justin got the first cars to hold. He knew he was backing things up, but he needed to help those kids. &amp;ldquo;Stay there,&amp;rdquo; he told the drivers, and they held still, effectively closing the freeway. The bus screeched, and Justin saw it move slightly.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s all right, kids,&amp;rdquo; Justin yelled, and the screaming subsided. &amp;ldquo;I want you all to slowly move to the back of the bus. Don&amp;rsquo;t move fast or suddenly, but slowly walk to the back of the bus.&amp;rdquo; He saw the kids begin to move inside and heard sirens approaching from what seemed like all directions, but he kept his eyes on the kids. &amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s it. Keep walking slowly,&amp;rdquo; Justin encouraged as the back wheels of the bus settled back down onto the pavement. &amp;ldquo;Good, now all of you stay where you are. We&amp;rsquo;re going to get you out, but it will take a few minutes. No one move,&amp;rdquo; Justin said. &amp;ldquo;Is the driver with you?&amp;rdquo; he asked the kids through an open window.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;No,&amp;rdquo; a small kid about seven answered. &amp;ldquo;He&amp;rsquo;s in his seat with red stuff all over him.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s blood,&amp;rdquo; one of the other kids said, and a few of the kids began to cry.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s okay, you&amp;rsquo;re going to be all right. We&amp;rsquo;re going to help you, and then we&amp;rsquo;ll get the driver out too. I promise,&amp;rdquo; Justin said, trying anything he could to calm them down. Other emergency vehicles arrived, and Justin continued working to keep the children calm. &amp;ldquo;Is anyone hurt besides the driver?&amp;rdquo; Justin asked.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I hit my knee,&amp;rdquo; one little boy said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I hit my head.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;My arm hurts.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Is anyone bleeding?&amp;rdquo; All the kids he could see shook their heads. &amp;ldquo;Is anyone else bleeding?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Timmy&amp;rsquo;s hiding under the seat,&amp;rdquo; one girl said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Make sure he&amp;rsquo;s okay,&amp;rdquo; Justin said, and he waited a few seconds as the girl&amp;rsquo;s ponytailed head disappeared.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;He&amp;rsquo;s just scared,&amp;rdquo; she reported. &amp;ldquo;He told me so.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Very good. Please don&amp;rsquo;t move around, and we&amp;rsquo;ll get you all out as fast as we can,&amp;rdquo; Justin said, then turned around to the gathering group of vehicles.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&amp;ldquo;How many are hurt?&amp;rdquo; Rockland Sparks asked him, and for a brief second Justin&amp;rsquo;s composure failed him. Damn, why did he have to be the one who responded? Every time the EMT was around, Justin got completely tongue-tied. Rock, as everyone called him, was just that: built solid, with arms that stretched his shirt sleeves. Justin swallowed and opened his mouth to respond, hoping like hell some sort of sound came out.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:135725</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/135725.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=135725"/>
    <title>The Good Fight Series - Stories that Touched My Heart</title>
    <published>2013-03-10T17:01:50Z</published>
    <updated>2013-03-10T17:03:57Z</updated>
    <category term="the good fight series"/>
    <content type="html">The Fight Within was just released this past week.&amp;nbsp; It&amp;#39;s the follow up to The Good Fight.&amp;nbsp; Both of these stories are very close to my heart since both of them have a basis in fact.&amp;nbsp; The Good Fight is Akecheta and Jerry&amp;#39;s story.&amp;nbsp; It deals with how native American children can be caught in the South Dakota child welfare system.&amp;nbsp; This story was inspired by a true story and something similar has played out many times.&amp;nbsp; The Fight Within is Paytah and Bryce&amp;#39;s story and it attempts to demonstrate that the povery on reservations not only means that people don&amp;#39;t have enough to eat or that their lives are hard, but it also tries to show that with that poverty comes other forces that turn people into victims.&amp;nbsp; These stories are poverful and I love them both very much.&amp;nbsp; They truly come from my heart.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img alt="Fight Within LG" height="302" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/44933/44933_original.jpg" title="Fight Within LG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;img alt="GoodFightWeb" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/37880/37880_original.jpg" title="GoodFightWeb" width="200" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;Purchase The Fight Within:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3639"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3639&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Purchase The Good Fight:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3188"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3188&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Blurb:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce Morton needs a change of scenery. Since his partner&amp;rsquo;s death a year ago, he&amp;rsquo;s become withdrawn and quiet, so his friends, Jerry Lincoln and Akecheta (John) Black Raven, convince him to go camping with them on a Sioux reservation. Though he&amp;rsquo;s not immediately sure he&amp;rsquo;s done the right thing, Bryce becomes more interested when he meets Paytah, the man who owns the reservation&amp;#39;s trading post.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Paytah Stillwater&amp;#39;s life is filled with hurt, and sometimes the only thing he has left is pride. After being abused as a child and disbelieved when he spoke up, he has withdrawn into himself&amp;mdash;but he can never truly put his past behind him, because the source of his pain still lives on the reservation. Paytah is proud of his heritage and careful with his heart, but when Bryce commits a selfless act of kindness for one of the reservation&amp;rsquo;s children, the walls around Paytah&amp;rsquo;s heart begin to melt. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce and Paytah each fight the pain within them. When Paytah&amp;#39;s abuser sets his sights on one of the reservation youngsters, Bryce and Payton must set their individual fights aside. Finding a way to stop the abuser unites them to fight their way forward&amp;mdash;together.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Excerpt:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;As promised, the camping place wasn&amp;rsquo;t far from Kiya&amp;rsquo;s, and it was beautiful, with a small stream running through a shallow but lush valley. They unloaded the stuff, and the guys put up the tents. Bryce wasn&amp;rsquo;t sure what he was supposed to do, so he mainly carried things from the van in what seemed like a never-ending caravan of equipment. &amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s the last of it,&amp;rdquo; Bryce said as he set down the cooler on the grass. They had tents, chairs, a small fire pit, and not much else, but they all seemed pleased. The kids almost immediately took off their shoes and socks to wade in the shallows of the stream while John and Jerry took a moment to sit quietly. They offered Bryce a chair as well.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;This isn&amp;rsquo;t so bad, is it?&amp;rdquo; Jerry asked, and Bryce grudgingly admitted that the view and quiet were a balm that his spirit needed.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;But at the first clap of thunder or weird sound outside the tent, I&amp;rsquo;m making for the van,&amp;rdquo; Bryce quipped with a sarcastic smile.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s supposed to be nice all weekend, and the bears will leave us alone if we leave them alone,&amp;rdquo; John said, and Bryce jumped to his feet, ready to head to the van.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;You said there weren&amp;rsquo;t any bears,&amp;rdquo; Bryce cried, knowing then he&amp;rsquo;d been had. &amp;ldquo;Fine, but I&amp;rsquo;m still keeping the van on reserve.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;The kids joined them, keeping their shoes off, while John built a small fire. As darkness fell, they roasted hot dogs, told stories, and simply talked. A coyote howled in the distance, and Bryce looked all around, but didn&amp;rsquo;t immediately race to the van. &amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s okay, Uncle Bryce,&amp;rdquo; Mato said. &amp;ldquo;They don&amp;rsquo;t like people and they won&amp;rsquo;t come near the fire.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce nodded and listened as the haunting call was picked up by another and then another. &amp;ldquo;The land has its own music. If you close your eyes and let go, you&amp;rsquo;ll really hear it,&amp;rdquo; John explained.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce wasn&amp;rsquo;t so sure, but he closed his eyes anyway and listened. At first, he heard the coyotes, then the crackle of the fire, followed by the overlapping chirp of grasshoppers. The stream joined with its soothing gurgle, with tiny animals scurrying through the grasses. A bullfrog croaked loudly, and Bryce jumped, nearly toppling his chair, and the children added their laughter to the chorus. He closed his eyes again, leaning back in his chair and listening. The sounds, no longer scary or confusing, worked their way into his mind. As he listened, he heard a rock tumble down from a nearby bluff. No one said anything, and Bryce breathed deeply and calmly. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s beautiful,&amp;rdquo; Bryce said as he felt tears well in his eyes. He made no move to wipe them away. Percy would have loved it out here, and Bryce had never been interested in camping. I&amp;rsquo;m sorry, Bryce thought, and a tiny breeze came up, caressing his cheek. The tears started in earnest as he swore he heard Percy&amp;rsquo;s voice on the wind telling him it was all right and time for him to move on. I&amp;rsquo;ll always love you, but there&amp;rsquo;s another out there who will love you too, it seemed to say. The breeze caressed his cheek once more and then it was gone.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce opened his eyes and saw Jerry and John staring back at him. &amp;ldquo;You fell asleep,&amp;rdquo; John said as he poked the fire.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;So it was a dream,&amp;rdquo; Bryce whispered as he looked around. He saw the kids through the screen of the tent, already asleep. &amp;ldquo;How long?&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;About an hour,&amp;rdquo; John answered in a whisper before lifting his gaze to meet his. &amp;ldquo;What did you see?&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I didn&amp;rsquo;t see anything, but I heard Percy on the wind,&amp;rdquo; Bryce said and then waited, but there was no wind, the air still and rapidly cooling. &amp;ldquo;He told me he&amp;rsquo;d always love me, but it was time for me to move on.&amp;rdquo; Bryce swallowed back tears. &amp;ldquo;But it was just a dream.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;John shook his head slowly. &amp;ldquo;No. You were given a blessing. The spirits allowed him to come to you and give you a message. Don&amp;rsquo;t dismiss it or think it didn&amp;rsquo;t happen.&amp;rdquo; John placed his stick on the fire, stood up, and stretched his back in varying directions. Then he sat back down again, and no one talked for a while as Bryce sank deep into his own thoughts. Maybe it was time for him to stop grieving.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce stood up and walked toward the van. He pulled out his suitcase and in the darkness changed into a pair of shorts and T-shirt before making his way to the tent he was sharing with the kids. They had insisted he sleep with them, so Bryce climbed into his sleeping bag on the air mattress and closed his eyes.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:135641</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/135641.html"/>
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    <title>Amazing Comments for The Fight Within</title>
    <published>2013-03-07T02:00:51Z</published>
    <updated>2013-03-07T02:01:13Z</updated>
    <category term="the fight within"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;I&amp;#39;m floored by the wonderful comments I&amp;#39;ve received about The Fight Within.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;This story really touched my heart as I was writing it and when I read it for edits, it did the same thing.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;I love this story and I&amp;rsquo;m so pleased reviewers and readers have as well.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;img alt="Fight Within LG" height="302" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/44933/44933_original.jpg" title="Fight Within LG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;img alt="GoodFightMD" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/37329/37329_original.jpg" title="GoodFightMD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;From Mistress Anya at House Millar:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;What do you get when you mix two proud men, a past of abuse and pain, and a love that won&amp;rsquo;t be denied&amp;mdash;no matter how many insults or miles lay in the way? A world rich in textures; characters so vibrant you laugh, cry, and swoon with them; and a story that not only touches you deeply, but is one that truly needs to be told.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Read the entire House Millar review:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://apmassie.com/release-day-review-the-fight-within-by-andrew-grey/"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman"&gt;http://apmassie.com/release-day-review-the-fight-within-by-andrew-grey/&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;From Mrs. Condit and Friends Read Books:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Bryce is a hero to everyone, one way or another. Paytah is a hero to everyone as well, although initially it doesn&amp;rsquo;t appear so. I loved this book, these characters, and this story. Get it today. Read. Understand and through understanding, enjoy.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Read the entire review:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index.php/?p=10959"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman"&gt;http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index.php/?p=10959&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;From MM Good Book Reviews:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;This is a story that is rich in detail, delving into the Native American culture and also sharing the suffering that the Native American&amp;rsquo;s still face today. The storyline and plot are deep reaching drawing us into a wall of silence and the secret suffering of abuse victims, the arrogance of the abuser and the strength of will to put an end to the abuse. It also gives the characters hope, with new ideas for the tribe to begin bringing new life into their reservation. And last but not least, we have a romance that breaks through grief and guilt and brings two men together who have each suffered in their own ways and sees them through the problems they face from living in different places.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Read the entire review:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/the-fight-within-by-andrew-grey/"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman"&gt;http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/the-fight-within-by-andrew-grey/&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:135224</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/135224.html"/>
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    <title>The Fight Within - Excerpt and Links If You need Them.</title>
    <published>2013-03-05T01:03:45Z</published>
    <updated>2013-03-05T11:14:00Z</updated>
    <category term="the fight within"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;The Fight Within released last night.&amp;nbsp; This story is the follow up to The Good Fight and its equally powerful.&amp;nbsp; Enjoy the excerpt!!&amp;nbsp; As promised I included links to many of the sites that carry my work if you need them..&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img alt="Fight Within LG" height="529" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/44933/44933_original.jpg" title="Fight Within LG" width="350" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Blurb:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce Morton needs a change of scenery. Since his partner&amp;rsquo;s death a year ago, he&amp;rsquo;s become withdrawn and quiet, so his friends, Jerry Lincoln and Akecheta (John) Black Raven, convince him to go camping with them on a Sioux reservation. Though he&amp;rsquo;s not immediately sure he&amp;rsquo;s done the right thing, Bryce becomes more interested when he meets Paytah, the man who owns the reservation&amp;#39;s trading post.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Paytah Stillwater&amp;#39;s life is filled with hurt, and sometimes the only thing he has left is pride. After being abused as a child and disbelieved when he spoke up, he has withdrawn into himself&amp;mdash;but he can never truly put his past behind him, because the source of his pain still lives on the reservation. Paytah is proud of his heritage and careful with his heart, but when Bryce commits a selfless act of kindness for one of the reservation&amp;rsquo;s children, the walls around Paytah&amp;rsquo;s heart begin to melt. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce and Paytah each fight the pain within them. When Paytah&amp;#39;s abuser sets his sights on one of the reservation youngsters, Bryce and Paytah must set their individual fights aside. Finding a way to stop the abuser unites them to fight their way forward&amp;mdash;together.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Buy from Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3639"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3639&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Buy from Amazon:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Fight-Within-Good-ebook/dp/B00BORQZKM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1362444820&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=the+fight+within"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/The-Fight-Within-Good-ebook/dp/B00BORQZKM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1362444820&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=the+fight+within&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Buy from Rainbow eBooks: &lt;a href="http://www.rainbowebooks.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=10341"&gt;http://www.rainbowebooks.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=10341&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Buy from All Romance eBooks:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thefightwithin-1094953-145.html"&gt;https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thefightwithin-1094953-145.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Excerpt:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;As promised, the camping place wasn&amp;rsquo;t far from Kiya&amp;rsquo;s, and it was beautiful, with a small stream running through a shallow but lush valley. They unloaded the stuff, and the guys put up the tents. Bryce wasn&amp;rsquo;t sure what he was supposed to do, so he mainly carried things from the van in what seemed like a never-ending caravan of equipment. &amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s the last of it,&amp;rdquo; Bryce said as he set down the cooler on the grass. They had tents, chairs, a small fire pit, and not much else, but they all seemed pleased. The kids almost immediately took off their shoes and socks to wade in the shallows of the stream while John and Jerry took a moment to sit quietly. They offered Bryce a chair as well.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;This isn&amp;rsquo;t so bad, is it?&amp;rdquo; Jerry asked, and Bryce grudgingly admitted that the view and quiet were a balm that his spirit needed.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;But at the first clap of thunder or weird sound outside the tent, I&amp;rsquo;m making for the van,&amp;rdquo; Bryce quipped with a sarcastic smile.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s supposed to be nice all weekend, and the bears will leave us alone if we leave them alone,&amp;rdquo; John said, and Bryce jumped to his feet, ready to head to the van.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;You said there weren&amp;rsquo;t any bears,&amp;rdquo; Bryce cried, knowing then he&amp;rsquo;d been had. &amp;ldquo;Fine, but I&amp;rsquo;m still keeping the van on reserve.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;The kids joined them, keeping their shoes off, while John built a small fire. As darkness fell, they roasted hot dogs, told stories, and simply talked. A coyote howled in the distance, and Bryce looked all around, but didn&amp;rsquo;t immediately race to the van. &amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s okay, Uncle Bryce,&amp;rdquo; Mato said. &amp;ldquo;They don&amp;rsquo;t like people and they won&amp;rsquo;t come near the fire.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce nodded and listened as the haunting call was picked up by another and then another. &amp;ldquo;The land has its own music. If you close your eyes and let go, you&amp;rsquo;ll really hear it,&amp;rdquo; John explained.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce wasn&amp;rsquo;t so sure, but he closed his eyes anyway and listened. At first, he heard the coyotes, then the crackle of the fire, followed by the overlapping chirp of grasshoppers. The stream joined with its soothing gurgle, with tiny animals scurrying through the grasses. A bullfrog croaked loudly, and Bryce jumped, nearly toppling his chair, and the children added their laughter to the chorus. He closed his eyes again, leaning back in his chair and listening. The sounds, no longer scary or confusing, worked their way into his mind. As he listened, he heard a rock tumble down from a nearby bluff. No one said anything, and Bryce breathed deeply and calmly. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s beautiful,&amp;rdquo; Bryce said as he felt tears well in his eyes. He made no move to wipe them away. Percy would have loved it out here, and Bryce had never been interested in camping. I&amp;rsquo;m sorry, Bryce thought, and a tiny breeze came up, caressing his cheek. The tears started in earnest as he swore he heard Percy&amp;rsquo;s voice on the wind telling him it was all right and time for him to move on. I&amp;rsquo;ll always love you, but there&amp;rsquo;s another out there who will love you too, it seemed to say. The breeze caressed his cheek once more and then it was gone.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce opened his eyes and saw Jerry and John staring back at him. &amp;ldquo;You fell asleep,&amp;rdquo; John said as he poked the fire.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;So it was a dream,&amp;rdquo; Bryce whispered as he looked around. He saw the kids through the screen of the tent, already asleep. &amp;ldquo;How long?&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;About an hour,&amp;rdquo; John answered in a whisper before lifting his gaze to meet his. &amp;ldquo;What did you see?&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I didn&amp;rsquo;t see anything, but I heard Percy on the wind,&amp;rdquo; Bryce said and then waited, but there was no wind, the air still and rapidly cooling. &amp;ldquo;He told me he&amp;rsquo;d always love me, but it was time for me to move on.&amp;rdquo; Bryce swallowed back tears. &amp;ldquo;But it was just a dream.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;John shook his head slowly. &amp;ldquo;No. You were given a blessing. The spirits allowed him to come to you and give you a message. Don&amp;rsquo;t dismiss it or think it didn&amp;rsquo;t happen.&amp;rdquo; John placed his stick on the fire, stood up, and stretched his back in varying directions. Then he sat back down again, and no one talked for a while as Bryce sank deep into his own thoughts. Maybe it was time for him to stop grieving.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce stood up and walked toward the van. He pulled out his suitcase and in the darkness changed into a pair of shorts and T-shirt before making his way to the tent he was sharing with the kids. They had insisted he sleep with them, so Bryce climbed into his sleeping bag on the air mattress and closed his eyes.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:135004</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/135004.html"/>
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    <title>The Fight Within - Releases Tomorrow Night at Midnight From Dreamspinner Press</title>
    <published>2013-03-02T21:43:07Z</published>
    <updated>2013-03-05T11:14:56Z</updated>
    <category term="the fight within"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;The Fight Within releases Sunday night at midnight from Dreamspinner Press.&amp;nbsp; This story is the follow up to The Good Fight and its equally powerful.&amp;nbsp; I thought in celebration that I&amp;#39;d offer you a sneak peek.&amp;nbsp; The excerpt below is one I haven&amp;#39;t used for other posts or blog entries. In&amp;nbsp;this scene, Bryce is still grieving Percy&amp;#39;s loss and he&amp;#39;s given a gift that allows him to begin moving on.&amp;nbsp; I hope you enjoy it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img alt="Fight Within LG" height="529" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/44933/44933_original.jpg" title="Fight Within LG" width="350" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Blurb:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce Morton needs a change of scenery. Since his partner&amp;rsquo;s death a year ago, he&amp;rsquo;s become withdrawn and quiet, so his friends, Jerry Lincoln and Akecheta (John) Black Raven, convince him to go camping with them on a Sioux reservation. Though he&amp;rsquo;s not immediately sure he&amp;rsquo;s done the right thing, Bryce becomes more interested when he meets Paytah, the man who owns the reservation&amp;#39;s trading post.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Paytah Stillwater&amp;#39;s life is filled with hurt, and sometimes the only thing he has left is pride. After being abused as a child and disbelieved when he spoke up, he has withdrawn into himself&amp;mdash;but he can never truly put his past behind him, because the source of his pain still lives on the reservation. Paytah is proud of his heritage and careful with his heart, but when Bryce commits a selfless act of kindness for one of the reservation&amp;rsquo;s children, the walls around Paytah&amp;rsquo;s heart begin to melt. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce and Paytah each fight the pain within them. When Paytah&amp;#39;s abuser sets his sights on one of the reservation youngsters, Bryce and Paytah must set their individual fights aside. Finding a way to stop the abuser unites them to fight their way forward&amp;mdash;together.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Preorder a copy:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3639"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3639&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Excerpt:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;As promised, the camping place wasn&amp;rsquo;t far from Kiya&amp;rsquo;s, and it was beautiful, with a small stream running through a shallow but lush valley. They unloaded the stuff, and the guys put up the tents. Bryce wasn&amp;rsquo;t sure what he was supposed to do, so he mainly carried things from the van in what seemed like a never-ending caravan of equipment. &amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s the last of it,&amp;rdquo; Bryce said as he set down the cooler on the grass. They had tents, chairs, a small fire pit, and not much else, but they all seemed pleased. The kids almost immediately took off their shoes and socks to wade in the shallows of the stream while John and Jerry took a moment to sit quietly. They offered Bryce a chair as well.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;This isn&amp;rsquo;t so bad, is it?&amp;rdquo; Jerry asked, and Bryce grudgingly admitted that the view and quiet were a balm that his spirit needed.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;But at the first clap of thunder or weird sound outside the tent, I&amp;rsquo;m making for the van,&amp;rdquo; Bryce quipped with a sarcastic smile.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s supposed to be nice all weekend, and the bears will leave us alone if we leave them alone,&amp;rdquo; John said, and Bryce jumped to his feet, ready to head to the van.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;You said there weren&amp;rsquo;t any bears,&amp;rdquo; Bryce cried, knowing then he&amp;rsquo;d been had. &amp;ldquo;Fine, but I&amp;rsquo;m still keeping the van on reserve.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;The kids joined them, keeping their shoes off, while John built a small fire. As darkness fell, they roasted hot dogs, told stories, and simply talked. A coyote howled in the distance, and Bryce looked all around, but didn&amp;rsquo;t immediately race to the van. &amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s okay, Uncle Bryce,&amp;rdquo; Mato said. &amp;ldquo;They don&amp;rsquo;t like people and they won&amp;rsquo;t come near the fire.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce nodded and listened as the haunting call was picked up by another and then another. &amp;ldquo;The land has its own music. If you close your eyes and let go, you&amp;rsquo;ll really hear it,&amp;rdquo; John explained.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce wasn&amp;rsquo;t so sure, but he closed his eyes anyway and listened. At first, he heard the coyotes, then the crackle of the fire, followed by the overlapping chirp of grasshoppers. The stream joined with its soothing gurgle, with tiny animals scurrying through the grasses. A bullfrog croaked loudly, and Bryce jumped, nearly toppling his chair, and the children added their laughter to the chorus. He closed his eyes again, leaning back in his chair and listening. The sounds, no longer scary or confusing, worked their way into his mind. As he listened, he heard a rock tumble down from a nearby bluff. No one said anything, and Bryce breathed deeply and calmly. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s beautiful,&amp;rdquo; Bryce said as he felt tears well in his eyes. He made no move to wipe them away. Percy would have loved it out here, and Bryce had never been interested in camping. I&amp;rsquo;m sorry, Bryce thought, and a tiny breeze came up, caressing his cheek. The tears started in earnest as he swore he heard Percy&amp;rsquo;s voice on the wind telling him it was all right and time for him to move on. I&amp;rsquo;ll always love you, but there&amp;rsquo;s another out there who will love you too, it seemed to say. The breeze caressed his cheek once more and then it was gone.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce opened his eyes and saw Jerry and John staring back at him. &amp;ldquo;You fell asleep,&amp;rdquo; John said as he poked the fire.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;So it was a dream,&amp;rdquo; Bryce whispered as he looked around. He saw the kids through the screen of the tent, already asleep. &amp;ldquo;How long?&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;About an hour,&amp;rdquo; John answered in a whisper before lifting his gaze to meet his. &amp;ldquo;What did you see?&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I didn&amp;rsquo;t see anything, but I heard Percy on the wind,&amp;rdquo; Bryce said and then waited, but there was no wind, the air still and rapidly cooling. &amp;ldquo;He told me he&amp;rsquo;d always love me, but it was time for me to move on.&amp;rdquo; Bryce swallowed back tears. &amp;ldquo;But it was just a dream.&amp;rdquo;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;John shook his head slowly. &amp;ldquo;No. You were given a blessing. The spirits allowed him to come to you and give you a message. Don&amp;rsquo;t dismiss it or think it didn&amp;rsquo;t happen.&amp;rdquo; John placed his stick on the fire, stood up, and stretched his back in varying directions. Then he sat back down again, and no one talked for a while as Bryce sank deep into his own thoughts. Maybe it was time for him to stop grieving.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Bryce stood up and walked toward the van. He pulled out his suitcase and in the darkness changed into a pair of shorts and T-shirt before making his way to the tent he was sharing with the kids. They had insisted he sleep with them, so Bryce climbed into his sleeping bag on the air mattress and closed his eyes.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:134688</id>
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    <title>A Shared Range and A Troubled Range are Now Available in Audiobook</title>
    <published>2013-02-25T11:40:12Z</published>
    <updated>2013-02-25T11:42:23Z</updated>
    <category term="audiobooks"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;For all you lovers of audiobooks, A Shared Range and A Troubled Range have recently been released by Dreamspinner Press.&amp;nbsp; They are the full stories in audio form.&amp;nbsp; They are currently available from Dreamspinner, but will eventually be available at Audible as well.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/12334/12334_original.jpg" width="200" /&gt; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img alt="" height="299" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/17074/17074_original.jpg" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;Here are links if you&amp;#39;d like them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Shared Range Audiobook:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3662"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3662&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;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&amp;rsquo;s life.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;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&amp;rsquo;s inclination to help the wolves Dakota&amp;rsquo;s men shoot to protect the cattle, he and Dakota find they have a lot in common, including a fierce attraction. But they&amp;rsquo;ll have to decide if the Wyoming range is big enough for Dakota&amp;rsquo;s cattle, Wally&amp;rsquo;s wolves, and their love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Troubled Range Audiobook:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3663&amp;amp;cPath=201"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3663&amp;amp;cPath=201&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana;"&gt;The neighboring Holden and Jessup ranches are anything but neighborly&amp;mdash;Jefferson Holden and Kent Jessup loathe each other. But despite his father&amp;rsquo;s long-held grudge, Haven Jessup just can&amp;rsquo;t bring himself to hate, especially after Dakota Holden takes him in during a violent storm and Haven meets Dakota&amp;rsquo;s friend, Phillip Reardon.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana;"&gt;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&amp;rsquo;s newfound happiness and his hopes of a future with Phillip.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:134599</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/134599.html"/>
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    <title>The Fight Within - Releases March 4, 2013 From Dreamspinner Press</title>
    <published>2013-02-17T17:19:36Z</published>
    <updated>2013-02-17T17:20:00Z</updated>
    <category term="fight within"/>
    <content type="html">I just received the cover for The Fight Within.&amp;nbsp; This is the follow up to The Good Fight. Anne Cain did an amazing job on this cover and I wanted to share it with you.&amp;nbsp; When I was writing this story, I realized the obvious angle with the poverty on Native American reservations, but I didn&amp;#39;t want to go for the obvious, so another idea presented itself.&amp;nbsp; One that highlights the lack of power and hope that go along with the poverty.&amp;nbsp; This is a powerful story and one that was difficult fo rme to write, but in the end I&amp;#39;m very proud of it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Fight Within LG" height="529" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/44933/44933_original.jpg" title="Fight Within LG" width="350" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"&gt;Bryce Morton needs a change of scenery. Since his partner&amp;rsquo;s death a year ago, he&amp;rsquo;s become withdrawn and quiet, so his friends, Jerry Lincoln and Akecheta (John) Black Raven, convince him to go camping with them on a Sioux reservation. Though he&amp;rsquo;s not immediately sure he&amp;rsquo;s done the right thing, Bryce becomes more interested when he meets Paytah, the man who owns the reservation&amp;#39;s trading post.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"&gt;Paytah Stillwater&amp;#39;s life is filled with hurt, and sometimes the only thing he has left is pride. After being abused as a child and disbelieved when he spoke up, he has withdrawn into himself&amp;mdash;but he can never truly put his past behind him, because the source of his pain still lives on the reservation. Paytah is proud of his heritage and careful with his heart, but when Bryce commits a selfless act of kindness for one of the reservation&amp;rsquo;s children, the walls around Paytah&amp;rsquo;s heart begin to melt.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"&gt;Bryce and Paytah each fight the pain within them. When Paytah&amp;#39;s abuser sets his sights on one of the reservation youngsters, Bryce and Payton must set their individual fights aside. Finding a way to stop the abuser unites them to fight their way forward&amp;mdash;together.&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:134347</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/134347.html"/>
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    <title>Love in in the Air</title>
    <published>2013-02-12T11:50:24Z</published>
    <updated>2013-02-12T11:50:24Z</updated>
    <category term="reviews"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/22405" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/22405/22405_original.jpg" title="" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/13165" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/13165/13165_original.jpg" title="" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;As part of their Love is in the Air celebration PRG posted&amp;nbsp; 5 star reviews for Love Means... Healing and Love Means... No Boundaries.&amp;nbsp; Check out the reviews here:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/prgbookreviews.htm"&gt;http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/prgbookreviews.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While you&amp;#39;re at the site, don&amp;#39;t forget to sign up to win a Love Means..., story of your choice.&amp;nbsp; To sign up follow this link &lt;a href="http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/apps/blog/"&gt;http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/apps/blog/&lt;/a&gt; nbsp; They&amp;#39;ll be drawing each day through February 15th.&amp;nbsp; So be sure to sign up each day.&amp;nbsp; Good Luck!!</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:134134</id>
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    <title>A Volatile Range - A Marine, A Cowboy, and a Run In with a Tiger</title>
    <published>2013-02-12T03:17:10Z</published>
    <updated>2013-02-12T03:17:10Z</updated>
    <category term="a volatile range"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/44370" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="AVolatileRange MD" height="299" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/44370/44370_original.jpg" title="AVolatileRange MD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Blurb:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;Since mustering out of the Marines, Gordon Fisher has been off the grid and out of money, so when a group of ecoterrorists promises him big bucks to set some mistreated animals free, Gordon agrees. Unfortunately, the animals are Wally Schumacher&amp;rsquo;s large cats, and one of them decides to take a chunk out of Gordon.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Still hurting from a breakup, Mario Laria finds Gordon and escorts him back to Dakota&amp;#39;s ranch at gunpoint, only to have his heartstrings tugged on when he discovers Gordon is living out of his truck.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;With Dakota doctoring, Wally wanting Gordon gone for good, and Mario falling in love, Gordon hangs on for the ride. But what looms on his horizon threatens to tear apart what little hope he&amp;rsquo;s found. No one knows Gordon&amp;rsquo;s past keeps him up at night, and the military wants answers he just can&amp;rsquo;t give.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Purchase from Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3551"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/p&lt;wbr&gt;roduct_info.php?products_id=3551&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Excerpt&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;The short Wyoming range grass poked at his chest as he belly-crawled in the direction of the house. He ignored the pricks, scratches, and jabs as he kept his mind and attention on his objective&amp;mdash;a cluster of cages behind the house. He really didn&amp;rsquo;t care why he&amp;rsquo;d been contracted to infiltrate this particular ranch or why he&amp;rsquo;d been told specifically to get unseen to those cages and release the abused and malnourished animals inside. Gordon wiped his brow and kept moving. The lights had gone out in the house a while ago, darkness and near silence descending quickly on the land. Once his eyes adjusted to the dark, Gordon had been pleased he&amp;rsquo;d checked things out earlier in the day. If there was one thing he could count on, it was an innate sense of direction. It didn&amp;rsquo;t matter if he couldn&amp;rsquo;t see a thing anymore after he&amp;rsquo;d spotted a point or landmark&amp;mdash;he could make a beeline to it and usually put himself over it with no difficulty at all. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Some light from the area around the barn combined with the partial moon to provide more than Gordon actually needed, and the cages loomed easily within his line of sight. Raising his body off the ground, he thought about getting up and walking from here, but his instructions had been very specific: he was not to be seen under any circumstances. And if at all possible, Gordon was to make every effort to make it look like someone had left the cages open and the poor, mistreated animals had gotten loose. He was pretty sure that the people who&amp;rsquo;d contacted him were some sort of ecoterrorist group or something like that. What Gordon really cared about was that they had paid him in cash, and he desperately needed the money because he hated starving. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;A sound behind him had Gordon stopping where he was. Dropping to his belly again, he listened and waited, but heard nothing more. Looking around as best he could, he saw no one, and was pretty sure there wasn&amp;rsquo;t any movement. Slowly, he began moving again. The cool night air had started to make its way through his clothing, and he wished he&amp;rsquo;d worn another layer, but it was too late now. He was getting close to the cages. He heard another sound and figured it was small creatures moving through the grass, and if he didn&amp;rsquo;t keep moving, he&amp;rsquo;d have them to contend with as well, so Gordon moved closer and closer to the first set of cages. At the edge of the enclosures, he settled again and listened. Gordon could hear animals moving around in the cages. They didn&amp;rsquo;t make a great deal of noise, but when he carefully lifted his head to look, he could see dark forms moving around. &amp;ldquo;Don&amp;rsquo;t worry, you&amp;rsquo;ll be free soon,&amp;rdquo; Gordon whispered, sending the animals his best wishes as he got even closer. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Thinking he could use the cages themselves as cover, Gordon shifted direction and began moving behind them and around to the far side. That was when he ran into trouble. Gordon was approaching the cage on the farthest side when he heard a snarl that nearly curdled his blood. He tried to move away but realized he was too close to the cage, and a pair of razor claws raked over his leg. Stealth or not, money or not, Gordon let out a yell that reverberated over the land and echoed off the hills at the edge of the valley. Lights came on from every direction. Gordon rolled away from the cage and kept rolling, getting farther and farther away. His leg hurt like flaming hell. He was scared to touch it, but he knew he was bleeding and his pants were now wet and clinging to him&amp;mdash;that is, what was left of his pants. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Voices called from around him, and Gordon kept putting distance between himself and the sounds. He decided to settle in the grass and wait until everyone left before getting the hell out of here. &amp;ldquo;Are all the animals okay?&amp;rdquo; Gordon heard what sounded like a concerned voice ask as figures walked from cage to cage, everyone keeping away from the cage he&amp;rsquo;d gone near. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yes, they&amp;rsquo;re fine,&amp;rdquo; a man answered, shining a flashlight around the cages and on the animals inside. Gordon stopped breathing when he realized that the cage he&amp;rsquo;d gotten close to contained a tiger. Holy shit! There were lions and black prowling cats in the other cages. Fuck, if he&amp;rsquo;d actually opened one of the cages, he&amp;rsquo;d probably have been ripped to shreds. Putting his head on the ground, Gordon wondered how in hell he got himself into messes like this all the time. Well, not necessarily like this, because this was the first time he&amp;rsquo;d actually come close to being torn apart by wild animals. Before he&amp;rsquo;d only been shot at, not ripped apart and eaten. They&amp;rsquo;d told him the cages contained exotic animals, and he&amp;rsquo;d been expecting zebras and animals like the ones he used to visit at the petting zoo when he was a kid.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Gordon tried to breathe and wait out the activity happening closer to the house. It was still dark enough that the people around the cages couldn&amp;rsquo;t see him, but he had no intention of moving until they were gone. Then he was going to somehow make his way back to his pathetic excuse for a car and get the hell out of this town and, if he lived that long, the entire state.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;The activity calmed down, and one by one, the people went inside. Once he couldn&amp;rsquo;t see anyone else, Gordon got to his knees, gritting his teeth as he crawled farther and farther back across the field. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I suggest if you want to continue breathing that you don&amp;rsquo;t move another muscle,&amp;rdquo; a gruff voice said, and Gordon stopped and slowly lifted his gaze.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/41810" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="AnIsolatedRangeMD" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/41810/41810_original.jpg" title="AnIsolatedRangeMD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/31273" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/31273/31273_original.jpg" title="" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/23863" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/23863/23863_original.jpg" width="199" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/12334" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/12334/12334_original.jpg" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:133808</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/133808.html"/>
    <link rel="self" type="text/xml" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/data/atom/?itemid=133808"/>
    <title>Love in in the Air for Valentine's Day</title>
    <published>2013-02-11T00:39:20Z</published>
    <updated>2013-02-11T00:42:09Z</updated>
    <category term="love is in the air"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;b&gt;THERE IS A NEW CONTEST ON PARANORMAL ROMANCE GROUP&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;b&gt;FOR FEBRUARY &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font color="#ff0000" size="5"&gt;&lt;b&gt;LOVE IS IN THE AIR!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;b&gt;SPONSORED BY &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;b&gt;ANDREW GREY&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;img alt="LoveisintheairAndrewGrey" height="266" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/44610/44610_original.jpg" title="LoveisintheairAndrewGrey" width="800" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;THERE WILL BE 5 LUCKY WINNERS!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;CONTEST RUNS FROM &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font color="#ff0000" size="4"&gt;&lt;b&gt;FEBRUARY 11TH - 15TH&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;ONE WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN EACH DAY.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;WINNERS WILL HAVE THEIR CHOICE OF ONE OF THE E-BOOKS LISTED IN THE ABOVE BANNER. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;SINCE ONE WINNER IS CHOSEN EACH DAY YOU CAN ENTER MULTIPLE DAYS FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;CLICK ON THE COMMENT BOX ON THE WEBSITE AND LEAVE A COMMENT FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font color="#ff0000" size="4"&gt;&lt;b&gt;WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font color="#ff0000" size="4"&gt;&lt;b&gt;SATURDAY&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;font color="#ff0000" size="4"&gt;&lt;b&gt;FEBRUARY 16TH!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/apps/blog/" target="_blank"&gt;Click Here to Enter the Contest &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/"&gt;http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a name="cke_range_marker"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:133588</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/133588.html"/>
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    <title>A Volatile Range Releases Tonight At Midnight</title>
    <published>2013-02-03T21:33:45Z</published>
    <updated>2013-02-03T21:34:19Z</updated>
    <category term="a volatile range"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;span style="font-size: 1.4em;"&gt;A Volatile Range, the next story in the Range series releases tonight at midnight.&amp;nbsp; This summer I spent an afternoon with a friend of ours who is a marine.&amp;nbsp; After talking to him for a few hours, the character of Gordon emerged and then shortly afterwards, the rest of this story took shape.&amp;nbsp; When you read it, I hope you enjoy A Volatile Range as much as I did whe I was writing it.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/44370" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="AVolatileRange MD" height="299" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/44370/44370_original.jpg" title="AVolatileRange MD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Blurb:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;Since mustering out of the Marines, Gordon Fisher has been off the grid and out of money, so when a group of ecoterrorists promises him big bucks to set some mistreated animals free, Gordon agrees. Unfortunately, the animals are Wally Schumacher&amp;rsquo;s large cats, and one of them decides to take a chunk out of Gordon.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Still hurting from a breakup, Mario Laria finds Gordon and escorts him back to Dakota&amp;#39;s ranch at gunpoint, only to have his heartstrings tugged on when he discovers Gordon is living out of his truck.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;With Dakota doctoring, Wally wanting Gordon gone for good, and Mario falling in love, Gordon hangs on for the ride. But what looms on his horizon threatens to tear apart what little hope he&amp;rsquo;s found. No one knows Gordon&amp;rsquo;s past keeps him up at night, and the military wants answers he just can&amp;rsquo;t give.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Purchase form Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3551"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3551&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Excerpt&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;The short Wyoming range grass poked at his chest as he belly-crawled in the direction of the house. He ignored the pricks, scratches, and jabs as he kept his mind and attention on his objective&amp;mdash;a cluster of cages behind the house. He really didn&amp;rsquo;t care why he&amp;rsquo;d been contracted to infiltrate this particular ranch or why he&amp;rsquo;d been told specifically to get unseen to those cages and release the abused and malnourished animals inside. Gordon wiped his brow and kept moving. The lights had gone out in the house a while ago, darkness and near silence descending quickly on the land. Once his eyes adjusted to the dark, Gordon had been pleased he&amp;rsquo;d checked things out earlier in the day. If there was one thing he could count on, it was an innate sense of direction. It didn&amp;rsquo;t matter if he couldn&amp;rsquo;t see a thing anymore after he&amp;rsquo;d spotted a point or landmark&amp;mdash;he could make a beeline to it and usually put himself over it with no difficulty at all. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Some light from the area around the barn combined with the partial moon to provide more than Gordon actually needed, and the cages loomed easily within his line of sight. Raising his body off the ground, he thought about getting up and walking from here, but his instructions had been very specific: he was not to be seen under any circumstances. And if at all possible, Gordon was to make every effort to make it look like someone had left the cages open and the poor, mistreated animals had gotten loose. He was pretty sure that the people who&amp;rsquo;d contacted him were some sort of ecoterrorist group or something like that. What Gordon really cared about was that they had paid him in cash, and he desperately needed the money because he hated starving. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;A sound behind him had Gordon stopping where he was. Dropping to his belly again, he listened and waited, but heard nothing more. Looking around as best he could, he saw no one, and was pretty sure there wasn&amp;rsquo;t any movement. Slowly, he began moving again. The cool night air had started to make its way through his clothing, and he wished he&amp;rsquo;d worn another layer, but it was too late now. He was getting close to the cages. He heard another sound and figured it was small creatures moving through the grass, and if he didn&amp;rsquo;t keep moving, he&amp;rsquo;d have them to contend with as well, so Gordon moved closer and closer to the first set of cages. At the edge of the enclosures, he settled again and listened. Gordon could hear animals moving around in the cages. They didn&amp;rsquo;t make a great deal of noise, but when he carefully lifted his head to look, he could see dark forms moving around. &amp;ldquo;Don&amp;rsquo;t worry, you&amp;rsquo;ll be free soon,&amp;rdquo; Gordon whispered, sending the animals his best wishes as he got even closer. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Thinking he could use the cages themselves as cover, Gordon shifted direction and began moving behind them and around to the far side. That was when he ran into trouble. Gordon was approaching the cage on the farthest side when he heard a snarl that nearly curdled his blood. He tried to move away but realized he was too close to the cage, and a pair of razor claws raked over his leg. Stealth or not, money or not, Gordon let out a yell that reverberated over the land and echoed off the hills at the edge of the valley. Lights came on from every direction. Gordon rolled away from the cage and kept rolling, getting farther and farther away. His leg hurt like flaming hell. He was scared to touch it, but he knew he was bleeding and his pants were now wet and clinging to him&amp;mdash;that is, what was left of his pants. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Voices called from around him, and Gordon kept putting distance between himself and the sounds. He decided to settle in the grass and wait until everyone left before getting the hell out of here. &amp;ldquo;Are all the animals okay?&amp;rdquo; Gordon heard what sounded like a concerned voice ask as figures walked from cage to cage, everyone keeping away from the cage he&amp;rsquo;d gone near. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yes, they&amp;rsquo;re fine,&amp;rdquo; a man answered, shining a flashlight around the cages and on the animals inside. Gordon stopped breathing when he realized that the cage he&amp;rsquo;d gotten close to contained a tiger. Holy shit! There were lions and black prowling cats in the other cages. Fuck, if he&amp;rsquo;d actually opened one of the cages, he&amp;rsquo;d probably have been ripped to shreds. Putting his head on the ground, Gordon wondered how in hell he got himself into messes like this all the time. Well, not necessarily like this, because this was the first time he&amp;rsquo;d actually come close to being torn apart by wild animals. Before he&amp;rsquo;d only been shot at, not ripped apart and eaten. They&amp;rsquo;d told him the cages contained exotic animals, and he&amp;rsquo;d been expecting zebras and animals like the ones he used to visit at the petting zoo when he was a kid.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Gordon tried to breathe and wait out the activity happening closer to the house. It was still dark enough that the people around the cages couldn&amp;rsquo;t see him, but he had no intention of moving until they were gone. Then he was going to somehow make his way back to his pathetic excuse for a car and get the hell out of this town and, if he lived that long, the entire state.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;The activity calmed down, and one by one, the people went inside. Once he couldn&amp;rsquo;t see anyone else, Gordon got to his knees, gritting his teeth as he crawled farther and farther back across the field. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I suggest if you want to continue breathing that you don&amp;rsquo;t move another muscle,&amp;rdquo; a gruff voice said, and Gordon stopped and slowly lifted his gaze.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/41810" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="AnIsolatedRangeMD" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/41810/41810_original.jpg" title="AnIsolatedRangeMD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/31273" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/31273/31273_original.jpg" title="" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/23863" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/23863/23863_original.jpg" width="199" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/12334" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/12334/12334_original.jpg" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:133322</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/133322.html"/>
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    <title>A Volatile Range Releases Tomorrow Night At Midnight</title>
    <published>2013-02-02T17:11:59Z</published>
    <updated>2013-02-02T17:12:53Z</updated>
    <category term="a volatile range"/>
    <content type="html">The sixth Range story, A Volatile Range, releases tomorrow (Sunday) night at midnight.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Thi sis one of my favorite series to write and I really hope you like Gordon and Mario&amp;#39;s story.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/44370" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="AVolatileRange MD" height="299" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/44370/44370_original.jpg" title="AVolatileRange MD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Blurb:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;Since mustering out of the Marines, Gordon Fisher has been off the grid and out of money, so when a group of ecoterrorists promises him big bucks to set some mistreated animals free, Gordon agrees. Unfortunately, the animals are Wally Schumacher&amp;rsquo;s large cats, and one of them decides to take a chunk out of Gordon.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Still hurting from a breakup, Mario Laria finds Gordon and escorts him back to Dakota&amp;#39;s ranch at gunpoint, only to have his heartstrings tugged on when he discovers Gordon is living out of his truck.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;With Dakota doctoring, Wally wanting Gordon gone for good, and Mario falling in love, Gordon hangs on for the ride. But what looms on his horizon threatens to tear apart what little hope he&amp;rsquo;s found. No one knows Gordon&amp;rsquo;s past keeps him up at night, and the military wants answers he just can&amp;rsquo;t give.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Purchase form Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3551"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3551&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Excerpt&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;The short Wyoming range grass poked at his chest as he belly-crawled in the direction of the house. He ignored the pricks, scratches, and jabs as he kept his mind and attention on his objective&amp;mdash;a cluster of cages behind the house. He really didn&amp;rsquo;t care why he&amp;rsquo;d been contracted to infiltrate this particular ranch or why he&amp;rsquo;d been told specifically to get unseen to those cages and release the abused and malnourished animals inside. Gordon wiped his brow and kept moving. The lights had gone out in the house a while ago, darkness and near silence descending quickly on the land. Once his eyes adjusted to the dark, Gordon had been pleased he&amp;rsquo;d checked things out earlier in the day. If there was one thing he could count on, it was an innate sense of direction. It didn&amp;rsquo;t matter if he couldn&amp;rsquo;t see a thing anymore after he&amp;rsquo;d spotted a point or landmark&amp;mdash;he could make a beeline to it and usually put himself over it with no difficulty at all. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Some light from the area around the barn combined with the partial moon to provide more than Gordon actually needed, and the cages loomed easily within his line of sight. Raising his body off the ground, he thought about getting up and walking from here, but his instructions had been very specific: he was not to be seen under any circumstances. And if at all possible, Gordon was to make every effort to make it look like someone had left the cages open and the poor, mistreated animals had gotten loose. He was pretty sure that the people who&amp;rsquo;d contacted him were some sort of ecoterrorist group or something like that. What Gordon really cared about was that they had paid him in cash, and he desperately needed the money because he hated starving. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;A sound behind him had Gordon stopping where he was. Dropping to his belly again, he listened and waited, but heard nothing more. Looking around as best he could, he saw no one, and was pretty sure there wasn&amp;rsquo;t any movement. Slowly, he began moving again. The cool night air had started to make its way through his clothing, and he wished he&amp;rsquo;d worn another layer, but it was too late now. He was getting close to the cages. He heard another sound and figured it was small creatures moving through the grass, and if he didn&amp;rsquo;t keep moving, he&amp;rsquo;d have them to contend with as well, so Gordon moved closer and closer to the first set of cages. At the edge of the enclosures, he settled again and listened. Gordon could hear animals moving around in the cages. They didn&amp;rsquo;t make a great deal of noise, but when he carefully lifted his head to look, he could see dark forms moving around. &amp;ldquo;Don&amp;rsquo;t worry, you&amp;rsquo;ll be free soon,&amp;rdquo; Gordon whispered, sending the animals his best wishes as he got even closer. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Thinking he could use the cages themselves as cover, Gordon shifted direction and began moving behind them and around to the far side. That was when he ran into trouble. Gordon was approaching the cage on the farthest side when he heard a snarl that nearly curdled his blood. He tried to move away but realized he was too close to the cage, and a pair of razor claws raked over his leg. Stealth or not, money or not, Gordon let out a yell that reverberated over the land and echoed off the hills at the edge of the valley. Lights came on from every direction. Gordon rolled away from the cage and kept rolling, getting farther and farther away. His leg hurt like flaming hell. He was scared to touch it, but he knew he was bleeding and his pants were now wet and clinging to him&amp;mdash;that is, what was left of his pants. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Voices called from around him, and Gordon kept putting distance between himself and the sounds. He decided to settle in the grass and wait until everyone left before getting the hell out of here. &amp;ldquo;Are all the animals okay?&amp;rdquo; Gordon heard what sounded like a concerned voice ask as figures walked from cage to cage, everyone keeping away from the cage he&amp;rsquo;d gone near. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yes, they&amp;rsquo;re fine,&amp;rdquo; a man answered, shining a flashlight around the cages and on the animals inside. Gordon stopped breathing when he realized that the cage he&amp;rsquo;d gotten close to contained a tiger. Holy shit! There were lions and black prowling cats in the other cages. Fuck, if he&amp;rsquo;d actually opened one of the cages, he&amp;rsquo;d probably have been ripped to shreds. Putting his head on the ground, Gordon wondered how in hell he got himself into messes like this all the time. Well, not necessarily like this, because this was the first time he&amp;rsquo;d actually come close to being torn apart by wild animals. Before he&amp;rsquo;d only been shot at, not ripped apart and eaten. They&amp;rsquo;d told him the cages contained exotic animals, and he&amp;rsquo;d been expecting zebras and animals like the ones he used to visit at the petting zoo when he was a kid.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;Gordon tried to breathe and wait out the activity happening closer to the house. It was still dark enough that the people around the cages couldn&amp;rsquo;t see him, but he had no intention of moving until they were gone. Then he was going to somehow make his way back to his pathetic excuse for a car and get the hell out of this town and, if he lived that long, the entire state.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;The activity calmed down, and one by one, the people went inside. Once he couldn&amp;rsquo;t see anyone else, Gordon got to his knees, gritting his teeth as he crawled farther and farther back across the field. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;&lt;font face="Times New Roman"&gt;&amp;ldquo;I suggest if you want to continue breathing that you don&amp;rsquo;t move another muscle,&amp;rdquo; a gruff voice said, and Gordon stopped and slowly lifted his gaze.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:andrewgreybooks:133073</id>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/133073.html"/>
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    <title>Spend Some Time on the Farm and Find Out What Love Means...</title>
    <published>2013-02-02T12:35:56Z</published>
    <updated>2013-02-02T12:35:56Z</updated>
    <category term="love means no limits"/>
    <content type="html">&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Love Means... No Limits released a little less than two weeks ago. I&amp;#39;ve gotten a number of wonderful reviews and comments from readers. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://andrewgreybooks.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/440/44175" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="LoveMeansNoLimitsMD" height="300" src="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/andrewgreybooks/19357842/44175/44175_original.jpg" title="LoveMeansNoLimitsMD" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Mrs. Condit and Friends Reads Books said: Andrew Grey&amp;rsquo;s LOVE MEANS&amp;hellip; NO LIMITS is another terrific entry in a great series. This one is a bit grittier than the others with one of the main characters having to kick an alcohol and drug addiction, and the other main character having to see through the addictions to the good man beneath the haze. Read the entire review: &lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index.php/?p=9974"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" size="3"&gt;http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index.php/?p=9974&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Amos Lassen said: &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;I have read all of the books in the &amp;ldquo;Love Means&amp;rdquo; series and have really enjoyed how Andrew Grey has given us life at Laughton Farms, a place that protects those who live and work there. The people at the farm create an unconventional family and so in each book we get the story of another person(s) who are there. Spider is a new character; one whose life is filled with secrets that have led him into the world of drugs. His arrival at the farms and his relationship with Tyrone is what this book is about. Grey also deals with racism here and although many are loathe admitting it, we do find it within the gay community.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Read the entire review:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://reviewsbyamoslassen.com/?p=20584"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" size="3"&gt;http://reviewsbyamoslassen.com/?p=20584&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Purchase a copy from Dreamspinner Press:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3528"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#0000ff" size="3"&gt;http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3528&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Read an excerpt:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Excerpt:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Spider floated in his drug-induced haze. This was going to be a good trip&amp;mdash;everything felt perfect. He didn&amp;rsquo;t give a damn about what was going on around him. Everything was focused inside his head. He could control that. His rotten, pisshead of a family didn&amp;rsquo;t mean shit and neither did anything else. Spider lay down on his crappy bed and closed his eyes, enjoying his self-administered escape from all the crap, shit, and dirt the rest of the world heaped on his shoulders. Closing his eyes, he flew high above the world, propelled by his own imagination. The euphoria never lasted long enough, and this time was no exception. Just about the time he was really soaring, the wind died, and he fell back to earth.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;His head ached and he opened his eyes, shaking the way he usually did when he was coming down. He reached for the bottle of water and drank, staring at the walls of the cheap motel room he&amp;rsquo;d managed to get for the night. Tomorrow he would have to look for a permanent place to live, somewhere, but for today he was warm and dry. As Spider got up, slowly, the room spun, and he had to steady himself before walking toward the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and sat on the cool tile floor, waiting for the last of the drugs&amp;rsquo; effects to leave his body. He drank more water and felt marginally better. His vision slowly cleared, and as it did, the depths to which he&amp;rsquo;d sunk became readily apparent. The floors and walls were stained with God knew what, and as his mind cleared, he stood up and brushed off his clothes. Who knew what he&amp;rsquo;d just been sitting in? Breathing deeply, Spider brushed his teeth using the last of his toothpaste. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;After using the filthy toilet, which looked like it hadn&amp;rsquo;t been cleaned in months, he left the bathroom. The rest of the room at this &amp;ldquo;no-tell motel&amp;rdquo; wasn&amp;rsquo;t much better. The bedspread was stained with things that would have made Spider shudder a few years earlier, but now he really didn&amp;rsquo;t give a fuck. It was a bed, and it was one he wouldn&amp;rsquo;t have to share with some stranger if he didn&amp;rsquo;t want to.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;His stomach rumbled, which surprised him. Usually he didn&amp;rsquo;t eat much. After grabbing an old jacket out of his bag, Spider left the room, shoving the key in his pocket before walking two doors down to the greasy spoon. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Inside the restaurant, which had as much cheer as his hotel room, he ordered coffee and a burger from the surly waitress, who scowled at him as she took his order. Spider tried to smile, but then he turned and saw a bit of his reflection in the window. He barely recognized himself. He hadn&amp;rsquo;t shaved in days, and his eyes were drawn, with dark circles under them. He turned away because he couldn&amp;rsquo;t stand to look at himself any longer, and waited for his coffee, staring down at the table. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Once the server placed the mug on the table and filled it from the pot, she left right away, without saying anything. Spider reached for the sugar packets, dumping half a dozen into the hot liquid. He stirred it up then sipped and felt the hot liquid warm him from the inside. He felt even better once the sugar hit his system. Waking up further, he peered around the restaurant without looking as though he were looking. The clientele was what he expected: a few off-duty hookers, other guys like him, and, of course, the guy in the corner who looked like he owned the place. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;The thing was that Spider didn&amp;rsquo;t fucking remember exactly where he was. He knew he&amp;rsquo;d left Grand Rapids in a damned hurry and had simply gotten on the freeway. He hadn&amp;rsquo;t been heading anywhere special. Searching his addled mind, he tried to remember the last signs he could remember along the drive. But he hadn&amp;rsquo;t paid any attention and had only pulled off the road when he was low on gas. He gave up, muttering to himself, because it didn&amp;rsquo;t fucking matter, anyway. He&amp;rsquo;d eat, sleep tonight, and then fill up the car in the morning and drive some more. In the back of his mind, he knew he&amp;rsquo;d also need to score some more junk somewhere, but he wasn&amp;rsquo;t too concerned about that. In places like this, getting what he needed would be easy. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;His food arrived, and Spider bent over his plate, concentrating only on his ravenous appetite. He cleaned the plate in a matter of minutes, only stopping to chew and occasionally gulp some coffee. When he finished eating, he waved to the server for a refill, and she brought it, looking even surlier, if that was possible. She filled the mug, and Spider added more sugar before letting the liquid cool and then drinking it down. The waitress brought the check, and he slapped enough bills on the counter to cover it before getting up to go. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;The restaurant door swung closed behind him, and he shoved his hands in his pockets, walking back through the night toward the hotel, exhaustion quickly catching up with him. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&amp;ldquo;You need anything, buddy?&amp;rdquo; &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Spider turned around and saw the guy from the corner of the restaurant sitting inside a brand new BMW with the driver&amp;rsquo;s window lowered. Without answering, Spider ambled toward the car. They talked very briefly, and he handed over the money, receiving a bag of what he&amp;rsquo;d need in the next few hours. Spider didn&amp;rsquo;t stay to watch the window glide up, but he heard the wheels spin on the gravel as the expensive car pulled out and headed up the road. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;Spider shoved the bag in his pocket and walked the rest of the way to the hotel. He opened his door and went inside, then closed and locked the door behind him. He took off his jacket, threw it across his bag, and then collapsed onto the bed. He kicked off his shoes, closed his eyes, and almost instantly fell asleep. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;font size="3"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;Spider never slept very well for very long, and when he woke, the ancient clock by the bed told him it was three in the morning. He rummaged around in the dark for the baggie of pills and popped one, swallowing it dry. He lay back down, closing his eyes, and soon blessed blackness overtook him.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  </entry>
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