Clyde Andrews' Enough Blue Sky to Mend a Pair of Sailor's Trousers
When I first joined the writing community on Twitter a little less than a year ago, one of the first writers to welcome me was Clyde Andrews. He didn't D.M. me, like some people who just send you an ad for their latest Amazon release. He was simply cordial. He liked, retweeted, and commented on my Tweets, and I did the same for him.
Recently, Andrews has hit a rough patch in his writing and tweeting life, which I will not go into. I've decided to show support for him by writing this special, extra post about one of his stories, the title of which is, Enough Blue Sky to Mend a Pair of Sailor's Trousers.
Initially, I was reticent about reading any of Mr. Andrews' fiction, which he describes as "cute gay romances." I don't mind an element of romance when it's used as a spice to enhance other stories, but romance on its own as a genre has never been a favorite of mine. Also, I seldom enjoy anything one could describe as "cute." I simply didn't think anything he wrote would be for me. However, as a way of supporting an indie author, I decided to take the plunge and read at least one.
I spun the wheel of options, and its arrow landed on Enough Blue Sky. I started it with only a small idea as to what I was going to get. What I got surprised me.
Enough Blue Sky's subtitle is a "A Hilarious Second Chance Romance," and that very much prepares you for what you're going to get...sort of. It opens with the line, "Dave Brockman died by being hit by a bus, of all things." That's an attention grabbing first line if I've ever read one, and its an apt one. The story isn't about Brockman suddenly turning his life around, midway through. Instead, Its about him getting the chance, just as he's shuffling off the mortal coil, to go back to where it all went wrong and fix it by coming to a very important conclusion about himself.
The premise of course, about a person getting a second chance at life close to the end of their life, immediately evokes the story of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Brockman, like Ebeneezer Scrooge, is a man lost because of decisions he made previously. But, thanks in part to personifications of Time (known as Mother Time, which is a nice twist) and Death (a character who seems like an even more playful version of Terry Pratchett's inimitable creation), who serve as his Ghosts of Past, Present, and Future, Brockman like Scrooge is given a chance at the end of his life to reevaluate his own decisions. The twist is that it is in romantic love, not charity, in which Brockman failed and must reconsider his path.
Andrews, also like Dickens, has his own brand of humor (he didn't just stick the word hilarious in the subtitle for nothing). For the most part, it comes out in the interactions between Brockman and his two supernatural companions in the exchanges of dialogue. Take, for example, the exchange between Dave and Mother Time when she first enters the narrative:
"Well, I'm Mother Time," the Lady replied matter-of-factly. "And my service have been called upon by Death to encourage you the think with that thing between your ears not your legs, young man." She waggled her finger, just like his aunt used to do. "Hopefully this time you'll get it right. You must have made him laugh until his posterior fell off by your pathetic existence previously."
"I amused him, I believe."
"I'm sure you did."
"Did you," Dave swept his hand in a general gesture, "do this?"
Mother Time rolled her eyes. "Obviously..."
(I don't know about you, but I can't help smiling when I read that.)
Given that I've only sampled a tiny amount of Andrews' canon, I can't give anyone an overview of his work or his style. However, if Enough Blue Sky is any indicator of what he's capable of doing as a writer, and the idea of "cute, gay romances" sounds like something you, or a reader you know, might enjoy, then I'd highly recommend him and his work. The writing is clean, lean, and evocative with every word pulling its weight, and his narratives (again, from my limited experience) are engaging, funny, and even heartwarming.
So please, if he sounds like your kind of preferred reading experience, and you're looking to support an indie author, consider checking out one of Mr. Andrews' stories.
Recently, Andrews has hit a rough patch in his writing and tweeting life, which I will not go into. I've decided to show support for him by writing this special, extra post about one of his stories, the title of which is, Enough Blue Sky to Mend a Pair of Sailor's Trousers.Initially, I was reticent about reading any of Mr. Andrews' fiction, which he describes as "cute gay romances." I don't mind an element of romance when it's used as a spice to enhance other stories, but romance on its own as a genre has never been a favorite of mine. Also, I seldom enjoy anything one could describe as "cute." I simply didn't think anything he wrote would be for me. However, as a way of supporting an indie author, I decided to take the plunge and read at least one.
I spun the wheel of options, and its arrow landed on Enough Blue Sky. I started it with only a small idea as to what I was going to get. What I got surprised me.
Enough Blue Sky's subtitle is a "A Hilarious Second Chance Romance," and that very much prepares you for what you're going to get...sort of. It opens with the line, "Dave Brockman died by being hit by a bus, of all things." That's an attention grabbing first line if I've ever read one, and its an apt one. The story isn't about Brockman suddenly turning his life around, midway through. Instead, Its about him getting the chance, just as he's shuffling off the mortal coil, to go back to where it all went wrong and fix it by coming to a very important conclusion about himself.
The premise of course, about a person getting a second chance at life close to the end of their life, immediately evokes the story of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Brockman, like Ebeneezer Scrooge, is a man lost because of decisions he made previously. But, thanks in part to personifications of Time (known as Mother Time, which is a nice twist) and Death (a character who seems like an even more playful version of Terry Pratchett's inimitable creation), who serve as his Ghosts of Past, Present, and Future, Brockman like Scrooge is given a chance at the end of his life to reevaluate his own decisions. The twist is that it is in romantic love, not charity, in which Brockman failed and must reconsider his path.
Andrews, also like Dickens, has his own brand of humor (he didn't just stick the word hilarious in the subtitle for nothing). For the most part, it comes out in the interactions between Brockman and his two supernatural companions in the exchanges of dialogue. Take, for example, the exchange between Dave and Mother Time when she first enters the narrative:
"Well, I'm Mother Time," the Lady replied matter-of-factly. "And my service have been called upon by Death to encourage you the think with that thing between your ears not your legs, young man." She waggled her finger, just like his aunt used to do. "Hopefully this time you'll get it right. You must have made him laugh until his posterior fell off by your pathetic existence previously."
"I amused him, I believe."
"I'm sure you did."
"Did you," Dave swept his hand in a general gesture, "do this?"
Mother Time rolled her eyes. "Obviously..."
(I don't know about you, but I can't help smiling when I read that.)
Given that I've only sampled a tiny amount of Andrews' canon, I can't give anyone an overview of his work or his style. However, if Enough Blue Sky is any indicator of what he's capable of doing as a writer, and the idea of "cute, gay romances" sounds like something you, or a reader you know, might enjoy, then I'd highly recommend him and his work. The writing is clean, lean, and evocative with every word pulling its weight, and his narratives (again, from my limited experience) are engaging, funny, and even heartwarming.
So please, if he sounds like your kind of preferred reading experience, and you're looking to support an indie author, consider checking out one of Mr. Andrews' stories.
Comments