BLOG TOUR with AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Book Title: Bridging Hope (Bridging Hearts Series, #1)
Author: Greyson McCoy
Publisher: DreamSpinner Press
Release Date: March 26, 2024
Genre: Contemporary M/M romance
Tropes: Hurt/Comfort, forced proximity, small town romance
Themes: New dads
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 58 pages
It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger. It’s a HEA
Buy Links
DreamSpinner Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Blurb
When workaholic Pierce Simms’s sister passes, he suddenly finds himself unemployed, back in the hometown he fled, and raising his niece and nephew. Despite that, he’s confident he has things under control—at least until his sister’s high-school sweetheart shows up.
With his teaching grant ended, Dalton O’Dell is at loose ends and tight purse strings. Just as the world crashes down on him, he learns his ex-girlfriend has passed and named him guardian of her two young children. Chaos ensues when he and her brother, Pierce, are forced together to raise the toddlers in Pierce’s family farmhouse.
Nestled in the enchanting beauty of the farm, Pierce and Dalton bond over the challenges of co-parenting and their shared grief as unexpected love blossoms. Love might not be enough, however, if they can’t learn to bridge the gap between their different worlds and overcome the trauma of their pasts.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
The prized possession you value above all others…
Wow, that’s getting right to the heart of things. I inherited the sewing machine my grandmother used when I was a little boy sitting at her feet.
She was a professional seamstress and created beautiful clothes. I was easily entertained (at three years old, mind you,) with a needle, thread, and some scrap pieces of cloth.
I had the machine case redone, and the sewing machine, I took to a repair shop. The gentleman that fixed it told me he’s never seen a machine this age, that was as well taken care of.
Definitely, my granny’s old sewing machine is my most prized possession.
The temptation you wish you could resist…
I love chocolate. Like obsessively, I love chocolate. I don’t really want to resist it too much, but at least a little willpower would be nice. Excuse me a minute, I see a chocolate bar across the room.
The book that holds everlasting resonance…
My father, who wasn’t a reader of fiction asked me to read Where the Red Fern Grows when I was fourteen years old. I did, and oh my God, it wrecked my world. Since then, I’ve been obsessed with books that cause you to have all the feels.
So, we can all blame my father for sending me down this wayward path as a writer.
The film you can watch time and time again…
Steel Magnolias, Practical Magic, The Sound of Music, and My Fair Lady.
The person who influenced you the most…
I don’t think there’s a most here. There were so many people in my life who left a lasting impression on me, and all in different ways.
My dad taught me the love of history, and of where we came from. My grandmother taught me the joy and love of reading. My great aunt taught me the love of writing. My church choir director as a child, taught me I could accomplish the impossible if I put my mind to it.
The old saying “It takes a village to raise a child,” most assuredly applied to me. That’s a nice way of me saying, I was a bit of a handful.
The event that altered the course of your life…
It won’t be surprising that being a gay man, the event that altered my life and sent me on a very different trajectory than the one I’d been on growing up, was coming out of the closet.
I often tell my husband I’d be a hillbilly sitting on his front porch sucking on the end of a piece of straw had I not been thrust into this lifestyle.
Is that a good thing? Yeah, I believe it is. I’m really pleased when I look back over my life. I’m not quite sure how pleased I’d be if I were looking back at who I was likely to become had I not been gay.
The way you would spend your fantasy twenty-four hours, with no travel restrictions…
Twenty-four hours is all I get? LOL If I could wave a wand and be anywhere, I’d whisk myself away to the Caribbean. I forget the name of the island, but I’ve seen pictures of huts built out over the water. You can see everything that swims under the huts.
Although the ocean scares me silly, I can’t imagine a place more wonderful than tucked into one of those huts dozing in a hammock.
The pet hate that makes your hackles rise…
There’s so little that gets my goat any longer. Spending the past thirty years facing down hate and prejudice is a great teacher on how to ignore silly people.
That being said, racism, homophobia, hatred in most forms can turn loose the redneck hillbilly fairly quickly. If someone is coming after a person I love, well, the gloves are off.
Luckily, I don’t have many people in my life who feel this way, so my inner monster, or mama bear, if you prefer, usually stays quietly locked away behind my innocuous persona.
The piece of wisdom you would pass onto a child…
I have some really good humdingers (as my folks used to call them.)
Don’t play with poo if you don’t want your hands to stink. That one meant choose your friends carefully.
Never wait for others to do what you are fully capable of, is probably one of my favorites, especially now that I’m older.
However, the piece of wisdom that likely outlines my life is don’t let others tell you how to live your life. I mentioned my life’s trajectory in an earlier question. Had I done as I was told, I’d have been sent to work in a factory which closed shortly after I graduated from high school. This would’ve meant, I would have lost my job early on.
With my ADHD, which was undiagnosed at the time, I struggled in school, and was thus told college wasn’t for me. I ignored those who said that and got a degree in education. Then I was told I couldn’t be gay and well, anything. “Don’t be gay,” I was told.
I ended up having an amazing family, a wonderful spouse, and a life I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.
Now, as a man in his early fifties, I’ve discovered writing. Something everyone told me I would never be able to do.
Surprise! They were wrong, once again.
So, don’t let others dictate your life. Is that easy? No, it’s almost always hard to buck the system, but is it worth it? For me, yeah, it’s made all the difference.
The philosophy that underpins your life…
It’s cliché I know, but I’ve always lived by the adage, “treat others like you want them to treat you.” I don’t always accomplish this, sometimes I can be a total jerk, but I try to apologize when I realize I’ve crossed the line.
I’ve found that when I treat people with respect though, more often than not, they return that favor.
And the promo…
Bridging Hope is about hope in the face of tragedy. Both men lost someone they loved. Pierce, lost a sister he was ostracized from and Dalton lost a friend, who he had pushed away.
Being faced with raising her two children, these men have to find common ground, which I won’t pretend isn’t hard for them. They have to work hard at finding their happily ever after.
They do find it though, and the struggle makes the ending that much more sweet.
Thank you.
Excerpt
“Let’s discuss how to proceed,” Pierce’s attorney, a short, businesslike woman, said. For thirty minutes, Pierce kept the baby occupied while his attorney and Uncle Tim discussed the details of the will. I sat watching Pierce.
The little girl kept bringing her uncle toys that had been left in the office for kids to play with, and each time, he’d smile or ask her questions. Eventually, the baby boy settled and snuggled sleepily in his arms. That’s when my heart melted. This wasn’t an absentee uncle. Clearly, he was important to them and vice versa. It made me question whether a custody fight was prudent.
“Why did Lizzie want me to raise her kids instead of you?” I blurted, interrupting our attorneys and surprising myself.
A pained expression crossed Pierce’s face as he spoke to me for the first time. “When she made her will, she probably figured I’d never come back. We were… estranged,” he said, voice gruff.
“But you’re back now, and these two seem to trust you. How long have you been taking care of them?”
His pained look morphed into one so grief-stricken I felt tempted to hug him. “About six months,” he whispered.
I nodded in thought. “Do you have a job? Are you married? What’s your wife like? Is she on board with helping raise them?”
My uncle cleared his throat, signaling to me to let the lawyers handle the questioning, but I couldn’t help myself. For a moment, Pierce looked a little stunned by the sudden barrage, but he answered. “I’m recently unemployed, but I received a good severance package. I’m set for at least a few months before I need to work full-time again. I’m not married.” He hesitated then, his face resolute, before spinning the question back around. “You?”
I shrugged. “Unmarried and recently unemployed as well.” Ignoring his challenging stare, I continued honestly. “I see these two love you, depend on you. I don’t understand all this, but I trust Lizzie had her reasons for naming me their guardian. I won’t relinquish that responsibility. Not without knowing for certain they’re in good hands.”
Pierce nodded, and his expression softened a little. “I’m not stepping out of their lives without knowing the same thing. Frankie and Max have already been through too much for two little kids. I’ll be here until they don’t need me.”
“So we’re at an impasse,” I said.
Uncle Tim cleared his throat again. “Or maybe it’s an opportunity. Mr. Simms, may I call you Pierce? I understand you inherited your father’s farm?” Pierce glanced at him and nodded. “And Dalton, you’re looking for a place to stay. Why don’t you boys combine forces? Dalton, your farming experience might be of great help to Pierce, and you’ll both have time to get to know one another and observe the other’s parenting style.”
I looked at my uncle, aghast. “Uncle Tim, that’s probably not a good idea. Mr. Simms, surely you have a girlfriend or something? I couldn’t impose—”
Pierce barked out a laugh, nearly waking baby Max, who’d fallen asleep in his arms. “I’m gay and single.” He glanced down at his nephew, then over to his niece, Frankie, before refocusing on me. “I understand you work with kids, but do you feel comfortable caring for kids this young?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t have much experience being around kids this age. In my previous job, they already knew their ABCs when they came to me.”
Pierce appeared lost in thought before he sighed and his shoulders dropped, as if he were giving up the fight. “Honestly, I could use the help. When Lizzie got sick, friends and neighbors helped, but that tapered off. Now it’s just us. I could use another pair of adult hands, especially at night.”
“And there’s room at your house?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’m staying in my sister’s room, which has an adjoining area where the kids sleep. You could take the main bedroom right across the hall. But fair warning,” he said, a mischievous smile forming on his lips, “if you move in, you’ll have night duty too. Max only sleeps four or five hours, which means 1:00 a.m. diaper-changing time. You up for that?”
I could tell he was testing me, and screw him. I slept like the dead, but I could set an alarm.
I nodded. “I’m up for it if you are.”
We both looked at our attorneys, who wore matching grins. “Well, then,” Uncle Tim said, “sounds like we’ve got a plan.”
About the Author
Greyson McCoy loves to travel. After years of being tied down to a life of kids, work, running a small farm, and all things domestic, he and his husband have taken full advantage of their empty nest to travel the world.
The joy of writing came to Greyson late in life. While completing his master’s degree, he found himself fighting between desperately wanting to write fiction and finishing the homework and papers he’d been assigned.
After his master’s was finished, Greyson decided to shirk his life of responsibility and pursue his dream of writing full time. His stories reflect many of the locations he and his husband have visited over the years.
Author Links
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