Excerpt · Interviews · Reviews

Flying in Shadows by RT Wolfe (Book #2, The Black Creek Series) – Excerpt/Character Interview/Review

 

 

 

Blurb:

From the time she was a little girl, Rose Piper was sure of two things: she wanted to work with animals and she wanted to win the heart of her best friend, Andy Reed.

Now the most sought-after conservation biologist in the Northeast, she’s trying to convince herself that one out of two isn’t bad.

Andy spent most of his life following his dream of becoming a builder. Now a successful land developer, he has returned to Black Creek to win the girl he has loved since high-school and hurt too many times: Rose

But efforts to keep their love together turn dangerous when a decades-old secret brings a murderer out of hiding, sending the pair running for their lives.

 

Video Trailer:

 

Character Interview between Andy and Rose

Okay, it’s too late to slap yall upside your heads now!  Yall made me so MAD at times.  Ugh!  And to think, I thought Brie was stubborn.  *snort*

 

What took yall so long to get together in the end? 

Andy: She was always engaged! And, honestly, she was happy. Look at what she’d accomplished? Doctor of conservation biology? She was doing exactly what she had wanted to since we were kids. Who was I to come in and change that?  *hand slap upside the head*  Dummy!

Rose: He broke my heart! I was young and stupid in love and so what if I had made a mistake … a sort of large mistake. Men can be dense sometimes.  J

I was young and stupid once.  Heart shattered, too.  I finally married my own hero when I was 37.  Never been happier.

I liked the beginning of the book.  The build up to you guys as teenagers/young adults to adults was great.  When do you honestly think you fell in love with each other?  Personally, I think it was when you were kids.  J

Andy: As I look back, I see times when we were very young and I couldn’t have imagined life without her. She was my right hand man, or girl. I knew I loved her. I just didn’t know I loved her.  *sigh*

Rose: I was smart enough to know what love was from the beginning, like you said, Harlie. It just took him longer to figure that out. Again, men are dense creatures. 

Andy:  What do you think is Rose’s greatest strength?  Weakness?

Her greatest strength? As in one? Okay, I can do this. She’s a survivor. There. A survivor who spreads her strength to everything around her. She survived traveling around from third world country to third world country for her first five years. She survived the fall of her beloved mother. She survived learning her father was a brutal extortionist. She survived the end of us. Through it all, she spread that strength to those who couldn’t themselves, those damn endangered animals she loves.  I learned so much from her in the book.  Cranics…love it!

Her weakness? Easy. She’s overconfident. She thinks her black belt makes her invincible to the point where she puts herself in danger. I’ve been bailing her out for twenty-five years. I actually don’t mind it. She’s kick-ass in a bar fight.   For sure; I think she could take on a few patrons at the same time.

Rose:  What do you think is Andy’s greatest strength?  Weakness?

Andy is smooth. I wish I could talk my way in and out of every-damned-thing like he can. Although, it’s come in handy for me over the years. The time I ended up in the principal’s office for the little ‘spat’ I got into with some boys at school? The protest at the local reservist land for the endangered Whooping cranes? Yeah, his smooth-talking comes in handy.  Charm can go a long ways sometimes.  I don’t have that kind of charm.  My younger brother does though.  Always getting out of stuff when we were kids.

His weakness? He broke up with me!  Yes, dummy…again!

Your story isn’t so much about you guys per se but about family and what it means to come to together in the end.  Tell me what you think of when it comes to family.

Andy: When all is said and done, it’s about family. I wouldn’t be who I am without my uncle. He and Brie took in me and my brother when they could have turned away. The kids they had together are not just cousins, they are my brothers and sister. I’ve got their backs, every one of them. And they have mine. Rose is … part of us. I can’t remember a time when she wasn’t. The years away from her were like walking around with one arm missing.

Rose: It’s always been … us. My mother and Andy’s aunt have their own business. My father and Andy’s uncle were friends since they were in high school. We fight, we laugh, we cry and we love. For better or for worse. The fact that Andy and I were meant to be together is icing on the cake.  You two were meant to be together.  I do worry about Duncan.  Seriously, a girl in every port.  That’s got to get old.  Oh well…

I do have to ask how Gracie is doing now?

Rose: She was given her freedom to fly, just as Andy did for me. Eagles don’t make bonds with humans. The most they will do is tolerate us enough not to sink their talons into our skin or jab us for food with their sharp beak. She was never found, so we hope that’s a good sign that she found what she was looking for.   Good for you and her.   You do great work Rose.

Also, Andy did you finally hire Delores full time?

Andy: Sort of. Full-time minus her weekly hair appointment and afternoon Silver Sneakers classes. She’s a bossy one, that Delores. My business wouldn’t be the same without her.  Give her dental if you can.  J

Quick Round:

Andy, name me 5 things about Rose that most people don’t know…

She’s wanted a horse since she was five.

Her incredibly wicked turning side kick is always right-handed.

She’s really not the tough research and action center boss she makes herself out to be.

She’s been through hell and back and never once complains about it.

She would give her life for the ones she loves.

Rose, name me 5 things about Andy that most people don’t know…

Andy is a whiz at computers, not all of it exactly legal, although he has his boundaries.

His best friend is his brother, Duncan, even though they don’t see much of each other.

He wants to be a father so much it scares the hell out of me.

Although he’s all about his building and land developing, he has an interest in my work and not just because it’s my work.

Mostly, when people look at Andy, they see his thousand watt smile and his thick arms and neck. What they don’t realize is that he never looks in the mirror or even takes the time to straighten his shirt collar.

Thank you Andy and Rose for stopping by.   Don’t ever stop loving each other.  If two people were meant to be together, it’s you two.  Never forget that…

 

Flying in Shadows

The Black Creek Series

Book Two

by

R.T. Wolfe

 

 

 

Walking in the dark, Andy readjusted his tackle box. Moonlight shone on the dark ripples creeping down Black Creek. He spotted a raccoon as he crossed the bridge. Startled, the animal hissed at him. Andy stomped his foot and hissed back; he was in no mood for it.

In his peripheral vision, he saw movement Larger movement. A man? The shape disappeared as quickly as Andy imagined it. When you let yourself get this worked up, you start seeing things, he chided himself.

He needed Rose.

She would calm him down and lighten his mood, help him feel normal again. He looked at his watch and winced. What were friends for if you couldn’t count on them to be there? Even at this time of night. Or morning.

* * *

Rose slept soundly in her twin bed dreaming of her favorite spot at the zoo. In the small rain forest building, she allowed a newly emerged monarch butterfly to dry its wings on her apron while sharing facts about the insect to one of two visiting young boys. The other threw pebbles into the nearby wishing pond. The sound of the small rocks plunked as they hit the stone wall before dropping into the water.

Oh, crap. She woke and sat up straight. The plunking noise came from outside, not in her head.

Heart in her throat, she ripped off her blankets and hustled across the hard floor to the window. It was still pitch-black out.

Grabbing the flashlight she always kept on the windowsill, Rose paused for moment. She shook her head assuring herself it was Andy and lifted the window. She found him with the beam as she hissed loudly, “I thought you didn’t get home until tomorrow.”

“It is tomorrow.” He held up fishing poles and tackle box.

“It’s not tomorrow until the sun comes up.” Tugging on a pair of jeans, Rose smiled wildly to herself. This reaction she had to Andy Reed had to stop. It was not healthy.

“I’ve got the worms.” he called. “Get down here.”

 

Review:

*sigh* What can I say about Rose and Andy that won’t sound gushy, cutesy, eye rolling to you?  I mean really?  Their interview is great.  Those two were meant to be together…forever.  Again, sigh…I had a childhood love and it didn’t work out for us.  I still miss him and think about him as I get older.  Anywoos…

Andy and Rose met as children and are forever joined at the hip.  Andy is one year older than Rose, so when he leaves to go off to college, Rose is at a loss.  She’s not a girlie girl; prefers to fish, conservation and hanging out with Andy.  Too bad that Andy has an idiot cheerleader of a girlfriend that hates Rose.  Oh yes, the book starts out with them as teenagers/young adults.  Don’t be put off by this dear readers.  Ms. Wolfe handles their budding relationship with a deft hand and let’s the characters do their thing.  Its cute but at the same time, you can see and feel the love that these two have for one another and always will.  *sigh*

One thing leads to another and Andy and Rose end up hurting the other in a way that ends any relationship.  Secrets.  Read the interview again.  Andy tells you why they broke up and why I slapped him upside his head.  I still love him though.  He is a man after all.  Dense but lovable.  Trying to do the noble thing for Rose.  Always thinking of Rose and not himself. 

I really tried my hardest not to crawl through the Kindle and not slap both of them at times.  Stubborn people that knew they should be together.  Only problem was a secret that Rose’s mom had kept from her as a child would either kill them or forever keep them together.

The suspense element and the evil that surrounds it was perfect.  Not too heavy but interesting enough that I kept wondering when it was going to happen.  You know, the fatal confrontation.  Wow!  I was not disappointed and to watch both Andy’s and Rose’s families come together is ultimately what this book is about.  The true meaning of family and everything it encompasses.   *side note*  I can’t wait for Duncan’s book.  I mean, what does he NOT do? 

The conservation element was great.  What’s not to love about our national bird but to actually read about the bald eagle and the people that are doing everything they can to save it from the brink was fascinating.  Plus, cranics!  You will know what I mean when you read the book.  🙂

I can not highly recommend Andy and Rose’s story.  Its a beautiful story about childhood sweethearts that is sweet, enduring and more importantly about finding the strength within yourself to stand up to your beliefs that makes you…you! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author:

 

R.T. Wolfe is the author of the Black Creek Series set in beautiful upstate New York. She enjoys creating diverse characters and twining them together in the midst of an intelligent mystery and a heart encompassing romance.

It’s not uncommon to find dark chocolate squares in R.T.’s candy dish, her Golden Retriever at her feet and a few caterpillars spinning their cocoons in their terrariums on her counters. R.T. loves her family, gardening, eagle-watching and can occasionally be found viewing a flyover of migrating whooping cranes.

Author Links:

R.T. Wolfe Flying in Shadows, Black Creek Series Book 2 Links

 

R.T. Wolfe website: http://www.rtwolfe.com

Flying in Shadows Amazon buy link: http://amzn.to/XtK6Lw

Flying in Shadows BN buy link: http://bit.ly/XZxMTf

Flying in Shadows Book Trailer: http://bit.ly/11wALc1

R.T. Wolfe Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/RTWolfe2012

R.T. Wolfe Twitter Handle: http://www.twitter.com/RT_Wolfe

R.T. Wolfe Pinterest Page: http://www.pinterest.com/RTWolfe

 

 

10 thoughts on “Flying in Shadows by RT Wolfe (Book #2, The Black Creek Series) – Excerpt/Character Interview/Review

  1. Hey, ladies! Late to the party, (church last night and tonight, makes it hard). Anyway…LOVE the video, pretty song and I like how you scripted it, RT. This is a great story, a great love affair, from start to finish. And like you, Harlie, I can’t wait for Duncan’s story!

    1. Born in Ada and I bleed Sooner Red! Boomer Sooner! My mom’s side is from Pauls Valley and my dad’s side settle in Ada. My paternal grandmother was from Comanche and my paternal grandfather was from Marlowe. They met in Duncan.

      Small world. I have family in Norman, Ada and Pauls Valley still to do this day. I have some of the best childhood memories in Oklahoma.

      I have lived in Texas 43 of my 46 years but I will not and can not cheer for the Longhorns. Yuck! My husband is an Aggie and that’s fine. I have cousins that are Cowboys and that’s fine too. Most are Sooners; in fact, one of my uncle’s was an OU Cheerleader back in the day.

      🙂 Keep reading Harlequins! I do and I’m not ashamed of it.

  2. What a great interview…fantastic questions. It’s great to get to know your characters better. Now it makes me want to hurry and finish the story. Way to go!

  3. Fun character interview! Thanks for the review – I’ll be adding this book to my list – it’s not every day you get romance, mystery and a conservationist viewpoint too:)

    1. Thank you, Maria. I’ve had Operation Migration (Whooping cranes) preview the scenes pertaining them and the Eastcoast Center for Conservation Biology the entire manuscript for authenticity regarding the eagle/conservation facts. They were fun and helpful. 🙂 I hope you like it.

  4. Harlie,
    Thank you for having me back on your beautiful blog. Your questions and your responses are a hoot. Love it. I’ll check back in throughout the day.
    -R.T. Wolfe
    Author of the Black Creek Series

Leave a Reply to R.T. Wolfe Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.