BLOG TOUR: Bridging Hope by Greyson McCoy (Excerpt + Q&A with Author)

BLOG TOUR

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

Goodreads

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.

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.”

Q&A with Greyson McCoy

Introduce yourself and your writing

After years of being tied down to a life of kids, work, running a small farm, and all things domestic, my husband and I have taken full advantage of our empty nest to travel the world.

The joy of writing came to me late in life. While completing my master’s degree, I found myself fighting between desperately wanting to write fiction and finishing the homework and papers I’d been assigned.

When my master’s was finally done, I decided to shirk my life of responsibility and pursue my dream of writing full time.  My stories reflect many of the locations my husband and I have visited over the years.

How many books have you written?

I’ve written the short story Bridging Hope which will be released on March 26^th. This is my debut novel. Besides that, I’ve drafted five other books which are in various stages of editing.

How long does it usually take you to write a book?

That really depends on the book. Bridging Hope almost fell out of me. I had the plot bunny while asleep, got up around 2am, and began writing.  But the next book in the series has tried to kill me. LOL.

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

I was asleep, minding my own business, when the plot bunny attacked me and wouldn’t leave me alone until I got up and began writing it down. You think I’m teasing, but that is exactly how that felt.

I kept seeing in my mind’s eye a couple of men who aren’t particularly interested in getting to know each other, thrown together to take care of a couple kids under the age of five. Then the story took off from there.

Bridging Hope was a really fun novel to write.

Who are your favorite authors? Have they inspired your writing?

To answer that, I think we have to go back to Where the Red Fern Grows, which I read when I was a freshman in high school. Then, of course, I found romance, and Mary Stewart got her author hands around my heart and I became hooked on romance.

Fast forward to when I was working as a full-time parent, and I discovered Nora Roberts and read any and everything she published.

More recently, I’ve discovered Lucy Lennox, who showed me you can write Nora Roberts style books from a gay perspective. Of course, then I was fully hooked.

Today, I’d say Kim Fielding, Lily Morton, J. P. Jackson (naughty stories but oh so yummy,) Glenn Quigley, Andrew Grey, and so many more. Jeez, I could probably write for days just listing the ones I love to read.

Their primary influence today is mostly on how to improve my writing. I still read more for pleasure than inspiration, but I will say all the MM authors I love have certainly influenced me, and I’m sure they will continue to do so in the future.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Like so many others, I don’t love the editing process as much as I do the drafting. That’s simply because the drafting process is where I get to be as excited as the readers as the story unfolds in my mind.

Editing is about the reader, and making the book the best possible product I can create for them.  It requires me to re-read my stories several times and can wear me down.

However, as much as I might not love editing, the absolute worst part of writing is creating a blurb. Whomever invented that must be experiencing everlasting torment, and if not, then he/she/they should be!

When you develop characters do you already know who they are before you begin writing or do you let them develop as you go? 

Sometimes, like with Bridging Hope, I already had a basic idea of what was going to happen throughout the entire drafting process.

With my latest book, which will be book 2 in the series, I had no clue where this story was headed until I wrote the last words in the book.

Those characters were such divas though!

Do you aim for a set number of words/pages per day?

No, not really. There are days when I can write 5000 to 8000 words, and others when I’m lucky to get 500 words in print. It all seems to even out for me, though.

Nora Roberts was once asked how she is such an abundant writer, and her response was the best. “…butt in the seat.”

As long as my butt is where it’s supposed to be, I know the book will eventually get written.

Do you use images to develop your characters’ looks?

This is an interesting question. I don’t want to know what a character looks like, so no, I don’t use images to develop my character’s looks. I have always preferred to let them develop in my mind.

I also hate it when an author over describes a character. Again, I much prefer the image my mind creates for them.

My editors tell me that’s a no-no, so you’ll find descriptions in my books, but just know, I went kicking and screaming. (Okay, not that much drama, but I did whine about it when they made me add descriptions.)

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Writing energizes me, until my brain turns to mush, then I have to either stare at mind-numbing television or go to bed.

Editing wears me out. Again, drafting is all about creating and having fun. Editing is about making the book something other people might want to read.

So, long story short, both!

What has been one of your most rewarding experiences as an author?

Honestly, I think one of my best moments was when DreamSpinner Press sent me the acceptance email. There was a heck of a lot of celebrating going on.

Do you outline or do you just write?

I’m told the word for what I do is pantsing. I do outline, sort of, but mostly just to get my ideas down. Then I let my characters run with it. I’ve drafted five books now, and not one of them has followed the outline I initially created for them.

What do you love best about your current book?

I love a little angst in a book. Not too much, but I like when the characters have an issue they have to work together to solve. Bridging Hope is about two men who wouldn’t naturally be together.

They are attracted enough to one another, but they live vastly different lives. One is a tech geek, the other a leader of the state university’s agricultural outreach program.

When they were tossed together to care for two little ones that lost their mom, they had to learn to be together not just for the kids, but for one another as well.

That angsty element resolved in the end with just the right amount of happy for me.

What is your next project?

There are several projects in the works. I have finished book 2 of the series, which starts in the rural areas of north California and a sweet, and rather vulnerable farmer is losing his beloved farm to a wildfire.

He ends up in Oregon, and in the arms of a very loving, very understanding aunt and uncle who own a dairy farm.

Besides the fact that the MCs fought me all the way, stubbornly holding their story close to their chest, I really enjoyed writing a romance in the middle of a farming community, with people who were still farming for a living.

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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