Artistic Appeal is
the follow-up to Legal Artistry, and
the story behind this story is definitely in the characters. The main plot elements come from the court
case introduced in Legal Artistry. In Legal
Artistry, the initial court case was won, but in Artistic Appeal, the case continues through the appeals and
eventually on to the Supreme Court.
Nicolai is an art restorer and he also happens to be
deaf. One of my neighbors has an adult
daughter who is deaf, and one evening when I was visiting, what inspired me was
the amount of our conversation Darleen was able to understand. Through a
combination of reading lips and body language she was able to understand the
bulk of the conversation. The rest of
our visit was signed by her mother, and we had a great time. With Nicolai, I wanted to bring some of
Darleen’s spirit, vitality, and ability to read people to the character, and I’d
like to think I did.
Brian is inspired by a close friend who has been with his
partner for almost twenty years, but before they met, Chuck was married and had
two sons. They are the light of both
their lives, as are their grandchildren, and I wanted to bring the way Don
adores his children to Brian and his daughter Zoe, who I modeled on my niece of
about the same age.
I had a great deal of fun with this story because all of my
characters spoke to me, even the villainous ones, and I sincerely hope they
speak to you as well.
Blurb:
Brian Watson knows
close friends Gerald Young and Dieter Krumpf have an ulterior motive when they
invite him to their Christmas party. Brian has taken over the case to secure the
return of the famous painting called The Woman in Blue to Dieter, but
they don’t want Brian to be all work and no play. They intend to set him up with
a friend, but he’s not who catches Brian's eye. Instead, it's Nicolai, the deaf
art restorer caring for the works already returned to Dieter.
But pursuing
Nicolai won't be easy. A year ago Nicolai had to fight to regain his
independence after a bad break-up, and he's reluctant to give up his freedom a
second time. Plus, Brian has competition in Justin, Nicolai's ex, who wants him
back badly.
Nicolai's
reluctance isn't the only roadblock. Brian was married to a woman for almost ten
years. Now he has to confess to his mother, his ex-wife, and his young daughter
that he loves a man—all while conducting a potentially groundbreaking court case
and trying to convince Nicolai that love isn't about co-dependence, it's about
support.
Excerpt:
Over the past year, his main companion outside of work
had been Zoe, and Brian hadn’t realized how much he missed adult company and
conversation until he was deep in a conversation with Harold about his upcoming
deep-sea fishing trip to Florida. God, it had been a long time since he’d simply
talked to another adult.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Dieter said, and Brian and
Harold paused their conversation. “I’m taking Zoe up to the television room so
she can watch her video.”
“Thank you,” Brian said, grateful to his friend. Dieter
left, and Brian and Harold continued their conversation. After a while, Harold
excused himself and got up. Brian, deciding he wanted another glass of wine,
walked through the house to the kitchen. The room was full of people, and Brian
poured a glass of wine and was about to leave when he lightly bumped into
another man. Pausing to excuse himself, Brian stopped and the tall man turned
around. Bright blue eyes stared into Brian’s, and for one of the few times in
his life, Brian stared open-mouthed, completely at a loss for words. This man
was stunning, rather than beautiful,
with piercing eyes that nearly made him flinch and deep black hair that shone in
the light against his olive-toned skin. “I’m sorry,” Brian said, for bumping
him, and the man smiled slightly, nodding his head before turning
away.
People shifted in the kitchen as glasses were filled and
new faces moved to the bar for refills. Brian made his way back into the living
room and nearly bumped into Gerald, thankfully not spilling any of his wine.
“Who’s the man over there with the dark hair?” Brian indicated the man he’d seen
in the kitchen.
Gerald smiled at him. “That’s Nicolai Romanov. He’s an
art restorer, and he’s been helping Dieter with the paintings. He’s a really
sweet man,” Gerald said, lowering his voice, “and very handsome. He’s also
available, or so I understand.”
“What about the man with him?” Brian asked, his eyes
following Nicolai and the other man around the room. They looked rather cozy to
him.
“That’s Peter, and they’re not a couple. He’s a friend
and sort of acts as Nicolai’s interpreter because he’s deaf. Besides, Peter’s as
straight as an arrow, and if there were a lot of women here, Nicolai wouldn’t be
getting as much interpreting time. Peter’s a bit of a ladies’ man. Come on, I’ll
introduce you. Nicolai reads lips, so speak clearly and look at him, and you’ll
be fine.” Before Brian could stop him, Gerald was leading him into the hallway
where Nicolai was looking closely at one of the paintings. Gerald lightly
touched him on the shoulder and stepped back.
“Nicolai,” Gerald said once he’d turned around, “this is
Brian.” He noticed that Gerald made eye contact and spoke clearly, but not
loudly, to Nicolai, who held out his hand.
“Very pleased to meet you,” Nicolai said slowly, his
consonants very smooth, and it took some concentration, but Brian was able to
understand him. Brian shook his hand and wondered what to say. Thankfully Gerald
started things off.
“I work with Brian. He and I try to get art works
returned to its proper owners. Brian is handling The Woman in Blue case for Dieter and me,”
Gerald explained, and Brian saw Nicolai’s eyes light up.
“That must be exciting,” Nicolai said. “Dieter has told
me about his great-grandmother. It is a very exciting story.” Brian saw
Nicolai’s fingers and hands moving, presumably out of habit.
“Daddy.” Zoe barreled into him laughing before turning to
her Uncle Dieter. “I turned off the player.”
“Zoe,” Brian said, still looking at Nicolai, “this is Mr.
Romanov.”
“Hello.” She suddenly seemed shy, and Brian hugged her to
his side.
“Nicolai, this is my daughter Zoe.” Brian made sure to
face Nicolai so he could read his lips.
“Hello, Zoe,” Nicolai said as he signed, and Brian heard
Zoe inhale in surprise as she watched Nicolai’s hands. “Zoe,” Nicolai said
rather clearly as he slowly signed her name. Zoe brought up her hands and began
to move them, mimicking the movements. Nicolai gently corrected her fingers, and
soon Zoe could sign her name. “Nic,” Nicolai said and then performed the signs
for his name. Brian found himself watching every movement of Nic’s graceful
hands, trying to make the signs himself along with his
daughter.
“Like this,” Nicolai told him, and
Brian nearly jumped when the handsome man touched his fingers, lightly caressing
his skin as he coached him through the signs. Brian repeated the movements for
the three letters, and Nicolai smiled his encouragement. Brian wanted to ask
Nicolai to teach him more signs, if only to get the other man to touch his hands
again.
Bio:
Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who
loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has
lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a
master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in
information systems for a large corporation. Andrew's hobbies include collecting
antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink
(particularly when writing) He considers himself blessed with an accepting
family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner.
Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle,
Pennsylvania.
Links:
web site: www.andrewgreybooks.com
email: andrewgrey@comcast.net
No comments:
Post a Comment