About the Book
Buddy Moon is the first story in the Grove Series but stands alone well-happily ever after guaranteed. It's a 62,500-word novel featuring Tom, an established big-city architect, and Lisa, a struggling artist in a small town, trying to break into the art world.
Each story in the series features a different couple's love story, but they are all set in the same small Texas town with a recurring cast of secondary and tertiary characters. While my Grove, Texas, is fictional, its geography is based on the real towns around Houston, the fourth largest city in the USA: Cypress, Friendswood, Humble, Katy, Kingwood, La Port, League City, Pasadena, Pearland, Spring, Sugarland, Tomball, Webster, and the Woodlands. All the other places I set my characters to, such as Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Matagorda Bay, and Port Aransas are real. Houston and Texas are steeped in a unique history and culture, such as Texas was a country in itself before it became a state, and I use these aspects to flavor my stories.
Tom Jeffreys is an established big-city architect, looking for lasting love. He is no longer interested in the one-night stands he has participated in the past. He is tired of those. He works for his father and is going on a buddy moon as the best man to his buddy, Mason, who is marrying Olive in Hawaii. A buddy moon is when eight couples go on a honeymoon, including the bridal couple. He meets Lisa, who is different from all the other girls he has dated, but he has a past he doesn't want to share. He is instantly attracted to her.
Lisa Collins is a struggling artist living in a small town. She is trying to break into the art world. She attended art school and is trying to make her art business pay for itself. She is shy because of what happened in high school but is struggling to change for the better-to no longer be so shy. She is going on the buddy moon to be the maid of honor for Olive, who is marrying Mason. They are going on a destination wedding in Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai. She meets Tom, who is unlike the boys of the past. She is promptly engrossed in him.
Can Tom and Lisa trust each other enough to reveal their pasts and move into a future with each other? Or will their past keep them apart?
The eight characters in the story will play prominent roles in future books. Watch for their names. Characters from former books will show up in future books.