Unique Sports Novel, Low Price

In appreciation of the success we’ve had in our first 10 months, The Long Shadow Of Hope, my first novel, is available to read on any electronic device for $1.99 for the next five days. Just download the free Kindle app for other devices. Buy it now and save it for summer! Paperback is available for $13.99. Thank you, sincerely, for all the support. Look for the release of my next novel, The Lost Lantern, in April. Thanks for reading, A.S.

Read 20 reviews – 18 5-star – of a college football program gone awry – at same page. 

 

Questions Still Yet To Ponder

My two little brothers, from a fraternity sense,

A lifetime gone from the daily pretense,

Of growing, posturing, searching, competing,

Of thinking, choosing, studying, completing,

Both giving more than they could possibly take,

Both leaving borders for not-too-far-states,

Yet somehow their stories were always nearby,

Small-town existence leaves a well of close ties,

After thirty-five years, in a space of two months,

Tragedy brings them to the mind’s forefront,

One lost his wife, the other, his daughter,

The worst two fears of a husband or father,

Each with a healthy respect for our Lord,

The healing a bill they both can afford,

That doesn’t soften the pain of departure,

Or answer the questions, still yet to ponder.

copyright 2017

Picture – From The Woodpile At Dusk, 2-15-17 by Andrew Spradling

  

Hope’s 20th Review: Write What You Know

Author’s Note: Lance Carney is an author in his own “write.” A hospital pharmacist whose protagonist in his novel Ripped Tide: A Daniel O’Dwyer Oak Island Adventure is a – can you believe it? – pharmacist who reluctantly goes undercover to attempt to thwart a drug diversion scheme. Carney’s understated humor – you can hear it in his Amazon bio – makes the book sound like a hoot. It is first on my must-read list. As he points out in his review of The Long Shadow Of Hope concerning my background, writing what you know – using it as the backdrop – adds authenticity to the work.

On a personal note, Lance, a Dunbar, WV, native is a friend and former men’s league basketball comrade who I met through our mutual-amigo, Jody Jividen, one of the three departed souls to whom my book is dedicated, along with Mike Cherry, another shared friend, and Kelly Spradling Simmons.

Thanks for reading and thank you, Lance!  –  A.S.

5.0 out of 5 stars

Intrigue, Murder, Romance and Sports

By Lance T. Carney on February 5, 2017

Lookout Mountain State University’s football team is undefeated and the team and community are riding high. Going into a bye week after seven wins, the future of the team and its star quarterback, Ben Wright, couldn’t be brighter. But lurking just below the big plays, the Top 10 ranking, the Heisman hopeful, the ESPN highlights and chatter, is an unethical snake, playing the system for all it is worth. Pay-offs are made, deals are brokered, innocent players are put at risk and big money rules.

The Long Shadow of Hope is an impressive debut novel by author Andy Spradling. It is much more than a sports story; it has intrigue, murder and romance. Being about a university and football, you almost need a program to keep track of the characters. However, once main players of the mystery are set, the plot begins to develop and the story flows nicely. As a former sportswriter and college administrator, Spradling has had a reserved seat to what goes on behind the scenes. He provides details in this book about a fictional university that only an authentic insider would know. Sports equals big money and greed often leads to ignoring the rules.

So break out the tailgate snacks and sit down with The Long Shadow of Hope; it was an excellent, enjoyable read and I highly recommend it.

Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase

Check out Ripped Tide at: https://www.amazon.com/Lance-Carney/e/B00JYHCTI6

Read more The Long Shadow of Hope reviews or order your copy at:

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Shadow-Hope-Andrew-Spradling-ebook/dp/B01EVP2A7U/ref=la_B01EYPU3RQ_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1486323558&sr=1-1#customerReviews

Ode To A Blank Page

Author’s note: Borrowing the most-used title in poetry… thanks for reading. A.S.

 

At first glance there is a gleam,

A fresh take – potential,

A mountain not yet trampled,

A field allowed to be … itself,

As life flutters about curiously,

Over virgin snow,

Like finely-tuned strings and a long bow,

Hope of growth and development,

Knowledge that the equation starts at zero,

Like invigorating silence allowed to breathe,

And the page is the color of optimism.

Thoughts can be in many places,

Focused or forever floating,

The words can become willful,

Twist and turn like a twig in a rapid,

As frustration pours over the rocks,

Uncontrollably.

It will choose a path,

One can breed a darling,

One can breed contempt,

One can become trapped and entangled.

Until the ride ends,

The answer is unclear,

And may remain unclear,

Ripe for speculation,

And ridicule.

 

© 2017