In the Fall of 2001, John Manning’s life is in turmoil. His six-year-old daughter Lucy needs a kidney transplant, and his travel agency is in financial distress because of the 9/11 tragedy. A lapse in his health insurance means he also has to quickly secure funds for his daughter’s operation. John had worked his way out of difficult situations before, but now he’s out of solutions.
Wanda, a client of John’s travel agency, is facing similar difficulties. Her livelihood as a drug dealer has also been hit hard by 9/11. Increased airport security has stymied her transport of cocaine via airline flights. As a single parent, she wants to leave this dangerous profession and break free from her drug-lord boss Jamel, but a lack of funds has curtailed attempts to move and start a new life with her daughter Tonya.
Desperate times lead to desperate measures, and John and Wanda form a partnership to smuggle cocaine via cruise ships. John’s industry knowledge and connections help circumvent transportation risks, while Wanda’s knowledge of the drug industry helps them distribute and sell the product.
Despite a near-death experience on their first run, it was a financial success, and Wanda coaxes John into another trip. Meanwhile Jamel is becoming suspicious of Wanda.
John’s half-brother Travis, a Durham police detective battling his own demons, can’t connect the dots between John and Wanda. Yet, he continues to line his pocket with ill-gotten gains. Lucy and John are the most important people in Travis’ life and he would do anything they asked to help—if they would only ask.
How far should a father go to save his child? Can a man and woman from completely different worlds help each other? Could they fall in love? And who will live to see the summer of 2002? Find the answers in Shades of Gray, a debut novel by Andy Holloman.
Wanda, a client of John’s travel agency, is facing similar difficulties. Her livelihood as a drug dealer has also been hit hard by 9/11. Increased airport security has stymied her transport of cocaine via airline flights. As a single parent, she wants to leave this dangerous profession and break free from her drug-lord boss Jamel, but a lack of funds has curtailed attempts to move and start a new life with her daughter Tonya.
Desperate times lead to desperate measures, and John and Wanda form a partnership to smuggle cocaine via cruise ships. John’s industry knowledge and connections help circumvent transportation risks, while Wanda’s knowledge of the drug industry helps them distribute and sell the product.
Despite a near-death experience on their first run, it was a financial success, and Wanda coaxes John into another trip. Meanwhile Jamel is becoming suspicious of Wanda.
John’s half-brother Travis, a Durham police detective battling his own demons, can’t connect the dots between John and Wanda. Yet, he continues to line his pocket with ill-gotten gains. Lucy and John are the most important people in Travis’ life and he would do anything they asked to help—if they would only ask.
How far should a father go to save his child? Can a man and woman from completely different worlds help each other? Could they fall in love? And who will live to see the summer of 2002? Find the answers in Shades of Gray, a debut novel by Andy Holloman.
Just like the protagonist in my novel, Shades of Gray, I was the owner of travel agency for 12 years (mostly in the 90′s). But this is the only similarity between myself and John Manning! (I never ventured into the cocaine business, I swear.)
I grew up in Greenville, NC and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Economics. All through high school and college, I was notorious for scribbling out stories and ideas for novels (hey, this was before wordprocessors!) and always kept them in a top secret shoe box. (and the box is so top secret that I’ve been trying to find it for 15 years!).
After college, I fell into the travel industry by accident and was able to grow a travel business into an Inc. 500 company. The agency grew through the use of the Internet and by acquiring three other companies. Late in the 1990’s, I became familiar with the story of one of the my company’s clients who was murdered in Durham, NC and was a suspected drug smuggler. This story and the subsequent downfall of the travel agency industry (and my company) after 9/11, planted a seed in my head that grew into my first published novel, Shades of Gray. I began writing this novel in 2003, shelved after completion in 2006, and revived in 2011 thanks to a great friend from a writers group in Cary, NC.
Today, I live in the Raleigh, NC area. I am the father of three, and have been happily married for 20 years. I enjoy (mostly) attending my kids sporting and school events, supporting the local real estate industry, and watching fine films with my wonderful wife. Whenever possible, I enjoy the beauty of North Carolina’s mountains, running, camping, and short walks on the beaches of the Outer Banks (several references to OBX in my book) . I am also an avid reader (time permitting), and a social media goofball. Most evenings I can be found tapping out my next novel, due for release in late 2013. Stay tuned!
I grew up in Greenville, NC and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Economics. All through high school and college, I was notorious for scribbling out stories and ideas for novels (hey, this was before wordprocessors!) and always kept them in a top secret shoe box. (and the box is so top secret that I’ve been trying to find it for 15 years!).
After college, I fell into the travel industry by accident and was able to grow a travel business into an Inc. 500 company. The agency grew through the use of the Internet and by acquiring three other companies. Late in the 1990’s, I became familiar with the story of one of the my company’s clients who was murdered in Durham, NC and was a suspected drug smuggler. This story and the subsequent downfall of the travel agency industry (and my company) after 9/11, planted a seed in my head that grew into my first published novel, Shades of Gray. I began writing this novel in 2003, shelved after completion in 2006, and revived in 2011 thanks to a great friend from a writers group in Cary, NC.
Today, I live in the Raleigh, NC area. I am the father of three, and have been happily married for 20 years. I enjoy (mostly) attending my kids sporting and school events, supporting the local real estate industry, and watching fine films with my wonderful wife. Whenever possible, I enjoy the beauty of North Carolina’s mountains, running, camping, and short walks on the beaches of the Outer Banks (several references to OBX in my book) . I am also an avid reader (time permitting), and a social media goofball. Most evenings I can be found tapping out my next novel, due for release in late 2013. Stay tuned!
Schedule
December 19 - Meet & Greet at VBT Cafe' Blog
December 22 - Guest Blogging at Book Reader Addicts
December 26 - Guest Blogging at Live To Read
December 29 - Guest Blogging with Cindy Vine
January 3 - Interviewed at Reviews & Interviews
January 11- Interviewed at BK Media Entertainment
January 14 - Interviewed at From The Mind of Omegia
January 16 - Reviewed at Immortality and Beyond
January 20 - Reviewed & Guest Blogging at Jersey Girl Book Reviews
January 24 - Interviewed at Authors By Authors
January 26 - Reviewed at S.W.A.K.R.
January 30 - Reviewed at Writing Crazy Me
February 1- Interviewed at Unnecessary Musings
February 3 - Author Spotlighted with Louise James
December 19 - Meet & Greet at VBT Cafe' Blog
December 22 - Guest Blogging at Book Reader Addicts
December 26 - Guest Blogging at Live To Read
December 29 - Guest Blogging with Cindy Vine
January 3 - Interviewed at Reviews & Interviews
January 11- Interviewed at BK Media Entertainment
January 14 - Interviewed at From The Mind of Omegia
January 16 - Reviewed at Immortality and Beyond
January 20 - Reviewed & Guest Blogging at Jersey Girl Book Reviews
January 24 - Interviewed at Authors By Authors
January 26 - Reviewed at S.W.A.K.R.
January 30 - Reviewed at Writing Crazy Me
February 1- Interviewed at Unnecessary Musings
February 3 - Author Spotlighted with Louise James
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