Across The Fence From Roy

by Russell Camp

“Thank God for the fence,” Andrew Harmon had said to himself more than once after moving in next door to Roy Everman. When he accepted a teaching position at a small community college in the West Texas oil patch town of Oasis, Andrew assumed that his Southern Californian sensibilities might be challenged. But he was not prepared for the all-out assault that his retired neighbor would launch. His only hope of escaping Roy’s endless opinions and unsolicited advice was the fence that stood between their properties. As long as the fence served as a barrier, Andrew could mostly avoid interaction with Roy. However, as The Pandemic began and the country seemed to be coming apart at the seams, would the fence be enough?

Across The Fence From Roy is a humorous and heartfelt story about the preconceived notions of our differences. Are we as different as we are being led to believe? And if we are- can we still be friends, family, and neighbors in spite of our differences? In his second book, author Russell Camp (Suitcase Sleds, Basketball, and The Bros) delivers another poignant and much-needed chronicle about life and its humorous, joyous, and strife-filled journey.

Paperback

Published June 14, 2022

About the author

Russell Camp was born and raised in the Texas Panhandle. Although he started his college out of state, he returned to the Panhandle and finished his degree in secondary education at West Texas A&M. He left again for a few years pursuing coaching stints in other parts of the state, but moved back for good in 2000. He is a career public school educator and also a small business owner for over 20 years. His grandmother used to say (of the Texas Panhandle), "If you stay long enough to wear out a pair of shoes, you'll never leave." Camp has found that to pretty much be true.

Camp is married to his wife of twenty-six years and they have three adult sons. They also have three dogs, two of which are a pointing breed. He enjoys spending time with his family, bird hunting, and observing the peculiar behaviors of the human species.

Camp's first book, Suitcase-Sleds, Basketball, and The Bros, is a humorous memoir about growing up in the 1980's in Amarillo, Texas. It is full of true stories about the escapades of a typical kid of his generation and his buddies. His second book, Across The Fence From Roy, is a novel about our preconceived differences and what we do with those notions.

Reviews

[Andrew Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Across the Fence from Roy, Russell Camp's first foray into fiction after his memoir, the hilarious Suitcase Sleds, Basketball and the Bros, is a poignant look into what it means being part of a community and the differences that we have—which may not be differences at all.

When Andrew Harmon takes a job at the community college in the West Texas town of Oasis, he and his wife find themselves living next door to the seemingly curmudgeonly Roy Everman. Roy is West Texas through and through and makes no qualms in showing his disdain for Andrew's California roots.

But when a pandemic rips through the nation, forcing them within closer proximity than the fence that separates their property, we get a look into what it means to be neighbors in a time when the world falls apart around us.

[Kate Matson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay wow, contemporary fiction is never a genre I gravitate towards, but this book definitely proved me wrong on my preconceived notions! I so quickly fell in love with all of the characters and was heavily invested in their lore. I would highly recommend this, it’s so engaging the entire way through!:)

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seventy pages in I cried for the first, but not the last time. This is a beautifully written story of letting go of preconceived notions and getting to know, and even love, those people you might not ever expect to feel that way about. Also, No dogs died.