Calico

by Dorien Grey

It seemed like a simple job - guide Josh and Sarah to Bow Ridge to live with their aunt until they reached their 18th birthday. It was what their aunt Rebecca wanted, and the best choice Calico Ramsey thought he could make. But someone wants them dead, which makes no sense to Calico. Neither do the feelings aroused by the nearness of the handsome young man from Chicago - feelings that seem to be returned, and nothing in his past has prepared him for either.

Genres: M M Romance, Historical

232 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

If it is possible to have a split personality without being schizophrenic, Dorien Grey qualifies. When long-time book and magazine editor Roger Margason chose the pseudonym “Dorien Grey” for his first book, it set off a chain of circumstances which has led to the comfortable division of labor and responsibility. Roger has charge of day-to-day existence, freeing Dorien—with the help of Roger’s fingers—to write. It has reached the point where Roger merely sits back and reads the stories Dorien brings forth on the computer screen.

It’s not as though Roger has not had an uninteresting life of his own. Two years into college, he left to join the Naval Aviation Cadet program. Washing out after a year, he spent the rest of his brief military career on an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean at the height of the cold war. The journal he kept of his time in the military, in the form of letters home, honed his writing skills and provided him with a wealth of experiences to draw from in his future writing. These letters will be appearing in book form shortly.

Returning to Northern Illinois University after service, he graduated with a B.A. in English, and embarked on a series of jobs which worked him into the editing field. While working for a Los Angeles publishing house, he was instrumental in establishing a division exclusively for the publication of gay paperbacks and magazines, of which he became editor. He moved on to edit a leading L.A. based international gay men's magazine.

Tiring of earthquakes, brush fires, mud slides, and riots, he returned to the Midwest, where Dorien emerged, full-blown, like Venus from the sea. They’ve been inseparable (and interchangeable) ever since.

He . . . and Dorien of course…moved back to Chicago in 2006, where they now devote full time to writing. After having published fourteen books in the popular Dick Hardesty Mystery series, four books in the Elliott Smith (paranormal) Mystery series, and the stand-alone western/romance/adventure novel, Calico, he is busily at work on yet another Dick Hardesty mystery.

But for a greater insight into the "real person" behind Dorien Grey, the curious are invited to check out his website (http://www.doriengrey.com), where you can read the first chapter of any or all of his books for free, and his various blogs: Dorien Grey and Me (http://www.doriengreyandme.com) and A Life in Photos (http://www.doriengreyphotolife.blogsp...) among them.

Dorien passed away on November 1, 2015.

Reviews

[Daisiemae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book by accident. I was just scanning Amazon's website when I came across it. When I read the description of the storyline, I knew I had to give it a shot. What's not to love about a western based romance? What I wasn't prepared for was the voice that Mr. Grey has when he spins his story. Not only was this book interesting, but our hero Calico and the twins were people I would be proud to call a friend. Plus, between the adventure, mystery and romance I was hooked until I finished it.

Calico is a very noble man. An orphan who was raised by his adoptive Uncle, he is man would give you the shirt off of his back if you needed it. He helps his Uncle run his ranch, and is quick to help out in any way he is needed. When Uncle Dan receives a letter stating that he has inherited the custody of his seventeen year old niece and nephew, whom he has never met, and lives in Chicago. Dan is determined to take them in. When he enlists Calico's help, of course, Calico is more than happy to do anything he can to ease his Uncle's burden.

Unfortunately, on the way to pick them up, Uncle Dan is shot and killed. This leaves Calico to pick up the twins, and begin their journey to take them to his Uncle Dan's sister, Rebecca, who lives in Colorado. This means he must get a wagon and supplies together and hope that the twins will be up to the long journey ahead. The moment the twins step off of the train, Calico is immediately taken with Josh. The attraction is mutual, and they begin a friendship and find a love and respect for one another that was a very beautiful relationship to read and enjoy.

Over the course of this book... Calico, Josh and Sara encounter much danger, and their lives are threatened in many ways. Not only is there someone determined to kill them, but they have many catastophes they must overcome along the way. From a praire fire to a stampede, their endurance and strength is constantly put through the test. I loved all of the characters in this book. Josh is young, (2 weeks until he is eighteen when we first meet him) but but does so much growing up throughout the course of this book. He is anxious to start his new life, and refuses to be ashamed for his feelings for Calico. In some ways, he is more sure of himself, and his sexuality than Calico is. I found Josh the perfect mate for our hero, and found myself cheering them on! Josh's twin sister, Sara is strong in her own right. Determined to do anything a man can do, and better, she is a woman to be recognized as someone who never gives up.

I don't want to give too much away, but there is a lot of exciting things going on in this book. Between the adventure, action and love story, there is a mystery that must be solved too.

I need to share that the relationship between Calico and Josh is very innocent. There is no sex. That's right. NONE between them. There are some stolen kissing and touching, but if you are looking for a hot sex scene between them, you won't get it. What you will get is a very sweet and beautifully told western romance that I am very glad I took the chance and read. This would be a great book if you are thinking about getting your feet wet in the male romance genre. Even if M/M romance doesn't interest you, it won't matter because the mystery and the adventure that this story is sure to keep most of us up reading late at night, when we should be sleeping.

I hope y'all will give this author a try. I am glad I did. He has written a mystery series that I am itching to get my hands on. I am also hoping that one day he will let us revisit Calico and Josh's life. I would love to see how everything turned out. Mr. Grey also has a pretty interesting website if you would like more information on his books:
http://www.doriengrey.com .

4.5 stars because I would have liked to have read more of Calico and Josh's romance, (yes I am a voyeur...lol) but that's a personal opinion. I'll bump it up to 5 stars because too me, it was better than 4.

[Elisa Rolle]

To all account Calico by Dorien Grey can easily being classified as a Young Adult novel with a Coming of Age story. What sex, or better reference to sex, you will find in it is so light weighted and generic that for sure this is not an erotic romance but I will not arrive to say that it’s not a romance. If you are familiar with the western novels (a la Louis L'Amour style), you know that the love story in that novels, if existing, was not the main theme, and the fierce cowboy was mainly concentrated in reaching a target, whatever target it was; for this reason, the cowboy could be old, sometime even “grandfatherly”, taking care of the young kids in the plot like a substitute father or uncle. This is not the case of Calico, who is 27 years old; sure he is all the same stoic like those cowboys, and sure he takes care of 17 years old twin brothers Josh and Sarah, but he is not at all fatherly. First of all since, at 27 years old, he cannot be really the father of 17 years old boys and second since he more or less “silently” falls in love for Josh at first sight. And if you are thinking that he is taking advantage of an underage kid, first of all consider what I said above, no sex at all, and second it’s Josh that makes his moves on Calico, and Calico will be the perfect gentleman.

Of course, if the target of this novel is indeed a young adult reader, then maybe having an adult fall in love for an underage kid can be controversial; well, you need to consider that, more or less at the beginning of the story, the author explains that 17 years old in the Old West was not being a kid, but for the sake of the plot, the two brothers had to be under guardianship; plus while 27 years old Calico has always lived his adult life in the Frontier, and so not really having much chances to be in contact with women, 17 years old Josh is from Chicago, a big city even at the time. So where someone could question Calico’s preferences for men (he has not really many choices), Josh is way more ahead in his sexual maturity; now I’m not saying he is experienced, far from it, I’m saying he seems to be more self-conscious.

There is really not many discussion on the “I prefer boys, do you?” theme, it’s more or less a mutual acknowledgment: Calico simply asks Josh if he has left a girlfriend behind and Josh says no, expressing little interest in girls, and replying with a “like you” to Calico; that is all, that is all they need to know about each other. To Josh’s not so hidden attempts, Calico kindly resists, not really until Josh is 18 years old, but more until they are both safe. Again, Calico’s acknowledgment that now he has no more reasons to refuse Josh is kind, and Josh is satisfied with the certainty that, once they will be safe, he will have the one he desires.

The story is more about the “travel”, the slowly but steadily building of trust between Calico and Josh, than about the target; the outside threat, and its removal, is important since it serves to give a reason to Calico and Josh to spend time together, but it could have been anything else, and for that reason I don’t think the author put much effort in making it dangerous or mysterious.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/193413533X/?...

[Gerry Burnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerry B's Book Reviews - http://gerrycan.wordpress.com

I love a good western—especially if it is written in the classical style of Calico, by Dorien Grey [Zumaya Publications, 2006]. To me this genre speaks of an earlier, simpler time, populated by strong, independent men and women who set the foundation of our present-day nation(s). They were simple folk, and yet they possessed a nobleness of spirit based primarily on the “Golden Rule,” i.e. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” [I hasten to add, however, that my preference does not run to gratuitous, rodeo-like romps from one bed to another; which I generally pass up.]

Calico Ramsey fits the bill of a hard-working, dedicated cowboy,[1] raised by a kindly rancher , “uncle Dan,” who took him in when he was orphaned. To get the plot rolling, Dan is unexpectedly named guardian of his twin, seventeen-year-old niece and nephew, Sarah and Josh, who are on their way from Chicago.

Nevertheless, tragedy strikes when Dan is murdered, and Calico picks up the task of meeting the twins at the railway station, and also delivering them to Dan’s sister, Rebecca, who lives in far off Colorado. Moreover, the plot thickens when it becomes evident that someone is out to kill them.

Since Calico is the oldest (at 27) he assumes the role of leader, and also undertakes to protect Josh and Sarah from harm; a not-so-easy task when confronted by fires, rock slides, stampedes, and the like. But, as the old saying goes: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” all this adventure draws the three of them closer together—especially Josh and Calico, who like most trail mates gradually build a bond of mutual admiration and respect. Comrades first, and then lovers when a handshake isn’t enough.

Having said that, I should point our that while this is a sweet, romantic relationship, it is strictly Platonic when is comes to sex. In other words, there ain’t none.

This, I presume, has to do with it being targeted toward a ‘young adult’ readership, which has never really been satisfactorily defined in my mind. Most adolescents could give us chapter and verse on sex and sexual practices, so where does one draw the line? Nonetheless, most writers pussyfoot around the topic of adult/youth relationships in the 16 – 20 year-old category [the age of consent is 16 in most jurisdictions], and so there is no real breakthrough here.

Nonetheless, while I demand a good plot, I am very content with a story that is sensual rather than erotic. I mean, how many ways are there of doing ‘it’ that haven’t been written about? So Dorien gets full marks on the romantic side.

My only complaint has nothing to do with this excellent, engaging, and well-written story. Rather it has to do with the story blurb, which has to be one of the poorest I’ve read (including a rather blatant typo). So someone should get their knuckles rapped for this one.

Otherwise, I loved “Calico,” and I think you will, too. Five bees.

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a Western, this is actually pretty good. Of course, it‘s Western plus a little mystery plus a little gay romance, though the romance is innocent enough. Definitely entertaining. My biggest problem with this is that the way Calico‘s speech is written is difficult- most of the time when he spoke, I had to read it over at least twice to actually understand what he was saying. Though I'm perfectly willing to admit that I don't generally read Westerns, so... maybe I'm just not used to it.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stumbled across this book while browsing. It was a bit slow starting, some of the "deconstructed" dialog threw me off, but as the story built, I really began to enjoy it. This is exactly the kind of book I wish had been available when I was 16, and trying to figure myself out. It's a good romance, and a cowboy mystery. The characters and the plot are well developed.