Love, Honor, & Consequence  |  The Leashes of Dogwood Hollow | Threads of Honor

Love, Honor, & Consequence

Matthew Sterling is a man on the way up. As Assistant City Manager in the Wasatch Range community of Snowy Ridge, and a law school graduate, the 21st century looks promising, especially when a beautiful Ph.D genetic biology candidate, Kasia Somerset, reaches in and grabs his heart. 
    
Returning to New York on family business Matt discovers the historic journal of Major Andrew McBride, his sixth-great grandfather, plus a Revolutionary War manuscript that uncloaks a true patriot, unjustly pilloried and cast into public shame. 
    
As a modern-day political scandal unfolds and Matt's professional standing is challenged, Kasia wonders if he is the man she thought she loved. The similarity to Matt's early American ancestor challenges everything he believes about fairness, integrity, and justice. But when Kasia reveals her astonishing DNA discovery, she demonstrates that life may well be influenced by Love, Honor, & Consequence.

The Leashes of Dogwood Hollow

"Dog -n- 1. a four legged, flesh eating mammal.  2. a male of the same family as the dog.

"Bitch -n- 1. a female dog, wolf or fox. 2. a spiteful, ill-tempered woman.

C'mon along and visit the most unusual corridors of Dogwood City Kennels, the newly built city hall facility in Dogwood Hollow, USA. It's the funniest, yet most vividly portrayed satire on the ills of local government since George Orwell penned Animal Farm, (whose descendents, it's rumored, occupy some of Dogwood's kennels.)

Author Gordon Ryan spent thirty years in city and homeowner association management.  None of the events in The Leashes of Dogwood Hollow could ever happen in America, right?

Threads of Honor

This moving story was told to me by my life-time friend, Bill Tolbert, who lived every moment of it. I am indebted to Bill for his friendship. America is indebted to him for the integrity he instilled in these young men who, while under his tutelege, learned about honor and perseverance.

The basic story contained in this fictional account is true. The Boy Scout troop and the Scoutmaster are real. The American space program successes and tragedies are also real. And the flag is real. It matters little who the real people in the story are, but rather, what they are. We owe a lot to such people. For as long as they exist, our choices - and our freedom - will be preserved and remain our cornerstone.

Perhaps it is only in a nation which offers choice that man is able to reach his potential. In the final analysis, the restriction of ones' ability to choose confines the soul, and limits the ability to learn, through the exercise of choice - either right or wrong. For it is not so much what we believe, as how we adhere to those precepts, that determines our character.

Threads of Honor is my expression of gratitude to those who have sacrificed along the path and to those who continue to pave the way ahead.

"An inspiring portrayal of the triumph of the human spirit. A masterful job." Senator Orrin Hatch, (R) Utah
"Chante hopped down and entered the corridor, stopping in the doorway of Mayor Julia's office. She stood there for several long moments, looking at the chair where Julia sat. Slowly her teeth bared, the fur around her neck bristled, and a low, gutteral sound emanated from her throat. She entered the office, sniffing at the cushion. Circling the chair, the stream of urine came as naturally as breathing. Moving to the doorway, Chante released another stream, bending down to sniff the warm liquid that now marked her territory.

"The Leashes of Dogwood Hollow is a great read and I highly recommend it . . ." Phil Chen, Reader

". . . I felt the cartilage in my back stretching and it struck me that I had never stood so tall - that after twenty years in a military uniform, the proudest moment of my life had come while wearing a Scoutmaster's uniform, standing beside that flag."
                   Major William Tolbert, USAF, Ret.
                                 Scoutmaster, Troop 514

"... as thoroughly reflective as it is engagingly entertaining reading and documents Gordon Ryan as a writer of skill and originality." Midwest Book Review

"... deeply felt, unpredicatable, and smart about municipal politics."                                Booklist

"Fabulous! Gordon Ryan is a master story-teller. Love & Consequence is a must-read book for everyone."                            Rachel Nunes, Author

Love & Consequence is a compelling story of integrity, honor, and courage which will make you think.                                                   Tristi Pinkston, Author

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A writer of skill and originality -                Midwest Book Review
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