Miranda Blue Calling [Paperback]

Michelle Curry Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2004

She's the breezy voice on the telephone, bringing life into the lonely days of her elderly clients ... But who's calling Miranda Blue?

Not a soul -- which is the way Miranda likes it. From her sweet, ramshackle house in the middle of Colorado's pinto bean country, she can run her tele-companionship service while steering clear of men. No more sexy, Big City bad boys. No more tangled, short-lived relationships. Just those eager, grateful voices on the other end of the line, appreciating what Miranda Blue does best: talking.

William Wordsworth "Billy" Steadman, a young widower and greenhouse farmer, has been a man of few words. With the arrival of his eccentric and reclusive new neighbor, however, he willingly rises to her rebuffs, determined to interact in the flesh while bantering his way to her heart. Now he's spoiling her dogs. She's feeding his fish. And if they'd just let each other in, together they might find a little of that precious, elusive commodity called happiness.

This call's for you, Miranda Blue. Pick up!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Miranda Blue is always falling for the wrong man. Even when she moves across the country from New York to Aspen, she still gets it wrong, only this time she's left battered physically and emotionally. In her desperate need for solitude, she moves to the small, isolated town of Otnip, Colorado, where from her tiny windblown home she starts a call-in service to check on seniors. This allows her to remain secluded, except for one thing: just across the street is a house identical to hers. Billy Steadman lives there, and he, too, has chosen to distance himself, and has succeeded for quite a few years. But now he's taken with Miranda, and can't seem to get her out of his system, even as she repeatedly rebuffs his every neighborly gesture. Finally, Miranda slowly emerges from her fragile, lonely state. Wright's poignant and worthy tale is stylistically unusual and interestingly original. Maria Hatton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Michelle Curry Wright grew up in Seattle, Washington. After briefly indulging career dreams in New York, her desire for a different life led her to Telluride, Colorado, where she has remained for twenty years, working at a variety of jobs. Her first novel, Wait and See, Annie Lee, was published in 2001. She and her husband, Gary, have one daughter, Celine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 307 pages
• Publisher: Avon Trade (March 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060561432
• ISBN-13: 978-0060561437
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,455,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Original Plot, June 27, 2004

By 

M. Rondeau (West Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miranda Blue Calling (Paperback)

Miranda Blue is a book I picked out thinking it would be humorous and light, and up to a point I was not disappointed - well possibly for the first chapter. Instead I found that our heroine is a woman, like a lot of us, who have a tendency in falling for the wrong man. Finally, after expressing the wrong sentiment in trying to break off a relationship, she's left both physically beaten and emotionally battered. She then decides to take off to a remote spot in Otnip, Colorado where she has promised herself a moratorium on any involvement with the male species. Starting up a business she could operate from home-- calling and checking on the elderly and homebound -- Miranda has successfully secluded herself with only one neighbor to contend with. Unfortunately that one neighbor, Billy Steadman, just happens to be a handsome devil with a charming way about him. Billy himself had chosen to isolate himself, after his loving wife had died nine years earlier. Now, after seeing Miranda, Billy was ready to reenter the world of the living, only Miranda was doing her best at keeping him out.

Thinking originally that this would be more of a humorous chick-lit type, I was treated to a more poignant and thoughtful tale. Miranda, was a wounded soul, very cautious after failing at relationships with men. Over the phone, she could be more open, yet she still hid and held herself back. It took the combined efforts of some of her elderly clients and friends of Billy to finally bridge over the misconceptions that both held of one anther as they slowly (ever so slowly) came together. While I did find this an interesting and original plot - it's lack of action made it a much slower read than I would like. The originality of Miranda's business - touching base with the elderly - I found quite admirable though, so for those looking for something a little bit more original than the norm would enjoy this. --- Marilyn, Official Reviewer for www.historicalromancewriters.com ---

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, May 29, 2004

By 

Jennifer Hutchins - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Miranda Blue Calling (Paperback)

I loved this book! The characters are engaging and charming. The love story unfolds subtly at first but becomes very involving as the story comes to its climax. I find myself thinking about the characters and wishing I could peek in at them again. I'm buying copies for my sisters and some friends. It's a great summer read!! Don't miss it!

5.0 out of 5 stars Miranda Blue--sweet notes and intriguing dissonances, May 8, 2004

By 

"statsjunkie" (Verona, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miranda Blue Calling (Paperback)

First take on Miranda Blue is a fun, breezy read with clever patter and quirky characters--not unlike a 1940's Cukor movie. Think Myrna Loy meets Melvyn Douglas out on the range. But within the Girl meets Boy, Girl Disses Boy, Girl Seeks Boy plot are some intriguing musings about the fundamentals. About escape and withdrawal, about ambivalance and bluster, and about the courage of becoming a grown up. Miranda is a sharp, smart, compelling charmer--who despite having more edge than a badlands butte has lived a largely passive life. Not that she hasn't been places and experienced things. But she is someone to whom things happen, the proximally worst being beaten by a thuggish boyfriend. To stop any more things from happening, Miranda retreats to the middle of nowhere Osnip, CO. And soon she finds herself with a suitor, in the form of her similarly smart, edgy, emotionally wounded and otherwise reclusive neighbor. This is familiar ground for Miranda--she's been found, she's being pursued, and she can both outwardly disdain and inwardly enjoy the more-than-neighborly interest that is routinely on her doorstep. This is an admittedly lean social-, not to say romantic, diet Miranda is on (interesting that her seeker is a gifted farmer, who attempts to woo her with food). And for a while the kabuki between Miranda and Billy (the farmer with flare) creates the teasing tension of all charged romances. But Billy knows he wants more, and dares to break through the banter barrier. (No small feat for a guy whose favored read is the Maltese Falcon, in which the hero recruits reason and rules to overcome his attraction to a homicidal hottie). Yet despite Billy's declarations, Miranda continues to balk, until at some point the anesethesia of her social isolation is no longer enough. The question is, is Miranda willing to assume the active tense? Is it enough for her to wait for a second chance, or will she instead make things happen? Get the book and find out. You may be gently surprised at who that blue girl resembles.