Andy Upchurch and The Oleanders of San Leon

I'm not sure if Andy Upchurch is an author, a sailor, a musician, a carpenter or a pirate. I know he built a house, played music with at least one rock n' roll legend, Chuck Berry, sailed in the open sea, performs with a band, Andy and the Dreamsicles and fantisized of finding buried treasure as he cleared the jungle that would one day be his home. I learned all this by reading his first book, The Oleanders of San Leon, a book purportedly written about building a house.

One thing that will become absolute truth to the reader is that he is a magnificent story-teller. When I heard that the book is about building a house, my eyes glazed over and I thought; how can I tell him I'm not interested in reading a "how to" book. Instead, I listened to his presentation at a local library and gambled on buying a copy.

It met my simple standard! I read a few pages and couldn't put it down. The Oleanders of San Leon is a story about a man and his adventures, told as entertainingly as Mark Twain told us about Tom and Huck.

So why do I say I'm not sure if he's an author? It's not because he's not talented! It's because I've visited with him since reading his book, and to date, he's evasive about whether another one is in his future. So, if you decide to read The Oleanders of San Leon and you like it, which I'm sure of, may I suggest that you encourage him to get busy! We need to hear more from a guy with such story-telling talent.

Check him out at http://theoleandersofsanleon.com/#  where you can see photos of his home, known as, you guessed it, The Oleanders of San Leon.