Step-Ball-Change » (Unabridged)

The author of three previous novels, Jeanne Ray works as a registered nurse at the Frist Clinic in Nashville, Tennessee. She is married and has two daughters. Together, she and her husband have ten grandchildren.

With a ringing phone, Jeanne Ray's charming and amusing novel gets off to a rollicking start that never lets up. Not for a minute. On the other end of the phone is Caroline's daughter, Kay, a public defender like her father, sobbing at the improbably good news that the richest, most eligible boy in Raleigh, North Carolina, has asked her to marry him. While Caroline and Tom are trying to digest this, the other phone, the "children's line," rings and it is Caroline's sister, Taffy, hysterical over her husband's decision to leave her for a woman two years younger than her daughter.

Soon Taffy is wending her way up from Atlanta to seek solace in her sister's home, even though the two have been separated by more than just geography for the past forty years. With her is her little dog, Stamp, who has a penchant for biting ankles and stealing hearts. Tom and Caroline quickly realize that the wedding their future son-in-law's family is envisioning for nine hundred-plus guests is their fiscal responsibility and, to top it all off, the foundation of their home is in danger of collapsing and their contractor and his crew have all but moved in. It's a thundering whirlwind of emotion that finally boils down to Who is in love with whom? and Who's going to get the next dance?

Publishers Weekly

Ray's snappy second novel takes place in a chaotic but comfortable Southern household led by an appealingly down-to-earth matriarch. Caroline McSwain, a dance instructor in her 60s, is sitting down to dinner with her devoted husband, Tom, a public defender, when two phones ring simultaneously to interrupt their rare moment of privacy. Ten minutes later, her estranged, flighty sister, Taffy, newly separated from her husband, has decided to come from Atlanta for an extended visit, with her nasty terrier in tow. And the McSwains' only daughter, Kay, has just gotten engaged to Trey Bennet, a member of Raleigh's bluest-blooded family, but she still hasn't gotten over Jack, a charming district attorney. Meanwhile, Caroline and Tom's home is undergoing what seems like a never-ending renovation, eating up their retirement fund. Kay's wedding plans get complicated (and expensive); Caroline and Taffy start finding common ground; even the terrier calms down, thanks to Woodrow, a contractor who has taken a shine to Taffy. Caroline is an endearing narrator, realistic and self-deprecating; when things start to get out of control, her love for her family helps her to keep things on track. Although Ray (Julie and Romeo) allows the sap level to rise a little too high as the inevitable picture-perfect ending rolls around, she has a gift for lively dialogue that makes the characters (Caroline and Tom especially) snap into place. 7-city author tour. (May) Forecast: The cheerily romantic Julie and Romeo has sold nearly half a million copies. Ray mines similar ground here and can expect a warm reception from her fans. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.