Well, it is obvious now that Jakob is a character that is going to take on a role that impacts Lance's life. Just how that transpires will be laid out in the chapters ahead. There are so many questions. Do they attempt a relationship? They are from two different worlds — can it even work? Is it worth the risks in their first year of sobriety? Can they possibly be right for each other? Or is it two friends being there for each other when they need it? Baggage can be weighty.
Read Hi, I'm Lance [Chap. 6] Meeting No. 9 here.
While this book is completely written, posting a chapter at a time lets an author go back and refine things here or there. Even though I've gone through the book twice in terms of the writing process, I still add and tweak things each week before it is posted. More importantly, my readers — you! — can create an edge to a chapter or character I might not have imagined. It happened in If It Weren't For the Two of Us and now recently a reader has created a whole new dynamic in this book as well. Thank you for your feedback. It makes my day to hear from you. [You can always comment below, even anonymously. Email is welcome too.]
With six chapters in, any early thoughts on Jakob? Or Cooper or Ophelia or the AA meetings? It's funny, Mike and Trent were the main characters when all this started. Then Lance grew on me. With this book, all the other characters grew on me as I developed them. There is so much more ahead; I'm very excited to share it with you.
It took me this long to realize that when my chapters are posted, things are slightly different than when seen on my screen. When I type a flashback, I always use blue and a different font. I do feel you can differentiate on the font, but I had no idea the blue was replaced by black text in the post. Hmph. Ah well. All my artistic nuances apparently can't be in play.
Another great chapter. I'll be very interested to see how Lance's friendship/relationship with Jakob develops. It's good that Trent is being somewhat supportive of Lance's new friend, even if he doesn't totally approve.
ReplyDeleteIncredible. Beautifully handled. No, a new AA should not start a relationship, but Lance handled it.
ReplyDeleteTimothy,
ReplyDeleteI like Jakob. I do. I think Lance feels sorry for him, which is nice, but they are totally wrong for each other. I don't see how they could work. But I do hope Jakob turns out okay.
There are many things that I really enjoyed about the most recent chapter. I like to see Lance becoming more authentic and self aware. I was particularly moved by Lance asking Jakob to sleep with him and hold him. More importantly, he wants him to sleep in a bed...that caring stuff is greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Jakob (I like the name w a "K"), his story and your taking up the issue of alcohol use and abuse is courageous. His wanting to reconnect with his family and waiting for a text is awesome. I also liked that he is worried he has a small penis. Rarely do we discuss the impact of size of the penis, less so within Nifty, so thats really cool. That stark difference between him and lance would be interesting to see...and how they all need to come to peace that size doesnt matter.
I really like Jakob. The poor man has had a terrible time but is a really nice guy despite it all. It's also good for Lance to be caring about someone whose problems make his own (which are severe enough) look mild!
ReplyDeleteI hope the new friendship develops and in time becomes something more, but never less.