I would have to assume those that have read the most recent chapter of Hi, I'm Lance also read the next-to-last chapter of If It Weren't For the Two of Us.
Click here to read Hi, I'm Lance, Meeting No. 90 [Chap. 28].
Upon seeing it was Mike and Trent's wedding, I hope you weren't feeling "That? Again?" Seeing it through the eyes of Lance and how it affects him hopefully differentiates the return to this event for you.
And so, Lance and Jakob are making big steps. They are almost a year into the relationship. However, they aren't there yet. They have plans to make, jobs to maintain, and ... Lance has yet to meet Anson. Stay tuned for all of it.
Since writing this chapter last year, I enjoyed going back prior to posting — as I always do — and adding some more character development. I loved revisiting Lance's thought processes and his questions on how Mike knew. Adding those touches to the chapter I think helped make it more well rounded.
There are two flashbacks in this chapter. The hot scene is from Trent's book, Chapter 14. The post car-wreck flashback took place in Chapter 30.
Do you feel it odd that Lance thought back to those scenes during the wedding? Or does it seem on target for watching someone whom you once loved getting married? In my mind, it seemed in tune with Lance's character.
One thing I didn't really elaborate on is Lance's reflection on Evan. His cousin considers Jakob and Lance to be the perfect couple. I suppose that might be something he will mention to Jakob "in the morning." Or maybe Evan's compliment didn't even sink in as Lance was worrying about him. I didn't determine that particular point. The reader can interpret Lance's reaction to Evan's slip-up however they wish.
I'm not surprised to find Lance flashing back to the last time he and Trent had sex. It's been pretty clear that they have powerful feelings for each other which show no signs of going away or even lessening. It's great that they've both found new relationships, but that doesn't make the old feelings go away.
ReplyDeleteNice to revisit the wedding and to see Lance and Jakob starting to consider a wedding of their own. Sorry that Evan is feeling down about his relationship issues with women. I wonder if he might be bisexual or closeted gay. Time will tell, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteWOW. You are an awesome author. The way you have tied the two stories together is amazing. I feel like you are a literary genius. I enjoy your storytelling and look forward to "books" 4 and 5 after we finish 3.
ReplyDelete- G.
You did a fantastic job with this chapter. Sounds like Evan is headed for a slippery slope, and Lance and Jakob will be there for him...such a wonderful chapter. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I just finished reading the chapter, and I have one thing to say: Evan... I sure hope he isn't going to be doing what his cousin did to himself. It's a happy thing that Lance saw what was happening and let Evan know that he needed to talk about stuff. I hope that Evan doesn't do anything really stupid. He doesn't need all that grief and pain in his life anyway.
ReplyDeleteI liked the Wedding scene from Lance's perspective. I felt it was a good way to see what he thought of the wedding. I am happy (and kinda shocked) that Lance proposed to Jakob (as only Lance can do in his own way). It didn't happen in If It Weren't for the Two of Us but I guess the reason was for the wedding in the other story was focusing on the two that were getting married. Still, I am happy that Lance and Jakob are engaged.
D.
D., believe it or not, it DID happen in "If It Weren't For the Two of Us," you just didn't know it.
ReplyDeleteDuring the wedding in the next to last chapter, Trent notes: I looked over out a side door. Lance and Jakob had stepped out to take a break. They were talking on the smaller gazebo. I would see them kiss and nod and hold each other. In a year and a half, Lance had matured in so many ways. There is still a bit of goofy, arrogant, playful Lance in him — and I’m glad. But he has found the right person that has made him the best version of Lance he could be.
If you compare it to "Hi, I'm Lance," that is the scene Trent is seeing from inside the barn.
I am loving your story "Hi, I'm Lance." Great characters. Great models of love. Great sex. And so cool that you're talking about sobriety.
ReplyDeleteRegarding sobriety, I was concerned when Lance said I am strong now. My experience in AA has been always giving credit to the higher power. When we feel too confident about ourselves, we might end up with complacency and think we are strong enough to just have one drink.
It sounds like you know a lot about sobriety, and I was just sharing my own experience.
- K.
Dear K.,
ReplyDeleteNot to give too much away, but I didn't want to build Lance up only to watch him get torn down. We have a few chapters left to go in this book, but I think the last paragraph will please you.
I love that you care about the characters.
Timothy
This may seem an odd question; but how completely do you feel you know the characters in your stories?
ReplyDeleteTolkien remarks in one of his letters that "a new character has come on the scene (I'm sure I did not invent him, I did not even want him, though I like him, but there he came walking into the woods of Ithilien)". And it seems more generally that he came to feel his role as author was to discern a pre-existing history and set it down in writing, with lots of surprises on the way. Other authors may perhaps have every detail of every character clear in their minds from the start with no surprises of any sort at all (for them, at least, if not for their readers). I'm curious as to where you might fall on such a spectrum.
In particular I wonder want kind of comments - other than positive - you hope for from your readers. If I was exchanging thoughts with another reader I could happily analyse the characters as they develop through the stories and agree (or not) with my correspondent's opinions. But you are THE AUTHOR and so your views are by definition (and literally, to use a frequently misapplied word) authoritative. Offering such analyses to you can feel a bit like presenting an essay to a teacher for approval or correction.
But if you, like Tolkien, are watching your characters develop then you might find such comments useful, or at least interesting.
C.
C.
DeleteWhat an incredible question! To answer it, I feel I need to unpack it and divide it into parts.
First, I feel I know my characters very well. I do have a general direction I want them to go. Often, they are created to help move the story along. But then they grow on me. The more I detail them, the more fascinating they become.
However, I don't know everything about them. Sometimes the characters evolve as the story develops. Take Lance. When I began this whole endeavor, I had unearthed "steamy" fiction I concoted years ago. The first two chapters of Extracurricular now make me cringe. Lance was just the "hot big dick guy." As the writing developed into an actual story, Lance's "just fooling around" mindset started to define who he was. In Book Two, I fell in love with writing his character. Wrestling with who he was and the development of a drinking problem became so fascinating, I knew I didn't want to let him go. I had planned from the beginning that Book Two would end with Mike and Trent being married. Lance was too interesting to let go, so I started developing the third book halfway through Book Two and wrote them side by side. I was going to stop writing following the "trilogy."
But then I just loved Jakob, whose story just begged to be told. I knew what Jakob's role was going to be when I introduced him, but developing his character was magical. There was something special about him.
Then Cooper needed his own book as his storyline evolved. I just completed Book Five and I feel it is my best.
This was a long answer to your question. Sorry. Hopefully the insight helps you get the sense of how I feel about these characters I've created. They do seem like real people in that I craft their personalities. Sometimes I suprise myself by how a character will change the narrative once I involve them.
Timothy