Family Dynamics

 

Since creating the last post, a few chapters have gone by. So much of it deals with Laramie’s relationship with his family.

Click here for Laramie, Chapter 4
Click here for Laramie, Chapter 5
Click here for Laramie, Chapter 6

You don’t have to be gay to have weird family dynamics. More than anything, politics can be so divisive. As can religion — or the lack of — which can cause its share of turmoil.

When writing my characters, I feel they play more authentically when you understand the complete picture. Family is a part of that. Lance and Mike are fortunate to have wonderfully supportive parents. I wish had more reasons to bring in Lance’s father to stories, as I really liked him. Coming out has its own moment of shock, so I addressed that with Trent and Cooper. Then there are tales like Jakob’s. I wish those were so remotely rare, but I fear it may not be as uncommon as we think.

Laramie’s story becomes more intertwined with family. I hinted at many things in Coffee at 9. Laramie opened up to Cooper. Their relationship grew from being able to share. Those spoken-of hints from the previous book might serve as minor spoilers, but the true nature of Laramie’s environment comes from those entanglements of family, which is why for his story to be fully told, those experiences are fleshed out. We all know where they eventually lead him. And soon.

From tidbits many of my readers have shared, there is both support and family drama in their own lives. My hearts especially go out to those readers who feel they just can’t possibly reveal who they truly are. It is too simplistic to say, “No matter how traumatic it may seem, you can finally be the person you really are. That terrifying moment is over.” But not every situation is as easy as that. If those people just need an anonymous person to unload on, I’m just an email away. The gay phrase, “It gets better,” is true.

Laramie’s family will continue to mold his environment through the end of the book. There is much more to develop in the chapters ahead.

Someone might wonder about me. What’s my family like? Ironically, the most supportive one in the whole group was my father, who was a preacher. The rest are not homophobic necessarily, but they are not “fans.” They accept, they tolerate. They don’t hate. But … not fans. It is what it is, and I’m grateful I am not pushed away.

We can’t choose who our family is — which was the theme of Trent’s play, The Brutal Reality — but there is the family we choose, and those people are worth a million dollars. Surround yourself with friends who love you and love who you are.

Blessings to all.

Timothylane414@gmail.com

Freddy

 

Chapter 3 introduces the character of Freddy.

Click here to read Laramie, Chapter 3.

This is a heart-breaking chapter, as we feel the circumstances of two people that are so right for each other, but the love is “not to be.”

When I first wrote this chapter, it wasn’t necessarily my intention to make Freddy a principal character, but even though they say goodbye at the end of the chapter, we haven’t seen the end of Freddy just yet. I don’t say that as a spoiler but as a point that oftentimes previous loves can remain true friends in people’s lives. I am grateful that my first love is still one of my closest friends. We text frequently each week.

Life can be cruel, so I tried to write that painful unfairness into this chapter.

Three books ago, I had readers pleading for Lance and Trent to get together. Lance was in a similar situation. Had Trent never walked into Mike’s classroom, the two very well could have ended up together. Fate had other plans.

I should point out something here that really separates Laramie from the previous five books: specificity. When I began the first story, I didn’t have any long-range plans to keep writing them (that’s for sure), but when I opted to post it publicly, I realized I didn’t want a real city. Jackson Bend became a convenience because I never wanted anyone to read my work and say “I live there, and it isn’t like that at all.” Part of me regrets that, but I realize it truly is of no consequence either way. By the time Coffee at 9 was winding down and I knew I really wanted to do Laramie’s full story, I became aware that it would make much more sense if I put actual years to chapters, so people could follow along and file things away in context. With that, I made a very specific reference (a movie) in Coffee at 9 that placed that book in 2022. Once I opened that box, I needed to continue it with this story.

There are mentions of early iPhones, and when I placed a year on the chapter, it astonished me that iPhones are still relatively young in the grand scheme of things.

There is a serious drawback to putting actual dates on things. I’m going to eventually pinpoint the present day. When writing the Jackson Bend series, I wanted it to exist in its own fictional world. Now, with it actually being in a calendar context, my plans of keeping it “timeless” is fractured somewhat. I still don’t want to enter politics into the story, nor do I want to make the global pandemic an intrusive plot point. Readers are going to have to forgive me in that regard. It’s not like I wish to gloss over the reality of so many tragic family circumstances the pandemic brought, but it just didn’t move the plot as I desired, so perhaps this is more of a COVID-free multiverse thing.

But back to Freddy. We’ll see him again. With each chapter, we see new people shaping Laramie’s life. It makes the complete story multifaceted. Freddy and Laramie weren’t just a hookup or “exploration.” They formed a deep love, a real bond, that I wasn’t just going to let go.

Stay tuned.

Discoveries

 

With two chapters underway, Laramie’s youthful experiences take him through high school.

Click here to read Laramie, Chap. 2

In Coffee at 9, he had entrusted Cooper with tales of his past. Over dinner he noted the events that were written of in this chapter.

Click here to read “August,” Chap. 7 of Coffee at 9.

Having written the previous five books, I have found it very touching to hear from readers who have connected with the characters. After reading, Hi, I’m Lance, several readers wrote to me that either they or a family member was involved in the AA program. With Coffee at 9, I was intrigued with the number of gay fathers that reached out.

I’m curious about Laramie’s tale. As they got to know each other, Cooper and Laramie shared their deep secrets. Laramie confessed he had always had bad luck with love. The barn scene in this chapter was one example. I’m curious if the readers out there have had some embarrassing experiences as well. Has anyone walked in on you? Have you walked in on anyone else?

Young sex is so infused with awkwardness and insecurity, things surely don’t go perfectly during initial experiences. As magical as it has the potential to be, too often shame and guilt and embarrassment are common adversaries of what could be wonderful first experiences.

Mine were … odd. It was too silent and unspoken of. As imperfect as they were, I can’t deny the impact they had on me.

I’d be interested to actually know how common sexual exploration among adolescent boys really is. I’m sure there are studies, and it is commonly believed that boys experiment together, but do we really know? I have no reference point of what heterosexual men who “fiddled around” feel later in life when they reflect upon those youthful moments of exploration.

Regardless, these are fictional characters. While the words are put together to tell a story, we all can recall what feelings of our own that were real.

Make a comment or email me: timothylane414@gmail.com