The year for Chapter 10 is 2022, so we’re catching up to Coffee
at 9.
Click here to read Chapter 10.
Enter Roman.
Those with good memories — and I would have to assume
virtually everybody reading Laramie has read Book Five (but maybe not) —
might recall that the events of this chapter are final bits that we saw Laramie
share in Coffee at 9. [“August,” Chapter 7]
I liked the scenes between Roman and Laramie a lot. Two
people simply longing for a connection. Alas, a connection wasn’t enough. They
really enjoyed each other’s company, but was Roman correct? Were they just
living in different circles? Could they have had a chance? In a multiverse world,
it would have been fun for me to explore this relationship.
So often when I’m writing a book, I unexpectedly get caught
up in a secondary character’s life. When writing If It Weren’t For the Two
of Us, Lance grew on me in a big way. Big. He’s still one of my favorite
characters (probably replaced by Laramie, but Laramie is fresh at the moment).
I decided to make a trilogy with the three main leads from the first book. Done.
Then Jakob became so wonderfully adorable, he needed a book, as did Cooper.
When I wrote Hi, I’m Lance, I inserted Cooper just to be another gay guy
with a drinking problem, but his story begged to be told by the end of Book
Three. I was just going to do Jakob’s story, but in my mind, I was picturing
where I could take Cooper’s story. And voila.
And then … Laramie shared so much of his past history in the
previous book, it was obvious I needed to do this one.
But back to Roman. As much as I really like this chapter, I
don’t feel the need to do a story about him. And (spoiler), we don’t see the
last of Roman. Knowing where he later is, I’m not sure I could really do a story
there. Some secondary characters are just best in that role. (And heaven knows
I already have three more books circulating in my brain — ENOUGH!)
I liked giving Roman his distinct characteristics. I am pleased that I — and hopefully you — picture each one of our men (and the ladies) as distinct individuals.
As rewarding as all this is, at some point you know and I
know that these fictious characters will run their course. We’ll see. For now,
my readers are such a huge blessing. If you are sick of hearing I appreciate you,
I’m sorry. But I do.
Next chapter … guess who?
Oh man. I loved it. I cried for Larry, and I cried for Roman. It was great. Thank you for sharing your talent with me.
ReplyDeleteDD
I just finished chapters 9 and 10. Whew! What an emotional roller-coaster! I am so emotionally attached to Laramie that I took this last break-up with Roman really hard--even though I know it was for the best. I feel sorry for both Laramie and Roman,
ReplyDeleteI think poor Larry is fucked up because of his relationship with his parents, shame on them. When he falls for someone he is so desperate for that connection, even if it is not good for him in the long run. That will be true with Cooper as well. His relationship all kind of hinged on Cooper's past and his decision. He almost lost out there too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your stories. You are very, very talented!
K.
K,
DeleteYou are so right! I think all of us are molded by our environments. How many therapists unearth things from our childhood! There's sooooo much ahead for our boy from Kansas.
Timothy
This was masterful story telling! So totally authentic and in sync with each character and quite believable. Elements of each personality I can relate to, and the sadness at the end of the chapter was real and inevitable, but not overdrawn. I'm so ready for Laramie to meet you-know-who, enough of the literary foreplay!
ReplyDeleteThanks for enriching my morning with your normalizing worldview on gay humanity. I'm going through a tough time, and this is such a breath of fresh air.
RR
While things were so hot between Laramie and Roman, I kept wondering what would go wrong,but when R diagnoses it, it seems crushingly obvious. Alas, L isn't ready to understand that it has nothing to do with his tastes being "garbage" or not "fancy" enough for R -- they're just too unrelated. It's too easy, as well as incorrect, to chalk it up to "not being good boyfriend material." Great as sexual compatibility is, if that's all you share, even if it comes with a decent amount of mutual respect, it's awfully hard to be "good boyfriend material" for someone who isn't "good boyfriend material" for you.
ReplyDelete