Laramie: The Conclusion

 

Hello everyone. This has been an emotional journey. When I finished Coffee at 9, I thought it just might be the best thing I could ever attempt to write. Judging by feedback, many of you put Laramie right up there with it. It’s just downright humbling.

And sort of sad.

Yes, I hate to see it come to an end. When I began posting Book Six, I feared that the split narrative would be annoying to readers, and the time leaps would be too big. It would appear that you all were fine with it — or at least didn’t email me to give me grief. Thank you for being flexible so that this book could have its own writing style.

Click here to read the final chapter, Chapter 24.

For this story to make sense, I had to include dates. I had never done that before. When I did Extracurricular during the pandemic, 2020 was my reference point, and things just flowed from there. Projecting Laramie and Corey and Cooper into the “future” is slightly quirky, but mentally, the dates are just placeholders. Technically, I could have backed it all up four years. But with Lance’s AA meetings and Trent’s journal, it all just worked this way. I just planned all along to end it with Corey's graduation.

I’ll share with you that when I write something and continue to the end of the story, I usually don’t go back to proofread it until it is time for that chapter to be posted. It had been close to half a year since I read this final chapter. Sure, I knew how it ended, but some of the details were refreshed in my mind as I went through it — and I enjoyed it! I hope you felt it was a satisfying conclusion too.

While we have given Laramie a complete arc to his story, there were moments with other characters that touched me personally as well. I liked seeing Judith in this last chapter. I liked revisiting Lance’s insecurities and the love shared between him and Jakob. Roman made another appearance, as did Laramie's father. I enjoyed bringing these people into the conclusion.

So, thank you, thank you once again for your support. There truly are no words that can convey how much it means to hear your kind and thoughtful comments — and predictions and wishes and criticisms. If these characters seem real to you, then I know we have something in common. I care about them, fictious as they are.

But are we really saying goodbye to them? Nope, not really.

With Books Seven and Eight in the works, we will definitely see these people again.

So, here is some information about those two stories.

Book Seven is Mitchell’s book. I’ve provided slight hints into this story. It will be very challenging as Mitch is the one who cheated on Cooper. But he still has a story of his own. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you will give him a second chance. Book Seven’s title is Say Goodbye to Sparkleland. Yep, it is my weirdest title, to be sure. It will make sense as it unfolds.

Book Eight will be my first foray into “College” stories. Okay sure, Books One and Two had the last few months of Trent’s and Lance’s years, but this story starts with Corey and Aiden as freshmen. It will have its own take as well (as each of my stories typically have a niche of their own). This book is called A Bed, A Desk and My Unfortunate Soulmate. So many readers have become attached to Corey as he has grown up. Our little valedictorian is still fairly messed up and insecure, so he and Aiden have a journey together.

Mitch's book will probably be a little more sexually charged, while the young men going to college will have a deeper story about friendship. Of course, there will be erotic passages in both and also emotional reflection in each.

If you are not on my notification list and would like to know when these new stories begin, please drop me an email: timothylane414@gmail.com

Both stories are in the works — and I would never recommend working on two stories at once, but I’m “into” both stories currently. They have a long way to go. I prefer to be finished before I start posting. We’ll see how long that takes. It won’t be August. But I hope early fall. In the meantime, your emails are still always welcome.

Thank you, my friends. You are the best.