The Bet and The Wedding

 

Some of you may wonder how my books come together. My “process” is to have a vague outline of where I want the chapters to go, and I typically have an ending in mind (except for my very first story, which was kind of cliffhanger-esque, but at least Extracurricular was hopeful). For A Bed, A Desk and My Unfortunate Soulmate, I knew where I wanted to take the story and some key things that would happen along the way, but the framework was skeletal, to say the least. I had many more details thought out for Say Goodbye to Sparkleland.

When Laramie ended, Corey had grown into such a formidable character, I wasn’t ready to just let him drift off — and a “college” story challenged me. His and Aiden’s dynamic was interesting too, and I loved their friendship. I was totally ready to jump into this story right away, although Book Seven already had a few chapters written.

Click here to read Chapter 7, A Bed, A Desk and My Unfortunate Soulmate.

So … this bet. It was never in the outline. In fact, none of the supporting characters were. Once Geoff, Sam, Ace and others were introduced, more plot threads wove together. As their personalities were more fleshed out, things began to come alive. The whole bet between Ace and Sam was an idea that popped into my head. It was fun to write, but I knew it had to further the plot as well. The characters have to evolve. I just had to place a young version of me in that room and ask what impact seeing such a wacky spectacle would have on me. What would I feel? That night will still have an impact on a certain character.

Another surprise for me was the character of Slater. He was supposed to be a momentary plot device — an ass — early in the book. Making him into something more has been rewarding for me as the author too.

And then the wedding…

Before submitting Chapter 4, I had intended to place yet another apology at the top in the opening remarks. For any readers who just started with Book Eight and didn’t really know the development of Cooper’s and Laramie’s relationship, there is a whole bunch of sentimental fluff in this chapter. I am so sorry to the new readers. You may have no idea who all these people at the wedding are — and I encourage you to find out in the previous stories — but I hope you feel like a guest at the wedding of Corey’s fathers and enjoy what’s going on (like Aiden’s parents).

For those of you who have been with me since seeing Cooper introduced in Hi, I’m Lance, develop into a strong enough character to deserve his own book, Coffee at 9, and then form a new family with Laramie and Corey, you are probably saying, “FINALLY! At last!”

For the many, many people who were hoping for a wedding way back in Laramie, I hope you are pleased with how it turned out. I have to admit, even as the person who wrote it, when I went back to reread it all, my eyes would water as well. Cooper and Laramie are special to me. I love all my characters, but these guys…

Ironically, when I started Book Six, I knew it was NOT going to end in a wedding. I didn’t want all my stories to become Hallmark movies. For Laramie, it was about him becoming his whole self. That was the conclusion. I didn’t want weddings to become the default conclusion. That was too predictable. However, in the course of their relationship, it did indeed make sense for the two of them. Its impact on Corey’s life made it logical to include it in this book as Corey begins to form his own adulthood. And Aiden.

Also, once I knew Corey was going to get his own book, it was clear Cooper and Laramie weren’t being left behind. I planned for the wedding before Book Six ended, but I intended to keep my original planned ending for Laramie.

I hope how all things have turned out are fine with you. Let me know.