Glimpses of the Future

So, did you see it? Within this chapter was the title of the book, spoken by Logan during the session.

Click here to read Say Goodbye to Sparkleland, Chapter 21.

Having finished all of Mitchell’s previous lovers, his black book is now obsolete and his path lies ahead. Or will any of them come back???

We do have a few glimpses into the future.

Just a few months from where we are in this chapter, we know that Mitchell will be at Laramie’s birthday party.

See it in Laramie, Chapter 20.

It was a touching scene that I wrote almost a year ago. I knew that I was going to put Mitchell in therapy before I started writing Sparkleland, and that chapter was the right time and place, even though it wasn't Mitchell's book.

Further on in Laramie, we hear for the first time that Mitchell has found someone.

See Laramie, Chapter 23.

In the following chapter, we know Mitchell is back in the lives of Cooper and Corey because he is at Corey’s high school graduation.

Find Laramie, Chapter 24 here.

Had that been all I ever wrote about Mitchell, it would have served its purpose that the two former lovers were able to reconcile a friendship. But telling it from Mitchell's point of you is much richer in detail.

The first mention of “L.B.” was found in A Bed, A Desk and My Unfortunate Soulmate, Chapter 3.

Click to find Soulmate, Chapter 3.

L.B. was also at Cooper’s and Laramie’s wedding. I loved writing that scene.

See Soulmate, Chapter 4.

It is a lot for any reader to keep up with — as it is for me! — but it is kind of fun to go back and see how it all gets woven together. I’m trying to make sure it all fits as it should.

More than anything, there is optimism in Mitch’s life as seen in these flash forwards from the other books.

It was so easy for us to hate Mitch for cheating. If Laramie's story (and even Cooper's) was for the character to accept who they were as a person, then Mitchell's narrative is he has to allow himself to be human — and that goes for the reader too. It's easy to hate the cheater, but to find the human being under the mistake demands more of us.

Hope on the horizon is a good thing ... for all of us.

The Collapse

This chapter was rather hard to write.

When I started Sparkleland, I knew I was fighting an uphill battle. So many people didn’t want to give Mitchell a chance. Those willing to invest in his backstory have learned to empathize with him more than they thought they could — or so I’ve been able to determine by responses from readers. But here we are at his huge mistake, his total downfall.

Click here to read Say Goodbye to Sparkleland, Chapter 20.

I think it is so easy for us as humans to draw lines in the sand when it comes to pointing fingers when someone does something wrong. Second chances aren’t always easy — to receive or to offer. When someone crosses the line, too often, they aren’t ever given a second chance.

Not that I’ve had any real-life interactions with someone released from prison who has turned their life around, but when I see or read those stories, they move me in incredible ways. Such challenges are not easy. There are way too many people who don’t want to give someone with a criminal background a second chance.

And here’s Mitchell. He knew he blew it. He knew he made the biggest mistake of his life. It probably isn't too hard to relate. Not that everyone has cheated (and I don't mean to imply that) but everyone has probably done something they truly regret. Mitch's indiscretion was big, but all of us wish we could do something over.

So, when I wrote this chapter, I knew it had to be painful. Just as when Jakob (in a drunken state) encountered his sister at the art fair, this chapter had to cut deep just like that. If we don’t feel Mitchell’s pain, we can’t give him a second chance. We can hate that he made the mistake — we can hate the mistake itself — but it is up to us to see if we are able to forgive him.

I think of Aiden here, being the bigger person to forgive Slater in Soulmate. Aiden often said, “Everyone deserves forgiveness.” Now we’ll see among the readers who can do so.

No matter how many more books I might write — if any! — I won’t do a background story again. Jakob’s was very hard to do in Ascension: Jakob’s Ladder. But I had given so much of his background details in the previous book, Hi, I’m Lance. I had to go back and flesh it out. Even Laramie’s past was touched upon in Coffee at 9, so that all had to fit into Book Six. This is the third time I’ve had to let the past “catch up.” It’s challenging and demanding and draining. Not that we won’t ever learn about characters’ backgrounds. We will. That’s just vital to a story. I just won’t align canon so strictly.

What really excites me now is the second arc of the book can begin. What happens post-Cooper? I’ve made teases, but now the fun begins. I hope you enjoy it.

Mitchell and Cooper

I’ll start this off with a confession. Most of you know I was writing Books Seven and Eight at the same time. When Laramie ended, I knew I was going to start Say Goodbye to Sparkeland. I had teased it in Chapter 18 with a red M-7. Readers knew a Mitch story was coming.

Read the beginning of Laramie, Chapter 18, by clicking here.

But by the book’s conclusion, Corey had developed SO MUCH, I was all into writing about him and Aiden too. So, the two books were being written at the same time, even if in different time frames. Book Seven was still in “2023,” And Book Eight followed Corey’s high school graduation.

But with two books happening together, I realized there would be a distinct difference. With Mitch’s black book as the format for chapters, I knew it would be a lot of sex. That didn’t interest me for the college boys. Sure, A Bed, A Desk and My Unfortunate Soulmate didn’t shy away from sexual topics, but a lot of it was dialogue and youthful exploration. Mitch’s book is a bit more hardcore. My confession is the black book was a “cheat.” There is no requirement from this type of platform on the amount of sex that must be included, but the reader has some level of expectation. Mitch’s book made it easy to get through his background and have some steamier scenes. Still, the main purpose was to build his backstory on his way to Cooper and the story that took place in Coffee at 9.

With this chapter, we have caught up. Mitch has mentioned Cooper in his sessions with Logan, but now Cooper (whom we all know) is in the picture. We knew what was going to happen. Now everything unravels for Mitchell, and we see where he goes from there.

Click here to read Say Goodbye to Sparkleland, Chapter 19.

What is challenging for me with this chapter is going back to reference material I wrote two years ago. And no, I don’t have it all memorized. To be honest, when I do go back to reference, I will get caught up in what I’ve written in the past and relive why I loved those characters those many months ago. It’s good for me to go back now and then. But I did paint myself into a corner when I keep adding on to the stories that have been previously told. It’s a curse of consistency at this point. But the interwoven stories are what brought me here — and brought us together.

Looking forward, I have a lot to get excited about. Yes, there is still pain, but an abundance of character development is on the horizon for Mitchell. We’ve seen the briefest of snippets in Books Six and Eight: Mitchell rejoining coffee at 9, Laramie’s birthday card, the mysterious LB, etc. I’m excited to bring it to you in the weeks ahead.

Food Group

It certainly isn't just the gay community. There are niche groups among all people, one can assume. But just a mere glance and pornography and it is easy to find certain groups catering to people's "tastes." There are leather, "raw," piercings, three-ways, tattoos, toys, "daddies," etc., etc. My writings touch upon these from time to time, but more than anything else, I enjoy writing about simple love between mainstream men.

That said, after the previous, short-but-funny chapter, (if you missed it: Sparkleland Chap. 16) this newest chapter really depicts a strong, intense character. I don't want to use the word fetish, but his love of food does make the sexual intimacy among the two of them ... memorable.

Click here to read Say Goodbye to Sparkleland, Chapter 17.

For those of us who have had multiple partners, there are bound to be ones we remember who had their own quirks and "preferences."

I've never been a particular "foodie." I can enjoy expensive food or artistically-prepared food. But I can enjoy fajitas and a burger and fries as well as the next person. Food is food. Yet I do have friends who find the allure of elegant cuisine to be fascinating.

One thing I liked about Santos was his desire to bring Mitchell into his world. And at the same time, he could enjoy a hot dog at the bowling alley. When two people really commit to a partner, being a part of each other's world can be a wonderful thing. Even if one person isn't into a hobby or favorite thing to do, being able to share one's world is a gift.