Funerals

For such a daunting subject, this chapter on funerals was one of my favorites.

Often, I can't wait to jump into a book, having written passages in my head months out. Other times, stories are more challenging. For instance, Mitchell was a cheater, so I knew many readers would resist a story about him, but he won them over. Likewise, the story with Emory, with him being retirement aged, was different than the majority of my work. People liked him as a secondary character, but could he carry a whole book?

What I like about Heart and Soul is that people knew from the flash forwards in Laramie, Say Goodbye to Sparkleland and My Unfortunate Soulmate that Emory and Don were together. I didn't need an entire book to let them fall in love. However, we just knew Don as a "nice man." We didn't have a true picture of Don.

As I got into the backstories of Emory and Don in previous chapters, the two seemed to be fleshed out some more with their own characteristics and traits. But it was this chapter with the funeral and in-depth look at men who helped shape Don that Heart and Soul really felt like it had heft. I felt strongly that the book had the direction it needed. It wasn't just "Emory needed his own story."

Not to mention, I know men in their 60s and 70s begin to see their longtime friends pass. It is sad, but it is reality — and the indirect blessing is it isn't THEIR funeral.

But I love the encounters in this chapter, both with the former coworker Roy and Tate's son. Certain chapters really touch me, and this one did. When I sat back after it was finished, I appreciated taking the route I did. It's a favorite.

Click here to read Heart and Soul, Chapter 5.

There have to be many "senior" gay men who never really found their true love, no matter how lovable and kind they are. Life isn't always fair when it comes to romance.