This recent chapter remembering Cooper's and Emory's "lesson" is not a comfortable one with me.
Why?
I still find it just slightly out-of-character for Cooper.
Click here to read Heart and Soul, Chapter 6.
My first four books — Extracurricular; If It Weren't For the Two of Us; Hi, I'm Lance; Ascension: Jakob's Ladder — formed sort of a set with those four characters. When I started Coffee at 9, we still saw those characters, but I took Cooper out of Hi, I'm Lance and started an entirely new arc with new characters. When I wrote the chapter with Emory encouraging Cooper to be loud while making love, I wasn't wild about it.
Why?
Again, it wasn't something I felt Cooper would do. But it challenged me as an author. First, with the eroticism of the platform, there is some sort of "implied" sexual content for readers when you make a post. There is no real requirement, but it's the nature of what these stories are all about. Cooper wasn't having that much sex; he was trying to patch things up with Mitch, but there wasn't a LOT of sex happening. The friendship between Cooper and Emory had taken off. I didn't want to just have them hop into bed ... because. There needed to be a reason for Cooper to do that. Emory's "lesson" was a way for there to logically be an opportunity that also furthered the plot.
Click here to read Coffee at 9, Chapter 7.
But since I decided to write it in, I needed to make it have consequences. Cooper, even though it accomplished what it was supposed to, regretted it. That was a continuous emotion he wrestled with. So much so that he hated keeping secrets from his partner. He really felt he had to confess to Laramie.
Click here to read Laramie, Chapter 23.
And now, with this chapter, we see the flip side. Chapter 6 won't be a favorite chapter of mine.
Why?
Because it is simply reflection of context we have seen before in previous stories. I kept it brief, so there isn't necessarily anything "new." However, I felt it important in showing the truth behind Emory's and Don's relationship that it would be something that troubled Emory unless he got it out in the open.
Hopefully, showing the open honesty between the two men still made for worthwhile reading.
That's disappointing. It's like you paint it as something dirty and wrong, when it's just sometimes we do that with others and regret it. Thankfully it was moved past.
ReplyDeleteWhile it wasn't "new" in terms of what happened, it was a good fit in showing the growth of Emery's relationship with Don. It was good that you included it.
ReplyDeleteLarry and Don don't seem to care. I can understand the need to get it out but Cooper from the writing had an underlying sense of enjoyment. The guilt Emory has hopefully will no longer appear in the writing. I don't agree it's dirty to bring this up in a chapter, but do agree it is tiresome when clearly everyone has moved past it like they did with Mitch. It's like the confrontation between Mitch and Larry in the other book, it was like Larry wanted it to be in the past and did everything to be supportive of Mitch and Mitch accepted that. But Emory's memory of Cooper and him having sex should be put to bed for everyone as it's clear Emory has no desire to repeat that. What Cooper did with Emory to me was totally fine, lesson learned, now let's move on.
ReplyDeleteBravo to Emory. Honesty is the most important thing in a relationship. Shedding any secrets is a good move. Don is just a prince.
ReplyDeleteI have loved almost all of your stories. The original Emory/Cooper scene was maybe the only one that didn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteI think the encounter works. There are plenty of guys I messed around with who were friends first and/or remained friends after - not in a long-term friends-with-benefit way, just a "sometimes gay dudes fuck their friends" way. My husband has several friends who he'd slept with before we got together, too. I'd say this is definitely a real aspect of the gay experience for a lot of guys.
ReplyDelete