{"id":942,"date":"2014-09-25T22:38:23","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T06:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/?p=942"},"modified":"2014-09-27T10:00:43","modified_gmt":"2014-09-27T18:00:43","slug":"the-problem-with-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=942","title":{"rendered":"The Problem With Time…"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Problem With Time –\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/h1>\n

So I haven’t made any bones about the fact that my very first novel ends on a cliff hanger. Yeah, untested me putting out a book that is one of a series. And I’ve asked my readers to invest in a character that I absolutely love but put through a fucking ringer. It’s just how the story goes.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The cover to my first novel – Angels of Mercy – Volume One: Elliot<\/p><\/div>\n

I know I also said that the story will be what it’s gonna be. No apologies, no regrets.<\/p>\n

Yeah, here’s the deal: I still want it to be on its best possible feet. I want quality. While I am writing book two I’ve sort of realized that I am going to probably have book two right on the heels of the first book. It means that I might delay the release a bit so I can have book two right around the corner.<\/p>\n

That’s sort of disappointing. But I think it might be the right thing to do to give my first baby the lift it needs to have best chance possible to reach and find its audience. I know that I said I wasn’t so concerned with sales. To a great degree that’s true. I’d rather have readers who absolutely love the work rather than pedestrian ‘meh’ reviews and following.<\/p>\n

I am still tightening the first one. But here’s the current dilemma: each book is told from a different character. So how to tell an engaging story that goes incredibly dark but never loses its thread of hope that all will eventually work out, AND tell it in a manner where you are covering a story that is actually much larger than the first book presents.<\/p>\n

It all has to do with time. And time in this case is\u00a0not<\/em> my friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you think this is sudden, Els. But I\u2019ve watched you for two years now. I know what people say; I\u2019ve heard the rumors, too. But I can\u2019t deny it any more; you do it for me, Donahey. Always have; from the moment I saw you on my first day at Mercy High.”<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Those words from the football quarterback jock boyfriend, Marco Sforza, is what gives the story its depth. It is what gives it is weight, its history. Which is something else he also says to the love of his life, Elliot.<\/p>\n

So when I approached the second book (told from Marco’s perspective) I had the dilemma of do I pick up right from where the cliff hanger ends in book one or do I do what I wanted to do and go back those two years before and actually give the reader what I think the story needs.<\/p>\n

While I start out with Elliot starting the story, I always felt it was Marco’s tale to tell. I just wanted you to fall in love with the love of his life so that by the time you get to Marco’s voice, you already know why he loves the man he loves. As a reader, you’ve spent the first book wrapped up in Elliot’s head. If I’ve done my work right you’ll walk away from a very complex and topsy turvy world that Elliot must navigate just to make it to the next day.<\/p>\n

The first book is chock full of sexual situations, I didn’t want to shy away from that because that’s how hormonally charged teenaged boys are. My work will always have that honesty in it. My men will always behave like men do. Sex, while not the whole story, when present it does advance the story. It is not there to titillate or make anyone blush. I made sure that the sexual situations had the boys growing from the experiences (good or bad) each time it occurs.<\/p>\n

But yeah, time…<\/p>\n

So the second book (as it currently stands) goes back two years rather than answer the question that would be on my readers minds. They’re gonna have to wait a bit to get there – why? Because it is important that Marco have his say as much as I know he needs to.<\/p>\n

One of the major thrusts of the book is that I wanted the jock in the story to go against type. Marco never questions his love for Elliot (well, not by the time he makes his move anyway). BUT he does quite a bit of second guessing prior to making his move to bring Elliot into his life. Though even in that, it’s not in the way you would think. Marco questions his motives not because isn’t sure about his feelings for Elliot (because he’s actually quite sure about that from the first moment he sees him), but because of something in his own past that colors on whether he thinks he’s the best thing for Elliot – better to love from afar and not cause any damage, than to bust into his life and make a real mess of things. So Marco really is one of the good guys, but to see that you have to get his whole story and a good part of that is how he gets to that moment that starts in book one (where he seduces Elliot). So in a real way Marco’s part of the story is as much a commentary on how gay men (from all walks of life) come to the realization of what it means to be gay in a hetero-sexist world – of what it’s like to swim upstream your whole life.<\/p>\n

And Marco is a character that seems to have it all going his way – he’s sexy, he’s gorgeous, he’s rich, he’s a jock – but we soon learn that his world isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either. Marco needs Elliot to give him balance in his own upside down world. These boys need each other. Only when they’re together is the world right for either of them.<\/p>\n

But the romance is only a part of the whole deal. There’s the ever looming threat of homophobia, which is ever present in Elliot’s book, the threat of each boy failing the other – Homecoming is a night that everyone would rather forget and one where not everything is what it seems. A lot went on that night – far more than meets the eye.<\/p>\n

But it’s a big story, a complex story. But one that I am finding so rewarding to write. I love my boys, I love the secondary characters (Nick and Angus are my absolute favorite characters that I never saw coming but just blossomed on the page before my eyes).<\/p>\n

So yeah, it’s a risk – pulling the reader back from the brink of the cliff at the end of book one, then shoot back two years and retell it all from Marco’s POV. But i can’t think of doing it any other way that would work. I toyed with starting it on the same day as the cliff hanger from the first book and then retell the historical elements as flashbacks but that seemed too contrived. It just seemed like a sell out, a cheap way to do it.<\/p>\n

The hubby said I should not concern myself with the wheres and whyfores – and just put it all down. So yeah, I’m taking his advice on this one. He’s my Marco anyway (played for Clemson back in the day – so yeah, I married a football player myself so Marco and Elliot are sort of rooted in my own world too). Maybe he’s right.<\/p>\n

Only time will tell…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Problem With Time –\u00a0 So I haven’t made any bones about the fact that my very first novel ends on a cliff hanger. Yeah, untested me putting out a book that is one of a series. And I’ve asked my readers to invest in a character that I absolutely love but put through a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[377,270,216,234,5,4,199,198,3,32,169,145,18,325],"tags":[68,392,67,395,66,393,265,51,394],"class_list":["post-942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-authors-voices","category-gay-community","category-journey","category-language","category-mm-lovefest","category-homoerotica","category-male-feelings","category-men","category-novel-writing","category-pathos","category-social-issues","category-words-have-power","category-writing","category-young-adult-realities","tag-angels-of-mercy","tag-angus-carr","tag-elliot-donahey","tag-hormonally-charged-teens","tag-marco-sforza","tag-nick-donahey","tag-novel-series","tag-novel-writing-2","tag-series"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75tPU-fc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1088,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1088","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":0},"title":"Our Dirty Little Secrets – Part 2","author":"S A Collins","date":"November 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Our Dirty Little Secrets - Part 2 \u00a0 \u00a0 My on-going conversation with Savannah Smythe\/Jayne Lockwood on the craft of writing, how gay authors are under represented in our own literary house, and my forthcoming novel - Angels of Mercy. Check them out over at the following locations - Savannah\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"Author pal - Jayne Lockwood\/Savannah Smythe","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/jayneicon_orig.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":665,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=665","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":1},"title":"My Character’s Meanderings… the road less traveled","author":"S A Collins","date":"August 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Character Meanderings -or- How all the planning in your life can't prepare you for the surprises your main character has in store for you... It goes a little like this... You never really know what surprises are in store when you write a novel (or a series - like I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Characters Reimagined"","block_context":{"text":"Characters Reimagined","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=94"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lovely footballers going at it...","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/feature18-300x137.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1813,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1813","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":2},"title":"BOOK RELEASE – Angels of Mercy – Volume Two: Marco (The Fall of the Sforzas)","author":"S A Collins","date":"November 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"BOOK RELEASE - Angels of Mercy - Volume Two: Marco (The Fall of the Sforzas) Hey all! I know it's been a helluva long time since I've posted. It hasn't been for not wanting to. I've had LOTS to say on stuff. Some of which I did on other blogs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"Angels of Mercy - Volume Two: Marco AVAILABLE NOW!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AoMv2Cvr_Marco_Comp_blogsize500.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1860,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1860","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":3},"title":"Embracing the Improbable","author":"S A Collins","date":"February 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Embracing the Improbable It shouldn't exist. I never intended it to exist, yet, there it is. \u00a0 \u00a0 What am I babbling about now? My next release - Angels of Mercy \u2013 Phoenix in the Fire\u00a0(due March 2016). The book ostensibly is a work of fiction in and of itself.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/els01_500px.jpg?fit=378%2C500&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1652,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1652","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":4},"title":"Angels of Mercy – Volume One: Elliot RELEASED!","author":"S A Collins","date":"March 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It's official \u00a0 Angels of Mercy \u2013 Volume One: Elliot (His Summer of Love) \u00a0 is NOW available! \u00a0 (Already labelled a BEST-SELLER in pre-sales!) \u00a0 My first serious work that began over a year ago and I can't believe it's release is finally here! \u00a0 You can find it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover artwork for Angels of Mercy - Volume One: Elliot","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/AoMPrintCoverMaster-300x206.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":860,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=860","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":5},"title":"Rattling the (Emotive) Cages…","author":"S A Collins","date":"September 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Rattling the (Emotive) Cages \u00a0 So this one's a short rant - comparatively speaking. I've become frustrated over whether or not the work is ready. On one hand I feel really good about it all. Now that the cover is sort of put to bed (I'm happy with it), I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "geeking out"","block_context":{"text":"geeking out","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=261"},"img":{"alt_text":"The final cover artwork. 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