What if sexuality wasn’t a definable
thing and labels merely got in the way?
Nick Jones can’t remember a time when he
wasn’t part of the in crowd. Everywhere he goes, he stands out as the best
looking guy in the room, and women practically fall into bed with him. Then,
after kissing Corey on a dare led to much more and on many occasions, Nick’s
“screw anything” reputation escalated, but he didn’t care.
When Nick meets RC at the restaurant
where he works, it throws his whole life out of whack. Overweight, always
sweaty, gay, and hairy like a bear, RC lives up to his dubbed nickname “Scruffy
Dude.” He seems Nick’s complete opposite, but Nick can’t get him out of his
head.
Because of peer-pressure and his fears about
defining his sexuality, Nick struggles with stepping out of his comfort zone
and caring about someone different than himself. If he’s lucky, somewhere
between arrogance and ignorance, Nick might find out what it means to be an
adult, but if he’s wrong, he could lose everything.
Grab your copy of Names from Dreamspinner Press today!
Nick Jones life changes after just one
kiss. He doesn’t realize it at the time, he’s actually always been gay, but
he’s hidden behind a string of girlfriends and that one boyfriend that lights
him up like none of the girls can. He refuses to be gay though, in fact, if he
had a mantra it would be “I’m not gay!” for as often as he says it. Me thinks
thou doth protest too much!
A year later and Nick is just going
through the motions in his mundane life. The only bright sparks are his friend
and sometimes lover Corey, and the strange man that eats where he works all the
time, RC. He’s broken up with another girl, and jumps straight into a relationship
with yet another girl, trying to convince himself that getting laid on a
regular basis makes him happy. But getting to know RC more with each
conversation they have is making Nick take stock, and reconsider some things
about himself.
RC is not an easy man to get to know. He
is always on guard and doesn’t let anyone close. He has no friends and no
social skills to speak of. But there is something about the cute guy that works
at the Diner. It takes a lot of effort and time, but the two become friends,
best friends in fact. Both men appreciate that they can just be themselves
around each other. But as Nick starts to open himself up to the feelings he’s
having, he starts to want more from RC than just friendship. RC is adamant that
he is not going there! His past is way too painful and Nick is way too much
like a lot of the people that made that past painful. Nick is about to find out
what he wouldn’t do for the right guy, which is nothing.
This was very a much coming of age and
finding yourself story. Not just for Nick who is trying to decide his
sexuality, but for RC as well as he’s never actually been in love or been
loved. Nick was raised with so much love, and the entire time he’s wrestling
with his emotions over what his parents will say when they find out, he doesn’t
realize they already know. What Nick has to learn is restraint, patience and
unconditional love. So what if RC is a little overweight, and big, and burly.
The way he makes him feel safe, protected and loved regardless is what Nick comes
to realize are the important things. He fell in love with someone, the wrapping
doesn’t matter.
This book was an emotionally charged and
endearing story about a very slow building love between two unlikely men. Trust
and communication are what is at the root of their relationship, that is built
before anything else, and it’s what makes them so strong. At first it looked
like this was going to be another ‘gay for you’ story, but as the story played
itself out, it wasn’t that at all. And these characters were far from perfect,
if anything, they were perfectly flawed. Another thing that only added to the
depth of the story. And it was refreshing to read a character that was
surrounded by love and acceptance, his demons were the ones he created himself
by his actions, and only he can change that.
I devoured this book in one long
setting. I was so intrigued by the dynamics of the characters, and the way they
bounced off of each other. Sexy, romantic, endearing and realistic are just a
few words to describe this book. Definitely a must read.
Guest Post with Author Wade Kelly...
Inspiration and
Motivation
One question that
always comes up when people chat with writers is, “What keeps you motivated or
inspires your writing?” For me, I like to watch people. I observe. And maybe I
could be seen like the creepy Stanley White from My Roommate’s a Jock? Well,
Crap! because I do sense people and I probably notice more about folks as I
observe them than they would like to think. LOL…. Yes, I’m a creeper. (Not
really.)
So when I catch a
social stigma or cultural discrepancy, I like to explore my opinions about it.
Like bullying, or suicide, or hate crimes. I want to take what people really
experience and write them into characters who can find hope in the end. I want
to write characters who can inspire hope and peace in my readers. I want to
give people a reason to fight.
Sometimes my
inspiration comes from music. I already wrote about Ryan Amador’s video for
“Define Me.” It was very gripping and made me think about the “names” people
get called. But along with that initial song are several others that I added to
a “play list” for NAMES.
“I Kissed A Boy”
by Slipstream
“Nobody Does It
Better” by Carly Simon
“Linus And Lucy”
from A Charlie Brown Christmas
“Kissing You”
from the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack
“Sugar Town” by Zooey
Deschanel
“You Get Me” by
Michele Branch
“The Promise” by
Tracy Chapman
“Conversations
With My 13 Year Old Self” by P!nk
“Poker Face” by
Lady Gaga
“Can’t Be Tamed”
by Miley Cyrus
“Give Me One
Reason” by Tracy Chapman
“Kiss” by Venke
Knutson
I make “play
lists” for most of my books. I find that certain songs remind me of the
characters or the scenes. Do I write with music playing? Sometimes. Depending
on the scene. If I am energized and flowing with the action, then I have no
problem blaring Nickelback for inspiration! But most of the time I like the
quiet because I need to talk it out. I need to picture the setting and GET IN
THE HEAD of my character. I can’t always do that if I am singing along with
Tracy Chapman or Avril Lavigne.
When I was
thinking of what I could talk about on Tammy’s blog, she wondered if I had ever
thought of a “dream cast” for the movie if it was ever made. Well, sometimes I
often get inspiration from watching a film and thinking, “THAT GUY is perfect
for _____!” In fact, when I watched the movie Jitters last year, I thought that
Atli Óskar Fjalarsson would be perfect as Flynn Brewer. A
dream cast for my work in progress would certainly have Alti in the lead role,
but what about my other books? And more importantly, what about Names Can Never
Hurt Me?
I refer to RC as
Joey Fatone from *NYSNC. I did this because I had a really hard time finding
picture of a hot actor that was overweight and hairy. Joey’s older photos were
close enough. In my mind though, RC has a lot more hair. Long black curly hair
that he often pulls back into a pony tail.
But what about
Nick Jones. I found a picture of Mitch Hewer online where he had dyed his hair
brown. He was still adorable, even though I like the blond better and I could
see him as Nick. Or possibly one of the Carver twins from Teen Wolf could play
Nick. Ethan had the personality I could handle. Aiden was too aggressive.
What about Corey?
Hmm, Tyler Oakley? Lol….
I would have to
spend a lot of time looking at the Internet to think about individual
characters and the type of actor needed to perfect the role.
But I can say I
do get inspiration from pictures of actors or of singers. Not as hugly popular
as some authors maybe. I don’t look at photos and come up with a plot. It is
more the other way around. I think of something, possibly from music
references, and then later I try to visualize a person who could represent my
character if I made a movie. And even that thought came only after I had to
fill out forms for the cover artist as to what my characters looked like! LOL
So what do you
think? Are there movie actors you could see playing to roles in my “film”? Let
me know.
The excerpt for
the day will have to be from NAMES where I use my inspiration from singers and
actors to try and help the reader see what I do when I write....
“I heard what you did the other day. That was nice,”
Paul commented as he put on his apron.
I was in the back by the timesheets, jotting down
next week’s schedule, when he clocked in. “Oh yeah? What’d I do?” I honestly
had no clue so there was little point pretending. I didn’t pretend with Paul.
“The way you apologized to that customer.” He smiled
warmly at me and patted my shoulder. “You know, the one who looks like Joey
Fatone.”
“Joey who?”
“You know, one of the guys from that ’90s boy band
*NSYNC. I swear that guy looks just like him except with longer hair. Anyway,
that was really caring of you to apologize for Marcy. She doesn’t always think
before she speaks.” He winked.
I liked Paul, but sometimes I felt like he was
flirting with me. And I wasn’t sure I’d mind if he did. Good thing we worked
together because I had a difficult enough time with Marcy. Shit, these two had to get together or I was going to
get caught in the middle, and I rarely did threesomes. “Thanks,” I replied. He
nodded and turned away. Maybe my instincts were wrong. He didn’t look
interested now. In fact, as soon as I answered, he went back to working his
station. Hmm. I scratched my head.
Perhaps I didn’t know anything about anything? One minute Paul looked
flirtatious, then the next, detached. But Corey was like that too, only with
sex in the middle somewhere. I didn’t know what to think; guys were as much a
mystery to me as girls.
…..
“That’s it!” Julie declared to the befuddlement of
all those around her. She was standing near the heat lamp, head cocked to the
side, pointing up.
“What’s it?” Paul asked, thinking for the rest of
us.
“This song, ding-dong. ‘Crazy For You’.”
Marcy asked, “What about it? Isn’t it really old?”
Paul giggled. “Yeah, I guess. It’s from 1997.
*NSYNC.”
“Exactly!” Julie proclaimed excitedly. “That’s who
RC looks like! Joey Fatone. It’s been bothering me for months.”
“Oh my God,” I groaned, my head falling backward.
And Paul started laughing so hard he tripped over
his own feet and landed on the floor. Clenching his sides and laughing to beat
the band.
“What’s happened to him?” Marcy asked.
“I told Nick… the same thing….” Paul kept laughing;
however, I did not.
I didn’t know who this guy was, but I figured I
would be googling him
as soon as I went on break. Joey Fatone.
Oh my gosh.
Wade Kelly lives and writes in conservative, small-town America
on the east coast where it is not easy to live free and open in one's beliefs.
She writes passionately about the controversial issues witnessed in real life
and strives to make a difference by making people think. Wade does not have a
background in writing or philosophy, but still draws from personal experience
to ponder contentious subjects on paper. When not writing, she is thinking
about writing, and more than likely scribbling ideas on sticky notes in the car
while playing "taxi driver" for her three children. She likes snakes,
and has a tegu (lizard) living in her bathroom.
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Appearances, can be
deceiving.
