The question-and-answer period is the most interesting and interactive part of my book release parties. Here are some of the questions I was asked at my most recent event celebrating the release of Maybe Now. I gave similar answers in person, but presenting them in this post allows me to provide more thorough, well-thought-out answers.
When did you start writing the series?
I started thinking about writing a book in late 2017. I created character profiles for the main characters and a story outline. I poked around at writing for the next couple of years but didn’t get serious about writing regularly until 2020.
How would you describe these books?
These books are contemporary gay fiction. They tell compelling stories that reflect the lives of gay people, especially young adults, in the new millennium. There’s coming out, humor, drama, romance, conflict, and some revealed secrets – all the things you want in a good story. They are not romance novels in the formulaic sense, although romance is certainly a component. Nor are they erotica. There is adult language and there are many references to sexual activity, but there are no explicit, hardcore sex scenes. If these books were made into movies, they would be rated R.
How did you know how to sketch out character profiles? Did you seek out any educational resources about writing or did you learn as you went along?
Several websites, such as Reedsy and Writer’s Digest, offer extensive how-to information for writers. I learned a lot from those and I learned some things as I went along. Plus, I joined a writers’ group at my local library.
Are the characters in the book based on real-life people?
Many characters are an amalgamation of different people and some are entirely made up. The only character who is based on a real person is a minor character named Paul. He’s tall and slender, plays the flute, and is a medium – just like my husband, Jeff. And yes, Jeff permitted me to create this character based on him. Paul shows up briefly in If I Seem Quiet…, Karma Train from Kansas, and Maybe Now.
There are elements of me in several characters. Aaron Bradbury is from Troy, Ohio (I’m from Springfield), plays trombone, attended Ohio State, and played in the OSU Marching Band, as I did. His apartment in Tempe is where I lived when I first moved to the Phoenix area. And his tradition of eating sushi on Wednesday, because it’s on sale at the local grocery store, is a tradition Jeff and I have maintained for years.
There are elements of me in Rob Chilcott, who befriended Aaron at the beginning of If I Seem Quiet… and convinced him to play his trombone again and join the band. Rob is also a wedding officiant, which I did for five years.
There are also elements of me in Bryan/Ryan, such as his avid interest in jazz (Maynard Ferguson in particular), record and CD collecting, mixology, his career at a high-tech company, and his love of New Zealand.
Bryan is partly based on an acquaintance I knew briefly who is tall, slender, and blond and whose parents disowned him when they found out he was gay.
When did you decide on six books?
When I started plotting my first book, I only had one book in mind with Aaron Bradbury as the main character. But as I was developing Bryan/Ryan’s character, I decided that his backstory was interesting enough to warrant his own book. As I developed his story, it ultimately grew into three books, Maybe Next Year, Instant Adult, and Open Books, Closed Sets.
So the first book I started writing ultimately became the fourth book in the series, If I Seem Quiet…. When it was finished, it was quite a bit different from my original story outline. But the original story outline was a good place to start.
At one point, I thought there would be seven books. I think I settled on six while I was writing Open Books, Closed Sets.
One of the challenges of writing a series is creating a story arc for each book while also creating a story arc for the entire series. Once I had the rest of the series plotted, dividing it into six books made the most sense.
Is this the end of the series?
Yes, at least for the foreseeable future. Most of the storylines conclude nicely by the end of Maybe Now, and many of the characters are well-positioned to live the proverbial “happily ever after.” I don’t have anything else in mind for the current cast of characters.
But as the saying goes, never say never! One of my readers suggested that maybe someday Ryan could have a mid-life crisis.
What’s the process of selecting cover art?
As an independent self-published author, I’m faced with the choice of paying a professional graphic designer or creating the cover myself. Since it’s unlikely that a professionally designed cover would increase sales enough to justify the expense, I do it myself.
I search stock photo sites such as Unsplash, Pixabay, DepositPhotos, Shutterstock, and iStock for potential cover images. I look at many hundreds of photos to find images that convey the mood I’m looking for and have characters that somewhat resemble how I describe the characters in the book.
For most of my books, I selected several finalists and created mock-ups using those photos. Then I posted them on Facebook and sent them to my email newsletter subscribers and asked for their feedback. I received a lot of responses and valuable feedback. In several cases, I chose a different cover than the one I initially favored, based on people’s inputs.
For my most recent book, Maybe Now, when I saw the set of photos of the two men who appear on the cover, I knew I had to use them. The blond looks exactly like the image of Ryan in my mind, and the brunette is close enough to Chris. In addition to being handsome, I love how the expressions on their faces exude love and joy. So I didn’t put that cover out for feedback, although I probably missed a promotional opportunity by not doing so.
If you had to pick a favorite, could you?
No! That’s like asking a parent which one of their children is their favorite!
If I had to pick which one(s) turned out the best in terms of good writing and interesting storyline, I’d give a slight edge to Maybe Next Year, If I Seem Quiet…, and Maybe Now.
Did you ever live in Los Angeles? Why did you pick it?
I’ve never lived in LA, but I’ve been there many times. My brother lived there from the late 60s until he passed away in 2006. His kids and grandkids still live there. I’ve been to LA several times for business trips. While I was in the Ohio State University Marching Band, we went to the Rose Bowl and stayed in dorms at UCLA. I’ve been to UCLA a couple of other times too.
I learned during my research for these books that a lot of runaway kids (gay and straight) end up in LA. The fictitiously named Los Angeles LGBT Youth Project in my books is modeled after an actual organization in Los Angeles that provides resources for runaway and homeless LGBT young people. So it made sense that Bryan would choose to go there when he needed to leave home.
And, of course, the porn industry is centered in and around the San Fernando Valley, although that wasn’t on Bryan’s radar when he ran away.
Would you like to hear from Hollywood?
PLEASE, GOD, YES!!! Having one (or all) of my books optioned would be a dream come true.
I think these books would make an excellent TV series, similar to Queer as Folk or Six Feet Under. Each book would be one season. By coincidence, Queer as Folk and Six Feet Under both ran for six seasons.
How do you promote the books? Locally or nationally?
Promoting my books has been, by far, the most difficult part of this undertaking.
Locally, my book release parties have been a nice way to launch each book and celebrate its release. I also sell my books at a Desert Overture rehearsal in exchange for donating 20% of the revenue to the band. (Desert Overture is the real-life LGBTQ+ wind symphony Desert Pride is based on. None of the band members in the book resemble actual band members except Paul.)
I write Facebook posts about each new book, trying my best not to annoy people by posting too much. As I mentioned above, I created several mock-ups of book covers, posted them to Facebook and my email list, and asked for feedback. Sadly, many people who offered feedback on the cover choices didn’t follow through and buy the book, but it was a good way to raise awareness. Pictures or videos of me cutting open a box of books when they arrive and holding one for the first time always get a lot of likes and views.
Beyond locally, I have joined several Facebook groups that reach my intended reader demographic. One group exists specifically for gay men to share their recommendations of gay books with others. I’ve had limited success so far with those.
Now that you’re done, are you feeling happiness or regret? What does Jeff have to say?
I feel happiness and a sense of accomplishment. I’ve devoted hundreds of hours to writing these books and the characters and their stories have taken up a lot of space in my head. For now, I don’t miss being consumed by the writing, editing, and promoting process. I’ll probably come back to it at some point, though.
Jeff is relieved. All the time and mental energy these books have consumed has detracted from the time and focus I could have devoted to him. But he’s been incredibly supportive in every way.
© 2024 Dave Hughes. All rights reserved.
Photo credits:
Dave at Exposed Studio & Gallery: Jeff McKeehan. All rights reserved.
Two men on a beach (Maybe Now cover): EpicStockMedia (Licensed from DepositPhotos). All rights reserved.