Hi everyone,
To celebrate Pride Month, I’m sharing a look at the making
of my gay romance, Four Days with Jack. In this contemporary novella, best
friends David and Jack embark on a sexual relationship. David has always loved
Jack and has fantasized about being his lover, but he lacked the courage to
admit his feelings—until now.
Four Days with Jack is one of the few books I wrote without
an outline. I think not having a pre-planned structure let the characters write
their own story (so to speak), and took the book in new directions.
At first, I didn’t know what the story would be. All I had
was a basic plot (straight guy comes out to his gay best friend), a title, and
one pivotal scene that takes place in a bathroom. (For those of you who have
read the book, you know which scene I’m talking about—but I won’t give it away
here.)
From there, I let my imagination wander and came up with the
resort, the rest of the plot, and the unusual cast of characters that Jack and
David encounter. As I wrote, David quickly revealed a major conflict—inner
turmoil. Over four days, David and Jack learn a lot about themselves, each
other, and what sacrifices they’ll make to stay together.
David has kept his true desires a secret from himself and
everyone else. He’s afraid of what people will think about him if they know (or
even suspect) that he’s gay. How will they react? Will they judge him? If so,
how will his life change?
These aren’t the typical types of questions that my straight
characters have to face in their romances. And this line of thinking really got
me wondering about what it’s like for people to come out in real life. Will
they be shunned by friends and family? Should they tell anyone? Live a lie?
Move to a new state? What if they live in a state that’s more conservative and
not gay-friendly? What will their coworkers think? And really: Is their sex
life really anybody’s business?
I picked up on this theme of “What will people think?” and
ran with it. In the book, David points out that Jack’s family disowned him when
he came out, and David doesn’t want to go through the same type of heartache.
Jack’s reply is pretty much: “So? They’ll get over it.”
As I was writing this story, I considered “what people would
think” about this book. How can a woman write a gay romance? What will people
think about the love scenes? Then I reminded myself that I’m a writer, and I
create the characters and scenes that make up the book. Basically, the story
needs to be told, and I’m the one telling it.
Writers need to turn off their internal editors and forge
ahead with the story as it should be (and needs to be) told. If we constantly
worried about what grandma would think about our writing, or if we were afraid
to open up and let the characters and story take us into the bedroom, we’d
never write anything except G-rated bedtime fables. And if a
friend/relative/whoever has a problem with the subject matter, Jack’s right:
they’ll get over it.
Or maybe not. One reader commented that she didn’t like the
antagonist (Frank). As a writer, I’m glad to hear that! Frank is a blatant
homophobic ass who says some pretty awful things to David and Jack, and he
treats his own wife like crap.
So why is he in the story? For two reasons: 1. to show that
not everyone accepts openly gay couples, and 2. to add a level of confrontation
and intolerance that help band David and Jack together during a crisis moment.
Is Frank an over-the-top stereotype? Nope, because he’s a compilation of a few
real people I’ve encountered.
Even in this day and (political) age, some people are
offended by gay romances and consider them “icky” or immoral. (Yes, I was
actually told by a romance book reviewer that gay romances are icky!) My
philosophy is pretty simple when it comes to that: it’s a free country, so read
whatever you want —but don’t expect me to censor what I write because you have
a problem with it.
Now more than ever, I’m just as proud of my gay romances as
I am of my straight romances. Why? Because I’m a romance writer—and in my
books, everyone deserves to be in love and live happily-ever-after with
whatever partner they choose.
And that’s the way it should be… in fiction and in real
life.
Here’s the book summary and links:
Four Days with Jack
When David invited his best friend on vacation, he never
expected them to fall in love…
Spending four days in a tropical paradise with Jack is a
dream come true. For years, David has lived a lie and denied his romantic
feelings for Jack. Now that they’re together in an isolated Caribbean resort,
he finally admits what he really wants—to be Jack’s lover.
Jack has been in love with David for years and is encouraged
by his desire to explore a sexual relationship. He’s more than willing to
introduce David to the life he has always fantasized about. Their sizzling
nighttime encounters confirm David’s long-hidden cravings, but what will happen
when they leave the resort?
Will David come out and start a new life with Jack? Or will
he go back to his old ways and risk losing the best friend he ever had?
Order Four Days with Jack here:
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/bo6Rap
I hope you’ll check it out. I fell in love with the
characters, and I hope readers will too. It’s got a good blend of humor, drama,
and plenty of sizzling love scenes that will heat up your summer!
Happy Reading,
Kelli A. Wilkins
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