I SIMPLY WRITE IT DOWN

I’m often asked why I write novels, and the answer is simple — I absolutely love the stories.

 

I tell people that I don’t create the characters so much as I meet them. They enter my life and tell me their stories. I merely serve as an intermediary, filling pages with what they share. In my head, they live. Their experiences, their relationships — if I’m patient and give them time, they reveal them to me.

 

Sometimes I start with an idea for a particular novel — a basic plot, a few character or story arcs, maybe even a loose framework. But in reality, I’m not really in charge. When I have well-defined characters, all I have to do is listen. They’ll drive the outcome.

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It’s funny how often I sit down, my trusty MacBook perched precariously on my lap, with a well-thought-out chapter plan — only to finish hours (or days) later with something entirely different from what I’d intended.

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My characters take on a life of their own, and they know their paths far better than I do. Sometimes I’ll write a scene and think, Is that really what this character would do? Other times I’ll start writing and they’ll begin talking to me, steering their story in directions I never saw coming.

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Every story — every character — has a unique and lived journey. In the end, I’m left with a beautiful story of men who love men — their crossroads, their mistakes, their achievements, and their earned happily-ever-afters.

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Honestly, selling books and making a little money from it is just a by-product of having the privilege to bring these stories to life — to let readers experience the same joy I get from them.