Yes, it’s Friday again – and my guests today are K. Evan Coles and Brigham Vaughn who are celebrating a new release. Extra Dirty, the second book in the Speakeasy series has just hit the stores. And in their post today, Evan and Brigham are talking a bit about the way they create their characters. As a writer, that’s one of my favourite things to do, so it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who knows what’s in someone’s sock drawer or what they’d order from a restaurant menu. For me as a reader, those little details make the characters real. So why not follow along and find out how Jesse and Cameron came to be the men they are!
When we wrote our first books— “Wake” and its sequel, “Calm”—we began with a rough idea of two main characters, Carter and Riley. We knew general details, like their careers, personality traits, socioeconomic status, and family dynamics, and that knowledge helped us create rough pencil sketches on the page. We each chose a character and alternated writing chapters from their points of view so each character (and writer) got equal page time.
As the story took shape, our characters did as well, and they solidified into images that felt so real we could almost touch them. Interestingly, some of the secondary characters also took on a life of their own. As “Wake” and “Calm” wound down, we found ourselves writing a second series called The Speakeasy and featuring some of those secondary characters: Will, Jesse, Kyle, and Malcolm.
These characters became people we understand very well, particularly so because we designed the series so each character got their own book. Our most recent Speakeasy release is Jesse’s book, “Extra Dirty” and as we worked, we got to know our characters inside and out. We knew what Jesse might order at a restaurant and that he was terrible at video games. We knew how Cam, Jesse’s love interest, took his coffee and that he loathed peanut butter with marshmallow fluff. We definitely knew that both men were convinced they don’t need to fall in love, and that they’re weird, wacky and wonderful.
We use Slack to collaborate on our writing and our channel for “Extra Dirty” holds hundreds of exchanges like this one:
Brigham Vaughn: So I think Cam is probably named after his father.
Evan Coles: Yeah, that sounds about right.
Brigham Vaughn: Cameron Franklin Lewis.
Evan Coles: Very presidential.
Brigham Vaughn: Indeed.
Evan Coles: “Happy Birthdaaaaaaaay, Mr. President.” I’m dying imagining this happening.
Brigham Vaughn: Jesse is singing this, yes?
Evan Coles: Oh, yes.
Brigham Vaughn: Also dying.
Evan Coles: He’s probably lying on top of the bar.
Brigham Vaughn: Hahaha, perfect. I’m imagining Kyle watching this from the back of the room and nearly spraining something.
Evan Coles: Absolutely. And Carter and Riley are on the floor laughing.
Whether a scene like this ever makes its way into print, we truly enjoy understanding how our characters would react to something. They do take us by surprise on occasion, however, and that makes dealing with them fun too.
We find it easy to forget that we made up Jesse and Cam and, in theory, control and lead them. Because the further we take them, the more real they become and the more they lead us.
If we sat down in a speakeasy and a gorgeous blue-eyed man with a killer smile and a ginger-haired hottie in a vintage leather jacket bought us a round of drinks? Well, we wouldn’t be surprised at all to learn they were Jesse Murtagh and Cameron Lewis.
Extra Dirty (The Speakeasy, Book #2)
Length: 271 pages
Genre: Contemporary mm romance
Buy at: amazon | Apple Books | Kobo | Barnes & Noble
Blurb
Love, served extra dirty.
Jesse Murtagh loves his life as a wealthy bisexual businessman dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure. With a circle of friends he trusts implicitly, he enjoys a successful career in his family’s business and as co-owner of Under, an uptown speakeasy, with his friend with benefits, Kyle McKee.
Music teacher and part-time DJ Cameron Lewis lives modestly in a DUMBO loft and isn’t interested in serious relationships. However, he’s always up for some casual fun.
Doing a favor for his friend Carter Hamilton, Jesse meets Cam and is immediately charmed. When Jesse discovers Cam’s other life as a DJ, he is further intrigued. Viewing Cam as a challenge, Jesse pulls out all the stops, but his usual methods to avoid serious relationships fail. Though Cam has no intention of becoming attached, he begins to fall for Jesse, unaware that Jesse’s feelings are changing.
Afraid of heartbreak, Cam pulls away, leaving Jesse bewildered and hurt. They remain friends until a series of misunderstandings widens the rift to breaking point. When Cam steps in to help Jesse through a family crisis, they realize they care for each other more than they’ve been willing to admit. Jesse and Cam don’t want a traditional relationship, but can they build a future that makes them both happy?
About K. Evan Coles and Brigham Vaughn
K. Evan Coles is a mother and tech pirate by day and a writer by night. She is a dreamer who, with a little hard work and a lot of good coffee, coaxes words out of her head and onto paper.
K. lives in the northeast United States, where she complains bitterly about the winters, but truly loves the region and its diverse, tenacious and deceptively compassionate people. You’ll usually find K. nerding out over books, movies and television with friends and family. She’s especially proud to be raising her son as part of a new generation of unabashed geeks.
K.’s books explore LGBTQ+ romance in contemporary settings.
Want to stay up to date and be notified of K. Evan Coles’s latest releases? Sign up for the Coles & Vaughn Newsletter, or stay in touch here:
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Brigham Vaughn is on the adventure of a lifetime as a full-time writer. She devours books at an alarming rate and hasn’t let her short arms and long torso stop her from doing yoga. She makes a killer key lime pie, hates green peppers, and loves wine tasting tours. A collector of vintage Nancy Drew books and green glassware, she enjoys poking around in antique shops and refinishing thrift store furniture. An avid photographer, she dreams of traveling the world and she can’t wait to discover everything else life has to offer her.
Her books range from short stories to novellas. They explore gay, bisexual, lesbian, and polyamorous romance in contemporary settings.
Want to stay up to date and be notified of K. Evan Coles’s latest releases? Sign up for the Coles & Vaughn Newsletter, or stay in touch here:
Blog | Facebook | FB Author Page | FB Group | Bookbub | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter
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