It’s time for character introductions again! I had a hard time filling out the forms this time. This is one of my favourite stories that I’ve written, and yet I could hardly say anything about the characters – I blame the way the cards are formulated.
We have John and Zachary. That I don’t know their exact age is my fault, can’t really blame anyone else, can I? I write that Zach is nearing forty, that he’s ‘ten years, if not more’ older than John, and Jen says John looks young, but that she’d guess he’s over twenty-five.
When it comes to what they love – both want the cabin John is living in. It’s where John feels safe, and where he wants to spend his time, and it’s where Zach sees his future.
Hate – that’s a hard one. Why did I choose to include that on the cards?? John is terrified of everyone, it doesn’t really mean he hates them, but I guess he hates situations where he has to interact with people. And Zach, he doesn’t hate his parents, he hates that they can’t accept him for who he is. But that didn’t fit on that short line LOL
When it comes to strengths and weaknesses, John is dealing with past trauma, he’s not really in a position where he shows off his strengths. He’s a survivor, though. Zach is a friendly guy, most people like him, and he cares about those around him, but as soon as things get tricky, he bails. He lives out of a backpack, never staying more than a couple of months in one place.
So there’s where we have them. John is a scrawny little thing, and Zach is a big, bearded man. John hides in the corners of a room and Zach takes up space. But Zach is a gentle giant, and he might turn slightly stalkerish when John doesn’t want to talk to him, but what are you gonna do? LOL
Blurb:
In an attempt to run from his past, John Welsh has spent the last few years building walls around himself. He knows the best way to stay safe is to keep people at arm’s length and preferably out of sight. During weak moments, he might wish he had someone, but he’s not ready. After all, it takes seven years for the body to replace all its cells. He has four years to go before he’s new.
Zachary Fane is always on the move, always on his way to somewhere. He’s going from job to job, from country to country. Contrary to what people might think, he wants nothing more than to find a place to call home, and he knows just where. This time, he is ready. This time, he will stay in Nortown. This time, things will be different. But when he arrives to buy the log cabin he believed would be his, he finds it inhabited. When he goes to talk to the new owner, he is met by the most beautiful green eyes followed by a door slammed in his face.
John should’ve known the peace he’s found in Nortown wouldn’t last. One day everything is fine, the next a mountain of a man shows up wherever he goes. All Zachary wants is to be close to the quiet man who has moved into his cabin. If following him around is the only way, then so be it. Sooner or later, John will get used to having him there … at least, if Zachary hangs around long enough.
Includes the short story, “Honey Baked.”
Buy links:
Contemporary gay romance: 47,776 words
Ofelia Grand 