Guest author - Charley Descoteaux

[charlie_cochrane]

Am delighted to host Charley Descoteaux today, the same Charley who so kindly hosted me. I think this might be her first (I hope not her last) guest blog post, so we must be gentle.

Thanks so much for having me, Charlie!

What inspired you to start writing?

I've always had characters in my head telling me stories.  I think I wrote the first one down when I was in the third or fourth grade.  But I got serious on my 29^th birthday.  My daughter had just turned seven and was already writing her own stories, and I thought that in another year I'd be 30.  If that wasn't the right time to work on becoming a published writer, what would be?  Four years later I held a literary magazine in my hands that included my first published short story. There’s nothing quite like that feeling—and I still like the story too after almost twenty years.

What did it feel like watching your first book fledge and leave the nest?

When my first eBook was published it was nerve-wracking.  It's a completely different experience than having a story in a print anthology. It was fun too, though! I love interacting with readers and other authors online. I can’t wait to push another one out of the nest and see how far it flies. J

How do you choose a setting or era?

It usually comes from the characters.  They tell me where they are, and when, or leave it for me to figure out.  So far my stories have been in an indefinite "present" but I have a few ideas that are tied to specific time periods.  Nothing like your historicals, Charlie, more like a "Bay Area in 1985" story and a "PNW in the early-90s" story. 

Are you character or plot driven? What do you do if one of your characters starts developing at a tangent?

Character-driven.  I've written a story or two that started with a "what if", but I can't get anywhere without at least one character.  I love it when my characters go off on tangents!  That's when it gets good.  There's nothing I love about writing more than when a story takes on a life of its own.

If you were in a tight corner and had to rely on one of your characters to save you, which would it be and why?

Sam White, no question.  He's got it all, 6'5" and in great physical shape—he's level-headed, smart, brave, and extremely loyal.  If he hadn't ended up a musician Sam would've been a fire fighter and not because he's an adrenaline junkie, because he wants to save people. 

If you had no constraints of time and a guarantee of publication, what book would you write?

Thanks for asking this, it’s a great question!  I have a story that’s very near and dear to my heart and is even almost finished.  It takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-1980s and the main character is a bi gal in her mid-twenties.  The story is about the lingering effects of domestic violence she witnessed as a child and how difficult those experiences have made it for her to trust, and to love.  This book was soundly rejected by New York when I forced her to be a straight girl but I’ve slowly been working on the real deal.  Maybe someday I’ll submit it somewhere as the story I’ve always wanted it to be.

Is there a classic book you started and simply couldn’t finish?

Too many to list.  The blatant classism, sexism, and other –isms in classic literature usually does me in pretty quickly, with two notable exceptions:  reading for a grade, and Shakespeare.  I can forgive a lot of –isms from the Bard that nobody else could squeak past me in Patrick Stewart's pocket. 

What’s your favourite gay fiction book? And why?

The Lunatic, the Lover and the Poet, by Myrlin A. Hermes.  It's hard to find good bisexual fiction that doesn't fall into the normal traps.  Plus, it's Hamlet and Horatio!  I love those guys.

What’s your next project?

Right now I’m working on a story about a photographer and a bass player—although both of them would laugh if they saw it described like that! The photographer is a quiet guy who grew up in the foster care system and makes his living converting legal records into electronic documents in a historic neighborhood in Portland and the bass player is a gregarious plumber’s apprentice who grew up outside my fictional small town of Willston, Oregon with his self-employed mother and disabled sister. It’s been a while since I wrote about anyone in their early 20s and I’m having a lot of fun with these guys—although it is me, so don’t expect it all to be sweetness and light!


My next release is the story of a guy who’s pushing forty, but never really directed the course of his life until his long-time partner’s death forced him to start figuring things out for himself.

Directing Traffic by Charley Descoteaux

Neil Sedwick expects to spend his vacation in a sleepy tourist trap mourning his late partner’s death. Instead, he puts his recently acquired CPR certificate to use and saves an elderly resident’s life. But it’s the survivor’s nephew, sexy middle-school teacher Ty Bigelow, who causes Neil to reevaluate his routine and consider reopening his heart. 
Though the electricity between them is undeniable, Ty is struggling with his own feelings of inadequacy, and Neil is moored to the past. Even the healing peace of an old man’s garden and the ever-changing waters of the Oregon coast may not be enough to prepare Neil to overcome a crisis of the heart.
Excerpt:
When he finally emerged from the room, Neil wasn’t very hungry and didn’t feel like walking on the beach, so he thought he’d go to the local information center and find a hiking trail. The little beach community sat between the ocean and the Coast Range, so he shouldn’t have to go far. He’d almost made it to the end of the block when someone called to him.
“Neil? Um, it’s Neil, right?”
The young man with the auburn curls walked up to him, looking as though he wanted to run but was holding himself back through a great force of will. Or maybe Neil still felt melancholy from his run-in with The Happy Couple and was projecting.
Neil nodded. “You were there the other day, when…. How is he?”
“He’s good. He’ll be fine, really, thanks to you. That’s why I’m here. I’m not a stalker—I got your information from the police. I wanted to say thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Neil smiled. “I’m glad I could help.”
“And, I mean, since you saved his life and all, I’d like to know, can I take you to dinner tonight?”
Neil’s heart started hammering in his chest. This young, sexy man wanted to take him to dinner.
“You don’t have to do anything. I’m just glad he’ll be okay.”
“Ty. I’m Tyler, but everyone calls me Ty. I know I don’t have to, but it means a lot, what you did. Uncle Ray’d be dead if you hadn’t….”
Neil thought Ty might hyperventilate, so he took his arm and steered him to a bench in front of the bakery on the corner. Ty shook, but after a few slow breaths was able to compose himself.
“How about lunch?” Neil asked, surprising himself.
Ty smiled, and Neil wondered if anyone nearby would be able to do CPR on him if his erratically beating heart decided to stop. Ty didn’t look as young when he smiled; in fact, he looked a lot older and more worldly. And he had an adorable dimple in his left cheek.
“Meet me at that cafe at the end of the main drag at noon? It has a woman’s name, Sharon’s or Shirley’s….”
Neil nodded and they both stood. After a slightly awkward moment, Ty offered Neil his hand.
“Thanks. I mean it.”
Maybe Neil saw more than gratitude in Ty’s hazel-green eyes, but he talked himself out of it fairly quickly. Surely he hadn’t slept well after what had happened to his uncle.
Uncle.

Directing Traffic is available for pre-order through June 25 from Dreamspinner Press.

Comments

[cdescoteauxwrites.com (from livejournal.com)]

Thanks so much for having me, Charlie! It isn't my first time, but I still appreciate you being gentle. ;)
~Charley

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

LOL I do get the wrong end of the stick, don't I?

Lovely to host you.

[rapidess.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing :)

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

My pleasure!