Wade Kelly: English Assignment turned NEXT project

Howdy… Well, I had planned on writing book 3 in the Unconditional Love series next, and then possibly the sequel to Jock, but they are on hold. Not "hold" hold, because I am thinking about them and making notes etc., but I am not currently concentrating on those manuscripts. WHY? Because I have an assignment for English grammar class that inspired an entire novel.

We had to pick a painting from a museum and describe it as if writing a novel or an episode from a TV show or the like. I thought, "I can do that." The teacher wanted to spur our creativity and force us to use the techniques we learned in class called "brush strokes." I have LOVED this class because I am learning so much about the tools needed to write. I am learning the "rules" so I will properly learn how to break them. hahaha. So, since I love art and my house has loads of pieces from art galleries, I picked "Ophelia" by Author Hughes from 1865.

I think it is stunning.

From that painting developed a story about the age old tale of one person being in love with their best friend, and that friend getting married… The synopsis I came up with is:

Misplaced Affection

Two best friends, one huge secret, and a wedding that stands in the way.

Victor Adams, or “Tory” to his friends, has a secret—he’s gay. This was not a new revelation to him, but to his best friend, Jack, it could be the secret that destroys their relationship. Tory almost told him on their shared birthday, but that was the day Gwendolyn and her friend entered the picture and messed up everything. Tory couldn’t very well say the words now; “I love you” would just have to wait.

Jack Mitchell was every girl’s heartthrob and every boy’s wet dream. Quarterback from high school turned IT salesman, Jack had the personality that could sell anything. Except, he couldn’t sell the truth—to himself. He’d been living a lie ever since his best friend Nate, Tory’s brother, died eight years prior. Just when he thinks he’s ready to talk about it, he meets the prettiest girl in town and gets swept away.

Two years later, both friends stand ready at a wedding neither one wants to go through with. The best man, dying on the inside as the only man he’s ever loved commits himself in marriage—to a woman; and the groom, going through the motions of what is expected of him, even though, in his heart, he’d rather be saying “I do” to someone else. At this point, only God could intervene to avert disaster.

I have a paper due next Wednesday, so between now and then I am going to see how much I can write on it. If it flows well, I might get this tale done first before picking up my other projects. Yesterday I had to wait an hour while my daughter was at dance class and I ended up outlining most of the book. A HUGE thing for me since I don't do outlines often. But this story came out easily. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.

As far as other news… Names Can Never Hurt Me is with beta readers. The Manuscript is pretty much done. I wrote 177, 382 words for this one. very long. I might delete some things. I don't want to upset readers with questionable content, so I might just remove it. Fingers crossed it gets accepted WHEN I submit it. TCOL took 2 years, remember? This project has been underway for over a year already. I am hoping to submit it soon. I will let you know. Here is the current synopsis:

Names Can Never Hurt Me

What if sexuality wasn’t a definable thing, and labels merely got in the way?

Nick Jones couldn’t remember a time when he wasn’t popular, when he wasn’t the best looking guy in the room, nor could he recall ever having to coax a woman into bed with him. And recently, Nick even added guys to the list of “been there, done that” when kissing Corey on a dare led to much more and on several occasions. His reputation to “screw anything” was well known, and he didn’t care. Constant sex had never been a problem. So why was the attention of someone new throwing his life out of whack?

RC was a mystery from the moment they met. A frequent customer of the restaurant where Nick worked, getting to know RC was interesting, yet incremental due to the fact that he wasn’t in the “in crowd.” RC was overweight, always sweaty, and lived up to the nickname “scruffy dude”. Still, Nick could not let go of his deep longing for friendship, even if that friendship was with a loser—and a gay loser at that.

When friendship with RC stirs longings deep within his heart, Nick is faced with choice between the superficial or making a connection deeper than he’s ever known before. External pressures of social conformity threaten to snuff out the fire before it ignites his soul, but the deeper question for Nick is why one relationship should define his future as he navigates the waters of self-discovery, sexual identity, and embraces what it means to be an adult.