There really isn’t anything new under the sun: Love Lessons leans on an old trope, and it’s “the rake reformed.” Walter is even called the Campus Casanova–putting him with a wide-eyed virgin is sort of instant tension. That’s just the starting point, though. Maybe I get some gimmie tension because the market isn’t exactly glutted with college-set gay romances, but even that doesn’t get me very far. I buy a little more time with Kelly being determined to save himself for true love and Walter refusing to believe in that fairytale, but really, all these things are just starter doughs.

It took me three times as long to write this story as I’d intended, and a lot of that was working out the tension. I had them getting together at different points, had different crises and resolutions, but they all kept falling flat. (I’m having the same problem in the second book in this series too, and this book is my lifeline, because it did eventually work out there.) I can’t explain why tension works and why it fails because I only know that it is or isn’t, never how I got there or how I went off the rails. It doesn’t matter if I plow on or walk away and wait for inspiration; I seem to simply chew on this stuff in the back of my mind, and when I’m ready to move forward, I am, and when I’m not, good luck forcing the issue, because I’ll churn out nothing but crap.

The one thing I can identify that worked was that while this story was “the rake reformed,” it was also “the rake not wanting anyone to know he was actually the princess in the tower.” All New Adult has to also be coming of age, and Love Lessons is that for both Kelly and Walter. Kelly looks like the princess in the tower, but he’s not. He’s naive, green, and nervous, but he’s actually incredibly solid, smart, and saying out loud that he’s ready to be a good boyfriend to the right partner. Walter looks like the big hero on the surface, but that’s just his protective coating. I don’t want to give too much away, but Walter’s reaction to Kelly’s favorite movie to me is the biggest tell. Walter works so, so hard not to let anyone know he’s bleeding, that he’s lonely and scared and so desperate for salvation he’s starting to make mistakes.

In the end that was how I found the tension balance: letting them play out the role reversal against Walter’s worst nightmare: becoming vulnerable right before everything he cared about was taken away—and having Kelly right there, self-realized and strong enough to catch him.

I think this kind of struggle with tension is there in all romances. It’s funny how there are a million maps to character and plot, but very very few and none very developed on the arc of romantic tension. I think that’s because it’s a nebulous beast defying definition, something each author has to find for his or herself. I think the magic of a good book is in how the author finds the answer to something undefinable, in real life or in fiction.

LOVE LESSONS

Blurb:

Love doesn’t come with a syllabus.

Kelly Davidson has waited what seems like forever to graduate high school and get out of his small-minded, small town. But when he arrives at Hope University, he quickly realizes finding his Prince Charming isn’t so easy. Everyone here is already out. In fact, Kelly could be the only virgin on campus.

Worst of all, he’s landed the charming, handsome, gay campus Casanova as a roommate, whose bed might as well be equipped with a revolving door.

Walter Lucas doesn’t believe in storybook love. Everyone is better off having as much fun as possible with as many people as possible…except his shy, sad little sack of a roommate is seriously screwing up his world view.

As Walter sets out to lure Kelly out of his shell, staying just friends is harder than he anticipated. He discovers love is a crash course in determination. To make the grade, he’ll have to finally show up for class…and overcome his own private fear that love was never meant to last.

Warning: This story contains lingering glances, milder than usual sexual content for this author, and a steamy dance-floor kiss. Story has no dairy or egg content, but may contain almonds.

Expected publication: October 1st 2013 by Samhain

Book Links: Amazon  ::  B&N  ::  Kobo  ::  Booksamilion

About Heidi Cullinan 

Heidi Cullinan has always loved a good love story, provided it has a happy ending. She enjoys writing across many genres but loves above all to write happy, romantic endings for LGBT characters because there just aren’t enough of those stories out there. When Heidi isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, reading, knitting, listening to music, and watching television with her husband and ten-year-old daughter. Heidi also volunteers frequently for her state’s LGBT rights group, One Iowa, and is proud to be from the first midwestern state to legalize same-sex marriage. Find out more about Heidi, including her social networks, at www.heidicullinan.com.

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