Sawyer (Torey Hope: The Later Years #2) (23 page)
Read Sawyer (Torey Hope: The Later Years #2) Online
Authors: A. D. Ellis
This is always one of the hardest parts of finishing a book, but quite possibly the most important part! It’s so hard because I fear I’ll miss someone who has helped me out, supported me, been a listening ear, or offered advice and encouragement. If I miss listing your name here, please know it wasn’t on purpose, and I love you dearly!
To my editor, Stephanne, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sharp eyes and constant professionalism. You were a gift to me over 10 years ago, and you continue to be a blessing.
To my friend, fellow author, and cover designer, Andrea Michelle at
Artistry in Design
. Thank you for taking my vision and bringing it to life through your design. I love you!
To my dear beta readers. Your input, feedback, and encouragement has proven invaluable to me! I truly trust you all and value your opinions more than you’ll probably ever understand.
To my street team/pimpers. Those of you who list me in contests and comments and shout outs all the time, you’re amazing and I love you for always working to get my name out there! If I start naming people here, I’ll be sure to miss some; just know if you’ve ever shared my name or my books, it means the world to me and I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know!
To my READERS!! Without you, there would have never been a third book, let alone a sixth book! Thank you for loving Torey Hope and the characters as much as I do; knowing you are looking forward to another book is a lot of what keeps me writing some days. As long as these stories are in my head, I’ll keep sharing them with you.
To the BLOGGERS who read and review and share my books!! You are beyond a shadow of a doubt some of the most dedicated and selfless people I’ve ever known! Thank you so much for being such a support to those of us who have stories to tell. I love BLOGGERS!
To my girls at The Indie Erogenous Zone. You are beyond fellow authors, you’re my support, my heart, my friends. There have been days I wanted to give up, but I had you to turn to; days when a bad review breaks my heart, but I talk it out with you. I truly consider you all my close friends and I wouldn’t want to be facing this crazy journey without you! IEZ4Life! T&F girls!
To my Juice Box ladies! Thank you so much for welcoming me into your crew and sharing your knowledge, experience, advice, and fun with me! Having some real-life authors/friends I can collaborate with is a great feeling. Dance parties, lunches, movies, videos, wine, painting, pizza…the list goes on and on! Thank you for letting me be a Juice Boxer!
To my fellow authors. Those of you who read my work, share your work with me, cross-promote with me, and offer advice and support, THANK YOU! You make this a little easier and enjoyable.
I’ve already mentioned these two people, but they deserve another shout out. Renee, thank you first for reading
For Nicky
and contacting me to let me know you loved the story. And thank you for introducing me to Brett. Last, but certainly not least, thank you for your friendship. Girl, if I ever get to your area, I will soooo crash on your couch!
Brett, this book came alive because of your input and feedback. I had the story in my head, but you helped me clear out misconceptions and preconceived notions so that Sawyer’s story could be the most honest and realistic possible. Plus, you made me laugh and taught me quite a lot along the way. Thank you for your friendship. My wish for you is hope, happiness, and love. (And don’t think you’re getting out of our fun and games at a certain convention in a summer or two.)
To my family and friends. I know most of you don’t understand my obsession with getting these stories out of my head and on paper, but you’re proud of me either way. Some of you get to read my books, some of you get to see cover ideas, some of you have to watch me lose myself in a story, some of you have to hear me vent about the hard parts of all of this; all of you love me and support me and for that, I am truly lucky and grateful.
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Sawyer Answers Proust Questions
(Sawyer answered these at the beginning of his story, so some things may have changed by the time he reached his happy ever after.)
35 Questions Made Famous by Marcel Proust
- What is your idea of perfect happiness? Love and acceptance.
- What is your greatest fear? Rejection and hurting my family.
- What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Cowardness, not being true to myself, lying/hiding
- What is the trait you most deplore in others? Judgement, pointing fingers, discrimination, acting as if their sins aren’t as bad as others’ sins
- Which living person do you most admire? There are many people I admire, but I have a friend I admire most for overcoming fears/obstacles/judgement and being true to himself. It took him a long time to come to grips with his story, but once he did, he grabbed life by the horns and is living it to its fullest.
- What is your greatest extravagance? I’m a pretty simple guy. I don’t go overboard with material things in general. I love my Honda S2000, and I am pretty attached to my phone. I will say that art supplies for painting and sculpting are probably one thing I may consider an extravagance.
- What is your current state of mind? Currently, I’m feeling frustrated and confused and pulled in different directions. I have decisions to make and they are big ones.
- What do you consider the most overrated virtue? To be honest, I had to look up a list of virtues to answer this one. Going through the list there are so many important virtues, but I think the two most people can get along without are “tact” and “orderliness.” For example, my cousin Kendrick has absolutely no tact and he’s not the most orderly person in the world, but you’ll never find a more genuine and loyal person.
- On what occasion do you lie? *hangs head, ashamed* I lie every day. Every damn day. To myself, to my family, to the world.
-
What do you most dislike about your appearance? I don’t really think about my appearance that much. I guess on some occasions I wish my brother and I weren’t exact replicas of each other, but overall I’m happy with my appearance. -
Which living person do you most despise? In general, I despise mean/hurtful people. In my own life, I despise myself a lot of the time. -
What is the quality you most like in a man? Loyalty, sense of humor, acceptance. I admire men who are creative, who are true to themselves, who have confidence. -
What is the quality you most like in a woman? My best friend, Katie is the perfect example of what I admire in a woman. True beauty inside, funny, spunky, confident, intelligent. No wonder she has my brother totally wrapped around her little finger and head-over-heels in love. -
Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Probably “shut up;” I find myself telling my cousins and my brother that a lot. And I probably use “fuck” more than my momma would like. -
What or who is the greatest love of your life? My family, hands down, no questions asked. I have a large family and there have been ups and downs, but they are the most important part of my life. No matter people who come and go, my family will always be there for me. *Hangs head, muttering, ‘So I guess I should listen to my own words and trust them.’ -
When and where were you happiest? Probably from ages 8-12; that was such a simple time. I was old enough for some freedoms like riding bikes around the block with my brother or walking to the park with my brother and cousins, but it was before things got real and hard and confusing and scary. -
Which talent would you most like to have? I enjoy painting, sculpting, dancing, theater; I wouldn’t say I’m an expert at those things, but I’m pretty decent. I’m going to get a little crazy here and say I want my talent to be predicting the future. Man, that would come in so handy. -
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? My inability to be honest with myself and my family. I want to be true to myself and be proud, but I’m afraid of hurting my family. -
What do you consider your greatest achievement? Graduating college and coming back to Torey Hope to expand The Center+ like my brother and cousins and I have planned since we were younger. I’m really proud of what we’ve done to The Center+ and the plans we still have for it. -
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? I’m not sure, right now I’m not even always sure I want to be ME, let alone another person or thing. -
Where would you most like to live? Nowhere else but Torey Hope. It’s my home, my heart, my anchor. But, if my family were to move away from here, I’d have to follow them because THEY are what make Torey Hope home. -
What is your most treasured possession? I consider The Center+ as a possession since we co-own it and work there and have expanded it so much, so I’d say that is what I treasure most if we’re talking material things. -
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Self-loathing, a black hole of uncertainty, fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, loss of love, loneliness. -
What is your favourite occupation? I’m Director of Arts at The Center+ and I really enjoy what I do. I’m in charge of setting up art programs such as painting, sculpting, music, dance, theater. I’ve just recently been working on setting up a martial arts program which would overlap the arts curriculum with the physical fitness programs we run. -
What is your most marked characteristic? Like a physical characteristic? I’ve been told my eyes are pretty striking. -
What do you most value in your friends? Loyalty, acceptance, sense of humor. -
Who are your favourite writers? I don’t read as much as I should; I find myself gravitating more towards my art hobbies when I have some down time. But, I took a class in college where we had to read several books by Upton Sinclair. I enjoyed the books; my favorite was The Jungle. -
Who is your hero of fiction? I’m going to go with Indiana Jones. My parents used to set up Movie Night for myself, Decker, and our cousins and the Indiana Jones movies were favorites when we were about 14. I remember that at first we balked at the idea of watching “old movies”, but they were really good. I think every young kid, especially boys, dreams of the adventures Indiana Jones got to have. -
Which historical figure do you most identify with? I don’t really know about that one. -
Who are your heroes in real life? My grandfather, the captain, for serving our country and overcoming a lot of adversity. My parents because they went through something that could have destroyed them, but they worked through it and it made them stronger. My Aunt Audrey because she lived a nightmare when she was a young girl, but she overcame her demons and made amends for the way she treated others. -
What are your favourite names? My favorite names? That’s a strange question. I like the names of my family and friends. There are two names I’m particularly fond of at the moment, but it’s part of my frustrating confusion so I’m not ready to mention them. -
What is it that you most dislike? Dishonesty, judgement/discrimination/hate, fear. -
What is your greatest regret? Not being honest when I had the chance. -
How would you like to die? This is a hard question for me right now due to some personal reasons, but most days I’d say I want to die naturally with my heart and mind happy and free of lies and secrets. -
What is your motto? I want it to be, “Be true to yourself;” I’m not living it yet, but I’m working on it.
In case you missed my statement earlier in the book, I wanted to be sure it was mentioned again: Sadly, I am very well aware, as I’m sure many readers are, that a large number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people are not met with love, support, or acceptance. Sawyer, along with many of his gay friends, deal with discrimination, misconceptions, fear, and hatred throughout the book. The way this story played out came completely from Sawyer and the other characters, I just wrote the story they wanted to tell. It may be a much rougher story than the ones some readers have heard or experienced; it may be a much happier version of what some readers have heard or lived through. But, either way, it’s a realistic story focusing on acceptance, hope, and love.
If you or someone you love need information or support in issues surrounding sexuality, please connect with one of the many organizations available to assist. Here are two such organizations:
PFLAG
http://community.pflag.org/getsupport
GLBT National Help Center
http://www.glbthotline.org/
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