Honor C Book info
Contemporary M/M Novella
Dreamspinner Press
Blurb:
When Honor Castillo convinces himself he isn’t gay, he begins a new life. He ends his affair with his lover, Jorge Villagomez, and marries Rebecca to establish a life with her as a respected San Antonio businessman. They have a son and he tells himself he is happy.
Eleven years later, Jorge returns to San Antonio, and his path crosses with Honor’s once more. The flame of their passion never died, and neither did Jorge’s love for Honor.
When Jorge approaches Honor to design his studio, Honor believes he can walk the line between friendship and lovers. But when a sudden crisis threatens to take Jorge from him forever, Honor must choose between his duty and his heart. Most of all, he’s forced to decide what he’s willing to lose in order to be true to who he really is.
Author links:
Blog: http://authorczampa.blogspot.com
Amazon Author page: www.amazon.com/C.-Zampa/e/B004QSDSG0
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/authorczampa
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.zampa.3?fref=ts
The men. Ay-ay-ay.
When I realized it was the first anniversary of the release of my book, Honor C, I was amazed at how quickly the time had passed. It seemed like just yesterday my babies—Honor Castillo and Jorge Villagomez—were published. And, hey, the time has flown since the book was released.
But in real time—counting how many times the story was written, scrapped, re-written, scrapped again—I scratch my head and wonder how the book was ever finished.
One thing was always the same, though, and stayed faithfully consistent through every rewrite of the story.. The character of Honor.
Okay, so laugh, go ahead. Laugh. But the character of Honor Castillo has always been based on my dream man, my crush, the Latino man of my dreams—Hispanic actor Eduardo Yanez. Oh, the Hispanic telenovellas I’ve watched, just to see him. Dazzling smile, jet black curls, the most beautiful, friendly eyes. Big guy. Virile, swarthy, dripping with masculinity. Yet so gentle and humorous, boyish, romantic.
Honor (Eduardo Yanez)
There was never a doubt that the actor was going to be a character in one of my stories. In fact, it was a struggle not to base all characters on him, I love his persona that much.
And, oddly, in every rendition of the story Honor C, every rewrite, his character stayed the same. I tried different lovers on for size for him. None of them worked. And then, finally, the muse found the love interest for him.
And that lover was catty, bitchy, heart of gold, prissy Jorge Villagomez. And his character was based on a male fashion model, Ruben Cortada.
Jorge (Ruben Cortada)
But get this. Jorge had been one of those displaced characters, too. What most don’t know is that Jorge’s shows up as a passing flame for Candelario Gonzalez in my first novella, Candy G. He was a hairdresser. He lost out to the character Carlos.
Then Jorge surfaced again in one of the Honor C attempts. Oddly, though, he was a dance instructor and a former lover of Honor Castillo, but not the love interest for the novella. Just another supporting character, a mentor for the fellow who was Honor’s lover.
And every time I included Jorge in a scene, I loved him more and more. He quickly became one of my favorite characters—ever.
But…but…you know how it goes. Kind of a chess game of characterization. Move those babies all over the place until—who knew?—two characters who weren’t planned as lovers turn to be…lovers.
Honor Castillo is, in the book, a big guy. He was a big child. And what so many do not know is that his character, his personality, his heart, his soul, were based on one of my beloved friends, a big gentle bear—Tom Webb. The book did, in fact, honor Tom in the dedications, acknowledging that my friend, McTom is Honor Castillo.
So, you see, Honor and Jorge were a long time coming. Like dancers switching partners at a square dance, they were matched and re-matched. And that makes their birth, in some ways, seem centuries ago.
But they finally made it to a finished product. They finally pushed their ways out of all the revisions and jumbles scenarios and became my babies, two of my most beloved creations. Names that now seem as though they always belonged together.
Excerpt :
JORGE stirred beside me, dragging me from my reverie of schoolyards, lunches, and bullies and back to the present.
Tonight was our last chance to make love. I had no words, I just wanted to look at him, memorize him. I reached to paint the line of his full bottom lip with my thumb and shivered at the sigh it evoked from him, the tiny whimper as he wriggled to face me.
He twirled a finger in the curls at my nape. “Remember Shirley Setzer?”
I turned on my side to take in the sight of Jorge’s nude body—skinny, girly, driving-me-out-of-my-mind sexy—stretched out beside me.
The limited light transformed his thin form into smooth, elegant planes with a tantalizing thatch of shadow between his legs.
“How weird. I was just thinking about her.” I lifted onto my elbow.
His hand dropped to his chest. “The day we met.”
I snorted. “We didn’t meet that day. You never even spoke to me.”
“Didn’t I?”
“Hell, no.”
“But—”
“Ah, no. You pranced your stuck-up little ass back to the building, never said two words to me.”
Lifting his hand, he pretended to slap me. “I was not stuck up.”
I said nothing, just lifted an eyebrow that I was sure he couldn’t really see in the dark.
“I didn’t mean to be, Honor. I guess I was afraid to talk to you. None of the other kids had anything to do with me. Figured you wouldn’t either.”
“But you charged into Shirley. You sure weren’t shy then.”
“I just reacted.”
“I’ll never forget. You knocked the shit out of ol’ Shirley and never even said anything to me. You just strutted away, all prissy-assed. Do you know what I thought?”
“What?”
“I thought you were irritated at me, that you thought I should have defended myself. That you thought I was weak.”
“Oh, querido,” he murmured and cupped his warm palm to my cheek. “I was the weak one, to give in to her taunts. You were the strong one. And I think I loved you that day. Even that young, I think I loved you.”
“Me? Gordo? Cerdo Castillo?”
With a grunt, Jorge flopped onto his back. “Stop it, damn you.”
“Sorry,” I chuckled. It riled him so for me to put myself down about my size.
He shifted toward me once more, wormed nearer. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. I’d see you smile at somebody in the halls and I’d nearly cry like a baby, wanting so bad to get one of your killer smiles aimed at me. Holy shit, I had the biggest girly crush on you.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“Your smile, Honor.” He pressed a trembling finger to my lips. “Your smile.”
“Once you did speak to me, I don’t think my smile showed itself for anybody but you again.”
“Bullshit.” This time he did slap me. Lightly, but still a slap to my cheek. “She sure as hell sees it.”
“Ay-ay.” I coaxed the head of my cock against his crotch. “We agreed not to bring that up tonight.”
“Please don’t do this.” He whispered the words onto my shoulder. His voice, so husky, a sultry purr—all Lauren Bacall, just put your lips together and blow—hadn’t lost its power to make me grovel at his feet in lust.
“Want me to stop?” I teased and turned him in my arms.
“Make jokes.” Burrowing deeper into my embrace, he growled and circled his palm over the hair on my chest. “Becky,” he spat. “I can’t even say her name without choking on it.”
I held him tighter but said nothing. What more was there to say? We’d been arguing all night, ever since I’d broken the news to him that I’d gotten serious with Rebecca Sanchez, the dazzling woman I’d met a few months back.
We can still fuck, can’t we? Jorge had contended. Why does she have to change anything?
Because once my relationship with Becky seemed to be heading on a serious route, I couldn’t cheat on her. I just couldn’t. The decision hadn’t come easily, but I’d made it, and I knew it was good.
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