Margarita Nights - The Beginning

The beginning of Margarita Nights was a moment of epiphany. I was sitting at my desk, eating lunch, thinking, thinking, thinking some more and then - BAM! Yes, BAM! I thought - why not write a story about a bunch of guys who meet once a month for margaritas. I mean, so what if, at the time, I was a guy who met his guy friends once every couple of month or so for margaritas. Isn't writing about what you know a standard theme among writers?

So, I had the moment of inspiration and jotted down the first paragraph on a piece of paper. I had goosebumps - the good kind - by the time I wrote the last word of the paragraph. The obsession began in that moment! I'm not sure if it's ended yet.

What was the first paragraph? Well, I'm glad you asked that question. The first paragraph (or, at least what hit the screen with a few changes here and there) was . . .

Every two weeks – rain or shine, sleet or snow, often on a Friday, sometimes on a Saturday – they met for margarita night. They always ordered a pitcher, numerous pitchers on some nights, and each normally ordered the same thing: #1, #6, quesadilla fajitas, chicken chimichanga, beef taquitos with rice and beans, taco salad, etc. The food did not really matter, the margaritas did matter, but most important of all was the companionship and the discussions, from mild to wild, that would ensue every time they gathered for margaritas and cheap Mexican. There were nights when it was all nine of them, but more often than not, it was the core six – the first six who began the tradition years earlier and added a friend or two in the process to equal nine in all. Some of them had partners, some were single, and some suddenly single. They varied in ages from early thirties to just past fifty and came from all different backgrounds. They had one commonality, minor really in the scheme of things, but it was there and it linked them together – they were gay and each of them had had sex, or come close to having sex, with Kevin Kirkpatrick.

Now, of course, a gazillion drafts later. Okay, not that many . . .

Jared knew the stroke of midnight was almost on him, and he feared whatever semblance of happily ever after he currently had would disappear like Cinderella’s gown when the clock struck twelve. His only problem: the stroke of midnight was just an expression and not actually a time-related emergency . . . unless he counted the fact that the days, maybe months, of his current relationship were nearing an unhappily ever after.

He walked into the crowded Mexican restaurant and looked around. None of the boyz (well, grown men desperately trying to hang on to their youth) had arrived yet. He, was the first – punctual, reliable, stable, loyal (had he been a dog in another life?) – to arrive. He waited in line and checked out the scenery. The college boys were out in force tonight – cheap food and fairly cheap drinks a definite draw for them, and their presence a definite bonus for Jared and the rest of the boyz.

“Hey, man!”

He jumped slightly and turned. His friend Nick – slender, toned, auburn hair – grinned at him. “Hey.”

“Happy margarita night.”

“Any night with a margarita is happy.” He winked at Nick. He seemed to hear the pendulum of the mysterious clock – whoosh, whoosh, whoosh – swinging back and forth, back and forth. His life was not, even though he was a gay man, a fairy tale. He didn’t have a fairy godmother, though he knew a few tired old drag queens in sparkly dresses, to wave her magic wand and deliver up Prince Charming in a tight pair of jeans with nice assets. He only had the boyz, margarita night once a month, some snarky comments, and the whispers of the gayvine – telephone, telegraph, tell-a-gay-man – to help him through the challenges of his currently chaotic life.

So, that's the difference between rough draft and draft I'm currently revising . . . at least the opening of Chapter One!

Writing Margarita Nights wasn't/isn't just writing about a bunch of guys who meet once a month to drink margaritas, trade snarky comments, and deal with the issues in their lives. I wanted to tell a story that actually reflected life for gay men in the here and now, something beyond the stereotypes on television and the movies, something beyond Jack of Will and Grace. I wanted (did) to deal with the loneliness and depression of being gay and single, and being gay and partnered.

A friend of mine, perpetually single, is always like: gee, I wish I had what you and Frank had. I try to tell him that there aren't any perfect relationships out there. I show that in Margarita Nights. I delve into the lives of the single and partnered and - hopefully - show that sometimes, even the most meaningless of relationships, ironically have meaning after all. I show - again, hopefully - that sometimes, staying in a bad relationship just because a person is afraid to be alone, isn't necessarily a good thing. I show - tell, whatever - lots of other things as well, but you'll have to read the book to find out about those things . . . and the dirty little secrets I incorporated into the book as will. I'm just saying . . .

The Voice of my Inner Snark

So, I have a great voice. According to Suzan Harden (sorry, she doesn't have a blog, but she posted a comment here about version 2 of my query), I have a wonderful voice that blazes out of both queries. Who knew I could blaze? I mean, yeah, I've flamed out every now and then - you should have seen my yesterday morning when the mouse dashed across the counter at me at the office. Not pretty, not pretty at all. But blaze?? Whoa!

Some other comments . . .

Bane of Anubis (no blog) - you've got a fairly distinctive voice and writing style.

Laura Martone (no blog) - your snarky voice is evident.

Rick Daley (and here) - the voice makes this stand out above form or format. I think if I read 50 queries in a row, I would remember this one for the voice.

Beth - LOVE the voice - that's very hard to pull off in a query, and you've nailed it.

Now, I'm not doing this post to pat myself on the back for having a great voice that blazes. No, I'm doing this post to rant about the following: great, so I nailed the voice in my query and yet it still needs some tweaking, which is driving me frakkin' crazy. I mean, if I was a 70s TV commercial I'd be screamin Calgon take me away right about now. Geesh.

Yes, I feel a bit better now. Since I'm not a 70s TV commercial (I was barely old enough to watch TV in the 70s - that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it and don't believe a word Tess says about it, even if we are about the same age!), I just keep working on the query hoping to hit the right balance of voice and substance, rather than having too much style versus substance.

Here's my question: how much voice (btw check out Marybeth's post about voice on her blog yesterday) should go into the query?

Why the question? Well, in attempting to explain more about the conflict, some of the voice is lost. So, do agents need a query full of voice or just a paragraph of voice to go along with the gist of the conflict? Do I risk style over substance and maintain the voice totally throughout the query?

My problem - version 2, took out some of the voice to insert more about the conflict. Could I do that in a snarky tone? Hmmm, I think so, it might be a bit of a struggle, me not being so snarky and all that jazz! If I do that in a snarky tone does it take away from the overall manuscript since snark is a peripheral character within the manuscript?

Arrrrgghhhh! I'm going to the store now to find some Calgon. I'll be lounging in a bubble bath tonight with my bucket of margaritas close at hand!

S

Margarita Nights - Dirty Little Secrets

Ah, yes, I got your attention didn't I?? Oh, come on now, admit it - the only reason you clicked over so quickly, probably spraining a finger or two in the process, was because of three little words: dirty little secrets.

I seriously had nothing to blog about so I thought I'd see how many people would click on over based on some tantilizing possibilities.

Okay, I'm kidding. I do have a post today, I'm just messing with your collective minds. Resistance is futile, after all!

Today's post is just another step in Platform Building.

There's a phrase I use in Margarita Nights every now and then - gayvine! The gayvine - telephone, telegraph, tell a gay man - is the source of all information, plus a healthy dose of misinformation, within the Nashville gay community. Okay, its within any gay community, but in Margarita Nights the story takes place in Nashville. Enough written! The characters within the story love to listen to the gayvine and discuss the information over coffee! Kidding! Over margaritas, of course!

Now, what's a good story without some truth interwoven into fiction. I mean, modern society is fascinated with gossip. Heck, without celebrity gossip, TMZ would go out of business, as would The Enquirer and Star magazines. So, I decided to throw in tidbits from the gayvine, as well as some totally fictional events just to spice things up in the novel. Hopefully, I concealed the true bits with enough fiction. Then again, if not, who cares? I mean, I don't mention names, and I'm sure people aren't going to be lining up to say hey, that was me who cheated on my wife with another man . . . or whatever other tidbits I threw into the novel.

Ah, the tidbits of information . . . Should I share some of them here? Should I spill out a dirty little secret and let you, dear readers, try and figure out if it is a) fact, b)fiction, or c) fact hidden behind a facade of fiction?

An up and coming lawyer, the prodigy in his law firm, is firmly in the closet. No one knows his dirty little secret - not his boss, his closest friends, or the woman he is dating . . . so he thinks. Secrets have a nasty way of leaping out of the closet when a person least expects. The lawyer's secret is no different. What price will he pay if his secret comes to light?

The country music star - butch, very masculine, allegedly redneck as can be. Rumors fly through the city about his 'other' life. Are the rumors true or false? Was he really seen in the parking lot of the local gay bar? Is his marriage one of love or . . . convenience? Is his marriage lavender?

A couple, together for fifteen years - one faithful, the other not. The whispers shiver the tendrils of the gayvine. What will the truth do to a relationship allegedly built on trust?

Two very prominent businessmen, both married, and both - allegedly - living a secret life . . . with each other.

A bet between the sons of two wealthy families - first to marry gets a plot of land. Six weeks later an engagement announcement appears in the paper. The poor woman has no clue she's only providing a cover for her future husband's faux heterosexuality.

So, which of the above are fact, fiction, or fact hidden behind a facade of fiction? I'm not telling!

The fact is, these tidbits are only a peripheral part of what happens in Margarita Nights. The tidbits are not the total story. There are tons (okay, not tons, but I like the word and I'm using it) of these tendrils of the gayvine within the manuscript. A few more might appear here or there before the book is - hopefully soon - published.

S

P.S. Lavender marriages are marriages of convenience where both spouses are either gay and marrying for position and/or reputation, or where only one spouse is gay and the other spouse knows about the gay thing.

Query

So, in a brave moment NOT induced by drinking too many margaritas, I posted my query for Margarita Nights on The Public Query Slushpile. Oh, yes I did!

Now that I've been publicly humiliated! Kidding. The experience has been really helpful. Still, I spent most of last evening reworking (to some extent) the brilliance of my query. I definitely - thanks to all the commenters (Robyn and Angie were two of them) - captured the Voice. Woo-hoo! The query just needs a tweak here or there to positively shine with brilliance! Right now, it's just glimmering brightly!

The frustrating part, at least for me, is trying to maintain the brilliance (thanks to Elana for helping me, and Lady Glamis) of the query. I don't want to add too much and somehow dim things down. Try as I might, at least last night, all my attempts to add have failed. So, I'm stepping away from the query!

Am I giving up? Heck no, people! I'm too dang stubborn to give up. I just need a breather - and a margarita, but that will have to wait until Friday! Hopefully before then, I'll finish my tweaking and repost the query on The Public Query Slushpile!

BTW - Hush, Hush by the Pussycat Dolls (yes, the Pussycat Dolls) is currently playing. I absolutely love the song - great beat, and they intermixed some of the gayest anthem of all time (I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor) into the song.

Have a great day!

S

31,466 Words

31,466 Words! Let me spell it out for you: Thirty-one thousand four hundred and sixty-six words. This is the number of words I must omit from Margarita Nights if I wish to submit the manuscript in its true brilliance. Yes, a daunting task, to say the least.

Now, as most aspiring writers know, there are words counts to conform to when submitting a manuscript. Rather than go into excruciating detail on that subject, I'm just going to direct you to Michelle's blog post here. So, according to these guidelines, a novel can be anywhere from 50,000 to 110,000 words. Great. Fantastic. Frak - I'm at 141,466 words with the total package that is Margarita Nights. Frak, Frak, and Frak again!

Okay, this isn't as bad as it sounds. Basically, the manuscript was written in two parts. Part One equals out to approximately 72,000 words. Not a bad thing. I can deal with that! Oh wait, most adult manuscripts are expected to be 80,000 words. Frak, Frak, and Frak again! I'm 8,000 words short of expectations. Oh, yes, there are exceptions to every rule. 72,000 really isn't that bad.

So, what's my dilemma? Well, I'll tell you - I like Margarita Nights at the 140,000 plus word level. I like Part One and Part Two as one book and not two separate books, which is entirely doable, btw! I'm just torn on whether to go for submitting just Part One or whether I should edit out 31,466 words and submit the total, unbelievable brilliant, package.

Do I spend the next few weeks editing out words, paring down to insane brilliance, and maintaining the snark? Do I continue to query the 72,000 Part One and hope that an agent likes it enough to consider Part Two as well? Do I query Part One while revising the total package? Do I just jump off the cliff and end my misery? Kidding!

What do you (not you, dear friend, I know what you think), fellow bloggers, think I should do? Do I go with my instinct and revise the 141,466 down to a marketable 110,000 words? Do I market just Part One and hope for a chance for Part Two? Do I market Part One and then blindside the agent with the fact that Part Two is a cohesive part (ha!) of Part One and can she/he sell it as such?

Ah, yes, that glass of wine is beckoning to me suddenly. Who needs to revise when he can imbibe instead? Oh, wait, I can multi-task!

S

Margarita Nights - Research

Platform, it's all about Platform. Sigh! In line with building a Platform, I'm going to devote one post per week to my current PIQ (project in query). Why? Because QueryTracker says I must!

Okay, not really, but it sounded good . . . and I've barely had one cup of coffee this morning!

Last week I posted this about my Platform and the next great breakthrough novel . . . Margarita Nights. In case you're wondering, every use of the word margarita in the manuscript is bolded, italicized, and greened. Why? Because I wanted to do something different, something unique, something that set me apart - other than my brilliant writing - from other writers. Okay, seriously, I saw something similar years ago and borrowed the idea. Still, I thought it was neat and until someone tells me otherwise, I'm keeping it in the manuscript!

This weeks post is about research. Research is integral to any writing. There's no way I could write about Paris in 1876 without doing some research. I also couldn't write about knitting without doing a ton of research. I have no clue what knit one, purl two actually means. Same thing goes for butterfly collecting, moon walking, or golf. In order to write about those subjects, I would need to do research. Research is key - remember those words.

So, how does a guy research a book about margaritas? Okay, LitGirl01, you got it: he drinks lots and lots of margaritas. Seriously, I didn't drink that many. Still, I did have to do research . . .

The book, unlike Aphrodite, did not emerge fully formed. I wrote out the rough draft (50,000 words) in two weeks in a period of intense obsessiveness where I lost 10 pounds because I was barely eating. It's called the Writer's Diet. You should really try it sometime. Anyhow, the research for this manuscript was fairly easy.

Let me tell you a story.

Once upon a time there was a semi-snarky (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it) young (again, my story, sticking to it) man who went out for margaritas with friends every couple of months. They talked, they laughed, they ogled the college men, they discussed stories they had heard on the gayvine (telephone, telegraph, tell-a-gay man), and they often danced around their own problems. On some nights, they went to the bar afterwards.

Somewhere along the way, on a day in July, I thought hmmm, what if I write a story about a group of friends who get together for . . . well, yes, I did. I wrote that story. I took a real life moment and (hopefully) fictionalized it beyond recognition. I did my research by drinking many, many, many margaritas, by watching the people around me, eavesdropping on conversations, and paying close attention to the tendrils of the gayvine. I ferreted out the truth behind the stories and inserted them (cleverly, I hope) into the manuscript. I watched the people in the bar - searching, searching, searching, ever searching for Mr. Right. I wrote about the desperation of ending up alone at the end of the night, the feelings of something being wrong with the character in question because he always ended up alone. I wrote about the doubt, the frustration, the mild anger when nothing seemed to go right in a character's dating life. I delved into relationships and then shattered those relationships with a simple kiss. I exposed secrets that should have, perhaps, forever remained hidden.

Yes, I did my research, and kept doing that research so I could realistically portray life. I dug beneath the surface of the characters to show their insecurities and loneliness, their sense of frustration, and the struggle they (or rather, one) endure when they realize that sometimes, love is not enough.

S