Amy Daws | How to Write a Fabulous Gay Secondary

So I’m sitting at this pizza place with two of my coworkers for lunch. It’s no Pizza Hut, mind you. It’s one of those fancy pizza joints with stacks of wood for their wood fire oven and fresh garlic that they sprinkle on for toppings. The pizza is the bomb! Anyways, I’m people-watching a bit and I notice this cool looking guy sitting a few tables over from us. We live in the Midwest, mind you. There’s people with style, but it’s few and far between. This guy that I saw was unlike any guy I’d ever seen! He was super tall and skinny wearing these cool faded denim skinny jeans and big, brown chunky boots. And he had this enormous rooster top of red hair. It was hipster, but not trying to be. Like just truly cool and unique. I saw him and my mind blew up and I instantly came up with a character.

Frank.

That’s the thing about writers. Pretty much everywhere we go, everyone we see, everyone we talk to…it’s all potential for us.

Frank is now the fantabulous gay best friend in my London Lovers Series. Who knew that some random, cool-looking ginger at a pizza joint would birth such a landslide fan favorite?

Having a secondary character be a fan favorite is actually something I’m really proud of! So many books I read, the secondaries are throw aways…easily forgettable, but necessary to have dialogue exchange, move the plot forward, etc. Not my Frank. Frank is a scene-stealer in all his rooster-red-headed glory.

Here are some of the ways I wrote my Fabulous Frank: 1. First and foremost…I wrote a character. Frank’s past, his upbringing, his friends, his personality…THOSE were the most important things about his development. The fact that he was gay was HUGELY secondary!

2. Sense of humor. Frank’s sense of humor just shines. I don’t know how I tapped into such a hilarious side to him, but I did and it just felt so real and authentic and that is why he’s the fan favorite.

3. He’s not a cliché. He’s not feminine or dramatic or over the top. He can be at times, I assure you! But not to an obnoxious level. He’s just his own hilarious self and that is what makes him fabulous.

4. Readers don’t need to be reminded of his sexual preference. One of my beta reader’s that’s only read book 3 of my series didn’t actually remember Frank was gay until ¾ through the book. I took that as a HUGE compliment.

5. Frank was vulnerable. He wasn’t a cocky, overbearing headline in every chapter. He was flawed and exposed and in need of being loved and wanted by friends. That made you cheer for him even more.

6. He was kind. And real. He was a friend, a support system, and a rock to everyone. In some way shape or form, Frank has helped everyone that’s come into his life. That tames down his hilarious anecdotes and makes him so much more than just the funny secondary character.

I’m happy that Frank was so well received in my books because the inspiration for his character came so natural to me. I don’t know anyone like Frank in real life. His physical appearance is the only thing based on anything in my real life. But everyone that loves him tells me they either know someone just like him or they want to. And that’s only because he’s Frank.

About LONDON BOUND, a London Lovers Stand-Alone Novel

When Leslie Lincoln, a spunky, red-headed American, suffers an awkward moment with an arousingly-sexy British man—she thinks her life can't get any more pathetic.

She's done with men.

She doesn't need them.

She especially doesn't need their muscular thighs.

No siree, she's going to forget all about the brooding, complicated, and seductive "Theo" who captivated her on the dance floor of a London nightclub.

Keep telling yourself that, Lez...

Immersing herself into a new type of romantic cleanse, Leslie thinks she'll never lay eyes on Theo again. But somehow, he's managed to bulldoze his way back in—her cheetah-print onesie pajamas be damned.

He wants more.

She wants to run.

But he can’t seem to let her go.

Both of them have a past—and neither want to share. How can love possibly survive in darkness?

About Amy Daws

Amy Daws is a goof of epic proportions. She enjoys making dumb videos and laughing at herself…a lot. She thinks she should have tried her hand at improv theater but figured she’d learn how life looks behind the lens of a camera first.

Amy works as a commercial producer at a major network affiliate TV station in South Dakota. You know those cheesy local ads everybody hates? Those AREN’T hers.

She lives with her husband, Kevin, and their miracle daughter, Lorelei. The long-awaited birth of Lorelei is what inspired Amy’s first book, Chasing Hope, and her passion for writing.

Amy’s contemporary romance books are a part of her London Lovers Series and currently have three installments out with more on the way. Her writing style takes emotional and comical and makes them have a really cute batch of ugly-crying/snort-laughing octuplet babies.

Amy’s inspiration for writing is and always will be her six precious angel babies and her daughter, Lorelei. On most nights, you can find Amy and her family dancing to Strawberry Shortcake’s theme song or stuffing themselves inside children’s-sized playhouses because there is nothing they wouldn’t do for their little miracle.