It’s Sweet September! For my first retrospective blog of the month, I’m reflecting on a few of my favorite feel-good scenes. These are the light, fluffy scenes that give you a much-needed break from the tragedy and turmoil in my stories. For me, these scenes tend to be a bit more forgettable than my heavy, dramatic scenes, but they always make me smile when I reread and remember them, so I’m taking this opportunity to show them some love. Without further ado, here are my top five sweet scenes!
5. Kevin’s Birthday Fiesta
In Chapter 47 of My Brother’s Keeper, Nick and AJ take Kevin out for Mexican food to celebrate his birthday. Unlike Kevin’s disastrous Mexican birthday dinner in the sequel, this one goes well! It’s a big deal for Kevin, who hasn’t felt entirely comfortable being out in public since breaking his neck and becoming paralyzed nine months earlier. But this chapter gives us a glimpse of how far Kevin has come and where he will go as his story continues to unfold. It includes plenty of the bromance that defines MBK, but it’s happier and more light-hearted than the majority of the novel, which is, frankly, pretty depressing overall. I love the banter between Kevin, Nick, and AJ and the way they continue to support and encourage each other, even though Nick and AJ are no longer living with Kevin at this point in the story. As the novel nears its conclusion, this chapter is meant to show and reassure readers that Kevin has finally reached a good place again and is going to be all right as he continues to move forward with his new reality.
4. Backstreet’s Back on Zoom
The Road to Bethlehem ends the same way it begins: with a Zoom call. The idea for this story was partly inspired by an interview Nick did during the early days of the pandemic, in which he said the guys had been keeping in touch through Zoom and talking about possibly recording a Christmas album. I liked the idea of using their Zoom calls as bookends for my bromantic survival story set during the recording of said album. The last chapter of the story, Chapter 22, takes place four months after the main events of the story and features the five guys catching up with each other on Zoom. After the fast-paced, life-or-death drama of the previous chapters, it serves as a sweet, light-hearted way to wrap up the story and bring readers up to speed on the Boys’ recoveries.
I call this my “Homeward Bound ending” because the beginning of this chapter was inspired by the end of one of my favorite childhood movies, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey. Everyone should watch this movie at least once, but for anyone who haven’t seen it, it’s about two dogs and a cat who trek through the wilderness to find their human family. Toward the end of the movie, the wise older dog, Shadow, falls into a pit and injures his leg. Unable to get himself out, he urges his two companions, Chance and Sassy, to go on without him. This leads to the final scene of the movie, where Chance and Sassy make it home and are reunited with their owners. Then, just when it looks like Shadow didn’t make it, he appears on the horizon and limps toward the rest of the family. It is literally impossible for me to watch this scene without crying. Anyway, I decided to do this type of ending by making it look like AJ was a goner at the end of Chapter 21, only to have him be the last to appear in the Boys’ Zoom call at the start of 22. It’s nowhere near as touching or well-executed as Homeward Bound, but that is where I got the idea.
I like this chapter because it includes a lot of cute banter and fun moments between the Boys, such as them joking about performing “Roll With It” in wheelchairs (I’m still considering making this happen in The World Will Be Waiting LOL), references to real events such as the 2020 election and Nick and AJ’s reality show appearances that year, and their “Twelve Days of Christmas” parody, which is also a callback to the beginning of the story, when Nick and Brian annoy the others by singing that song in the car. It’s definitely a feel-good, happy ending, and that’s why it comes in at number four on my list.
3. Zombie Beach Party
A zombie apocalypse probably isn’t the first thing to come to mind when you think of fun, feel-good scenes. But that’s exactly why it was so important to Rose and me to include some light-hearted moments in our zombie apocalypse AU, Song for the Undead. Part VI is full of them, as the survivors wander the mall, go bowling, and visit the L-I-B-R-A-R-Y. (It’s the place to be!) I like this middle section of the story because it’s where much of the character development and world-building happens, as our newly-formed family bonds and explores the military base they’ve made their home. One of my favorite chapters is Chapter 66, in which Nick, Brian, Riley, and Gretchen go to the beach. While it still has some suspense and scary moments, it’s mostly cute and fun, as Frick and Frack and their future girlfriends flirt, laugh, and play together. Written from Gretchen’s perspective, this chapter hints at her romantic feelings for Brian, although it will take her another twenty chapters to finally act on them. I love all the Brian and Gretchen chapters, and that’s why this one snagged the number three spot.
2. April Fools’ Antics
It’s no secret that I love April Fools’ Day. I’ve always assumed Nick does, too, since he’s known to be a prankster. In Broken, I played a cruel joke on his character by amputating his leg on the first of April, forever tarnishing April Fools’ Day for him. But Nick refuses to let a little leg choppage ruin his enjoyment of the holiday. In the sequel, By My Side, on the second anniversary of his amputation, he celebrates April Fools’ Day by pranking each of his bandmates. Chapter 94 stands out as a bright spot in the dreary middle of BMS, when Nick and Claire are broken up and moving on in two different directions. There’s no overwrought drama in this chapter, just comedy, cute banter, and Backstreet bromance. I don’t usually enjoy writing “filler chapters,” but I remember having fun with this one. IOt makes for a fun read, too. Aside from the humor of the pranks Nick pulls on the other boys, it’s refreshing to see his character feeling happy, confident, and comfortable in his own skin again. That really shows in the last scene of the chapter, when the other guys finally get him back. It’s a great moment!
1. Detour in Decatur
In Chapters 36 and 37 of Curtain Call, Nick accompanies Cary back to her hometown during a tour stop in Illinois. I may be cheating a bit in lumping these two chapters together for the top spot on this blog, but I couldn’t choose between them because I love them both! I adore this part of the story because it’s deeply personal to me. While Cary is not a self-insert character, I did borrow certain elements from my own life for her backstory. Like me, she lives in a small city in Illinois, and her father, Frank, is based on my dad. I really enjoyed writing his character and imagining my own dad interacting with Nick Carter, as Cary’s dad does in Chapter 36. Chapter 37 is even cuter, as Nick and Cary dance to Elvis in the kitchen and perform for the residents of the nursing home where she worked. Both chapters are also sweet in a poignant way, as Cary begins to consider the possible consequences of developing a crush on a guy who could be dying of cancer. But we’ll save the sad stuff for my next blog. This is one of the happy parts of Curtain Call, and that’s why I love it!
That does it for the first blog of this month! I’ve been busy, so I kept it short and sweet this time. I very well may have missed some cute scenes that I completely forgot about, so feel free to mention your favorites in the comments. Thanks for reading!