Spring Break Binge!
Back to the beach with Kara and Janine ...
This is another entry in my ongoing “My Filthy Hobby” series, in which I offer some thoughts on the stories I’ve published. This week, a look at Spring Break Binge!, the sequel to How I Won Spring Break.
I haven’t done one of these “My Filthy Hobby” posts since March, when I shared the story behind “Beach Volleyball Rematch!”. They’re fun to do, giving me an opportunity to share a little of the behind-the-scenes action here at Cornelia Quick World Headquarters, so I’m going to try to get into the habit a bit more.
When I wrote How I Won Spring Break, I was intentionally setting up a sequel. Throughout “Spring Break,” Tiffany is texting her friends, Kara and Janine. (Honestly, with all that she gets up to in that book, I don’t know how she found the time …) We get little peeks into their spring break activities, which start off promising enough but, after a rave party that fails to live up to their expectations, Tiffany quickly pulls ahead in their sexy little competition.
Those text exchanges gave me the structure on which to hang a story for Kara and Janine, but there was plenty of space to play in. There were a few surprises that came up right away (owing, as usual, to letting the characters run a little wild), like Kara’s secret crush on Janine, and a little bit of a love story beat between Janine and Jacob. (Don’t worry, it doesn’t get all mushy — this isn’t a sweet romance story! — and the adventure ends with a delightfully dirty threeway.)
The real surprise in the story was Greg, the handyman who comes to fix the sink at the girls’ borrowed beach house. I wrote “Spring Break Binge!” hot on the heals of Beach Volleyball Rematch!, so I had just spent a whole lot of time with a bunch of horny college kids rampaging about in my brain. And as much as I enjoy the company of horny college kids, they can get a little exhausting with their drama and their loud music and their, well, youth. I haven’t been a horny college kid myself for more decades than I care to count, and I needed a little bit of a break.
And Greg, who comes with a lot of experience and expertise, was just the break I needed. He has the kind of self-assurance the younger men, Taylor and Jacob, have yet to earn, and when he’s called upon to dominate the desires of Janine and Kara, he’s more than ready to step up to the task. Janine and Kara clearly have no idea what they’re getting into when they challenge Greg to rev their engines, and he’s more than happy to teach them some lessons they won’t soon forget.
Indeed, as I was writing those scenes with Greg, I started to hear his voice more loudly than I heard Kara’s and Janine’s — perhaps he was trying to dominate me, too? (I certainly wouldn’t put it past him …) Because “Spring Break Binge!” was the girls’ story, though, I made a deal with Greg: he’d get his own bonus chapter if he’d just behave himself and play nicely in this book. Since he kept his end of the bargain (more or less — he might have been a tad rough on the gals …), I kept mine, and wrote Spring Break Service! to explore his character a little more.
What I found was interesting and surprising. It turns out that Greg is a big fan of Finnish death metal, enjoys going out to UFO Beach to watch the stars, and has an ongoing arrangement with Aunt Lydia, who owns the beach house Kara and Janine are borrowing. Oh, and he likes being tied up. It was fun, after spending so much time among the younger crowd for this story, to write something with older characters.
There are two other spin-off tales from these two spring break books: Spring Break Sizzle!, which is a sort of prequel that focuses on Felix and Dot, whom Tiffany will befriend at the end of “How I Won Spring Break” (in a scene that definitely secures her victory), and Spring Break Splash!, a little coda in which Tiffany takes a victory lap and runs up her score.
All three of the bonus stories are available exclusively on Payhip. And with the discounts I offer when you buy related titles, you can get all five (so far!) of the spring break books pretty cheaply.
Will I return to any of these characters? Possibly! I’ve got some ideas for a reunion of Tiffany, Kara, and Janine, maybe set in a different season; and I’d like to explore some more of the dynamic between Lydia and Greg. As usual, I’m a bit chaotic in my writing, swinging from project to project according to my moods. But if you like these stories, and are intrigued by the opportunties for more of the same, let me know — it might just put me in the mood to write them!
You can use coupon code WSSDA at checkout at Smashwords to get How I Won Spring Break and Spring Break Binge! for just 99 cents each; but hurry, this coupon expires August 18. They’re always $1 at Payhip, which is the only place to get the three bonus stories, and with discounts at checkout you can get the whole set of five for about $4.20.
