Diverse Reader: Guest Post: K. Evan Coles~ Third Time's The Charm Character Interview #Giveaway

We're excited here at Diverse Reader to have author K. Evan Coles here talking with us about her new book and having a good time hanging out. There's also a giveaway so be sure to check that out too!

Third Time’s the Charm by K. Evan Coles

Sometimes you have to start over to get love right.

Luke Ryan’s life is too chaotic for romance, what with running his business and being the legal guardian to his ten-year-old niece, but he’s hopeful he’ll find the right man.

Trauma surgeon Finn Thomason recently relocated from Chicago to Boston, where his focus on medicine leaves him little space for a personal life. Making a commitment to find a better work-life balance, Finn hopes he’ll also find a relationship.

Caught in an evening rainstorm, Luke shelters under a sidewalk awning…and encounters a handsome stranger. The two strike up a conversation and Finn offers to walk Luke under his oversized umbrella. Charmed, Luke accepts and asks Finn out for coffee in thanks.

Luke and Finn quickly grow close, but, as the summer draws to an end, Luke struggles to keep his connection with Finn while Finn tries to come to terms with caring for a man whose attention is pulled in many directions. Both men are scrambling to get it right, but only time will tell if they’ll learn there is more than enough room in their hearts to go around.

AVAILABLE FROM PRIDE PUBLISHING

“Third Time’s the Charm”

Character Interview with Luke Ryan and Finn Thomason

Even before I started writing “Third Time’s the Charm,” I was half in love with Luke Ryan. He’d sprung up out of nowhere and started percolating in my head, just waiting for his chance at a story. Once Luke had my attention, I was delighted to find that his love interest, Finn Thomason, proved even easier to fall for.

Luke and Finn captivated my pre-readers, too, and I didn’t hesitate to ask for their help in crafting questions for this interview. My sincere thanks to Stephanie, Anna, Shelli, Kirstin, and Anka—you all more than rose to the occasion!

Finn, what do you miss most about the Midwest/Chicago area? And what have you discovered that you absolutely love about Boston?

Finn: This is going to sound funny, but after my family, I miss some of the foods the most.

Luke: And by ‘foods’ he means meats.

Finn: Yes and no. I’m definitely trying to find an adequate replacement for the Italian Beef Sandwich and the hot dogs, but even more so for Garrett’s Chicago Mix popcorn.

Luke: Finn has found he loves the Boston Red Sox way more than the Chicago Cubs.

Finn: You are made of lies.

Luke, what is it like being responsible for your 10-year-old niece, Ella? What is the most daunting task for you?

Luke: I hardly slept the first time Ella’s dad left us on our own—I was that freaked out. It got easier over time, both because I figured a lot of stuff out and Ella’s pretty easygoing when she wants to be. Plus she’s older now and I don’t feel as though I need to follow her around making sure she doesn’t juggle knives or something.

Answering awkward questions is probably the most daunting task because I want to be honest but the line between candor and TMI is razor thin. Ella also asks me questions wherever and whenever the whim strikes her. Last week, she asked me what ‘jizz’ meant because she’d seen some graffiti—we were in line at the supermarket checkout and I swear, everyone in a thirty-yard radius stopped talking and started eyeballing me.

Finn: Oh, God.

For both, what are the other’s most irritating habits?

Luke: Finn will eat every sweet he can find if he’s in a mood. I’ve hidden things to keep him from scarfing them down.

Finn: Wait, there are hidden caches of sweets in your apartment?

Luke: Finn, focus.

Finn: Luke’s most irritating habit is that he apparently hoards sweets and doesn’t share.

Finn, tell me what you see as the biggest difference between Midwest and New England personalities.

Finn: Compared to Midwesterners, New Englanders seem very closed off – like reserved to the point of rudeness. It’s a little intimidating, honestly, because you feel as though you’re under suspicion all the time.

Luke: Like when you go to order coffee and the barista silently stares at you like ‘order up or get the hell outta here.’

Finn: *laughs* Yes! I’ve learned it’s mostly surface though. If you can get past the brittle shell of sarcasm and side-eye, you’ve made a good, true friend.

Luke, how many computers do you own?

Finn: Too many.

Luke: Oh, shush. Right now, I own three personal computers—two laptops and a desktop. But I also have a home theater PC and a gaming system, plus two tablets and my phone so there’s a good amount of hardware at my place. I used to have a lot more stuff, but cloud computing makes it easy to pare down.

And have you ever built a computer from scratch?

Luke: Oh, yep, I have. The last one was a sickass machine for gaming that I swear sucked half the city’s power every time I switched it on. I named her Stella and she was awesome.

To both, what are your coming out stories? What did you find most challenging in accepting your sexual orientation?

Luke: I was in ninth grade when I figured out I liked guys.

Finn: Oh, wow, you were just a baby.

Luke: I guess? My brother and some of our friends had started pairing off with girls, but I was more interested in machines and sports and my hobbies. One day I was working with this guy, David Saccone, in programming class and I figured out how to get around a problem we’d been having. The way David smiled at me … well, it hit me all at once. Like ‘bam, I am into this dude and I can’t wait to make him smile again.’ I went home and told my family at dinner. Pops always says it was the most memorable Cottage Pie of his life.

Finn: *laughs* That definitely sounds like you. Did they give you a hard time?

Luke: Not really. My parents talked to me about safe sex a lot and made my brother listen in too. I swear Pete would have strangled me if he could for that.

Finn: I knew I was gay by the time I started college, but I waited until I was in med school before I told my family. Basically, I was out everywhere but with the people I loved most.

Luke: *frowns* That must have been hard. Were you worried about how they’d react?

Finn: Yes. I was the youngest growing up and pampered. I’d never doubted that I was loved, and I didn’t want to lose that. My family was supportive outwardly, but I knew I’d hurt my parents by hiding that part of myself from them. Not telling them was a much bigger deal in their eyes than the face I liked men. Things were tense for a while, but we worked it out over time.

Luke, have you bought a new coffee machine for the office yet?

Luke: Oh, my God, don’t even get me started on the hell that is finding a coffee machine those nerds I work with won’t break after a week!

Finn: That’s a no.

Finn, what’s the longest shift you’ve ever worked at a hospital?

Finn: During my first year of residency, I was on duty when a train derailed in one of the CTA stations. My hospital was the closest, so we took most of the casualties and it was the better part of 50 hours before the load was cleared. I slept for 2 days straight afterward and my boyfriend got so freaked out that he woke me up to make sure I wasn’t in a coma.

Luke: Oh, heck. Were you mad?

Finn: Pretty sure I passed back out in the middle of swearing at him.

Luke, what is your greatest fear when it comes to love and family? You’re a great Uncle, by the way!

Luke: Hey, thanks, I appreciate that. My greatest fear when it comes to love and family would be losing them, honestly.

For both, name one non-sexual thing that your partner does that makes you insane and ready to combust.

Luke: I love watching Finn cook. He likes to make complicated recipes with lots of ingredients and his cheeks get all rosy from the heat. I could watch him all-l-l-l day long.

Finn: Watching Luke practice yoga is truly one of my favorite activities. I probably sound like a creeper saying that, but I couldn’t care less.

Finn, what are you willing to sacrifice for the one you love?

Finn: Both time and privacy come to mind, and each is important to me in different ways. Working with patients means I don’t have a ton of time for myself, but what I do have is all mine. Dating another person means giving some of that up. And dating someone with a kid in their life means any semblance of privacy basically goes out the window.

Luke, tell us the best thing about Finn.

Luke: Finn’s heart is always open. That’s a rare thing in this world and one of the things that makes him so special.

Finn, you and Luke *almost* met at a coffee shop. What was the first thing you noticed about him?

Finn: I heard Luke before I truly saw him. He has a beautiful speaking voice, really full and musical while still deep. He was with Simon that day and the way the two of them were laughing together caught my attention. Then Luke turned around and damn, hello handsome.

Ella, what do you love most about Luke and Finn together? What is your favorite time spent with them?

Finn: Wait, there are questions for Ella?

Luke: I’m not sure this is such a good idea.

Ella: My favorite time around Luke and Finn is when they’re not kissing. No one needs to see that. *makes a face*

Luke: Girl, that is rude.

Finn: Eh, I was the same way about adults kissing when I was her age.

Finn, will you name a few of your favorite things?

Color: Green

Song: Solo Flying Mystery Man by Pauline Taylor

Movie: Shawn of the Dead is totally hilarious

Outfit: I wear scrubs a lot for work, so dressing it up in good trousers and a nice button-down shirt is fun. I wear a lot of black because I’m lazy about matching.

Book: Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby changed the way I looked at the world around me.

Car: I don’t have one right now because finding street parking in Boston is like competing in the Hunger Games on a daily basis.

Luke, same question – will you name a few of your favorite things?

Color: Orange

Song: Vertigo by Khalid

Movie: Kill Bill, Vol. 1

Outfit: Jeans and a t-shirt if I’m not working. I also have this old leather jacket that I stole from my friend, Simon, about a million years ago and it’s all broken in and soft and perfect.

Book: I’ve read Perdido Street Station by China Miéville many, many times.

Car: Ugh, driving.

Last question: you guys are both very busy, and Finn’s shifts at the hospital are all over the place. What would you say is the key to success in managing relationships?

Finn: Talking to each other is key. You have to be honest about what you want from your partner and the relationship or you’ll end up missing cues.

Luke: Damn, I was going to say making sure you get time alone with your partner but now that just sounds like code for sex.

Ella: Gross, dude.

Luke: Oh, crap, I’m sorry. I thought you went back to your room!

Bio

K. Evan Coles is a mother and tech pirate by day and a writer by night. She is a dreamer who, with a little hard work and a lot of good coffee, coaxes words out of her head and onto paper.

K. lives in the northeast United States, where she complains bitterly about the winters, but truly loves the region and its diverse, tenacious and deceptively compassionate people. You’ll usually find K. nerding out over books, movies and television with friends and family. She’s especially proud to be raising her son as part of a new generation of unabashed geeks.

K.’s books explore LGBTQ+ romance in contemporary settings.

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