Boys of West Denton by Olivaughn. Author bio: Originally from Scotland, but raised largely in South Dakota, Olivia Vaughn is an author of queer contemporary romances who joined the Stars program at age 15 and is a current Wattpad Creator. A second-year student of the UT public school system, she spends her time focusing on her double Business major and Spanish minor, hosting her own radio show, and managing live concert events in Deep Ellum.
And losing any and all boardgames. Story title: Boys of West Denton Logline: Initially looking for nothing more than a feelings-free summer fling before college, reckless Harris McCammon and anxious Seb Krause might have stumbled into more than they bargained for. When the two virtual strangers agree to begin a friends with benefits kind of situation, neither expect anything more than maybe a fun situationship before they leave for college.
But as their casual entanglement turns into something slightly more, the two of them are forced to push down their real thoughts on this non-relationship. Add in sketchy ex-boyfriends, concerned parents, and a small dash of existential dread, there's no such thing as no strings attached.
When I have a book idea like that, it usually starts with one single idea that I think is cute. Then I do this whole little magpie thing where I go "Well, I love this and this and this and this idea. Let's mash them all together. I was in a weird situationship at the time, so add a dash of that and my weird medical mishaps, and it was all just there. What was the inspiration behind the main character and their love interest? Characters typically pop up into my head fully-formed, I don't know why.
Whenever I meet someone new in real life, I try to figure out who I already know that they remind me of. It's the same when these book characters come up out of nowhere. I take these little tidbits of people that I've seen from afar and tucked away over the years, and they all just kind of come up out of the blue again, folded into these characters. Harris, one of the MCs, has my dorky bouncy social butterfly-ness, and he also deals with some of the same SA issues I've been facing since high school.
