Yesterday on Facebook a reader asked: Just re reading Dirty Kiss and started wondering about Cole and Rick! How and when did they meet? What was Rick Like? Etc. Any possibility of a prequel?
I answered this there but I was asked to also share it here on my blog. People have asked me about Rick before so really, it’s not out of the blue. Please understand that for me, the books are about Cole and Jae but asking about Rick is a very valid question and a good question.
Here is my reply:
I will not write about Rick and Cole. Mostly because that’s a story best left to the imagination of the reader. I don’t think I can go back to that time in Cole’s life.
What I can tell you about Rick is he was a good guy, a bit vain and sometimes a bit demanding but he laughed well and heartily and loved fully. He was an artist in his own right and generous with his affection towards friends and of course, his boyfriend, Cole. Rick was tender-hearted, loved romantic movies, cried at commericals sometimes and was a bit sentimental in the best of ways. He could cook a little bit, would sometimes forget to pick up his shoes after taking them off in the living room and adored dogs.
He loved red balloons, carnivals so he could go on all the rides and eat cotton candy—or rather, steal most of Cole’s— and silly amusements. He liked walking on the beach at sunrise, and embraced everything life had to offer. He was the kind of guy who’d eat off your plate while at the same time, slide half of his food onto yours in exchange. Sometimes he would be careless with someone’s feelings but he would always try to make amends. He wasn’t perfect by any means but he did love Cole.
And there were sad times and regrets, especially around the holidays when he wasn’t with his family. He came from a typical solid Midwest family and was raised to treat people fairly so it pained him deeply when his own turned their backs on him.
Rick would be the first person to tell his Mac to fall in love again. He loved Cole that much. He would want Cole to find a lasting happiness and live a long, glorious life with someone who cared for him deeply. He’d approve of Jae and probably would have loved to have known him.
This was wonderful, I am glad to get to see a snippet of how Cole was really truly loved by Rick. I am one of those that is happy you are not writing about them though. I would feel weird reading about them after the journey Cole and Jae went through to get to their happiness. I must say, thank you for writing such engaging characters who feel like real people, as always I can’t wait to see what’s coming next.
This was wonderful getting a glimpse of Rick and Cole’s life with him. I agree that it would have been weird to read about them after all the adventures we’ve had with Cole and Jae to find their HEA. Thanks Rhys!
This is just perfect! I do not want a prequel. Like you, I think the books are about Cole and Jae, and they should stay that way.
There’s a knick in my heart whenever I reread this series with chapters that mentioned Rick, not because he should be with Cole but his life was cut short due to someone else’s selfishness and that’s just sad. He took a big part of Cole away when he died but I’m glad Jae filled that empty space and add so much more. I’m glad that his character wasn’t tainted by anyway when Cole discovered why his life went to hell, and that Rick chose not cheat on Cole and loved him and died with Cole in his eyes. It’s weird but I loved Rick character as much as I loved Cole & Jae. Thank you for this wonderful series even though I cried buckets of tears when Cole read the letters but thank you for the closure.
That was a lovely vignette into the character of Rick. I’m glad though that there won’t be a prequel.
I’m also wondering if Tramps and Thieves, and any upcoming novels will simultaneously be available at Kobo Store? I’ve found lately that some authors publish via Amazon, and books aren’t available from Kobo Store for months after.
Good question. All of Dreamspinner books are released simultanously on Kobo as they’re a distributing publishing house. I’m not publishing my own books but rather the integrated distribution lines are populated out by the company. I know some self-pubbed authors might have some issues getting their books out on a single publishing date across the different platforms but with a publishing house, that’s usually not the case.
Long story short 😀 Yep, you can always find my (and any other Dreamspinner author) releases on Kobo on release day. *hugs*
Thank you! This is a relief because I’m putting together a list of new books to download for my vacation in the Dominican. Hopefully those poor people will be back to some semblance of normal – they depend so much on the tourist industry. I’d love to take Lucky and Bo’s latest by the marvellous Eden Winters but it won’t be released for some months to Kobo. Thanks again Rhys:).
I’m glad you’re not writing about Rick. Mostly because I don’t want the emotional roller from reading about his death. Thank you for painting such a stirring picture of Rick, I can picture Cole loving him. I’m glad to have known Rick through your words. As always, you’ve touched my heart.