Meet Jake & Dan from The Silent Road

1/10/2019

Word Count: 29K

Jake Rocco character development illustration by Cynthia Hlady

Meet Jake Rocco

When Cynthia's emails arrive in my inbox, I'm always excited to see what she's created! Her work is marvelous and she's helped concrete the look and feel of Jake & Dan from THE SILENT ROAD.

Jake was easy.

I had a firm idea of what I wanted him to look like and Cynthia created him exactly how I see him. In one pose (not this one) she shows how absolutely gorgeous he is─I mean breathtaking to the point that I started to blush and couldn't look anymore because he's staring right at me.

You'll just have to wait till next update to see it for yourself.

I have to dole these images out because there won't be time to make many.

Unless I'm driven off the story road map I've got, I'm on track to wrap this story up the end of January.

If you're interested in Jake's stats, I've got them below!

1. Name: Jake Rocco
2. Name Meaning: Rocco - Germanic name derived from the element hrok meaning "rest". This was the name of a 14th-century French saint who nursed victims of the plague but eventually contracted the disease himself. He is the patron saint of the sick.
3. Age: 32, Jake has a swimmer’s body or a runner’s body. He’s lean but has a lot of muscle. The best physical attribute are his arms. They are the perfect svelte to muscle combination. But he’s very nice to look at from any angle.
4. General physical description: Height: 6’1”
Weight: 150 lbs.
Hair Color: Blond
Eye Color: Sky blue
Ethnicity: Caucasian (Germanic)
5. Dress style: Jeans & t-shirt (no logo), the more casual the better but he’s always clean, his shirts are pressed, his jeans are not wrinkled and he looks like a construction hand before he gets to work.
6. What animal does this character resemble? Salmon

Relationships:
7. Hometown: Mid-west
8. Type of home/ neighborhood (How does it affect the character?): He’s had it rough sometimes but hasn’t let it get him down.
9. Relationship status: Single, no prospects
10. Current family (How does family affect the character?): He loves his sister and she doesn’t care that he’s gay.
11. Family background (parents, previous marriages, or relevant people, etc.): Tried the married thing a decade ago (to a woman). The marriage got annulled.
12. Friends (What would friends say about this person?): Friendly, smiles a lot, would give a friend the shirt off his back even if were the last thing he owned, but hard to really get to know.
13. How other people (besides friends) see him/her: What is their first impression? Handsome, friendly, confident, the type you feel comfortable with. You hardly ever see him without a smile on his face.
14. Opinion of him/herself: Confident. He’s accepted who he is and what he likes.
15. Other close relationships: Mimi, his dog. He is devoted to her comfort and care as she is to him.
16. Relationship with men: Jake doesn’t flaunt his homosexuality, but he’s not ashamed of it either. It’s something on the down low—but when girls come up to him asking for a date, he tells them it’s not you, it’s me. He makes sure they understand he’s not rejecting them for their looks or attitude but they simply don’t have the right “equipment”. He genuinely does not feel attracted to women.
17. Relationship with women: They are a bit of a bother. Women tend to come up to him and want his attention or want to date him or have a one-night-stand but he turns them all down. He wishes he could be “normal” but that ship has sailed and now he’s just looking for the right guy.

Personal Self:
18. Job: Trucker, hauler, truck driving instructor
19. What vehicle do they have? He was left a beautiful Peterbilt 379, 1989 semi truck rig by his deceased grandfather that he uses to haul for hire.
20. What is their fear/hope? Being lonely and not having someone to share his life with.
21. Hobbies/past times: Scuba diving, Cooking, Taking care of Mimi, his dog
22. Favorite sports: Hockey
23. Favorite foods: Bratwurst/hot dogs
24. Strongest positive personality trait: Friendliness, dedication
25. Strongest negative personality trait: Lack of self-preservation
26. What type of humor do they have? He jokes all the time. Dry humor, witty humor, he likes to smile as often as he can—this is also a shield to his loneliness.
27. What is their temperament like? Happy, up-beat, easy-going, jokester
28. What nervous traits give them away? Fidgeting
29. What do they like in themselves/others? Jake wouldn’t admit it—but he’s proud of his teeth. They are bright white even without bleaching.
30. What do they Dislike in themselves/others? Jake would love to be “normal” but just can’t find women attractive. He’s just drawn to men. He’s accepted this and has moved on to look for the perfect partner.

Important Story Line Info:
31. What does this character want more than anything? A person to love. Someone who is his and can be theirs.
32. What prevents this character from attaining their goal? He’s not into hooks-ups and doesn’t date a lot due to wanting a relationship.
33. Likeable traits: His beautiful character, upbeat attitude, he’s a positive force in anyone’s life.
34. Ambitions: To find the right guy.
35. Philosophy of life: When you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine.
36. Most important thing to know about this character: He hides his sadness behind his smiles and positivity.
37. How will this character evolve through the story? He will realize what he wants in life. That settling down with a partner is really what he wants. He’s been restless and driving no longer helps his wander lust. Yet, he loves driving. He’s at odds with this throughout.
38. Will readers like or dislike this character, and why? Jake is the loveable/relatable character

Dan Perry character development illustration by Cynthia Hlady

Meet Dan Perry

Dan Perry was a bit more complicated for me. I had his mood and I had an idea of him, but Cynthia really was the one to give him a face. And his hair.

She felt Dan would have curls and seeing it, I couldn't agree more.

Dan is handsome but not intimidating like Jake. The more I look at Dan, the more interesting he becomes. He has this air about him that hides his mystery but when you get past his enmity and give him a closer look, you can see his underlying complexity.

Said another way─he's a really interesting character.

I have his stats below too:

1. Name: Dan Perry
2. Name Meaning: Perry - Derived from Middle English perrie, Old English pyrige meaning "pear tree". A famous bearer was Matthew Perry (1794-1858), the American naval officer who opened Japan to the West.
3. Age: 37, Dan has a very sinewy type of body. He’s muscular and compact. Overall he’s a nice package to look at, except when he opens his mouth. He’s got a dower expression most the time which chases all but the most determined women away.
4. General physical description: Height: 5’9”
Weight: 130 lbs.
Hair Color: Dark
Eye Color: Brown
Ethnicity: Caucasian (tan skin)
5. Dress style: Jeans & button down shirt (sleeves usually rolled up), baseball cap, sunglasses
6. What animal does this character resemble? Badger

Relationships:
7. Hometown: Dan literally was born in a semi truck between the Kentucky/West Virginia border. His hometown is all of the United States.
8. Type of home/ neighborhood (How does it affect the character?): Dan grew up in the back of his parents rig. Home schooled. No social skills.
9. Relationship status: Divorced
10. Current family (How does family affect the character?): Anna, his only daughter, is the light of his life. Because he drove 6 to 7 days a week to pay for family bills
he missed most of her childhood. He’s trying to make up for that now by being there for her and paying
for her college tuition.
11. Family background (parents, previous marriages, or relevant people, etc.): Both parents drove for a living. His mother & father were a driving pair team that hauled all over the U.S. Because of this Dan was home schooled and didn’t have enough social interaction. Which in turn makes him very non-PC. He says his mind, which can be biased and rude. But he was taught with morals and is generally a decent person—if you don’t listen to his spouting off about things he thinks is right or wrong.
12. Friends (What would friends say about this person?): He has one main friend, Troy, who is also his boss. Who was also his parents boss. Troy would tell you he feels sorry for Dan because growing up in the back of a rig—though getting to see all over the US is awesome, doesn’t make for great social skills.
13. How other people (besides friends) see him/her: What is their first impression? Gruff, Abrasive, Typical trucker, Rough around the edges
14. Opinion of him/herself: He knows he isn’t great with people but he also knows he’s a decent guy.
15. Other close relationships: Dan doesn’t stick around in one place to really have close relationships.
16. Relationship with men: Dan is a touch bit homophobic. He’ll verbally spar with anyone, but gets heated over certain topics.
17. Relationship with women: He has a love/hate relationship with his ex-wife due to being involved with their daughter. His ex-wife
Wants the best for him, but she’s also not going to take his bullshit.

Personal Self:
18. Job: Trucker, hauler, shipper
19. What vehicle do they have? He does not own a car
20. What is their fear/hope? Letting his daughter down. Putting his daughter in a tough situation due to his involvement.
21. Hobbies/past times: His whole life has been about driving but he knows a lot about trucks and rigs.
22. Favorite sports: Football when he can watch it.
23. Favorite foods: Home cooked meals are his favorite.
24. Strongest positive personality trait: Loyal, has a very high moral code.
25. Strongest negative personality trait: Bias, prejudice
26. What type of humor do they have? He doesn’t laugh often he doesn’t have much of a sense of humor
27. What is their temperament like? Serious, Gruff
28. What nervous traits give them away? Darting his eyes around, Acting relaxed, his hands in his pockets and looking down, Staying silent (he’s got opinions on everything)
29. What do they like in themselves/others? His moral code
30. What do they Dislike in themselves/others? He doesn’t like that he’s bias, but his experience is that people suck and he can’t help himself.

Important Story Line Info:
31. What does this character want more than anything? He wants his families love and respect. Particularly he wants to mend the relationship he has with his daughter.
32. What prevents this character from attaining their goal? The last $1K he needs to send her to Texas A&M
33. Likeable traits: Loyalty, tells the truth and does not bullshit people
34. Ambitions: If he could—he’d go back in time and do it a bit differently. One day he hopes to own his own rig.
35. Philosophy of life: “The grass is greener where you piss on it.”
36. Most important thing to know about this character: He may seem like someone who isn’t worth getting to know, and while he’s very bias he’s also the type of person that respects other’s opinion—even if he’s right and they’re wrong. He will never let heated debates/arguments get physical. Fighting isn’t even in his vocabulary. He’s effectively a pacifist that will listen to what you have to say, respect your feelings but then tell you why you’re wrong.
37. How will this character evolve through the story? Dan will realize that sometimes he’s wrong. That he’s been suppressing his dual sexual nature because he was taught a certain way.
38. Will readers like or dislike this character, and why? Dan is a relatable, flawed character that will make readers uncomfortable at first but as the story goes on readers will realize that Dan is a strong, no-bullshit person that deserves respect.

Excerpt Time!

Please note: This is a Contemporary M/M Romance
Which means this relationship is between two men. Here's the premise:

Heterosexual truck driving trainee must complete his training in time to send his daughter to college and finds love with his homosexual truck driving instructor.

© S.N.McKibben

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, with the exception of a reviewer who may quote passages in a review, without written prior permission from the publisher.

*PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS A ROUGH DRAFT. SPELLING, PUNCTUATION AND GRAMMAR ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED BY A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR WHEN THE FINAL VERSION IS PUBLISHED.*

The Silent Road

Horizontal bands of sunlight crossed over my face. A morning’s sunrise was better than any wake-up alarm. Warmth cocooned my body and the satisfied ache in my groin made me smile.

Oh crap.

I’d hoped the sex-after-glow would last longer. But morality stabbed its pious spears in my brain. Shame settled on me like dry snow. It wasn’t a burden at first but little by little it compounded until my cocoon felt like a straitjacket.

I flung Jake’s covers off me and rose from his bottom bunk. Another reminder of our love-making early this morning. I’d never left his bed and fallen asleep. But it was the last time. Obligation pushed me dress and let Jake know this was the one and only time. Plus it was my shift.

Jake drove at the wheel, happy as ever. Maybe a little extra happy, singing along with the radio.

“Want coffee?” I offered, yawning.

“Sure.” Jake kept his eyes on the road. A tinge of pink colored his cheeks.

Gotta love awkward after sex conversations.

He might be expecting more and I had to correct him on that. A round of coffee would cure my morning fog and give me a reason to pause. The talk I had ahead shouldn’t be had on a fuzzy mind.

I set his mug in his cup holder and sat in the empty passenger seat. “Ready to trade?”

“Yeah, you want breakfast?”

“I don’t need much.”

From looking we were on the ninety-five past Portland but before Brunswick. We’d agreed to pull over in truck stops but I didn’t want our talk in a public setting.

“Are you trying to get me to make you breakfast?” Jake mused.

“We need to talk.”

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