Anthology V – Season’s Meetings (behind the scenes)

This story literally started because of two puns:

Christmas Steve – Christmas Eve

and

Hugh Year’s Day – New Year’s Day

They became subtitles in part one and two of the story.

 

I clearly had a festive story in mind but didn’t really know what it was going to be about. I had early ideas of Hugh being neurodivergent (I deliberately do not label him more specifically) and I wanted Steve to be strong and handsome with a power that juxtaposed those attributes.

Steve was inspired by Captain America/ Steve Rogers/ Chris Evans and takes his name from the same (hence, Steven Evans). Admittedly, he is amalgamated with Sam Wilson too. Ultimately though, I wanted Steve to be physically robust but enhanced from a more emotional perspective.

I toyed with the idea of superspeed for either Steve or Hugh for a while but never had a clear plan for what either of them were going to bring to the wider Anthologyverse. Steve became an emotionally complex strong-man while Hugh became an emotionally befuddled space-shifter.

I had a clear image of Hugh saving Steve and then the scene of Steve overwhelming Hugh and realising the harm he was doing to a vulnerable friend.

Ultimately, writing the story was what defined them both. They were to interact with and be manipulated by existing characters and be bonded by seeing through that manipulation. The characters had to know each other, they were both gay and secure in their sexualities but came from totally different places in terms of wider acceptance.

Hugh is kind of spoiled and mollycoddled while Steve endures overwhelming criticism yet covets the approval of a disapproving father. I considered completing Steve’s narrative in Season’s Greetings but see this becoming a wider story arc for him – especially with his dad connected to the mysterious political advisor Jethro Renton-Mass.

Since all the stories in Anthology are now connected, I will tease that JRM (UK readers might be able to infer the inspiration for this insipid and despicable character) will become a very important character as the narrative continues.

I started writing Anthology V in November and edited them in December. Which is pretty fast turnover for me. While these events could have taken place a different calendar date, it feels right that they form (a) festive special(s).

Of course, Steve and Hugh will return…

Now where will Anthology go next?

Well, I don’t have any time to write unfortunately. I would love Anthology VI and The SEX Men to come out this year but I don’t know if that’s an achievable target for me. What I can say is that those are the next two stories in the series. Anthology VI – Untitled will be the final part of the Anthology Heroes Saga (which is a clue for what the next saga will be about). The SEX Men will follow, will conclude the story so far, will be a separate story title in the Nifty archive and will bring together all the characters so far.

To be clear, I have not written the next story yet! However…

Anthology VI has a few punny (working) titles and will involve the spy genre. Anthology VI will introduce a character who has been mentioned but has not featured yet. I intend it to be a globetrotting adventure with a twist or two, a cool new power and more hints about the wider nefarious plot that The SEX Men will need to foil.

I hope fans have enjoyed this insight into the story and the teasers for the future…