&. — introduction.
it's funny the decisions you make because you like someone, he says, and then your whole life is different. i think we're at that weird age where life can change a lot from small decisions.
brooks hawthorne, 41, suburbs, author
hawthorne founding family, youtube sensation
cis man, he/him, heterosexual, single, virgo
&. — the story.
when looking back on his life and the literary success brooks hawthorne has had, you'll find his parents stating it really had all begun with stories. even as a small child he'd make them up on the spot and babble on about them. especially in the backseat during long drives to visit family or go on vacations. no one could've ever predicted what would all become of it. nothing more than a standout athlete and a mediocre student from a small town in oregon, brooks would go on to graduate university with a general degree and an appetite for fingers on the keyboard. not only did he marry young, his university sweetheart, the first book he wrote was published and had gone on to be a hit. twenty-two and on all the best seller's lists? book after book was churned out year after year. if he wasn't writing then he and his wife were traveling and discovering themselves in the world. usually he was still writing. it was a year following the birth of his son that his wife had become ill. early onset als deteriorated her life fast and in the wake of her was left a man and son devastated. not knowing how to exist without her, brooks moved away. every bit of their surroundings reminded him of what the world had taken. in his hometown of windsor bay he was offered reprieve from the suffocation of loss. the first couple of books published post widowing were darker than anything he'd ever written before. his path to healing wasn't linear and brooks fought against his struggles to be as present for his son as possible. on a whim he'd started a youtube channel where he documented his journeys on his motorcycle to raise funds and awareness for als research and support. to brooks's surprise it'd become a hit.
&. — wanted connections / plots.
friends/acquaintances from childhood, met through travels or university
friends/acquaintances of his late wife, or even family members if anyone is interested in that sort of plot/connection
neighbors in the suburbs
parental friends: his son, mason, is 5 years old
babysitter/nanny, daycare leader
trying to move on: a possible hookup/connection gone wrong because he couldn't go through with it when it got to that point of the date and brooks left without saying anything. never called or texted because of the demons he was battling and also embarrassment. whenever they cross paths its strained an awkward.
friends in low places: someone he can call on or find when needed to drink away the pain. a type of friendship that would go both ways. they don't really talk about it, that presence of another person is what matters.
open to anything, really!
