Writing Delicate

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On July 13th 2019, I started writing Delicate.

When I started this book, I knew that I wanted to do a deep dive into Damon, exploring his mind and his character.

I knew that with all I'd showcased of him through the other books that people would rightfully not like him, but I wanted to give myself the challenge of making people see him.

I had no idea that Will would be the bright star that would show everyone in this little world who Damon really was, but also the one that would show him to you guys, the readers and in a lot of ways, Damon himself.

I didn't know all that Will would've been through, didn't know his trauma or pain, until I was writing it and experiencing it with you all.

Delicate is the most complex book I have ever written.

This book could honestly be split into 2 or 3 with how much happened in it, and while I never imagined it to be this long, I wanted to do Will and Damon's story justice.

So I didn't hold back, and I'm so fucking glad that I didn't.

When I look back at the journey these two have been on, the journey I felt I was on, I can't believe that it's found its end.

At least, it ends with us. They've got their entire lives ahead of them.

But to me, Delicate was never supposed to be their full story, just more of their start that we would get a very detailed sneak-peek into. 

That's why Damon didn't become alpha in the end, it might've been nice for the typical story, but at the end of the day, Damon is just nineteen.

So following along with the theme of being realistic, it didn't make sense for him to be aloha yet.

I know some people may hate me for that or disagree, to each is his own.

As I said, Delicate is just a peek into Damon and Will's life and I wasn't going to stuff the coronation in for our benefit.

While writing Delicate, I wanted to explore all their feelings, emotions, thoughts, worries, goals and pain like if it were a real thing, and sometimes I really do think these guys are real haha. I hope in some other world they are.

At the start, I was confused over whether or not I wanted Damon to be mated to a human cop who'd put him in his place or a human with trust issues. While I'm sure the cop plotline would've been fun and probably very hot, I realised that Damon didn't need to be put in his place.

I've got a brother who in many terrifying ways, is a lot like Damon lol.
All his life, he's gotten into trouble for doing or saying the wrong things, for being heartless, for thinking he's better than everyone else, and the punishment was always that, punishment.

When people stopped doing that, stopped trying to fix him and make him fit into this world's box, he just sort of blossomed.

I saw him cry for the first time in my life last year.

I didn't really realise it until halfway through Delicate, but I guess I was inspired to tell a story about misunderstood, 'horrible' people through Delicate so people could see another side to this world's 'demons'.

I hope I achieved that in some measure.

I know I didn't succeed for everyone, lots of people hate Damon and that's okay, it is what it is, I just hope people see him better now.

For Will, I knew I wanted him to be blind because a - representation, and b - I wanted Damon to have a mate that would teach him patience.

I'm not saying blind people require patience at all, I'm saying for someone as selfish as Damon was at the start and pre-Delicate, I thought it was perfect for him.

And it was.

Damon had to be patient, considerate and gentle because his mate was someone who was not going to try and win his favour, it had to be the other way around.

I loved Will from the start, his strength and resilience is honestly inspiring, and even more so when I started to explore his own story.

This is why Delicate got so long. It was the first time I was writing about 2 characters from 2 completely different worlds, with separate histories and pain, and covering all of that was a lot.

Initially, I think I imagined Delicate to be Damon's bok with Will as his mate.

In the end, Delicate is Damon and Will's book, it's equal like their relationship.

This is a story of two people who each went through their own hells and learned to trust each other to hold their broken pieces.

It's a story of life, the good and the bad, the ugly and the disgusting. 

It's real, or at least, I really wanted it to be as real as I could.

It's the story of how Will and Damon became Will and Damon haha.

At the start, chapters came almost daily because that's how easy it was to tell this story, especially when it was about Damon and Will in their human town. That was my favourite part of the book, which is why I wanted to bring it back around in the end.

I've been writing delicate for more than two years which is absolutely insane!

I started this book when I started university - I think - I was in between classes and in my room banging out chapters when I could and look how far we've come!!!!

Delicate isn't just a story to m, at this point, it's a piece of me.

I wouldn't change a thing about the book EXCEPT for the length of the heat. That was ridiculously long and I see that rereading it loool. 

But as I said to someone in the comments, when I started writing the heat, I'd honestly planned for Damon to lose control and mate Will. But then Damon had control, so it was long instead lol.

Besides that, there isn't a damn thing I'd ever change about Delicate.

So thank you all for reading, for following along, for supporting me and for helping me reach this finish line.

I know Delicate means a lot to many of us, and it is heartbreaking to see it go, but I think it's time.

Damon and Will deserve their happily ever after, and rest assured, they will get it. They deserve it.

Delicate made me cry, made me sob, made me laugh, smile and scream.

Delicate is my happiness haha.

It has been my favourite book to write and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

So, here we are, October 8th 2021, I think it was all worth it.

Writing a book is never easy, but writing Delicate felt like a dream.

Thank you for experiencing it with me,
Love Tippy 💗

P.S. Epilogues are coming soon

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