Beyond the 90-Degree Angle: Writing A City of Two and the Journey to The Kinetic Anchor

Since our last update focused on the exciting news that Book 6 (The Kinetic Anchor) is underway, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on how far Alex Ko and Patrick McClellan have come.

When The Gig Line (Book 1) first opened in the humid, high-stress atmosphere of Bancroft Hall in 1990, it was a story born out of extreme constraint. Back then, survival meant strict geometry. It meant keeping your gig line straight, your posture rigid, and your true self buried deep beneath layers of military regulation. To exist as a gay man in the United States Navy of 1990 meant living in an institutional bunker where a single "variable drift" could lead to total destruction.  

Over the course of the series—from the academic chess matches in The Sovereign State to the painful, sprawling geographic divides of The Long Watch—we’ve watched Alex and Patrick evolve. But looking back at the entire arc leading up to The Kinetic Anchor, one theme consistently rises to the surface: The evolution of what it means to find an anchor.

1. From Physical Bunkers to Emotional Territory

In the early days, the "City of Two" was literally restricted to the physical boundaries of Room 3012 (and later Room 2204). The 45-degree (and eventually 90-degree) propped door was a sniper's nest; safety was found in poetry codes (Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman), academic competition, and precise technical jargon that flew right over the heads of traditionalists like Midshipman First Class Vance or Grant Sterling.

1990s military culture forced them to treat their relationship as a classified asset. But as the books progressed through their Youngster year, the Firstie year, and out into the Fleet, the nature of the "bunker" had to change. You can't outrun a 10,000-mile Pacific deployment with just a cassette tape and a handful of whispered quotes.

2. The Cost of the "Standard" and the Need for Daylight

One of the hardest truths explored in The Long Watch and The Kinetic Anchor is that living by a rigid standard takes a heavy toll.

• Patrick spent years wrestling with the legacy of his father, the shadow of the McClellan name, and the fear that his personal truth would destroy his command potential.

• Alex built a fortress of absolute logic, weaponizing his brilliance as a shield while quietly absorbing the staggering weight of prosecuting DADT-era cases under CODE 13 before stepping away to find his own footing as a civil rights attorney.

  
  

The books aren’t just about a romance against the odds; they are about the messy, human reality of what happens when two men try to unlearn a lifetime of defensive programming. The heartbreak in Seattle wasn’t just a plot twist—it was an inevitable collision between the rigid expectations of the past and the desperate human need to finally breathe in the open air.

This is precisely where James Schoenwetter enters the narrative as a vital turning point. When Alex's world shatters after the painful breakup with Patrick, James becomes the daylight that Alex desperately needs. Unlike the hidden, guarded corridors of Alex's past, James offers a safe harbor that pulls Alex out of the wreckage and stops him from spiraling. He provides a steady, unyielding presence that proves love doesn't always have to be a secret code or a battle for survival; sometimes, it can simply be lived out loud in the open sun.

3. What The Kinetic Anchor Represents

Moving into Book 6, the series pivots from the shadows of the Academy and the secret compartments of the Fleet into something entirely new: the light.

Writing The Kinetic Anchor has been an incredible journey because it asks a terrifying question for characters who spent decades hiding: What happens after you survive the war? When the uniform comes off, when the DADT era finally shifts, and when you are finally standing on a beach in Kona or a cliffside in Carmel—how do you stop calculating risk long enough to just let yourself be loved?

What are your thoughts on how Alex, Patrick, and James's journeys have transformed across the series? Did a particular turning point stand out to you? Let’s talk about it in the comments below!