Fitz

It's a short called 'Our First Christmas', which is posted here on GA. Basically, it was intended to be a one-time glimpse into Scott and Steve's life together (a little over a year after they first started dating). After writing it, I started to get several ideas for a Steve-centric story, so that will be the primary focus of book 3. What I meant was apart from a single phone call to his parents while visiting Lydia and Richard, and their appearance in 'Our First Christmas', most of the characters have had zero 'screen time' since chapter 5. I couldn't help the Wizard of Oz reference once I realize the characters regularly referred to her as 'Em'. Not much longer until Chapter 39 comes out!

Definitely true. When children are involved, their needs and happiness always come first. This chapter and 39 really put Zach at center stage - my editor noted that even Noah is something of a secondary character. It's nice to have a stretch that not only focuses on Zach, but allows him to be a kid!

You're right. It doesn't fit him. He's gone completely irrational when it comes to Scott. Give it a chance, he eventually explains why he acted the way he did.

The entire chapter was harder to write than I thought it would be. Part of that was all the outline was 'spend 3 days with parents, 2 days with Dustin and Michelle, and 2 days with Emma and Ethan'. It's also been nearly two years since I actually wrote a scene involving any of those characters (with the exception of his parents who were on the phone, and were in the Christmas short). Ethan was an angsty teenager in that story, so I don't really count it. It was a bit difficult to try to make their personalities fresh again. Dustin is vaguely based off a couple different people, and I can see all of them trying to crush Noah's hand to size him up. Zach was 'supposed to be' a minor character almost immediately after he arrived at the house. Originally, he was almost intended to be a vehicle to quickly move Noah and Scott into the same house more than anything, but he quickly became a LOT more than that, even in the outline. It's nice for him to have a couple chapters that REALLY allow him to shine (Zach will also be essentially center stage for the next chapter as well). Truth be told, I'd already written this when I started releasing the first parts of the trial, which may have played a role in why I was willing to go for such mean cliffhangers!

Now that it's all written, I'm planning on getting it all out as (relatively) fast as possible, so through the first week in september, expect a new chapter every week! By that point, I should have the outline for book 2 finished and I'll be well on my way to being able to release that!

Lol...I hadn't even realized the implication that Emma could be 'Auntie Em' until I wrote 'Aunt Emma'. When I was a little kid, my favorite movie was 'Wizard Taboz' (and there's video footage proving it...stupid home movies). When I realized how easily I could throw in a Oz reference, I couldn't resist!! Noah had to deal with the fact he was stepping into someone else's role, and there was lots of macho posturing as everyone sized him up. Living up to expectations was one of Noah's biggest concerns. Scott knew Noah would be a success, though.

Chapter 38 Family and Friends Saturday morning started with a whirlwind of activity. We had to triple-check that we had everything, and get ready to head out. Tom insisted on driving us to the airport, and I choose to sit in the back with Zach. The entire way, Noah was silent and obviously tense. I probably should've paid more attention to his needs, but I was more concerned with coaching Zach on how to act in the terminal and on the plane. Zach was barely paying attention, though, asking

Of course, to give you an idea how fast their moving in the beginning, you have about 60 seconds after you open the door to deactivate before the alarm goes off...They were definitely ready to get it on! My guess is Zach always played by himself, and Willow probably left him home alone most of the time when she went out. He deserves, not only to have parents who love him and treat him right, but to be able to be a kid. Zach's a good guesser, even if he didn't know he was doing so. Noah, on the other hand is taking wild stabs in the dark and is completely wrong! As for what book 2 reveals, you'll just have to wait and see. The vast majority of ideas I have for it came to me around the time I started writing, but I was originally going to write it as a summary epilogue. It will work much better as a relatively short multi-chapter story.

When I was a little kid, anyone who was ANYONE had their birthday at Mickey D's. Alas, I never did lol! I wouldn't be surprised if they still do birthday parties, but it's been a very long time since I've been in one and seen a section roped off for a party like I used to see a lot when I was little. It's not so much that Scott's mom is against Zach or anything. Basically, she's concerned that Scott's priorities and Noah's may differ due to the fact that Noah is a father, and Scott will end up being hurt. She's just being a protective momma bear. You'll see soon enough exactly how quickly she takes to Zach!

Glad you enjoyed! I hope you'll tell me if you were right (of course you won't find out until 39!). I'm sure they were walking funny, but Scott has a tendency to gloss over a few things here and there while he's retelling the story. If you're confused what I mean, unfortunately, you'll have to wait a while before it's explained in book 2. Speaking of, look on the bright side: even if I post a new chapter every week, it'll still be nearly two months before book 2 begins!

Chapter 37 Feels Like the First Time As I finished the song, Noah whipped around and kissed me passionately. I was too engrossed in him to notice the audience go into a frenzy. I had been aware of constant catcalls and cheers during the song, but at the moment, I was lost in my boyfriend's embrace. When our kiss finally ended, Noah's breath was ragged and his khaki shorts barely able to contain his massive erection, which bulged obscenely for the entire crowd to see. "I see you liked my p

Will was very hard for me to write as a 'villain', since it didn't really fit his personality at all, and I couldn't wait for this scene to allow him to find some happiness. Originally, this was going to be his first reappearance after his confession to Noah, but I thought it would be more believable if there were a few little scenes that showed Scott and him trying to get along. Suze is easily my favorite of the secondary characters. She's fun to write and has a fantastic personality. Likewise, I had no idea about the different versions of Enrique's song until one day I was at a friends and had Pandora on...at first I was shocked, but I think I definitely prefer it! The first time I realized the different version of Cee Lo's was while watching Hollywood Week for American Idol a few seasons ago, and kept wondering why half the contestants were slipping up and singing different words...it makes total sense now!

Glad you enjoyed! You said at one point you wanted some Buckhead, so I made sure they explicity visited Lenox and Phipps instead of just implying like last mall trip

Exactly...if she'd just been there minding her business or something, it would've been a bit much, but she was continuing to be the classless piece of trash she was eventually revealed to be. Glad you enjoyed!

Sometimes people really need to be put in their place. Sarah put on a great act, but she was little more than a two-faced bitch in reality. I had been struggling with Scott's song for a long time, knowing what I wanted it to be. It wasn't until fairly recently that I was driving and Tonight (I'm Loving You) came on the radio. It'd been so long since I'd heard it last that I'd completely forgotten about it, and (at least to me) it was the perfect song for how antsy he's been getting! Glad you enjoyed!

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX More Therapy We sat on the edge of the bed for several minutes; I was leaning back against Noah's bare chest and his arms held me tightly in our contented embrace. We were both hoping it would last an eternity, but it wasn't long before there was a small but vigorous knock on the door. We hadn't even moved before Zach burst in. "See, I knocked, Daddy. What are you doing? I'm booooooooooored," he said jumping on my lap. "Good job, Zachy. Next time, wait for one of us to

I've actually considered writing a short story covering the first year from Tom's perspective, but the problem is I'm not sure I can make the emotional/mental connection work. Every time I watch Hubby and his twin interact, I usually feel like I'm watching a foreign film without subtitles - the general idea is obvious, but I can't tell exactly what's going on. Tom's role in the story was primarily getting Scott back to Atlanta, and his role has continued to gradually diminish over time. I have no idea how present he'll be in Book 2, but I imagine he'll be more of a background character (then again, book 2 will basically only have three main characters or so, and everyone else will be on the periphery), but rest assured, I have plans for Tom's future!

Hahah, like I said, people got close, but no one QUITE got the connection! Not that I expected anyone to do so! I actually came up with the idea of the original officer being more intertwined into the story than it first appears well before I figured out Zach's back story. While the story is mostly about Scott's journey, I liked the idea of demonstrating how people cope with loss differently. I *really* hated having to twist Will into something of a bad guy, and when I did, I originally had no idea how to bring him back around. In the outline, Will doesn't make an appearance between his confession to Noah (back in Chapter 21), but I think his couple little appearances make it flow a lot better!

Everyone has a different set of things they want to say than last time they went. Despite the fact it's been over a year since WE last went to karaoke with the crew, it's been only a few weeks for them, but what a roller coaster it's been! And Noah's getting desperate to figure out where they're going...I just hope he isn't disappointed it's not as exciting as he's built it up to be!

Chapter 35 Jason's Connection Don't get me wrong, few things are hotter than a man in uniform, but as I opened the door, I let out a gasp upon seeing Jason. He was standing there in a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a white t-shirt, which contrasted nicely with his mocha skin. I glanced at Noah, whose eyes we're bulging slightly. He clearly was struck by the attractiveness of the detective as well. "Hi, Jason," I said, clearing my head, "come on in." When he entered, he glanced around the

One of the things I've really tried to do is think about each characters motivations behind their actions. I've read a lot of stories where a character suddenly reacts a way that seems drastically out of character, and it's never fully explained what caused that action. Their actions don't always make sense to readers if Scott isn't actually aware of the underlying issue, but as Scott becomes aware of it, it gets passed on. A perfect example of that would be Will's actions in the earlier chapters of the story. Sometimes, things really do go smoothly for all involved, and the changes they are currently adjusting to have been fairly trouble-free, but there have been (and will continue to be) several little bumps on the road for them.

Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the story! I 'hate' cliffhangers when there are more chapters to read, because I find myself needing to click 'next chapter' immediately. They're far more evil when there's not any more chapters published and you're forced to wait! And no, Tony was a random throw-away comment on Scott's part (especially considering I had to search the name to remember when he came up!) so, no, Jason's revelation has nothing to do with Tony.

Well, a four-year-old is always sizing up the situation and seeing what he can get away with. Who knows how he will continue to act as everyone begins to get familiar with each other! Thanks for the review!

BAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Jason had never met Scott before the night at the trailer, and NEVER met Steve. Since I'm about to shut down the laptop and pack the modem, that's the last 'hint' I'm going to give (at least until we unpack...don't even want to think about that yet!)

Thank you so much! There have been a few things I've tried in drafts that got a little over-the-top, but those usually hit the cutting room floor pretty quickly. If I don't remove it, Hubby usually nixes it when he checks it out. The original first nightmare made it far enough that I ended up crowd-sourcing because I didn't see the issue with (although a nearly-identical one was used as the second nightmare, albeit still less explicit than the original)! Not sure if 35 will be next week or in two weeks. If it's next week, I'll go back to posting every other week after that one. It'll all depend on how this week's moving/painting/unpacking goes!