LittleBuddhaTW

I'm glad everyone is enjoying it so far. I have literally no idea how often I'll be able to post these because I'm in the middle of writing the sequel (which has undergone a significant expansion from Book 1), BUT ... feel free to email me any ideas you have of events that happened "off-screen" that Nick couldn't have witnessed, or particular scenes that you'd like to see from a perspective other than Nick's, and that certainly might help with the inspiration. I'm so focused on Book 2 right now (just starting Chapter 22 of 45 chapters) that I can barely remember anything from Book 1 anymore, except that Jack liked to steal Nick's hoodies, there was an awesome guy named Captain Stinky who was a fisherman and enjoyed smelling Jonah, and I think Nick and Jack finally "did it." Something from Noah's perspective might be interesting. Jonah, of course, would be great, but there are so many good scenes to choose from with him. Or I could write some backstories for some of the new characters before they get to Harrison West. Or something like a flash fiction, totally from the perspective of Mr. Bojangles. Hmmm, maybe I have more ideas than I realized. But this "Extra Innings" series is for you guys, so I want to hear your ideas.

Extra Innings is a companion short story series to Swing for the Fences, told in close third person and designed to step outside Nick’s first-person view. These stories reveal the moments he never saw—private conversations, hidden conflicts, and emotional turning points that unfolded when he wasn’t in the room, or when the truth looked different from another perspective. By uncovering the inner lives and quiet choices of the surrounding characters, Extra Innings deepens and expands the world of Swing for the Fences beyond what was ever visible on the surface.

The Drive Jonah ironed a wrinkle that wasn’t there, then ironed it again just in case. The purple button-down behaved under heat; the vest made him feel like the kind of person who knew where his wallet was; the trilby kept his hair from staging a coup. He’d never done a classic date before. Not kissing behind gym doors, not “walk me to class,” but movie–burgers–boba and maybe – his heart ricocheted at the possibility – perhaps a kiss that wasn’t a joke. His only other real kiss had be

When we pulled up to the school on Friday morning, I was hit with a strange sight: nearly the entire façade of the building was plastered with large, brightly colored posters for Headmistress Valderrama’s anti-drug campaign. Bold slogans, dramatic graphics, and even QR codes were slapped across the walls, windows, and courtyard pillars. Juan Camilo let out a low sigh and muttered, "Ay no... that’s a bad idea. The cartels are not gonna like this kind of provocation and attention." I shrugged

I've been there. It's very good, but pricey (by Colombian standards). They're one of the few restaurants that dry-age their beef. It makes all the difference.

This story is not abandoned. It is on temporary hold. My goal is for it to be ready for posting at some point in probably late 2026 (fingers crossed), but it is next on my list after the current novel I'm working on is done.

No harm comes to the dog.

Juan Camilo picked me up at the appointed time, and as we pulled away from the school, I spotted my new group of "friends" waving goodbye from the courtyard gate. “Learn anything valuable in school today?” Juan Camilo asked, eyes flicking toward me in the rearview mirror as we inched through traffic. “Eh, not really,” I said, shifting the pile of textbooks on my lap. “Mostly just syllabi, outlines, and way too many books. Felt more like they were trying to weigh me down than teach me a

No, because that one's full of everyone's dietary habits. 😆

I've noticed that only about half the readers who have read Chapter 1 of Medellín have also read the Prologue. I can't understand it. 1) It's super short, like only 1,200 words, and 2) It provides critical context/background of the story. If you read this and you're one of those who didn't read the Prologue, go and read it now! I always used to skip reading prologues, introductions, and forewords to books, but not anymore. A wise teacher once told me how much more they can add to your understanding of the book. And last but not least, Chapter 2 of Medellín will be coming out this weekend, although I haven't quite decided on the day/timing yet. But it will definitely be this weekend, I promise! I know posting only once a week is a pain. I used to go crazy waiting for the latest chapter from Dom Luka. I'm only doing it this way because 1) Medellín is shorter than Swing for the Fences, and 2) I'd like to have Stealing Home as close to ready to start posting when is finished so you won't have to wait ages for something new and won't forget about me! 😭I hope to go back to two chapters per week for Stealing Home, although that might be pushing it, because the chapters will be much longer to get through in the sequel and some readers may struggle to keep up and miss out on the discussions.

To try a little bit to get back on subject here, I've posted a new blog entry:

So, now that Swing for the Fences has ended, my latest novel has started posting, Medellín. It's very, very different in tone and theme than Swing for the Fences was, but I just ask (and hope) that readers give this one a chance, as it is probably my most personal and favorite story to date that I've written. Very heavy on the teenage angst, with the addition of bullets, bombs, and multiple love interests for Hunter (who is probably one of the most unsympathetic and unlikable narrators I've ever written). For all those who are sad that Swing for the Fences has ended, it really hasn't. I'm well into the writing of the sequel, titled Swing for the Fences: Stealing Home (or just Stealing Home). It will be 45 chapters like the original, but these will be much, much longer chapters. I've been stuck on Chapter 20 for a few days, because it's such a pivotal chapter, and then needed a break from that, so I've been reorganizing my outline for the second half of the novel, which will, hopefully, make it better. I love being in those characters' heads again, especially Nick's, but there are also some very intriguing new characters and friends for Nick, and I don't think it would be much of a spoiler to say that Nick and Jack will face a few little bumps in their relationship along the way. I'm aiming for a Spring 2026 release, but if it's done sooner (although the two rounds of editing/reviewing take a lot of time), then I'll release it as soon as Medellín is finished. And, as I promised, to add to the Swing for the Fences Universe, I will occasionally be posting some short stories about one or more characters in various situations during the timeline of the original novel, but told from the third-person POV, so we'll get another perspective that doesn't come with Nick's own perceptions affecting the narrative as you get with first-person POV. And I've been playing around with third-person POV (my Halloween story, The Boy Who Hunts Ghosts (...And Kisses Them) was written in third-person. Maybe I'll eventually write a whole novel in third-person POV, but first-person's always been my favorite. Anyway, this series of short stories (I almost have the first one ready to go, just need to make some more edits) will be called Swing for the Fences: Extra Innings, just to keep the theme going (even though the series itself has nothing to do with baseball, but was inspired by an Elton John song). And, last but not least, once Stealing Home is finished, I am still planning on getting back to work on When I See You Again, although I warn you that I may have to make some edits/changes to the first five published chapters to make sure everything fits with what I want to do for the rest of the novel. No idea how long it will be, but I imagine it will come nowhere close to Swing for the Fences or even Medellín, maybe 20-25 chapters (including the five that I already wrote). Anyway, we'll see. I hope all of my American readers had a lovely Thanksgiving. Even here in the jungles and mountains of Colombia, there is an American expat couple who have a catering business, and they do wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas spreads, so I had that delivered yesterday and it was delicious. I still have a pumpkin pie cheesecake that I haven't even tried yet. Speaking of cakes, two REALLY cute guys just knocked on my door about 5 minutes ago trying to sell cakes, but they wanted 60,000 Colombian pesos (COP) for them, which I am not wiling to spend on a dry, flavorless Colombian cake. Sorry, boys! I really did have to think about it a moment, though, because they were so handsome and polite. Oh well ...

Depends on which side we're talking about.

Colombia, NOT Columbia 😉

Colombia is entering a very dangerous period right now, with the U.S. cutting all aid to the country, which will devastate the economy, and the security forces, which are largely funded (and trained) by the U.S. military. They will not be able to pursue the guerillas, who will grow stronger again, or the narcos, who will grow even stronger than they already are. Colombia has a huge presidential election coming up in May 2026, and it will determine the course of the relationship with Colombia and United States for the next, at least, 3 years or so. But, things could get ugly here for a while.

There are indeed guns and cocaine.

That was the reality 30 years ago, but it is not the reality today. Medellín has a lower murder rate than many large U.S. cities. There are police and private security guards everywhere, so you always feel safe walking around. You should just never flash expensive jewelry, cash, or iPhones, and know which neighborhoods to avoid (which is not that hard). Oh, and never leave your drink unattended in a bar. But these same kinds of safety rules apply in pretty much any large, cosmopolitan city. I've never seen a single dead body here in 7+ years. The only times tourists ever get into trouble here is if they get mixed up in prostitution (prostitution is totally legal in Colombia, and no, I have never paid for it in my life) and ESPECIALLY drugs (the big ones here are obviously cocaine, which is amazingly cheap, and a newer drug called tussi). But I get into all that in much more detail in the novel.

The food here is absolutely HORRENDOUS. What's bizarre is that the food in all of the neighboring countries, like Panama, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, etc. is all fantastic. Colombian food is just flavorless, and much of it is fried. Fortunately, my partner is a pretty good cook, and he cooks pretty healthy, so I don't eat out much (although I did splurge and get McDonald's last night). There are some nice, upscale restaurants here (usually owned and operated by American expats) where you can get a really good meal, but you will definitely pay American prices, and there won't be an arepa in sight. There are some local foods here I like, when I'm in the mood, but it's a fairly limited list. Of course, I drink local coffee every day. It used to be that you couldn't get a decent cup of coffee in Colombia because all the good beans were exported, and the Colombians were left with the crap. That's what tinto is usually made from, but they make it strong, as a pick-me-up, so they're not that concerned about the taste. Now, though, things have changed, and there are a lot more local, organic coffee farms here that sell only within Colombia, so it's easy now to get a great cup of Colombian coffee, with many different brands. We do have Starbucks here, but most Colombians don't go there unless they're trying to show off to someone (like on a date). Colombia has its own chain of coffee shops, basically the Colombian version of Starbucks, called "Juan Valdez." The coffee is good and it's about half the price of Starbucks. When you're out and about with Colombian friends for a day, you will get to the point where you're begging for no more stops for a coffee.

First of all, it's Colombia, not Columbia. 😁 All of what you're saying could be possible. DEA agents were "outed" pretty quickly, usually by the time they went through customs at the airport. DEA agents (and their families), though, are untouchable now because of Kiki Camarena. If you don't know the story, look him up on Google. If you touch a DEA agent, you're toast. And I don't think Hunter's that naive. He knows what his dad does, he's traveled around the world with him, he's been briefed by both the DEA and his father before the trip. And then there's Juan Camilo. I don't want to say anymore, or I'll blow the whole story! lol

From my experience, and based on the questions they were asking him, I would say they saw a "gringo" and were curious. Even at those "international schools" you see overseas, the local kids are still usually the majority of the students, and kids tend to stay within their own "groups," which is kind of sad. The paisas (the people who live in that region of Colombia) are also known as some of the friendliest, so they could have just been trying to make Hunter feel welcome. Of course, they could have had other intentions, too, so we'll have to wait and see. Colombia can be a very complicated, confusing, and CONTRADICTORY place. For example, Colombia is a very traditional Catholic country. Catholicism was actually the state religion in their constitution until not that long ago. However, it is literally the most sex-crazed and sex-obsessed country I have ever been to (and I've traveled all over the world), and they have had same-sex marriage and laws supporting LGBTQ+ rights longer than most Western, "developed" countries. I try to explain, through Hunter's American voice, what Colombia is really like, as seen for the first time. Its beauty. Its deadly history. The drugs. The poverty. The classism. The good, the bad, and the ugly. The city itself, Medellín, is as much a character in this novel as Hunter or Miguel. I just hope people have the patience for something quite different than what I usually write. And although this is purely fiction, I have been to almost all the places Hunter visits, and some of the characters are based on guys I actually do know, just aged down a few years to fit the story's age range and changed their names. Maybe as we go through, I'll mention which of the people those characters were based on that I really know.

It's a school for international students and Colombian rich kids. Why would they care about his money?

It's explained in the story. But Colombia is not that dangerous of a place normally. I've lived here 7+ years and have never had a single problem. But I'm also not stupid and don't go walking into the dangerous neighborhoods at night or flash expensive jewelry or iPhones when I'm walking down the street. When Hunter and his dad arrives in Colombia, that's the kind of environment they're walking into. Normal, safe for tourists (who don't do dumb things like hire prostitutes or try to buy drugs), etc.

I would disagree that Hunter is prototypical of my narrators. You'll have to read more and see ... 😁

I met his younger brother, Roberto "El Osito" Escobar, a few years ago. He had LOTS of stories, but many I took with a large grain of salt. It's a very complex subject, and Escobar, even 30 years on, has had a dramatic impact on the culture.

The Prologue and Chapter 1 of Medellín have now been posted! I hope you all give it a chance and enjoy!