LittleBuddhaTW

I felt the engines of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 rumble beneath my seat as we inched toward the runway at Miami International, the hot South Florida sun painting the tarmac in shimmers of heat. From my window in business class, I had the perfect view of palm trees swaying like they had nothing better to do, which, honestly, I envied. There was a beach out there with my name on it, but instead, I was strapped into this leather seat, preparing to launch into what could either be the adventure of a lifet

Colombia was a country forged in beauty and blood. From the green highlands of Antioquia to the salt-white coasts of the Caribbean, every mountain and river carried both poetry and pain. For centuries, its landscapes had seduced outsiders and trapped its own children: emerald jungles so thick they could swallow a man, rivers that wound like veins through the heart of a country always on the edge of reinvention. To the untrained eye, it looked eternal – unchanged, unbroken. But anyone who ha

Medellín follows sixteen-year-old Hunter, an American dragged from D.C. to Colombia for his dad’s diplomatic post. Angry, lonely, and carrying old scars, he stumbles into the chaotic energy of local teens—and into Miguel, a boy who’s magnetic, mysterious, and hiding dangerous secrets. As their connection deepens, so do the risks, pulling Hunter into a world of love, loyalty, and choices that could break them both. A gay coming-of-age romance with a sharp thriller edge.

1) Unfortunately, I doubt that Nick will find a way to bring Mr. Bojangles to Harrison West. During my research, I found many instances of kids smuggling small animals like turtles and hamsters. Some got caught and got in trouble; others didn't get caught. Some schools allow pet fish, but that's about it. 2) Miss Charice will continue as Dorm Parent, at least as far as I've written so far (Chapter 18). We'll also see some proctors in the sequel. 3) Tommy could very well be pan, but I doubt he knows what that is ... yet. Tommy has a fairly large role in Book 2, and his love life is a common topic for him and a difficult one. He feels really, really lonely. Perhaps Nick or Jack could explain some of the other sexualities to him, though he'd probably have difficulty understanding the difference between "pan" and "bi." We'll have to wait and see! 4) Reforming Noah would likely be an ongoing process. He is one of the core characters in the sequel, though, so he will have a significant role to play, he and Nick will interact, and he *may* have a genuine love interest (that is not Nick).

Thank you so much for those kind words. It really means a lot to me, and those are the kind of messages that keep me motivated to write more!

Jack and I were spread out on the living room sofa, our legs tangled together like a couple of bored octopuses, each flipping through the digital course guide on our tablets. The new academic year was right around the corner (in just a little over a week now), and while we’d already gotten our academic schedules, we were still figuring out which extracurriculars wouldn’t make us miserable – or worse, overcommitted. “So,” I said, scrolling through a painfully long list of clubs, “are you ser

It's finally come to an end. This part at least. As an author (at least for me), when you spend so much time with these characters, trying to get inside their heads and understand what makes them tick, they become a part of you. I'm lucky that I'm able to continue my days hanging out with them while writing Stealing Home, and I hope the wait won't be too long for you all. I'm on Chapter 18 of 45, so I'm guesstimating about Spring 2026, but I will make sure you have plenty of stuff to read until then. I sincerely think you will enjoy Medellín. It has a much darker tone than Swing for the Fences, but I needed to write something a bit different, plus, Medellín holds a very special place in my heart. I couldn't not write about it. Even Stealing Home will have a slightly more "grown-up" edginess to it, as the boys aren't wide-eyed freshmen anymore. They get into all kinds of crazy hijinks, love gets complicated, friendships get complicated, and it will be quite a ride (and significantly longer than the original at the rate I'm going). Thank you all for your support over these past months, the comments, the reactions, and please feel free to leave your ratings, recommendations, etc. on the story's main page now that Book 1 has come to completion, and I appreciate any reviews as well. Lastly, if there's anything you don't want to share in public, as always, feel free to email me at the link above. I respond to (almost) every email, except for the gross ones. Also, you can check out all the latest news and updates on my writing on my X/Twitter page: @littlebuddhatw. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU again! This has been quite the experience after 20 years of not writing, and I'm looking forward to many more stories to write and share. Much love to you all! ❤️ And I hope to see most of you back here this Saturday for the debut of Medellín!

It's Colombia, not Columbia. 😁 There is lots of teen romance, set against the backdrop of an ongoing cartel war. If you like teen romance, I imagine you'll enjoy it. They say that Colombian guys are the most "passionate" in the world (and I can personally vouch for that).

Just wait until the part in Book 2 where Nick gets dragged into helping his friend, Mike, shave (and Nair) EVERYTHING "down there" because Mike went and got himself a case of crabs. That may be even better than the Christian peen. Unfortunately, we won't be seeing Christian as much in Book 2 because he's now the head proctor, busy with his senior year and getting ready for college, and still very much into sports. He'll still be around, just not as much. But Jonah (who has gone through a bit of a growth spurt) is still the chaos goblin he's always been. The youngest Donahue brother, Kai, although not as present as Jonah, is interesting ... super smart, two grades ahead of his peers, very quiet and withdrawn ... nothing at all like his brothers. I'm just about to start writing Chapter 17 ("Thanksgiving"), which should be interesting, because Nana Bev will be there. And DON'T FORGET, my new story, Medellín, will be debuting next Saturday, November 22nd. Be sure not to miss it! I think it's a good story and will help tide everyone over until Stealing Home is ready in Spring 2026. And I'll have the first "Extra Innings" short story ready to go in a couple of weeks. It just needs a little more editing, and I think you'll enjoy the topic after reading Chapter 45.

I've fixed the "family of three" part to "family of four." It's absolutely correct and appropriate that Mr. Bojangles should be included. It was a silly mistake to leave him out. As to why they left a day early, I think they were tired and they wanted to spend as much time back home as possible before heading back to school. They'd already had a great time and done much of the cool stuff there is to do in Traverse City. When I was a kid, my grandmother took me on a vacation up to Mackinac Island, and we were going to cross the bridge into the U.P., but I'd just had enough and wanted to go home (I have a horrible fear of bridges, too), so we left a day early because I wanted to watch a Detroit Tigers baseball game. I must've been about 10 or 11 years old back then. I regret not getting to the U.P. now. Traverse City and Mackinac Island are the furthest north I've gotten in Michigan.

I didn’t think a human soul could feel betrayed by a wake-up call. But when Christian banged on our door at 4:45 a.m. with the enthusiasm of a postal worker on six espresso shots, mine just packed a tiny suitcase and left. “I swear to God,” I mumbled into the pillow, “if this is a fishing trip, I’m throwing myself into the lake.” It was a fishing trip. By 5:30, we were shuffling the marina like zombies in Lions hoodies, clinging to scalding gas-station coffee and muttering threats

Anything is possible, but I don't have any plans for him to be in the sequel (yet).

I'm up to Chapter 15 now, so only 30 more chapters to go! hahaha But Medellin should keep everyone busy until Stealing Home is ready, plus the Extra Innings bonus short stories that I'll sprinkle along the way.

I've heard all the various cover versions thanks to YouTube, but for me, nothing beats the original. One of my all-time favorite songs. There are a couple of boys in Stealing Home who play guitar and play some together when the boys hang out in Nick's room after mandatory prep. One or both of them had better learn this song before next spring. It'd impress the heck out of Nick.

In Chapter 44, you will meet one of the greatest characters I have ever created. Unfortunately, he only appears in one scene, but he makes quite an impression.

The morning before our big road trip, the group chat was already popping off before I’d finished brushing my teeth. My phone buzzed across the sink like it was trying to escape. Jonah: “If no one brings the speaker, I will perform the entire road trip playlist using only my mouth and a comb.” Christian: “Speaker is packed. Also, sunscreen, backup chargers, a first aid kit, and emergency protein. You’re welcome.” Me: “Jack and I are bringing our matching sunglasses, the burrito bla

Yes, I hope to finally complete this novel in 2026.

I'm on, like, version 15 or 16 of my outline for Stealing Home. At first, it was very detailed and complex, and it wasn't working for me, so I kept changing it, and it was still stifling my creativity, so my outline now is very simple: Chapter Number, Chapter Name, 2-3 sentence summary of the main points/theme of the chapter. It gives me some structure, but not too much to where I can't write as freely and creatively as I want, trying to stick to a detailed, scene-by-scene outline. My process changes slightly with every story, as I discover new things that work for me and figure out what gets in my way. Every novel or story is a learning process. I'm writing Stealing Home in an almost completely different way than I wrote Swing for the Fences (which was very unstructured other than the extensive research I did). Medellín was its own unique process because I didn't need to research much at all, just a few minor details, as I've lived and breathed Medellín's culture, language, people, and spaces every day for the past 7+ years. I thought Stealing Home would be easy to write, because Swing for the Fences just poured out of me, but it's actually been the most difficult and frustrating so far. Medellín was somewhere between the two. It came out of me easily, but then I kept tinkering and tinkering and couldn't stop, because I wanted every little detail to be as authentic as possible.

Bingo.

Well, I was expecting more of a discussion on Jack's final diagnosis, but that doesn't seem to be the popular topic I thought it would be. For everyone buzzing (pro or con) about Tommy and Jonah: the very first Extra Innings short story is already written—and yes, it’s about them. I knew this pairing would light up the comments. I’ll post it once we’re a few chapters into Medellín (and you’ll see more in the later chapters of SFTF Book 1, too). As with a few other arcs, some folks are making a mountain out of a molehill. You’ll have more context soon, and probably get riled up again—then you’ll get a different angle (not Nick’s) in Extra Innings, and another early in Stealing Home. For now, breathe and chill—just like Tommy would. Every thread here serves the plot and has a purpose (in this case, several). A quick reminder about process: I don’t pander to reader whims. I write the novels in full before I begin posting (not a chapter at a time like many authors), so I’m not tempted to veer based on live reactions—pairings, scene heat levels (I get lots of emails from people who want more sex; I just delete those), or anything else. I did consider ignoring comments altogether (à la DomLuka most of the time), but I enjoy the community here, so I chime in when there’s something worthwhile to add (usually). Anyway, as we near the end of Nick and Jack’s story—for now—enjoy the rest of the ride. If you’ve connected with it, I hope you’ll join me for Medellín (targeting a “go-live” date of November 22nd) and later for Stealing Home (likely in the first half of 2026, with some Extra Innings short stories between now and then). And if parts of the story aren’t your thing, whether it's the authenticity of the dialogue of the teenage characters or who should or shouldn't be paired together or whether Vernors is the greatest brand of ginger ale in the world (it is, beyond a doubt, and I hold White Castle and Little Caesar's pizza in equally high esteem), that’s okay, too—no one’s obligated to read. Twenty years of Zen practice have taught me to let some reactions drift by, like wind through a bamboo grove—heard, then gone; I invite you to do the same. Wishing you all a blessed weekend, and many, many thanks as always for reading! Your comments and emails are what give me the energy (and the patience) to write, which is ultimately something I love to do, and if just a few of you are deeply touched by something I've written, then it's all been worth it.

Christian and Jonah had been with us for a little over a week, and I’d already asked them, like, three times if they were sick of babysitting my boyfriend and wanted to go home to enjoy a normal teenage summer. Each time, they looked at me like I had just farted in church. “Why would we leave?” Christian had asked last night, stretching across the living room floor like a cat. “We’ve got free food, central air, a pool membership, and we’re having fun. And if you’re lucky, you might even see

You may want to search through the comments, because I have described it before recently. But it just randomly starts with an image or brief scene in my head, usually as I'm lying down and waiting for sleep to come. I'll jot down the idea, and then the next day, I'll try to expand it into a paragraph-length summary and come up with a title that fits. Coming up with the title very early in the process is important to me. I don't like thinking of a "Project #6" or something like that. From there, I start to think about a beginning and an ending and build an outline from those points. AI can help with that as well. I'd also suggest doing things like character sketches for all of your main and secondary characters, with all their traits and whatnot, and a simple style guide. You want to ensure you're clear on the voices/tones of each character and their personalities, and then you can start writing. Some authors write without a plan. I've done it before, with Someday Out of the Blue, but since then, I've always run with an increasingly elaborate plan, and I think the evolution in my writing style reflects that. Like with the sequel to Swing for the Fences, I have the most elaborate prep plan I've ever put together. AI can assist you in keeping track of all that, but it can't do much more than that because of the strict filters it has in place if your story involves minors. No sexualization whatsoever, no contact with drugs or alcohol, not even activities that it deems as "dangerous" like pranks or dares, they can't swear in their dialogue, etc. They're really very conservative in their "boundaries" (way beyond just "sexualization," which I could totally understand) and it really goes past the point of ridiculousness, so other than organizing your prep work, like building an outline (as long as the outline doesn't have anything "questionable" in it) and managing your character sketches and style guide, or Series Bible, AI is not much help with creative writing. Maybe someday in the future it could revolutionize creative writing, but today is not that day. Additionally, to add to the absurdity of ChatGPT's filters, it also won't write anything political. There are other AI tools out on the market, and I've tested a few out (they usually offer a month free or a demo), but none are as good as ChatGPT, particularly in terms of "learning" things like voice, tone, style, etc. They mostly just help with organizing and some editing features, prompts, stuff like that.

All I will confirm is that Noah is in the next book. I've written quite a bit about him so far.

Speaking of "creating," I've been tossing around the idea of writing and posting a series of short stories based on Swing for the Fences characters, both to help tide us over until the sequel gets finished and released (I'm trying, but I'm tired!), as well as to get a look at these characters from a different perspective (these would all be written in third-person, meaning Nick doesn't have to be present to be able to tell the story). In fact, I already have one written, but I can't say anything about it yet because it would be a spoiler for something that happens somewhere in the last few chapters of Book 1. This series of short stories would be called Extra Innings, fitting the baseball theme. No idea how many or how often I'll do them, because I want to keep my focus mainly on completing the sequel, but I will drop one from time to time, and there's certainly much more to explore with all of these characters. Heck, I could even do one - Extra Innings: Mr. Johnston! 😆

I wouldn't say Christian is "bisexual," more like "straight but curious, especially when consuming alcohol."