Carlos Hazday

@Daddydavek Yeah, see, someone like Dickens used the formal dinner approach; he wrote seven-course meals. I follow the grazing method and write tapas. I'm sure you've met Northman's type. They're so focused on their pie slice they fail to realize there's an entire dessert buffet out there. Why did this reply revolve around food?

You must have missed that PM...

@scrubber6620 Bravo! Once again, you're getting ahead of me. CJ spent a year at HQ in Washington learning. His time as a consular clerk I see as being further training for whatever he does in the future. I don't foresee him doing it for a long time. Yep. You're right. The CIA, the FBI, or DSS should at least make them aware of the potential danger. Maybe they already have?

Those 5 men stick together. If CJ and Lucy do end up together, we may have to add Wilkinson to the list if she doesn't change her last name.

At least it's easy to correct mistakes on GA. It's one of the reasons I prefer to post my stories here. Reader interaction being another one.

I've become a very unforgiving reader. Somehow, I've turned into a snob, and every mistake jumps at me. And let's not talk about unrealistic dialogue! I recently advised an author to at a minimum read his characters' lines aloud. It helps to hear what you wrote and hopefully will improve the story.

The DALP Clan! Get the name right. (Davenport-Abello-Liston-Peterson) They all seem to be tight.

ooops, too late. I admit to looking up Penn State's before replying but the other two I knew. I may have used the infor for a comment or two in the next book. LOL

There have been times I read something after posting and wonder how the hell the AI got that word instead of what I meant. It all goes back to bad typing.

I refuse to accept responsibility for typos in comments. I don't read them over a dozen times like I do with chapters.

It's in process. First draft of first four chapters finished. I started thinking it would be a total of 9 chapters, but the first one already ended up being split in thirds.

Well, this story's done and the next one already has a full complement but after that... I reward my beta readers with naked pictures of CJ and Owen.

In public or private (I can handle both) let me know when you find boo boos in my chapters!

@Clancy59 Uhhhhh... Speculation about what happens... Love it. Don't forget about the Russians. Or the Chinese. Oh wait, that's a spoiler. I'll refer back to Northman commenting on CJ's education and college. I think what it boils down to, as I said before, is Northman might have attended a less prestigious institution like Penn State (down, @dughlas, down) and be jealous. Interestingly and somewhat off-topic, Georgetown's acceptance rate's around 15%, while the Air Force Academy's somewhere near 10%. So Ritch got into a more exclusive school that his brother. In contrast, Harvard accepts 5% of applicants while Penn State takes in a bit over 50%. To be fair, Penn State's a public institution, while Harvard and Georgetown are private ones. That difference I'm certain affects admission rates.

@spyke Would a diplomat be that devious? Oh, wait, diplomats and spies all shade the truth regularly. Since I'm alternating eye candy, you get rugby players in the next chapter. Jocks and jarheads... my likes may be coming through in the story.

See Ozzie shaking his head in the back of the room? He wants you on the soapbox.

My recurring issue is where/were. I know the difference well but my fingers seem to pick the wrong one often. Have I mentioned I can't type without looking at the keyboard and when I try not to I screw up? One more reason authors should at a minimum have beta readers.

What's that little Pacific Ocean island nation disappearing due to rising oceans? That would be a great posting. LOL

And she always manages to have a good reason to burst in. Either good timing or a very savvy operator.

start with a Vespa and you'll soon be drooling over the big boys. Sent you a PM

My therapist has heard me talking about CJ so much she asked for a link so she could read some of my work. It's not either or, you can have a scooter and a rag top. I do! (although the JEEP has a bikini top 99% of the time.

You sound like me when someone discovers a typo in a chapter.

Cox doesn't sound like a political appointee who got her job by contributing money to a presidential campaign. If she's a career diplomat, she did not rise to her rank by accident. You have to be pretty savvy to be appointed ambassador.

LOL Someone that age, sufficiently headstrong to insist on feeding themselves, is going to present challenges. I like writing about her dads having to clean after her.

I blame the orange terror for a lot of things, but I think Northman's personality precedes his posting to Mexico. He may be efficient in his job, but his failure to realize CJ's not a typical rookie shows a lack of imagination. Something the ambassadors grasps. If he was really smart he would hitch his wagon to CJ's.