Carlos Hazday

Stop sneaking peeks at my outlines! I really wanted readers to experiennce what I imagined Chipper would do at a concert.

We need to go to a Chipper concert.

Have I mentioned I enjoy your commentary. It's incisive, informed, and it usually makes me smile or laugh "I may just start wearing a brain bucket more often.” -- Whatever it takes to keep his brains in his head. I wiah I had one of those helmets, I'd wear it often too. Unfortunately that particular one was not as well designed and effective as I described. As far as I know, they stopped selling it about a year after it was introduced. I'm certain a better one will hit the market sooner or later. They had flown to Miami International Thursday night, having taken Friday off from work and school. -- I don't think he's in the SFS at all. This is B-school scheduling. This is what you find questionable? I thought I really stretched the truth when GU was so accommodating during his involvement in the 2016 election. Wait until you read about his graduation. I may have pushed fiction hard with that one. "Two consecutive appointments of fossil-fuel industry flunkies as EPA Director tells me he doesn’t care.” -- Oh, the orange menace cared a lot, about the environment for fossil fuel profits and for racist misogynists. Damn! And I thought I was being harsh when I had Owen say that. "It’s how you can tell us apart from the sheep fuckers.” -- Australia actually has almost 3 times as many sheep as New Zealand. And New Zealand has little of the racism and homophobia that Australia does. Plus, almost nothing in NZ will kill you, while almost everything in Australia can. Read the fine print, picking on Australia is not allowed. I think all those venomous critters are cute. Anyway, sheep fuckers' what Aussies call Kiwis. Possible typo alert? "At least the change in control of the House of Representatives acted as a break." -- Damn homonyms! You might mean break, but I think you meant brake. Thank you. Countless readings by multiple individuals and this type of crap still happens. Fuck me. “You sure you want to do this, CJ? Out here in the open?” Owen unbuckled the belt, unfastened the top button, and spread the fly’s flaps. -- GRATUITOUS SEX ALERT!! What, you've been writing sappy romance and blood-pounding cliffhangers and tear-jerking drama (which you NEVER do), so now you decide to inflict a sex scene on your readers? LMAO 1-I do NOT write cliffies, tears, or sappy romance. Although I make @dughlas reach for tissues whenever I write about Brad. 2-Some of the things I put CJ and Oz through are based on experiences. I may or may not have been in Owen's position at one point. Damn motorcycle club members abused me about it for months! So what if I never got his name. 3-Rarely do I write something without a purpose. The EPA comment above was a way of showing Owen paying attention to the politics his husband embraces and agreeing. 4-I had a reader complain CJ was a bad, uncaring boyfriend and that I never showed them having sex any more. I decided to throw him a bone(r). 5-Pretty sure you can figure this one out without me giving too much away. CJ in a jockstrap atop a bar in NYC. CJ giving his husband a BJ under the stars. Opposition research. And CJ makes it sound like a Foreign Service appointment is in the bag. Of course, with all the career officers heading for the exits, there are more openings than ever, but is he the type Tillerson/Pompeo/Trump want to hire? And I'm not sure little Marco will help. Yeah well, Sarah Vaughn said it best: Whatever Lola CJ wants, CJ gets. Not sure those three gave a rat's ass about who they hired for entry-level positions. I also figured the exodus of State Department veterans created opening even if many were left unfilled.

@BlueWindBoy Do not despair. CJ will overreact again sooner or later. As a teen, I had him jump between acting his age and being a grown up. As he ages, he'll be a grown up more often, but he's still a kid so... LMAO You're as helpful as CJ! CJ wanted ritzy granite, and Owen wanted practical quartz. Guess what, they compromised on a third alternative. I forget what book I mentioned the material in passing, but it'll come up again. I obviously have a thing for singer/songwriters who are ultimately story tellers. Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Buffett, and Billy Joel are all featured multiple times in the series. Next up, Jimmy in Margaritaville. Brinkley still hold that title. Have you seen how the woman looks in her old age? LOL

Thanks, Wolf! Hope you're ready to revisit some of this book's events. Any scene with CJ in it will probably get re-written from his POV in the next book. Some may be significantly expanded.

CJ involvement level makes me jealous. I could match it if I were younger, but these days sitting on my ass fits me better. The editing I do for others is my attempt to pay back what's been given to me. I've learned a lot from more experienced writers on GA, and I want to pay it forward to up and coming ones. I could start posting the next book tomorrow, I have enough chapters written, but the quality would suffer. I can't just write and post the way some authors do, I need to read each chapter multiple times until I'm happy. Then my beta readers and editor do their thing and I read over it another dozen times or so. Shooting for quality over quantity here.

Okay, time to 'fess up. I can't remember how I worked it out for Ritch to buy 50 tickets. The Academy admits about 1,000 cadets each year. Even sized classes means a total of 4,000 at any time. Those are divided into 40 Squadrons. Ritch commands Squadron 12, the Dirty Dozen and I reference another one in the next chapter. If I can remember the logic behind him buying only 50, I'll include it in an edit. If not, I may change 50 to 'enough' LOL

This is not an easy story to read. However, it should be. By everyone. If for no other reason than to remind us for every kid like Wolf who survives, albeit not unscathed, countless others do not. I've never understood the fascination some people have with young men and women as sexual beings. Engaging in actual acts while taking advantage of someone down on their luck makes their crime more heinous. Hell, the multitude of internet stories about youngsters having sex bothers me. I tend to label authors and readers of those as pedophiles whether they act on their desires or not. As much of a struggle as it may be to get through the story, the author wisely chose to end on a hopeful note. The fact he survived to write about it is a testament to his strength. May his words and actions inspire current and future readers to lend a hand if possible, and to hang in there if they find themselves in a similar situation.

Nothing I hate to admit. I'm working on Mexico and a novella. The second shorter work's on hold while I concentrate on the novel. Add in I'm trying to clean the earlier CJ books and I just volunteered to edit for another author, it'll take something momentous to steer me away from the current path. If extraterrestrials land, I may write a short about it.

Denver's voice has always felt soothing. There's a softness that caresses the ear in a pleasant way. Once I outlined the chapter, I knew Chipper had to open with the song. My only regret's it had to take place in 2023. Had it been a year later, Chipper would have celebrated his 27th and the song would have been even more poignant.

LMAO This book's ticking a lot of points for you. I promise to provide Men in Kilts again. Best part's they actually fit into the story.

You're welcome, Theo. It's ALWAYS good to hear my work brings enjoyment.

Nah... Not a Whopper. Maybe a cheeseburger.

Thank you, Parker. Aside from the family members, Harley and Chipper are my favorites to write. Harley's obvious, I get to ignore proper grammar while writing his monologues. Chipper, in some ways, is the most interesting. His sexuality makes me try to be balanced until he picks one gender. As of 2027 he hasn't LOL I also like to show he's as driven as CJ. For both of them it's set goal, drive as hard as you can towards it. I may have mentioned once I saw those two as being the most alike personality wise. As I mentioned before, the next book will have another concert. But because of the space time continuum farting, it takes place in Jan 2022. At that point, he's released one album, toured as Maroon 5's opening act in the US, and was just nominated for several Grammys. No sophomore album and no 15 mos tour. You have any idea what a pain it was to write thi. I had to almost write the other one so I could figure out what to include here. I'm certifiable.

He's already faced a couple and done fine. Let's see how he balances all his responsibilities over the next 5 months.

LMAO Writing Chipper's performances is always a treat. You can thank the recent HBO documentary for the Bee Gees moment. Damn but Barry looks old. A shame he's the only one of the 4 brothers still alive. In a future book I'll expand on his NYE performance. Weren't you wondering if Ritch was too busy to make time for Lucy? I had to bite my tongue when you made the comment.

LOL. I feel like a pusher. Next book's in the works. However, I think I need to give @Mann Ramblings a couple of months off, so he can get some of his own work done. Hopefully I can start posting in the fall.

Ritch has one semester left of school, and everything should go smoothly until his graduation in May. No more drama or confrontations, right?

I need to find the right spot for CJ to wear his. Maybe next time he, Owen, Spencer, and Tilda get together.

What am I not surprised you focused on Owen's attire? I'll have you know I just wrote him wearing it for Australia Day celebrations in CDMX. I also have him wearing his Liston tartan sport coat at least once.

I will. Four more chapters coming. As for Chipper, I'd like to include at least one concert in every future book. There will be one, with CJ and Owen in attendance, in CDMX. Your husband paints one of his toenails to distinguish him from his identical twin?

A spotlight followed Chipper as he walked across the boards. Center stage, a simple, wooden stool flanked by an acoustic guitar and a microphone stand awaited him. The roar accompanying his stroll proved the audience was more than a casual collection of do-gooders attending a benefit concert. There were Chips out there. The fact Chipper’s fans called themselves that baffled Ritch. And they were dedicated followers. Who else would brave the weather to sit under the Colorado stars in early No

Special Agent -- I think you mean Secret Agent Man, yes? Ear worm! Ear worm! "Just in case our suspect’s watching.” -- Ahhhh, building inspectors. Whatever happened to good old honest graft? Graft's hanging out at Mar-A-Lago asbestos-infused vinyl sheet flooring discovered in the kitchen -- not a surprise in these old places Even newer ones. Weren't they still using asbestos as late as the 70s? Hopefully, he’ll end up as somebody’s bitch in jail. -- Prisoners are there to do their time, serve their sentences, not to be raped. NO ONE deserves to be raped, and CJ should know that better than most. Some deserve harsher sentences and some deserve no sentence at all. Imperfect people and imperfect system. CJ's far from perfect. "Damn it! I’m a fucking genius.” -- Ah, to be 22 and have all the answers to the world's problems!! I know, right? I felt smarter at that age than I do 40 years later. "My husband’s the ultimate environmentalist.” -- While still burning wood? I'm glad you brought that up! My goal was to show them compromising. CJ likes the smell of burning wood but he agreed to convert the other fireplaces to gas. If CJ does have political aspirations, he'll have to learn how that works. “Lucy’s pregnant.” -- Oh? And just when did you start playing pregnancy roulette? Explanation in the next chapter. But I kinda like the UFO abduction scenario. "a problem most often associated with lower income/education people" -- actually the rich and middle class face it just as much if not more, they simply have more medical options available to them to hide the problem. And that's just it, the wealthier segments of the population have better access to education to start. If that doesn't work, they have easier access to prevention. And if that fails, remedies also come easier. "with great wealth comes great responsibilty" -- I think it was Peter Parker's Uncle Ben who opined that "with great power comes great responsibility." Or, one might be thinking of Jesus in the Gospel, "From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded," (Luke 12:48). A reader commented above attributing it to Bill Gates and I've attributed it to great-grandfather Davenport. The biblical reference's probably the real origin. But CJ doesn't start quoting verses until later in life. After standing on a balcony with some guy dressed in a white dress, wearing a beanie.

I smiled all through the madcap escape and tour of downtown Chicago. As I mentioned to Parker before, someone needs to explain to Zoltan that slavery was abolished a while back. Ernst Plumbing might be gone, Rita burned it down. Out of the ashes, a new company could rise. After all, it's Rick who keeps clients happy. His public stand against Rita's plan I'm certain gained him more followers than he lost. He and Gus could become snow birds warmer months in Wisconsin, colder ones touring. Zoltan will have to accept whatever new reality comes about. As usual, working with you was a joy. Thanks for the opportunity.