Carlos Hazday

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.

LMAO - I'll work that in sooner or later. I'm thinking the DJ booth at Ibiza's Club Cocoon right now, but that may change. I like Senator Duckworth. Glad you approve of how I handled her. I dislike being unable to use real people easily now that I'm writing in the future. And the further into it I go, the opportunities diminish. I was hoping Joe Kennedy could become a regular, but his primary loss screwed that up. Brian Sims' running for Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor, if he wins, I may write another cameo for him.

Whenever someone binge reads the series and comments, I end up re-reading chapters and readers' reactions. This one struck me as appropriate as we near the end of Ritchie's spinoff. I hope his growth has been satisfying.

Nah, Owen's not that radical. CJ was meant to be a moderate from the beginning. Both his fathers lean conservative and I wanted Owen to be a bit more liberal. Although he comes from wealth, I tried to infuse a bit of the European Socialist approach to certain things. I chose the Nature Conservancy for him because of their approach to private/public partnerships. Instead of demanding, they work to find compromise. I felt if Owen had a similar attitude, he could smooth out some of CJ's rough edges. I'm rambling. Owen's not a radical environmentalist. I have notes all over the place with things I want characters to do or say. When I started writing, I used to pump everything into the story right away. Hopefully, I've learned to slow things down and dribble details over time. Fudgepacker line's one of those things. LOL I posted my reply and had to immediately edit it. I used the proper pronoun for the kid and had to change it so as not to give away THEIR gender.

I was close to sending out a search party. Let me guess, you object to killing and eating baby cows. Wait until their kid decides that's its favorite food. Because you would have jumped all over Brad's shit? Pretty sure I've mentioned these guys are not very PC at times. Never tried the stuff myself. That one was pure research looking for a decent Aussie bubbly. I have tried Two Buck Chuck. Trust me, once I'm done, CJ and Owen will have plenty of their own to repay anything. Interestingly, I outlined a conversation at a dinner party in XXXX (CJ's initial posting) An older British couple, a mid 30s New Zealand one, CJ & Owen and a single Aussie and German the Kiwis are trying to set up. Owen's the only one not shocked when CJ claims he agreed with a lot of what He Who Shall Not Be Named tried to do. LMAO Unfortunately, I never wrote the entire letter out. I did that when CJ wrote Owen, and I dislike repeating distinctive events within such a short period of time. Maybe when their kids are old enough, they'll read it to them.