Carlos Hazday

The conversation in aisle 8 had me grinning. Nice.

Me and my double entendres I'm surprised nobody said anything about Ritch working with Major Wood. Joel had some fun in Cancun, he'll get laid again during senior year spring break. He's a slut! LOL

Tell that to my achy knees!

Thank you, my friend.

If I recall correctly, Miller has a large brewery in North Carolina too. All these beer companies have gone through so many mergers I forget where they brew their product. I drank a lot of Schlitz while in college. The price was right and a couple of Michigan guys in my freshman dorm swore by it.

Get ready to learn a bit about how the diplomatic world works in the next story. Did you think of Chipper while watching The Voice?

Security Assistance Forces? LOL I think Kitt was suggesting Ritch could become Secretary of the Air Force when his brother becomes president.

CJ was underage during most of his visits to Milwaukee, so he may not have done a lot of drinking then. But I'm certain whenever he went to a Brewers game, Miller would have been his choice. At a Pirates or Phillies game it'd be Rolling Rock I missed my chance to feature PBR when Ritch worked in Wyoming at the dig, but once again he was underage. I'll get to it and Schlitz at some point.

An issue that arose when writing HTTC was the need to figure out what had transpired in the 20 years between graduation and inauguration. I've had to do more of that while writing the spinoffs. We're in 2024 right now, but the Mexico story starts in 2021. I'll end up revisiting some Cadet events from CJ POV. (think Christmas in Vail and cadets running wild in Cancun.) Any post HTTC tales will have to wait a bit. My brain's complaining about the convoluted timelines.

LMAO We're talking about riding a bull here, get your mind out of the gutter. I don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't want to be the one trying to put a condom on a 1500 pound critter.

Not in Colorado. That's Coors country since it's brewed in Golden. Most events and location would feature the local brew. In this case even more since the brewery would be a sponsor.

An eighteen-year-old football player hot? Who would have thought it? LOL

Intriguing premise. The chapter could use a thorough editorial scrubbing. The sudden shifts in tense and point of view were particularly bothersome.

I really want to write and share Flying Circus. It takes place in 2027 and we'll get to see CJ and Ritch interact as adults. There's a bit of that coming up in a Cadet chapter.

Ritch still complaining about flying a desk. LOL

Yes. I'm pretty sure he'll still be able to fly but air time would be reduced. Thankfully I don't see me having to deal with that issue. LOL I have ideas for 2 post-inauguration stories, but both would focus on all the damn kids. I've already created 2 more than the named ones in HTTC.

Thanks, Mr. B!

Thank you. A kid? LMAO Rich or poor, the values our parents instill in us will follow us for as long as we live. Right or wrong. Ritch definitely benefits from the example set by Brett and Cesar.

I'm so glad it's clear Ritch isn't CJ with another name. Drawing from my experience with my brothers, I know there are similarities between the two characters, but there are also differences. I think CJ's worldview might be a bit broader than Ritch's.

If I get to write them all, the old folks' home better have good wi-fi

Organizing that type of event is more than one man can handle. particularly considering how little free time Ritch probably has. It's why I pointed out the initial idea came from Brett and the fathers and CJ were somewhat involved. A great support system can make even the most daunting challenges easier to handle.

He'll be behind a desk a few times in his career while still flying. The 2040 transfer to the Pentagon sounds like it'll keep him on the ground more often than not. Maybe Brett will help since his last posting was in the same place.

LOL I doubt I'll be using it enough to be embarrassed. It's primarily research so I can make my character realistic.

At 16, I was too soft to have survived what Matt, the protagonist, did. Being decades older, I can see where he went wrong at times, but very much doubt I could have fared as well. Matt's story is sad, but it is a great example of how we can surmount improbable odds. I'm not much for poetry but the last two lines of Invictus come to mind: I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. Matt certainly is. I hope Dan and Andrew are still part of his life.

LMAO You trying to pull me in? Fine, I'll break my vow of silence. How often do readers write to an author when reading non-episodic works? We are trying to cajole our readers into doing something unnatural. Using the same story in your example, Turtle Trouble was one chapter and under 3k words, an easy, quick read. Yet, at the end, we ask readers to react and comment on the chapter, and to react, recommend, and review the story as a whole. I think all that may take longer than reading the actual work. I like comments and reactions but try not to fixate on them. I have no idea how many 'likes' I get or lose in a day (I do when I 'win' the day.) I'd rather spend my time writing, reading, or editing for a select few. Most of the time, there are binge readers working their way through my series/universe. The ones I know of are those who choose to react. In the recent past, one reader's left me over 150 chapter reactions while another one's given me some of the best comments I've ever received (his familiarity with the location and political content led to great insights.) Yes, feedback's wonderful, but I think the way to increase it is to post a quality product. Let's ask ourselves why some authors receive dozens of reactions within a few hours of posting a chapter, and others can barely scrape a handful over longer time periods. I suspect subject matter and quality of writing are primordial in generating reactions. My subject matter's not typical, lots of politics and very little romance. It seems the more controversial the subject, the more reactions I get. Write about guns, pro or con, and my readers express their opinion on the matter. Regardless of subject, quality writing can draw readers in and get them to react. I came to GA as a reader, when I started writing, it was atrocious. But I persevered, listened to more established authors, and my work has improved. Of course, what I consider atrocious others find acceptable. So, instead of worrying about likes and comments, I think we should concentrate on providing quality. I'm with @CassieQ, I'd rather have a negative comment than none. And with me, readers don't even have to be gentle. If you think my work sucks, tell me out right. If you tell me why it does, that's a bonus. The check mark reaction doesn't bother me, the angry face does. And that's only because I can't tell what the reader dislikes. My writing? The subject matter? Something a character did? Sometimes it isn't clear. Have I rambled sufficiently?