Carlos Hazday

All my stories are so American, now and then I like to include something overseas readers can relate to. My research isn't always in-depth, but I do quite a bit.

Two ex-military redheads with one advocating in favor of vets? Too hard to resist. However, the first draft of the chapter referred to him as His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex. I had to edit out the HRH after he and Meghan made changes to their lives.

By the time I post a chapter, I've read it dozens of times. Usually, I don't read my stuff, but last week I binged Ripper Christmas. I liked my own work and couldn't get enough. LOL

Last time we heard from Rash, it was during CJ & Ozzies bachelor party trip to London and Amsterdam. I though it was appropriate to include a little reference in a chapter featuring another Brit.

Taking a page from you SOP manual, I talked to Mr. Google. https://www.sleep.org/articles/temperature-for-sleep/ For me, nothing better than cuddling or bundling under covers in a freezing room.

March 2022 “I’ll be fine, Dad. Just get out of here and go do whatever you and JP had planned.” Brad’s dismissive hand wave made Tom Kennedy shake his head. “I’m kinda tired and I want to air out the stumps.” Brad’s endurance had gotten better but occasionally, he still needed breaks. He knew there was room for improvement, and it was something he was working on. “I’ll just veg until Trip calls.” “Okay… There’s food in the fridge. Text us if you need anything.” “I will. I w

Who's been eating the bread and hiding? You're good at building up misteriies and I'm jealous. I can never drag things out long enough. LOL Rough morning today, so thanks for the great distraction.

Control what you can. What you can't, try to ignore. Stupdiity is rampant.

@Reader1810 The hashtag is #ChalktheWalk There are some very strange people out there. I went to see my dad at the home this morning. I had permission since I sort his meds and he was in the hospital two days ago. A couple of residents complained to the manager that there was a strange man with a long white beard walking around. Oy vey! Silver lining... my dear editor is home and zipping through chapters. I may get to post Malibu right after Ranger! I better start writing the next one. Hope you're all having a safe, peaceful day. Hang in there, folks.

Loved the descriptions of the surroundings. And I can tell David's not one of my characters! He didn't use expletives when referring to his witch of a mother. I look forward to future chapters, Geron. Oh, one more thing. FIRST!

ATTENTION: All COVID 19-related restrictions have been lifted. The pandemic is over! Ooops, April Fools’ Day here in the old U S of A. Welcome back! And welcome to the best month of the year. We celebrate fools—we all know a few of those—this month. Mother Earth has her day this month. My niece—didn’t I just hold her as a newborn?—will turn twenty-four this month. And a foolish, tree hugging, white-haired, old biker has his birthday this month. Happy April, y’all. The member who sent in last month’s question also asked something of poets. Due to the total number of individuals involved, I decided to feature them in separate months. And even though not all poets I contacted replied, the responses we do have are outstanding. ◊ ◊ ◊ Do you have a favorite metaphor? An image or analogy you come back to again and again? If so, what is it about that metaphor that draws you back? ◊ ◊ ◊ @AC Benus When I first got this question, I thought, "No. I don't go back to well-worn ideas over and over...." And then, lol, I thought of a couple of things that I have gone back to a few times. One seems to be the "Alice in Wonderland" theme. It has appeared several times as allusions in my poetry, and then, last year, it somehow wound up being the central theme in my havin-a-baby novella Finding Joy. Another area I come back to is more nebulous. This especially shows up in my poetry as opposed to my fiction, but I use concepts and theories from Physics as metaphors. String Theory, the Butterfly Effect, Quantum Mechanics, and many more wind up as ways to express the sort of mystical connections some of us feel for others. One area I have plans to write a prose piece deals with discoveries made by a doctor of Anesthesiology concerning the human body and reactions people have far, far, far below the conscious level. So, thank you for your question. It really made me think ◊ ◊ ◊ @Mikiesboy Hmmm , interesting question. I write a lot about depression, i have lived with it for many years. To me it is a soul and spirit sucking vampire. I often use words such as fog, darkness, viscous, heaviness and chains, to describe it. I included some samples in my answer: In the early morning I can hear its song though its wee small voice is fleeting my soul yearning for something more and sadness I can feel comes creeping And the tears sit waiting but are not wept for what earthly good will it do? I can cry for an age but it would not be enough There is no cure for what ails, not even you You speak of hope but I have none at least I don’t today But I cannot do what must be done To take this pain away On days like this I am tired of life of the pain I carry like a canker It’s a Dickensian chain heavy and thick and its weight wants to drag me under I like words with texture. To describe clouds for example: felted or woolen skies. Here is an other example of clouds: Whales of gray clouds drift past my windows blown by on fierce seas of gusty wind While the sun teases and taunts us with golden rays The first cold of winter is triggered and as the first flakes fall i think spring And i write a lot about life and what it means, i write what i see and feel about it and people: I walk in the world, a pretender, a lonely visitor I don't know the path and there is no map There is no place to stop to ask for directions I watch the world around me and despair People don't see outside, their universe is inward It easier to ignore the downtrodden, to close our eyes Our houses are crammed with baubles Shiny toys that blind us to what is right in front of us And we scamper on whirling wheels Like hamsters ignorant of life's meaning I am one - and there's no reason or rhyme Ours is to race to the end; to the finality of death Desperately I search my cage for a map Seeking the reasons for my incarceration But i am terrified to take that step Afraid of what i think life really means. I hope that answers your question and the examples helped a bit. Thanks for the question. ◊ ◊ ◊ @Wayne Gray Yes. I love the power of storms and the ocean. They're these tremendous forces of nature - awesome, impossible to stand against. Instead we're battered about, forced to simply endure. If we're lucky, we're looking at them from some safe place, marveling at their power. You can see my take on them both here. Thunder Just Breathe Thanks for the great question. ◊ ◊ ◊ Hope you enjoyed those as much as I did. We’ll be back next month with another edition. In the meantime, send me additional questions for any of our authors, and I’ll do my best to have them answered.

Thank you! When I wrote this months ago, I never imagined social isolation would be the hot topic it is today. Maybe when we find a new normal, we can all do something to help those who're alone.

If I'm going to do a little educating and preaching (vets challenges in this one) I want to do it in a way readers enjoy. I've said before I write popular fiction, but those can also carry a message. Glad it's working.

LOL As of this morning, I've named 329 characters in CJverse stories! Admittedly, many of them were throwaways. A hotel receptionist, a restaurant server, or a cop during a traffic stop. And I think I've only killed 4! I like to give each one their own look and personality which is why I spend a little more time with them. With all these spinoffs I'm writing, there will be crosspollinating. Some of these people are too interesting to toss aside. Thanks, Jeff!

We all have a breaking point with the oddest things sparking reactions. Thought of you with this chapter. The 'horshies' owe a lot to you.

I hope I'm conveying some of that in the story.

I tried to show exactly that. Brad's physically battered but mentally gets stronger each day. Henk's body's whole, but his outlook's clouded because of whatever he experienced. Not all injuries are visible.

Welcome to the party, Jeff. It's good to have you join us! I'm in between writing stories so my only job right now's reading. I'm doing some research for the next one, so I'm doing research. Sometimes, hours can pass when clicking through links.

LMAO! The story won't be shared until much later this year or next. I have the first 250 words written and the rest is simply notes on what I want to include. Wes Bender's Will's father. Will's one of Ritchie's roommates at the Air Force Academy.

It feels strange to share this chapter in today's environment. I give a glimpse into Brad's frame of mind because he's no isolated, while Henrik chooses to keep to himself most of the time. Everything I read while working on the story told me isolation was at the root of many veterans' problems. Let's hope when the pandemic wanes, we can all deal with the aftermath of being alone so long.

Thanks. Wes. I was thinking about you this morning while working on a different story with a character named Wes Bender.

Thanks, Chris- I tried to create discrete interactions instead of massive gatherings. I hope it's working out.

Something good gotta come out of the pandemic; even if it's excuses. 'You gotta walk a mile in someone's shoes to know them' kept fluttering in my mind when I was writing Carson's scene.

Can I use the Covid 19 isolation as an excuse for my misfiring brain?

Author's brain fart. It's been fixed.