Carlos Hazday

@northie I can relate. Ideas are there and I have some stories written in my head. Getting them down's the problem. If it wasn't for Mann zipping through chapters of a finished story, I'd be useless. At least he forces me to concentrate while clearing edit notes.

Sorry for spoiling the surprise when I did.

Lean on Michael, baby. I have a feeling he can help pull you through.

Thanks, Jeff. My preaching may be a little more pronounced in this story, but readers seem to like it anyway, Next chapter's a rough one, and I hope y'all stick with me.

I think this episode will change the world and us. Not entirely sure how, but some politicians will feel voters' anger. Some medical personnel could burn out and leave the profession. Countless small businesses will fail. Unemployment will remain high and people will struggle and declare bankruptcy. A financial depression is possible, but I hope we come out with a new appreciation for life and those around us. I wanna be able to hug people again.

Chill. It's all good.

I think subconciously I'm afraid I'll get sick and not be able to finish it. I do have two short stories and a novella in the can and I though about posting them and leaving them unpublished just I case. Myr could always release them if I croaked. LOL

Anyone else having trouble writing? My next story's supposed to be an expansion of a prompt response I posted a few years ago. Meant to flesh out the MC and his environment, it should have been an easy and quick write. I can't seem to find the motivation. If it wasn't for cleaning edit notes on another one, I'd be watching even more TV.

My editor didn't like Ritch either. LOL Claims using a T in it makes it pretentious.

@Geron Kees CJ lives in DC. The family owns the place in the UES and he and his husband are the most frequent visitors. Until their daughter was born, they used to ride the Acela from Washington at least once a month. Real BIG heart. I take meds to deal with Congestive Heart Failure. Otherwise, it's a miserable shrunken, little thing. LOL

I do some of my most interesting thinking while riding the Harley or showering. I just took a shower. (Not sure why since I've taken a total of 30 steps today) Mark's parents supposedly died while he was living in Massachusetts. The previous maintenance man moved to Boston or Cambridge. The building provides housing for the maintenance man and his family. Coincidence? I think not. What was the previous maintenance guy's last name again? Let's ask Grandpa, I'm sure he'll remember the entire family.

Okay, Mark's the ghost. He saw David at some point and liked him. Then he heard their plans and maneuvered himself to meet his crush. He's homeless and float between apartments in the building. There, mistery solved.

VINS is a real program at the Nature Conservancy. So's the Fly Fishing organization and their joint work. I boiled down a long article into a couple of paragraphs. Hope I did it justice. Did you know Brad's best friend's a media ho? He got a taste for life in the public eye a few years ago, and he got hooked. Another friend's a musician and models underwear for Versace. Brad has plenty of inspiration if he wants to live in the spotlight. Now the question's whether Brad will follow in their footsteps.

Thanks, bud!

Very dangerous! I have one of those and I've ended up in the hospital more than once.

The second half of the chapter advanced the story nicely. I'm keeping an eye on the maintenance man. But I want to talk about the first half. I smiled all through it. As usual, your descriptions took me where you described. When I first read about the building, I assumed it was a few blocks off CP on either side. It felt good to be proven right. I've used Central Park as a setting before and I'm certain I'll do it again. It's a whole world upon itself. Two items that increased my reading enjoyment. A year or so ago, I told Defiance19 my plans for Chipper. (One of my characters, a musician) He grew up on the UWS and I planned to have him buy a place at The Dakota when he became rich and famous. I planned to make a big deal out of his love for John Lennon since Chipper will end all his concerts with a cover of Imagine. Did you know another one of my characters owns a co-op on 76 and Lex? 3 blocks from the Park. I wonder if CJ ever ran into Grandpa while jogging. LOL Thanks for brightening up my day.

BTW, I've been meaning to ask, is chapter length more to your liking this time around?

Really? I guess my search wasn't thorough enough! Oh well, now that this chapter's been published, there's no going back. LOL I plan to describe how it came about in Ethan's spinoff, but that's not on the schedule until a couple of years from now. I may have to mention it before and credit CJ with buying it from the current owners.

I tried to create RedRangerDC@Google.com, but it was taken. Imagination took over at that point and I couldn't stop. I'll expand on TheSquad.org in a future story. As far as I know, the domain is available in case somebody want to buy it. LOL

I'd call Brad a reluctant celebrity. He may not enjoy being in front of the public as some others, but he'll get the job done to the best of his abilities.

The activist in me makes me do it! I like to put the info out there. If someone's moved to do something, I call it a win.

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