Carlos Hazday

I think we have a few Neal Diamond fans amonst readers.

CJ did Eli in the basement...

Back in our youth? My memory's not that good! Aslan needs to be in a show with full nudity. Trust me, the way I envision him... I've not thought too much about below the waist, the abs end up mesmerizing me.

And bagels. And Broadway. And the museums. And all the other restaurants. And the proximity to Boston/Philly/Baltimore/Washington. And Central Park. And the skyline. And Stonewall. And Brooklyn. And Long Island. And no earthquakes, And the distinct seasons. And the fricking energy! What was it you wanted me to do again?

You bet we're gonna have fun. Just wait and see

Thanks, Dave! I figured if nobody else did you would recognize the song.

Once again, I didn't specify what he sang because I wanted the music to be mostly about Chipper. But in my mind the audience waved at him during the performance. Neil Diamond's more my generation. We know Chipper likes old music and this one being about NY he would be more likely to know. This was by far the first choice but for a fraction of a moment I considered another Neil Diamond song. "Brooklyn Roads" just didn't seem to fit as well.

Thanks, Tor!

A great voice can get you part of the way but to be a star people have to connect with the performer. A singer who 'feels' what he thinks will move listeners.

I do have Aslan penciled in to make an appearance in at least one future story...

Thanks, Rick!

The entertainment world is a little different from what most of us experience in our lives. Drug/alcohol use/abuse if common. Then again, I've written about the good and bad of drug use in the past, some based on personal experience, some based on what I've seen in others. We're all entitled to make our own choices, but some never learn moderation. Let's hope Chipper's not amongst them.

I did mention I spent a lot of time trying to decide what Chipper would sing. The first one he picked trying to hook the judge he wanted all along. The second was picked by his coach, but this one is the start of me telling Chipper's story through music.

Dragon's a favorite of mine. In many ways, he's to CJ what I hope I've been to my nieces and nephews: the fun uncle (we call it FUNCLE) with some wild and crazy experiences but with a level head. He gives practical advise instead of pontificating.

Although this chapter wasn't written until after the election, I had mapped out what I wanted to write ahead of time. Needless to say, I had to make some changes. The first part of the chapter came about after watching the Monday night rally. I like writing that and CJ introducing the dads to the presidents and Springsteen always makes me smile and maybe shed a happy tear or two. The third act was a bitch. I planned on CJ speaking and bragging about how he was a gay Millennial of Hispanic descent and how Hilary embraced all different types of Americans. It went from joyful to somber and much shorter. I don't like dwelling on misery.

Hearing the balcony’s sliding glass-door open, Chipper turned and smiled. “Good morning. I see you found the coffee.” “Yeah, and thanks for leaving aspirin out.” Bliss wore one of Chipper’s sweatshirts, which on her reached mid-thigh. Two more sedate rounds followed their initial, frantic coupling the previous evening. During breaks, they ordered in food, ate, drank, and talked. “So, you’re going shopping today?” Part of their conversation was about their plans for the day. Bli

I think the ability to forgive is often something developed with age and experience. Someone's CJ's age would have a lot more trouble doing it.

I recall flying to Oklahoma City years ago to visit a fraternity brother. Diehard Sooner, he invited me to go with him to Dallas for the OU-Texas game. One of the memories from that trip is visiting the state capitol and seeing an oil derrick in front of it. Yep, the inspiration for the cousin's behavior was based on a guy I knew from Paraguay; he was engaged to be married but planned on traveling to the US frequently to get his gay fixes. A phone call by the dads? You've been paying attention, haven't you?

Sending you a PM

Glad you think so!!!

The 'old boys network' is alive and doing well. I wanted to show Chipper moving around New York like a native, comfortable in a variety of settings and enjoying the city's fast pace. As much of an urban person as I am, whenever I'm in NY the city's energy and the constant hustle and bustle fascinate me. I regret turning down a job offer in Manhattan when I was in my 20s a little. Although I'm unsure I'd be alive today if I had.

In October 2017, @Renee Stevens resurrected the popular Ask an Author GA Blog. Two months later, I was entrusted with coordinating the monthly feature. Including this month’s entry, the blog has featured 119 responses by 66 different authors. I’ve been lucky with readers asking question and authors providing replies. Over the last 24 months I’ve been astounded by their generosity in answering whatever I asked of them. Only twice was my approach rebuffed for personal reasons. AC’s position atop the list won’t be challenged for a while; three authors are tied for second place on the list with five responses each. One of them is @Graeme • Question 1. Presuming your children know you are gay, are they also aware that you write gay fiction? If your answer is no, go to question 2. If yes, go directly to question 3. Question 2. How have you managed to keep this a secret? Have you any plans to tell them in the future? Question 3. Have they ever read any of your work? If so was it on Gay Authors? Question 4. How did they react when you first told them and how interested are they in your work as an author? Are they indifferent about it or do they take a keen interest or even have some kind of input? • • My kids don't know I'm gay. I discussed this with my wife several years ago and we decided that there was little point in saying anything to them. Doing so would potentially have prompted them to wonder if my telling them was the prelude to my wife and I breaking up. Since that's not happening, we decided to keep things quiet. One of the reason (and it's onl yone reason) is one of our boys was being bullied at school. My coming out would have potentially openned him up to more bullying, and there was no way I wanted to be responsible for that. He's now in university, so that reason is now gone, but the youngest boy is still in school. Having said that, we're not adverse to discussing gay issues at home. During the Australia-wide survey on whether to change the definition of marriage to allow same-sex couples to wed, we discussed the matter with both of our sons. We gave them our views, but we told them that this was a matter for them to decide for themselves. After a lot of thought, our eldest boy (who was the only one old enough to participate) decided that love was love, and voted accordingly. I suspect my youngest son may be aware that I'm gay, since he's seen me visiting GA several times, but he's not said anything. This is something my wife and I may revisit in a few years time, but we'll probably wait until the boys have completed their education before saying anything. As for my writing, the boys haven't seen any of it, but my wife has read most of it. She gets copies before they're posted online I've valued her comments on the early drafts many times. • • • I’ll close this anniversary edition by featuring a younger author. I’ve had the opportunity of working with @WolfM and was delighted by his willingness to learn and interest in improving. I wish more authors would be as interested in improving their craft. • What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? • • The short answer to that is I don’t. On the stories I’ve written so far, the research comes later in the process. In the case of The Journal of Chris Williams, I had the entire outline of the book written in about three or four days. Size wise, it was about half of the final release, but it gave me the framework to fill out the rest of the details. The research came when I did fill in the details. I’ve never been to the Portland, Oregon area, but knew that’s where the story would take place from his exile in RWTP. Trying to find things for him to do, I spent a lot of time on Google Maps. From there I picked a place outside of the city for the wolf pack to have its hometown and took advantage of the sights available. Finding a fire lookout tower that is available to rent ended up giving Chris a good bonding experience with his escorts as they did repairs to it. Learning the glaciers on Mt. Hood for a run with friends in their fur, or the tours available at a hydroelectric plant added to things the characters could do. Even finding there is a large rock fireplace in a hotel the family goes to for dinner is something I don't want to overlook. I took the same approach in RWTP. Once I settled on something I wanted to use, I would look for details. I know a lot of writers spend a lot of time doing research up front, but for me, building the framework and then researching the details seems to work. • • • I’ll close this anniversary edition by once again thanking all members who’ve sent in questions and the authors who’ve answered them. No time to rest though. I have next month’s issue set but I’m out of questions for subsequent ones. Take the plunge, pick an author you like, and send me a question for them.

@Daddydavek Hang on to the 10-minute thought until Friday. We'll talk then. In a future chapter we'll see how important and convenient is having a good friend as your lawyer. When Chipper makes it big, the lawyers will get their share. We saw how loyal he's to Matt, and I bet it'll be the same with Ethan, Chipper's a client for life. A friend's daughter lives in Brooklyn and I asked her for ideas. She's twenty-something. Out of the 3 or 4 places she mentioned, I liked this one the best after I googled for pictures. You have to admit Chipper has good taste when picking a place to seduce a woman.

Enthusiastically remind you? I had him tell the two hotties he was bi just a couple of chapters ago! Anyway, this was intended to prove the point he's really bi, not a closeted gay man slowly coming out. I actually got into writing the sex scene with Bliss; it was longer and I had to trim it to fit. This chapter I also trimmed the coffee shop scene; the original version had some more dialogue and Chipper walking out with a name and phone number.