Carlos Hazday

We can't have you suffering on Fridays! Give me about a month, and I'll see if I can help you out. Thanks for reading and the comment. Glad you liked my little experiment.

Anyone have a number for Simon & Schuster?

Deja vu all over again!

Thank you, Parker! Just trying to flex my writing skills a bit by trying something entirely different. It's very weird not writing about my usual cast of characters. I have some other ideas so maybe I'll bring Liebe, Tag, and Pete back sometime in the future.

Not sure if it's been read to a child yet, but the editor has a little one at home who may have heard it. One of the betas is a kindergarten teacher and she gave me some good insights. I owe @Defiance19 some wine. LOL You're right, the story screams for illustrations but I'm useless in that department. Thanks for reading and the comment, tim.

Liebe, a young girl living in the Florida Keys with her two fathers, encounters a dolphin in distress while fishing. When one of her fathers helps save the animal, they make a friend for life.

Thanks, Wolf! Don't forget there's a little epilogue in Hail to the Chief.

Thanks, Jerry When I sent this to my editor, I said it was a CJ story with a different main character. When I found out about one of those kids, I googled for and read about similar instances. They were too juicy to ignore, so I combined two of them and this is what came out. I'm a big believer in young people being involved; it's their future they get to influence.

@InnKeep32 Thanks, John. I'm delighted you're enjoying the stories. Although there are sad moments and some readers may not agree with everything CJ says or does, my goal's been to provide a positive story. Not everyone's sad, confused, or conflicted all the time. so I tried to show a person who faces challenges and instead of over thinking takes action. Best, Carlos

Sometimes it's the little things, to paraphrase you. Good going, bud.

@mutch71 Thanks for reading, Matt. And for commenting. This chapter of CJ's life's definitely over, but there's more. check out Hail to the Chief for a look at where he's at in twenty years. He and Ozzie will be back at some point to show us how they're doing as dads.

That is correct. Jeffer and Roo were also conceived through IVF and borne by a surrogate. Davey was adopted.

@northie Happy? LOL Told ya it would happen. Cheers!

@Talo Segura I came to GA having never written anything. I lurked for a while, participated in the forums, and networked. I wrote a few prompt responses and anthology entries but it took over a year before I posted my first novel. Began doing so before it was entirely edited but it was already written. In the last five years, I've never missed a weekly posting and that kept readers who liked my writing happy. If someone has prior experience as a writer, my approach may not be best for them but for a newby, starting slow and patience are essential. You have no idea how many people I've seen join and begin posting right away; the majority fall by the wayside when their work isn't immediately embraced. I try to sample new authors and now and then find gems, but I also dismiss most stories. I won't even look at a story if there are typos in the description. I figure a person who doesn't care enough to clean a paragraph will probably write crap. The same when there are long periods between installments. So, even if I like something, I tend to pull back and resume reading once the story's complete or the author indicates it's entirely written. Some very well written tales are not half as popular as weaker ones, there's no magic wand to wave. But if readers trust you, they'll return. That, I believe, is what has given me a modicum of success. The ability to easily post on GA brings many people to the site and keeps some of us here, but just because you post it doesn't mean it'll be read. Lay the groundwork, write the best you can, and ask for help.

@Talo Segura I disagree with almost everything you have to say. I've seen authors rewrite a story, usually one not edited to begin with, and produce a much better tale. A very popular story on the internet, Love on the Rocks, was edited/rewritten mostly to reduce sexual scenes. The end result was better than the original. Just because you post on a serial basis does not mean you can't do it after you're done writing. Once again, waiting until the end allows you to make corrections and improve the story before it goes live. I have one coming out in a couple of months that's entirely written and edited. Yes, it requires discipline not to start posting right away, but any author worth anything will tell you the longer they work on a story the better it is. Yes, they may reach a point of diminishing returns, but that's where beta readers and editors can really help. Some of my early work is cringe-worthy and at one point I thought I needed to go back and fix them. One of the authors on site once said something about the older stuff providing a good contrast to see how much we've improved. For the most part, I tend to agree with them. My crappy stuff will remain crappy. One of the worst is a shifter story, but instead of reworking it, I decided to write new stories revisiting their origins and early adventures. Once those are done, I can always return to the present time with new installments.

Maybe because humans are scared of what they don't understand? One of the recurring memories today are of playing with a cardboard lunar lander. A giveaway from Gulf gas stations. I wonder what one of those sheets, full of creases calling to be bent, is worth today? To me, it was a lesson in hard work. Both the landing and folding the damn thing properly!

Okay. But it's gonna have to wait. I'm limiting myself to one story a month and August's is already loaded. Let me see what I come up with.

You're welcome! No matter where I stopped there would have been unresolved issues. I wanted to end with a happy, poignant story and didn't think a longer ending would improve the experience that much. I didn't realize using surnames as first names was an American thing. LOL When my youngest brother and his wife were tossing around potential names for their first kid, I suggested using her maiden name. Cooper would work for either a boy or a girl. My nephew's name is Cooper. CJ and Owen wanted to honor their friend Lincoln when their second child was born. Since it turned out to be twins, they picked two other presidents to name the boys after. We all know about CJ's admiration for Thomas Jefferson so that was one name. The other kid's named after Theodore Roosevelt. Owen chose the name because Teddy was an early environmentalist.

Thanks, Jack! CJ's going to be a hard act to follow. The man wormed his way into my heart as much as he did with readers. I hope what I'm planning/writing gets at least as much love as CJ and his crew have. See you soon!

I can't believe I posted this a year ago! The story's written, edited, and loaded. It'll go live mid-August. The time to get a story ready is so damn long when you try to get it right. I think it'll be worth it. I like it so much, I have a couple more in the plans. Haven't started writing them, but I hope they'll be ready a heck of a lot faster than this one. Story related ideas often come to me while riding the motorcycle. Something about the engine noise and vibration puts me into the right frame of mind. Earlier today, the thoughts were for a story I have on my potential list but won't even look at writing until sometime late next year. Of course, I returned home and had to jot down everything which lead to about an hour of preliminary outlining. And it all revolves around Will Bender and his neighbor Mrs. Griffon aka Animal Lady. LOL All that came to me while riding!

I've noticed the same thing while using updated versions of Firefox and Windows on an HP laptop.

Why don't you just post the story on GA?

I read thrillers, sci-fi, and biographies. I have no idea what I write any more...

Watch it! If people start thinking I'm friendly it'll ruin my reputation. I'm flattered CJ brought you to Gay Authors and that the decision indirectly led to life changes. Best compliment you could pay any author! Thank you, Rick

Cristiano Humberto Israel Pereira, Jr. returned to the University of Miami in January ready for his final college semester. Graduation loomed in five months, and he was uncertain what came next. He would prefer a return to his native New York City but would do whatever it took to break into the music business. The e-mail from Dr. Pierce—one of his instructors at the Frost School of Music—presented a possibility he had not considered. It might mean relocating to Los Angeles instead of Manha