Carlos Hazday

Without trust, any relationship's in trouble and likely to fail. Sounds like you don't trust your boyfriend.

@Will Hawkins That is exactly the kind of reaction I was looking for. Individually, the calls would not be of much concern. All of them together in a short time span had to alert the man to the fact his cops may have messed with the wrong person.

Harley's one of those happy-go-lucky individuals who rarely worry about anything. He'll be a good complement to CJ's more serious personality.

My writing has evolved and some readers claim I have a distinctive style. What I feel is amateurish in my early efforts actually worked well. It helps show CJ as a kid albeit one learning thanks to the example set by his fathers and their friends. His maturing as a person mirrored my maturing as an author.

@Will Hawkins Those bedtime conversations were a great literary device I stumbled onto. They gave me the opportunity to clarify and or expand the chapter's events and sometimes set things up for future happenings.

May Day! May Day! I’m floundering, here. I know April has thirty days. So thinking the first Wednesday in May was next week was a total brain fart. My apologies for the late posting and the brevity of this issue. Coffee has yet to properly do its job. A member sent me a question and suggested I ask it of either Cia or Mann Ramblings. Not one to waste an opportunity, I approached both. @Cia You are an artist in many forms, be it the written word, photography, sculpting, painting, etc. Does your art of writing influence your art of other mediums? Or vice versa? Yes, it does, actually. Photography/digital art and writing are both creative outlets for me. I often pair them, using art for scene inspiration or published works. I love to take photos of the beautiful locale I live in, but hot gay men draped over each other are seriously lacking in my real life, lol. In all seriousness, the saying is that a picture is worth a thousand words, and I'm always striving to find the ideal angle to capture a beautiful shot or the most expressive language to share a scene. Whether what I see is in front of me or in my mind, the goal is to use the most visceral, the most real, language or viewpoint to paint a picture that pulls others in and enables them to feel. Photography isn't easy, but writing is even harder. If I do that just once with one reader in a whole story, I'm ecstatic. @Mann Ramblings You are an artist in many forms, be it the written word, photography, sculpting, painting, etc. Does your art of writing influence your art of other mediums? Or vice versa? The answer is kind of yes and no at the same time. While I've drawn character sketches of my cast (some have ended up in GA's gallery) I don't make fanart of my work per se. I have a fascination with Victorian imagery which I will incorporate into ceramic design or decorate pieces with steampunk themes, but I don't make them to go along with my ongoing stories. For example, I don't make mugs with quotes from my stories on them, no matter how cool they might be. (The context would be lost for most of my customers.) There's no way to say my different media don't cross-influence one another. I think it's less of a conscious decision and more of directing one another into color pallets, literary genres, and visual elements. Sometimes I make pottery with book/library graphics on them, so it's all connected, I think. @Thorn Wilde is a long-time member who’s also a musician. I felt they would fit well into this crowd of authors. In much of your recent work, including stories, poetry and blog posts, you champion the importance of (and struggles with) transgender/non-binary inclusion. This is a subject not discussed a whole lot on GA. What are the biggest challenges you see in writing about this subject? What are the biggest rewards? Oh, that's a great question! I guess the biggest challenge is approaching it in a way that people understand. There are a lot of readers, especially older readers, who don't really have a concept of what transgender means, let alone non-binary or genderqueer. There's a lot of misrepresentation, inaccuracy and simplification when the media presents trans identities, a lot of sensationalism and so on. Which is, of course, why I think it's so important to write about it in the first place, to try and get around the stereotypes and the misunderstandings. I kind of see it as my duty to educate, because someone has to, and that requires a certain amount of patience, which can be very challenging in and of itself. I muddle through, though. The reward is when a reader says, this is something I never thought about but I get it now. Knowing that I reached someone who would otherwise not have thought about the issue much feels really good. Then I feel like I've accomplished something important, and it gives me a reason to go on doing what I'm doing. And, on a more personal level, perhaps people understand me better as a result, too. And maybe, just maybe, by talking about it and putting it out there, it may help someone else come to terms with their own gender identity. It took me a long time to understand how and why I feel the way I feel, and I did so largely because other people talked about it and gave me the language to put my own feelings into words. If I can pay it forward and help someone else do the same, then that's the greatest reward I can think of. @Wayne Gray, in contrast, is one of our newest members. His first story garnered a large response and earned him instant fans. Y’all keep sending in questions for him so we can get to know him better. Okay? As a newbie to GA, you've already made a big impression with Guarded and your latest piece, Silverwolf. You write characters who are very believable/relatable but also have unique, and sometimes quirky, characteristics, which is one of the draws to your stories. What is your creative process for developing your characters and bringing them to life? First, I'm flattered that anyone would want to know about my process. Thanks for that! For characterization, I start with a blueprint based on someone I've met. I amplify certain traits, mute others to turn my character into someone new. I've found starting with a real person gives me inborn attributes with which to work. Karen in the coffee shop in Guarded is one of those quirky characters. She's wildly goodnatured, bubbly, and has an infectious joy about her. I had a lot of readers "warn" me not to hurt her during the process of Guarded's plot. I consider that a successful character. There's more to it than starting with that base model. Before I begin anything at all I think about the "roles" in the story I want to tell. Protagonists, antagonists, side players, red herrings, flavor only, allies - these are all categories make it onto my character tracking sheet. If you're really interested in that, then I'll link it so you can see it. BEWARE: There are spoilers on the sheet! Don't click it if you actually want to be surprised by the twists and turns of Guarded. Guarded Character and Resource Sheet Thanks again for your interest. I look forward to posting many more stories on GA. That’s it for this month. I promise to start working on the next issue today, but you can help ensure it’s a good one. Send me your questions!

@Will Hawkins LOL Old man suspicions? You have an advantage; you don't have to wait for weekly postings. Chips actions will have consequences.

@Will Hawkins CJ's relationship with the reporter is an interesting one. The teen's attitude towards publicity will evolve and Trip will be along for the ride.

@Will Hawkins The beauty of fiction is I can expose my characters to anything I want. CJ will meet a plethora of different people and experience a wide variety of things in coming books. He'll learn from it all. Let's see if he puts those experiences to good use.

@Will Hawkins Heathen! How can you not like avocados? I grew up eating them and treasure the tree in my back yard. Hoping for fruit this year; none last year since the tree was battered by a hurricane the previous one. Growing up, my best friend's father planted a grove in their property for tax purposes. Until there was enough fruit to turn it into a cash crop, we had avocado everything for a while. The only thing I didn't like was avocado ice cream. I'd like to have it again, I think my palate is more accepting these days.

Good, because open conversations like these are a staple of the series. I've seen both my brothers have frank discussions about sex, drugs, and the world in general with their kids. All four of them seem better prepared to deal with life than many of their friends.

@Will Hawkins Thank you! The quality of the writing does improve with time. LOL

@Will Hawkins No apologies are necessary. I've written a series touching on a variety of controversial subjects which tends to elicit impassioned responses at times. I'm fine with it. I keep telling people this story's not for speed readers. There are a lot of details and hints about the future spread throughout. This is definitely not an angsty, teen, love-at-first-sight tale.

Religion has a way of bringing people together or tearing them apart. The Muslim world often seems mired in the past more than other religions. I have to believe one day they too will be enlightened.

@Will Hawkins Hope you make it to the end this time. I look forward to your comments. Religious intolerance wasn't the reason CJ left Miami but it's a subject we'll touch upon in the future.

Yeah, most of what I write's not designed for speed reading. LOL, that may be a reason why so many read chapters multiple times. I kinda like each reading reveals tidbits missed in previous passes. And sometimes, a phrase will make even better sense after something else is revealed.

@Daddydavek proud grandpa = insta sitter Completely understandable. And acceptable! The chapters aren't going anywhere. Matias Ferreira, like Alex Minsky, is real. I read a few interviews with Duckworth and some of her actual words are sprinkled into her dialogue lines. The majority is my extrapolation, but I would hope if she ever read this she would not object. CJ will use his financial, political, and social resources and influence to advance causes he believes in. Right now Brad needs him and CJ will do whatever needs to be done.

I think you described not only this chapter but the series as a whole. At least that's been my intention. Some of the tears have been due to sad events, but I sincerely hope most have been happy ones.

@Butcher56 Thank you! Glad you like this one. @Daddydavek called CJ manipulative and I wholeheartedly agree. He'll move mountains to get what he wants and right now that's ensuring Brad thrives.

It's what I try to do with my stories. I know I write about controversial topics and have some intense scenes, but if we can't laugh life's not worth living.

@Reader1810 Well get you on social media one of these days...

Thanks, Parker. And to think CJ was ready to throw Specer overboard when the first met. Figures I'd introduce the brother before the husband-to-be. I dropped the initial hint about Owen back then. See my comment reply above about hints and eggs. LOL

Thanks, Wes.

SPOILER ALERT "RITCHIE!" that's the opening line for the next chapter. And careful what you ask for, we have a little something-something coming up that features the high school senior. Every now and then I would get messages from @Reader1810 while she was beta reading. They were often a quote from an earlier chapter in which I'd dropped something readers didn't realize was significant. I do it so later I can prove I had it all neatly planned out in advance.

So much I could say about the house and grandchildren... I'll settle for the royalties discussion. I read Netflix is expanding their presence and production capabilities in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Considering all the Marvel shows they filmed in the City, I think they'd be perfect to adapt CJ for the screen. How about bit parts instead of royalties. Or you could help me run the casting couch department. It's gonna be tough and we may have to audition a few Seans.