Carlos Hazday

“You know something? This is the first time I wore a coat and tie since your birthday party a year ago.” Brad Kennedy tossed his walking stick in Sparky’s back seat, belted himself in, and shut the car’s door. “You should do it more often, Red. You look good.” CJ had approached his friend the previous week with a lunch invitation. Searching for increased funding, he had quietly lobbied on behalf of Heroes Haven and wanted Brad to meet one of the individuals he had spoken to several times.

I've found the older I get, the less judgemental I've become. First impulse might be to judge, but I seem to slow my roll and think before it gets too far. I think judging others is innate. Hell, I've had readers judge the actions of fictional characters. One insisted two of my characters were unfit to get married because they were part of a four-way! It's not only sexual practices that get dissed, appearances are often the main target. I know I'm judged every time someone sees my sleeves, but I've come to realize most people objecting lead a boring life and often justify their existence criticizing others. I think that realization helped me become more accepting. Live and let live. Don't allow an emotional response to someone else rule your life. Great post, Mac.

Get ready, another chapter coming at you tomorrow morning! Glad you've enjoyed this one so much; it's amongst my personal favorites. Are you implying I drop hints and Easter Eggs into my stories? LOL. That line could refer to twins or to CJ and Ozzie planning on more than one pregnancy. Let's see what happens. We'll have an answer before this book's over.

LMAO - You'll get another dose of CJ in a couple of days. Friday's still belong to him!

I tried to make the entire chapter about family. It seemed appropriate to end it with the baby news. Let's see what I come up with between now and the birth.

Thanks, bud. As with CJ proposing to Owen after a long build-up, we now get to wait for the baby's birth. Since this chapter takes place in November 2019 and the kid's due in April 2020, we only have to suffer for 5 months.

Thanks, Tony!

And we have a vote for one boy! If I had to start over, I'm not sure I would use the name for CJ or his dad. It's a pain with all those accents!

Because I have the books done before I start posting, reader's suggestions and requests are rarely satisfied. Not sure how some authors keep multiple stories going, I looked at one recently with over a dozen marked as In Process. It's gotten to the point I rarely read anything unless it's marked as complete or I know the author has the story entirely written.

We have our first entry into the sweepstakes! If I recall properly, fraternal twins are common with in vitro fertilization. Something about implanting multiple embryos to increase the chances of pregnancy.

If I wasn't writing in the future already, I might have taken the guys to Capetown for the Mr. Gay World contest. The 2018winner was from Australia and I could have woven that in. Don't despair, CJ's going to work for the US State Department, you never know where he'll be posted.

The number of scenes leading up to the proposal was on purpose. I wanted to surprise readers after lulling them into thinking it was just a regular ole' chapter. And for the record, that wasn't me writing the romantic stuff; the Romance Fairy temporarily took over my body.

CJ may have a thing or two to say about Trump in future books, but this is it for heavy political content. I've tried to write a positive story and CJ's optimism is part of it. He's young enough to be an idealist although he's slowly learning we Americans don't always make the best choices come election time.

With over 150 chapters and over 750,000 words, my little story about a gay kid coming of age turned out a little longer than I originally intended. Okay, a hell of a lot longer. The writing style may have evolved over the last four-and-a-half years, but the original vision remained constant. I wanted to write a positive story, reflecting real lives. And as I told my editor after a typical snarky comment: Damn right I'm having a happy-ever-after ending. Speaking of editors and snarky comm

@Kitt Hell, I have the same problem. It's taken a lot of willpower not to mention Liz leaving eggs for the guys. I'm certain they weren't meant for them when she froze them, but Liz was practical when she realized she wouldn't be able to use them herself. The kid will be 1/2 Abello and 1/2 Liston. How perfect is that?

Between Gamon and Benjamin Mookjai, Fabricio Baravento, and Carolina Prado, their kid has friends before it's born. But no, I'm not writing so far into the future to cover their lives.

@Daddydavek Fasteschapter to read? This one was over a thousand words longer than the last one! Wait until you read the story I'm working on right now. I'm experimenting with the thousand-words-a-chapter format! I can't remember exactly, but you may have been one of the people who cautioned me when I posted an excerpt from Summer way back when. I had a description of the dads' townhouse that sounded like a realtor's listing. I've tried to dribble things out and we'll get a few more tidbits next chapter when they reclaim possession of the house. And yes, they're stereotypical Millenials with the wealth to make most wishes come through. As for siblings for the baby, let me quote CJ: " And like you, we want to be our kids’ friends too." Notice the plural kids?

Thanks! I want you to know my status update this morning was posted with you in mind. I figured you would question a chapter going live on a day other than Friday.

You're one of a handful of people who know the kid's gender, so be careful. LOL Last year I got the presents on my birthday; I'm paying it forward. I may have overdone the sun today, I'm about to go harvest aloe leaves from one of my plants.

LOL It's good to have you comment! Can you believe I was accused of not milking Liz's death for more drama? HA! Glad you enjoyed that, Kitt. Thank you.

I've read the chapter countless time and I'm still not tired of it.

Ugh! We have another appearance by Brad next chapter; CJ's not done meddling. I've been known to rush through events, but I think I've milked the baby and Brad plenty. Let's see if I can keep it going.

Well, we finally found out what was in the letter. Took two books, but I hope it was worth the wait and it's now clear why I avoided details before. Liz leaving them her frozen eggs was a good confluence, CJ and Owen have been saying they wanted kids since before her death. So, don't think of it as a deathbed promise, but a happy confluence of wishes.

I think CJ may be the one to spoil the kid. Hopefully, Owen will rein him in when he goes overboard.

LOL You did guess correctly. Maybe we can start a pool on whether it's a boy or a girl. I think only 5 people know the baby's gender right now. Because they've worked on this book or because they read some other story where I referenced the kid. Place your bets!