Carlos Hazday

@Hellsheild When I participated in an anthology a couple of years back, @Cia left a comment praising parts of the story but ripped me a new one for not sharing the characters emotions concerning the events. I listened. Since then, I've learned those emotions aren't always clearly conveyed by dialogue, no matter how realistic it may be, and have tried to show character reactions more often. Your comment's satisfying since it tells me I've improved in that respect. I write feel-good stories without lots of hand-wringing but even into charmed lives sadness can creep in. I wanted to show Ritchie's life isn't perfect and losing both his parents at such a young age will hurt for a long time to come. Thanks for reading, liking, and commenting!

@tabaqui That little snippet about Ritchie borrowing a credit card was fun to write. I liked Spencer's reaction. The kid has good intentions so I don't think he'll go crazy. Let's see if he's like the rest of us and swears off alcohol during the hangover and forgets the promises next time he gets a chance to drink!

@tor200534 Thanks, bud. Have I told you I love your loyalty to the series?

@spikey582 Yes! I'm so happy to read your comment. I wasn't about to presume you'd still be following the story, or prod you for a comment, but you were in my thoughts when I first posted the story and set it for later publishing. Check the genres I used for this one. The latest scenes I've been working on take place in autumn 2019 and Cj's not been back to the White House and my outline does not show him returning before he graduates from college. A couple of readers have commented on CJ's libertarian views and that's made me happy. He still has one litmus test for politicians but otherwise he's not a cookie cutter party hack. I've tried to limit the amount of time I spend on Ritchie as I move the story away from teens. But he has at least one major scene coming up in the near future thanks to Mann. I have an idea for a stand-alone story featuring him and my dear editor suggested I include one event in this book when I asked his opinion. It'll be a while but what happens may shock and surprise some readers. Yeah, I'm a bloody author so I get to tease you all.

@tabaqui And here I feared you had abandoned me! LOL The Ritchie story arc you mention is far from done. We'll revisit it in a future chapter. To ensure you don't miss any future chapters, make sure you follow the story. And to ensure you don't miss any future stories when I first post them, follow me. Looking forward to hearing what you thought of chapter 2.

“Owen! Over here!” Spencer Liston strolled towards his brother and the two others with him. “Mate, it’s good to see ya.” “Wow! Your brother’s almost as big as Tank, Ozzie.” Ritchie stared at the blonde, blue-eyed man’s oversized biceps contracting when he hugged first Owen and then CJ. “You too, CJ. It’s been a while.” Spencer held his brother’s boyfriend by the shoulders and gave him a slight shake. “Looking good, mate. I’m glad neither one of you has gotten fat now that you’re an old

Thank you, all! And thanks for the questions you sent in today. I'm on an overnight research trip, spent the day riding and walking but I'm in the hotel now. Considering I'm in the middle of Nowhere, Florida, I'm in for the night LOL I've seen the questions on my phone and will reply to each of you tonight or first thing in the morning.

I have several questions and answers in inventory but most for authors already featured since this feature was re-booted. Soooooo, we should try to feature as many authors as possible but that will only happen if you send in your questions. Send me a PM and ask away. Your identity will be protected, I send the questions in anonymously.

Hello February! By the time you read this, stores will be full of red and pink decorations. Chocolates and love cards will be prominently displayed everywhere. Florists will be busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger in a windstorm would. And GA readers will be searching for love stories to read. Our focus this month is on the authors of three such tales. • • • • • @Rip Skor I was not aware of Rip Skor’s Boy Story until one of its fans sent in a question for the author. The story’s description and Rip’s reply to the question have led me to adding it to my reading list. Moral of the story? If you are an author, how you describe the story when you post it can gain or lose you prospective readers. • I happened upon Boy Story a while ago, and it was hard to resist Matt and Parker. It was great watching their romance unfold and seeing them live their lives. You mentioned the story is semi-autobiographical, so, why was this the time to tell it and how hard was it to separate fact from fiction? And since it is the month of Romance, what is the best love advice you’ve received? • Being an English Major, I've always written well, but I hate to write because it saps a lot of my energy. So the fact that I put pen to paper seems perplexing even to me. I was sitting at home with Parker one night and we watched another horrendous gay-themed movie. They always seem to end up sad, as if it's some kind of penance for being gay. Just look at Brokeback Mountain for example. Can't a gay love story have a positive ending, yet still be entertaining? Can't a gay love story keep itself from getting mired down in gay culture, which turns off most straight people? Parker said, "You're a good writer, why don't you show them how it's done?" That started the ball rolling. Only problem is I had no idea what to write about. I find it easier to use real events even if just for a framework to build around. But once I turned the faucet on, things came flooding out, like I was watching a movie. One of my college professors said "Write about what you know." So I wrote about what I know...my life. Specifically, when things drastically changed for me, yet kept me feeling alive and happy and thankful. Parker had become like a drug that I could not live without. Being with him fed my soul and I guess that's where the term soul mate comes from. Others have experienced the same kind of all encompassing love. I didn't change much of the events. I did compress the timeline a bit to keep it moving. Otherwise we'd be on Chapter 247 by now. I kept most of the names the same where I used only first names, I changed my last name and Parker's last name to protect our privacy. So there was not a lot of fiction to separate from fact. Like Parker winning the car in a drawing that Aunt Helen entered him in really happened! My Grandmother hit the nail on the head when it comes to relationships. She simply said "Be good to each other." I found that's how you keep romance alive. • • • • • @Headstall Headstall began posting Cards on the Table three years ago, in January 2015. Since then, the story’s sixty-three chapters and over 300,000 words have attracted nearly 180,000 views, 2,700 comments, and over 300 followers. I think it is fair to say Gary’s story about two hockey-playing friends taking their relationship to a new level struck a chord with readers. This has to be one of the all-time most popular love stories on the site. • How difficult did you find it returning to Cards on the Table after a long break? Had your writing style noticeably changed since you'd last written a chapter? Did you have to alter anything to get back into your previous style? • There was a lot of emotion/angst involved with my return to Cards on the Table. The biggest thing that made it difficult was the guilt I carried for being away so long, and the pressure I put on myself because of it, at a time I really needed a good extended rest. I had no intention of taking such a long absence. This new, strange story was making a heck of a racket in my head, and I had already taken breaks in the past to write two other stories (Song and Dance and Treading Water), and both had gone quickly. But, Morningstar: The Malaise, my shifter story, turned out to be a different animal (sorry... couldn't resist). I really thought I could write the bulk of it and then return to CotT, writing both at the same time, but it was such an intricate undertaking, it became impossible to go back and forth between these two epic length stories. I found I could write anthologies during that time (four of them), but only because they were relatively quick endeavors. Consequently, I was nervous about returning to my original story. Morningstar was still living in my head, even though Book One? was complete, and after a year and a half of living it, it was hard to let go. That whole time I had been barraged with requests to get back to CotT, and I felt a very real pressure. I learned a huge lesson. As far as altering my writing style, I will say this: my writing is always evolving. It has from chapter to chapter and book to book. The first chapter of CotT is much different from the latest, and eventually I will clean the whole thing up. A better question might be whether I could fall back into Michael and Kendall's world with ease. It was the question I had, and I found the answer as soon as I started writing the 'Christmas Cards' chapter. It was a huge YES. It was like I never left these guys at all. Every character was right there waiting for me, and I can't begin to tell you how relieved I was. I had Kendall's inner voices and sense of self in my head and on my fingertips, and Michael's sense of humor and fearless approach to love were still a part of me. Even Nate and Bodie were every bit as nuanced as they've been from the beginning. So, even though my skills may have improved while being away, I don't think it has altered the essence of Cards on the Table in any way. Thankfully, judging by the comments, the readers agree. I hope my long-winded reply answers your question. Thank you for your interest. • • • • • @Renee Stevens Our final author this month is Renee Stevens. I suspect the woman does not sleep a lot. How the heck else is she able to have a life and still serve as part of GA’s staff, coordinate weekly blogs, anthologies, author promotions, and who knows what else. From personal experience, I will vouch for her support of rookies; she is always willing to share what she has learned. Of course, she is an author first and her love stories about rugged, working men enjoy huge popular support. • I read Puppy Love after it was featured in a recent blog. When compared to your other love story I've read (Studly Ranch Hands which I loved) both have a similar feel. Kind of an open country atmosphere. As some of the blog comments mentioned, the quality of the old story is not as good as your most recent work. Why? How did the changes come about? How long and how hard was it to get to where you are now as an author? • Thanks for the question! Puppy Love was only the third novel I’d ever written, and the second M/M novel. The first was Eternity and that has many of the same issues as Puppy Love does. (We won't even get into the issues that my first ever novel Life After Loss has). I looked at my files and the earliest files I could find on Puppy Love dated back to 2007. It could have even been written before then, I can’t remember, and that’s just when it was first saved in my current files. The “Why?” is simply because I didn’t know any better back then. I didn’t have the community of support back then that I had after I came to GA just over 8 years ago. Sure, I had friends who read over what I wrote and they helped improve the story line, but there are so many things that none of us knew. Once I came to GA, I developed some wonderful friendships and really started to get some assistance in improving my writing. It’s taken over ten years for me to get where I am now, and a lot of hard work, but it’s worth it and I hope to continue to learn and improve. The one thing that helps me is I make note of repeated mistakes and now I check all of my stories for these issues prior to posting.

I can borrow my neighbor's boy and send him to you for a week as payment.

@MichaelS36 Thanks and welcome to my world, bud. I think this might be the first thing of mine you've read, hope you enjoy the ride. Funny thing about my comment about hiring guards: I was obviously joking about running for office in Canada but not entirely about the security aspect. I have a rough outline of future events which may never get written but do influence some of what I write now. One of those future events is my main characters hiring bodyguards. You never know, if I do write that far into the future, I may be asking you questions.

@Defiance19 Welcome back to the family, Def! I think CJ's going to remember his first election for a long time to come. His problem will be others who recall what he did will hound him to do it again. I have faith he'll show his resolve and keep any political involvement to a minimum. A few late nights at PRIME may help. Ritchie may surprise a few people before this saga is over.

It's good to be back on the Weekly Update

@JeffreyL Thanks, Jeff! Those Thanksgiving family reunions are fun to write. I particularly enjoy having CJ and his cousin Randy go at it. The two revert to being little boys whenever they get together. One thing I've been doing because of the large cast is use characters' full name and sometimes a little description when they first appear after a longish absence. I do it to help readers remember who each one is. Is it working? LOL

Awesome book! If you like post apocalyptic stories, try Earth Abides. It's another favorite of mine.

Thanks, bud! Glad you liked the start of the new book.

@Mikiesboy LOL- I think Student Government may be as far as CJ goes in the foreseeable future.

LMAO Until CJ moves to Toronto and runs for mayor! Of course he'll need to hire a hunky, gay, cop to serve on his security detail. You know anyone who could fit the position? This book concentrates on CJ transitioning to being a college student since the last one concentrated on his election involvement. This chapter had two scenes involving politicians: first one was at a basketball game with CJ trying to move away from his previous involvement and the second one is really about a Christmas celebration. I know there's one more chapter where the critters pop up again but I think you'll like how it happens.

Watch it, buster! Don't make me borrow Lola and ride to Texas!

@avidreadr Thank you and it's good to be back! A long, long time ago I joined the board of directors of a small not-for-profit organization. It was a mess in more ways than one but my responsibility was finances. Being an accountant, I was asked for help. After 2 years the entire system was working, the organization had money and good financial statements to share with donors. I resigned but was soon approached by friends wanting my assistance with other organizations. Sorry to bore you but I'm thinking CJ would be in a similar position. He may want a break but others will keep asking and it's going to take a lot of self-control on his part to say no. The Miami Congresswoman I chose for this chapter is a Republican, quite conservative, but very accepting of GLBT issues. The fact she has an FTM child may have something to do with it. Unlike many others, she was accepting of her son and modified her views on related issues. She announced she wouldn't run for re-election soon after Trump won so this was a one-shot appearance. I wanted to give her a little recognition.

Great job, mate. I had no idea where this was going and you surprised me in the best possible way. Of course, the list of questions is endless, but I'm satisfied with how you ended it. Enough hints to come to my own conclusions. Again, really good job.

@Daddydavek Not sure what to tell you, Dave... Your comment made me scan the next chapter (corrected 3 errors in the process so thanks) and although not quite as terse, it's still similar in that my scenes are a bit tighter. Not so sure about future ones but I think there are a few forces at work here. Considering how long the series' been going on and my desire to show certain events (Thanksgiving) and locations (Capital One Arena) on a regular basis, I don't want to repeat myself. I tried to also tighten the cast and concentrate as much as possible on CJ and Owen instead of just CJ or the entire cast while still advancing the story. This was a transitional chapter, hopefully, the next one will be more to your liking. And I swear whenever the guys travel someplace new or try something different, the details will be there. Hell, I have CJ at the Daytona Bike week in March 2018 and spending time in Orlando. That trip is one entire chapter and is written but I'm going up there myself to make sure I capture the right atmosphere and have the descriptions as accurate as possible. As happens often, your comments are insightful, helpful, and so very welcome.

@A.J. or @Myr , this story went live today. Two issues you may want to be aware of The story posted correctly and showed up on the listing of new ones but it does not show as the newest story at the bottom of the Forums page. I don't care about it but it's a bug you may want to look at. The chapter didn't show on the listing. I guess whatever AJ fixed didn't carry over to the chapter. It shows as being posted on January 3. My concern with it is it'll drop off the monthly leaderboard in a day. Not a huge deal but once again, a bug you may want to address.

@BlindAmbition Glad you liked it, JP. I've said it before: living in Washington, politics are part of life. CJ will try his best to be and 18 yo college freshman, but now and then, he may have to deal with a politician or two.

@Reader1810 Sibling rivalry at it's best. Ritchie might be 14 at this point but he spends most of his time with older people. CJ did too but with him, it was adults while with Ritchie is a bunch of older teens. The consequence is Cesar and Brett may be turning gray a bit faster.