Carlos Hazday

Have I mentioned I'm in love with WolfM? Yep, there you have it. The problem's my comment elsewhere about being the filling in a Wolf/Austing sandwich conflicts with the paternal feeling he inspires. I'm a sucker for people who battle what seems like insurmountable odds and triumph. That's Wolf. I also love how his characters adapt to circumstances and grow. And to make things clear, whatever he's learned from me, I've benefitted from working with him just as much. Editing his work forces me to pay attention to things that also benefit my writing. Now, as for his future plans, I have a few ideas of my own. How about since Brandon's in SoCal, he winds up working for JPL and eventually joins the first expedition to Mars? I'm still trying to figure out the space suit issue when Bran shifts.

Cute, yes; sweet, maybe. Depends on whether she's pissed off CJ and Oz recently. That story of her wedding showed us she can be a handful.

@frosenblum Don't forget about Liebe being 27 and getting married! LOL For the longest time I've had in mind a continuum of events I realized I'd never live long enough to write about. I have oodles of notes spanning the years between CJ's college graduation and his inauguration as president and have plucked a few of them for stories. Cadet may have chronicled Ritch's 4 years at the Air Force Academy, but it was impossible not to mention things that involved his brother and the rest of the family. The events in Mexico were part of that and I finally covered those, and Ritch's time in Florida right after in CDMX and Key West. The twins' birth I have yet to chronicle, as well as CJ and Owen's visit to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, CJ's presentation at the Academy, and Ritch's graduation from CJ's POV--all in 2024. There are also a couple of New Year's Eve parties not yet detailed. I ended Cadet with Ritch and Lucy riding off in his new Porsche, but I wanted to share what happened to the two of them after. Flying Circus gave me a chance to do it. I wrote that one to also introduce the boys. I'm currently skipping around again. After Newport, I bypassed a couple of short stories to write Capitol Hill, and I'm doing it again by jumping to a trip to Cuba in the next one. I'm picking what I really want to write regardless of how it fits in the continuity. Hopefully, I'll fill in the blanks sooner or later.

Hey, Mark- CRV has a great inventory of older stories I enjoyed reading over the years. I always felt what it posted were quality stories. I fear a lot of those authors have stopped writing or passed on like Scribe. As far as I know, the site's a one-man show, and the webmaster faced some health issues that interrupted regular postings for a bit. I'm pretty sure you can contact him at wbmaster@CRVboy.org. Although I shared a bunch of stories on the site, the inability to edit stuff myself has kept me away. Whenever I wanted to fix anything, I had to ask the guy in charge to do it. And to be honest, I'm addicted to the interaction with readers at GA; I had maybe a couple of emails each chapter compared to a few dozen here. Marc McNally began working on the third installment of Love on the Rocks a long time ago. I read the first few chapters while he was writing, and tried to recruit him to GA. He was also looking for a new editor at the time, connected with someone here, and I don't think he liked some of the criticism he received. A couple of years later, it showed up on CRV. I don't read as much as I used to and have been limiting myself to GA content. Thanks for the compliment.

I think this was the first chapter I mentioned running a train on somebody; I may have repeated the suggestion a few more times. A cocksucking Marine is always a good find. The initial meet with Sky had me grinning, and Hannah's comments on the drive frowning. She's a bit full of herself for my taste.

Capitol Hill sneak peek:

Thanks, Gary. Portrayal of gay characters in media has definitely improved in my lifetime, but I'm not sure something like the CJ series will be seen anytime soon. The closest production I can think of is Tales of the City. By the way, I binge-read that series over a couple of weeks after someone gave me book one as a Christmas present. Devoured that one in a day or two.

@frosenblum The decision to send Chipper to the University of Miami was due to sage advice from a reader who happened to be a music professor. I considered several options, and Julliard seemed a safe bet considering he's a New Yorker. When I mentioned I envisioned Chipper being a mix of Justin Timberlake and Michael Buble, the reader suggested the Frost School at UM might be a better choice. The connection to CJ because of Miami and the school having a good entertainment business music program convinced me. There are usually solid reasons for my choices, but I seldom get the chance to explain the little details. Thanks for the opportunity to air this one!

Considering I'm not a poetry person, really weird this is the first thing that came to mind.

The vehicle towing the chipper is perfect! Instead of coffins, it carries black plastic bags full of "mulch." As for Trevor's pictures, if you won't help, maybe your other readers will. Anyone have a picture of someone they imagine looking like Trevor?

my panties just got wet.

I've tried to kill characters off in different ways--result of a story I read years ago where breast cancer and car wrecks killed everyone. I'm adding falling into a wood chipper as a future option. Is there a picture of a shirtless Trevor? He might not come from a big city originally, but Trev's still exotic in Burney. To humans and wolves alike. I'm glad he's not a dick who'd use it to manipulate others.

I get to be the filling in a Wolf/Austin sandwich. 🤞

I loved the shout out and Wolf including himself. I wrote myself into the first book of my series and wound up being a recurring minor character. And I do shout outs to other authors now and then. Writing's a hobby and shou,d be fun.

One thing I love about binge readers is getting reactions and comments on old chapters. I often wind up reading them again. Some make me cringe, but I think for the most part you're right; a lot of the old stuff holds up well. A few time-sensitive comments/jokes may not resonate as well, but overall I'm happy.

Thanks, Dugh. I guess the wine analogy is apt since there's a Liston involved. I remember approaching the chapter with some trepidation. I wanted CJ's proposal to be memorable and romantic without crossing the line into sappy. It wouldn't have fit his personality at the time.

Thank you, Ma'am. The story's all done and as I mentioned, it only needs my usual final read.

I once volunteered to become the fourth in a throuple. At the time I was in my 40s and the three guys were in their 20s, 30s, and 50s. I offered to plug the hole. LOL

Unfortunately, it happens. Then again, a lot of authors struggle to write the simplest of dialogues and their characters often sound like babbling idiots trying to channel English college professors. One of the first things I was taught by my editor was we all use contractions, and we rarely speak in complete sentences all the time. I try to keep that in mind.

It does need one more read. I always catch little things. Now I ned to worry about April!

Dinner parties wound up becoming a regular feature. Although writing conversations for multiple individuals can be tricky, I like bouncing multiple subjects around. Most of the time, that's more fun and realistic than limiting conversations to one topic.

Although not as frequently, I still use those bedtime chats. They're often a way to quietly end a chapter while providing insight into past or future events.

Although his fathers may not be the type to make the news, they still know people that CJ will be introduced to. Those older individuals can often provide guidance. If CJ's smart, he'll learn from them. Colonel Edwards being a prime example.

@Will Hawkins usually had great insights, but unfortunately, he's not been around in a while. He was older and I fear he may have passed away. Will, if you read this, drop us a note.