Carlos Hazday

@Toddten Thanks for the review of Over the Rainbow! he next installment in the series will begin posting two weeks from today

@Tonyr Thanks for reading, bud. And for the message. I promise the bleakness will dissipate.

In our 21st-century society is obsessed with image, a shop like the one featured in X-Dream Makeover is the perfect setting for a series of adventures. What or how much are we willing to sacrifice in order to achieve what we want? How far are we willing to go to transform ourselves. The four vignettes comprising this story give us a glimpse into human nature and the potential consequences of getting what we want. Isn't there an old saying about being careful what we ask for? Well-written, fast-paced, and populated with interesting characters, this story should be on your reading list.

And we’re back. Sometimes I wish a few of my favorite GA authors were still around. I have questions about what inspired them to write a particular story, how they decided on locations, or even how they settled on a character’s name. Unfortunately, those I’d most be interested in asking aren’t around these days. Will you face the same regrets I do in a couple of years? Think of one of our new hotshot writers and send me a question. I’ll get it answered and we can all learn a bit more about those who entertain us. • • • • • @Dodger Well-known for his distinctive avatar and having published ninety-five chapters of his long-running story The Cockney Canuck, Dodger is not a one-hit wonder. I’ve enjoyed reading several of his short stories and this month’s question is about a different ongoing story: The Church and the Tradesman. • Your The Church and the Tradesman is a highly original and engaging work. How did you get inspired to create these characters? • Most of my characters are loosely based on people who I have met in real life and The Church and the Tradesman follows the same principle with the exception, unsurprisingly, of the unruly and thoroughly dislikeable pop star, Tyrone. It’s definitely not fan-fiction so I’m not going to throw any names out there but his character is based on the typical, manufactured, teenage, pretty boy, pop idol. Needless to say, I’ve never met anyone who falls into this category so it’s possible that Tyrone’s personality isn’t an accurate representation, but I like to think it is. The protagonist Andy, his friend Jazz, and sly colleague Bob are all slightly exaggerated variations of people who I met or worked with whilst living in the UK. They do, however, come from completely different backgrounds and environments and their paths in real life would probably never cross. I just thought it would be fun to put them all together and throw in a pop star for good measure. The inspiration originally came from an iconic gay nightclub in London that was nicknamed ‘The Church’ because of its unusual opening hours. In the story, this is the spiritual home for Andy’s gay alter-ego and a counterbalance for his very straight weekday job with Bob. This bizarre, hardcore dance venue, only opened one day a week on Sunday mornings from 4 am until 1 pm and gained notoriety in the nineties following a number of high-profile sex scandals. In its day it was probably the most infamous gay nightclub in the world but a reputation for sleaze and drugs inevitably led to its closure. Mercifully, I was never old enough to attend church when I was in England but I once had the dubious privilege of meeting some ex-members of the so-called ‘congregation’. Their vegetated states and vacant expressions were enough to convince me that the stories that I had heard about this place were probably true. This was supposed to be a light-hearted story but it does touch on the very serious problem of drug abuse, which I do not condone but could not ignore either. Drugs play a very big and very destructive role in Andy’s life and it was difficult for me to write about this without glamorizing it in any way. I hope I did okay. • • • • • @Dabeagle & @Cynus One question, two top dogs in the GA greyhound track– talk about a perfecta. I gambled and posed the same question to both authors in one message so they could read each other’s responses. Here’s what they had to say. • Dabeagle has just finished writing a story The List which is set in the universe of another writer's creation: Cynus' Weightless and Fearless. I'm curious as to the effect on both writers. Cynus, with someone else using, inhabiting, and possibly changing his own world. And Dabeagle about the pressures of writing something knowing that another author was likely to take a close interest in what resulted. How much collaboration was there? Or did Cynus hand over the characters and their environment and let Dabeagle get on with it? What attracted Dabeagle to those stories in the first place? • Dabeagle For me writing with others is old hat. Some of my best ideas and stories come from discussion and brainstorming with other people. I had worked with Cynus before - he's a relatively old friend - and we'd been successful in our plotting and execution of the story we'd wanted to tell. With respect to The List, Cynus had put out an invitation for people to come write in his universe. That particular thing isn't something I do. I have borrowed characters, with permission, such as Craftingmom's Devyn Kennedy. Sometimes a character, usually a secondary one, resonates strongly with me and I'll be moved to write them. My motivation in this case was to create characters that could interact with the existing universe yet be individual. I follow some basic rules or guidelines when working with other's characters. First is not to change them in order to suit me. For instance, breaking up a couple for my own use unless the original author approves. For instance, Cynus had already told me that Angie and Travis wouldn't last, therefore opening a door. I'd never have broken them up on my own. Secondly this sort of thing needs the blessing of whomever you're either working with or, in this case, whose universe you're playing in. Cynus was very supportive and loved Parker and Shane which made things much easier. I asked him a lot of questions in order to stay true to characters as well as not running afoul of any plans he had made in terms of new stories. So this wasn't a collaboration in the traditional sense, but neither was it a carte blanche. As I completed scenes or had ideas for new ones I'd often chat with Cynus via text or once a phone call. Communication is essential, for me, to create in a situation like that. I didn't feel a great deal of pressure as Cynus was involved in my idea process and read things as they got done. As far as what attracted me to them, I've read most of Cynus's work and given him critiques as well as sought critiques from him. I liked his characters and thought it would be fun to start out on the ground floor, as it were, and see if things would go like my Sanitaria Springs series. Primarily, though, I did it because Cynus is a friend and I felt I could do it. If this had been in some of his other universes, I'd have not had the ability. • Cynus Dabeagle's being a bit kind to me here. The perk of answering second is being able to read his response first, and I intend to take full advantage of the opportunity. There was a point in time where I was feeling a bit sorry for myself as an author. I felt I wasn't properly connecting to my readership, and that I wasn't having the level of success I felt capable of reaching. I kept complaining to Dabeagle about how no one ever wanted to write with my characters, and I questioned if that meant they weren't lovable enough. It sounds silly, I know, and in hindsight my mind really wasn't in the best place at the time (If you have any doubt, check out the note at the end of "Weightless"). Dabeagle knew I wanted someone to care about my work in that way, and he was generous enough with his time and talent to accommodate my self-pity. I'm grateful to him for that, even if it didn't quite pan out the way either of us expected. That was a rough time for me, and his willingness to contribute to my universe was in fact something I really needed emotionally. We'd collaborated before on Sanitaria Springs stories (where Dabeagle fell in love with one of my characters, Logan Whitmore), and working with him has always been fairly natural. With respect to the world/setting, I gave him fairly loose rein. The only areas which became tricky at all involved his use of my characters, but through extensive communication I think we handled that very smoothly. Shane and Parker are delightful--I have a soft spot for Parker especially--and I think they play well with my characters. For the record, if anyone else wants to consider a collaboration (or sponsored fanfiction) in my worlds, please feel free to talk to me about it. My characters always need friends, and if you're as good at collaboration as Dabeagle, we'll create another great story like "The List". • • • • • @MythOfHappiness Although no stranger to prose, MythOfHappiness has delighted many a reader with poetry. In my continuing effort to highlight GA poets, here’s another one for you. • You write so beautifully in poetry about images and experiences common to so many of us. Do you see poetry as a way to tell stories and share experiences? What led you to share your gift for image and word in poetry with everyone? • I write because it makes me happy. I can't really do anything else artistically, I don't play any musical instruments, I can't draw worth anything... writing is kind of all I have. I publish on here because I want to improve at writing and because if I didn't, I wouldn't ever finish anything I started. My drive at home is half-full of stories and poems I began to write but never finished. I'm not good at ending things, I guess. Thanks for asking. You're the first person to ever do so, and it really surprised me when I opened my GA account today.

Good choice, Cia. I'll work on a review tomorrow.

@bry767 Thanks, Troy! It's great to hear from you. In case you missed my status update from last Friday, The next installment in the series will begin posting on April 20. I look forward to hearing what you think.

The Sun Also Rises is my favorite work by huium.

In case I don't get a chance later, thanks to all for such a stimulating discussion. It almost sounds grown-up. A little humor, technical issues discussed, and literary styles bantered about. Eat your heart out, Oprah!

I'll be happy to beta/edit anything you write. (Alexa, order a dozen red pencils.) But I do like to use new words. I have a list of some forty-odd 'elegant' words I've been trying to work into the story. Limerence got quite a few comments when I did. Waited for months before it made senceto use.

I like the mid-century authors. Both American and British. I've enjoyed Fitzgerald, Orwell, Steinbeck Huxley, and obviously Hemingway.

Mann constantly encourages me to 'simplify' and I find myself deleting words and phrases often during my self edits

I cheated my way through Moby Dick and a couple others while in school. Even more than showing, dialogue does it for me. You can have someone recount something and it's much better than the narrator doing it.

The beauty of the thread conversations is they're not as fast paced as those in chat. It's easier to catch up.

Last time I read Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea I did so making corrections with a virtual red pencil. Never mind the bloody book won a Nobel Prize for literature.

Chat's not for everyone but since they provide another avenue for involvement, they'll be around for a while. I'll keep trying to encourage participation in other areas too.

We can always discuss those 9" pies you were talking bout yesterday...

@spikey582 Feel free to be brutal with me. One of my kinks.

@spikey582 has always been one of the readers I look forward to hearing from. He challenges me when he finds something he questions and I like that.

Funny you mention SciFi. I have two outlines I'd like to develop. On as a farce short and another one maybe for an anthology. I tried SF and Fantasy before but I realize I didn't know what I was doing. I'd love to revisit the shifters I created but it'll require a full rewrite of what I've already posted. If you read one of my previous comments you'll notice I dislike repetition so that's why each CJ book has it's own mood/theme/flavor. The last two, and the next two, I consider being one book with four distinct sections following CJ's years in college. When I decided what CJ would study, I had to imagine what his life after graduation would be like so I have all that to build a story if I want to. Of course, politics could ruin everything. I'm writing about a lefty who wants to work at the State Department. That's troublesome these days LOL

I like Faris and James! The CJ series has around 250 named characters. If I can't find interesting ones to spin-off I may as well pack it in. LOL One thing I try to avoid is repetition. I've had a few deaths and each has been different. Same with injuries to people who survive. I hate it when a writer kills off everyone in car accidents or through cancer. How about a little variety? Oh, Harley, Ritchie, Brad, Patrick, and Thiago all have at least a one paragraph treatment for potential stories. I may have a little extra drama coming up in the near future which will help inspire details of those stories if I ever go there.

Thank you. He's a walking cliche. The wealthy, good-looking, gay kid. I've tried to portray him as self-aware as possible. I dislike it when similar characters are oblivious to who they are. Hell, I even had CJ put himself down when he acknowledged he was a spoiled brat during the trip to Israel.

I have it scribbled on a piece of paper somewhere. Will look for it and transcribe it for you.

I'm with you. I'm in the middle of reading an older GA story and it does help me. It shows me mistakes to avoid and good things to emulate. As for life after CJ, I have a few things outlined but each time I try to work on them, ideas for CJ and the future pop out of nowhere. Some prompt responses may be the way to ease me out of CJ's world. Although I have such a large diverse cast a few stand-alone stories focusing on individual supporting characters may be the way to go. I do have one outlined with a couple of small chapters written. It features Chipper right after college graduation, takes place in LA, and has cameos by CJ and Owen but otherwise it'll be a new cast.

You're on to something. I do spend time writing, revising, beta reading, and editing and it takes away from my reading. Some serial-posted stories I've had to put on hold and some I know I won't get to until they're complete. But I'm trying to read a bit more these days and I'm leaving reviews on most of what I do read. Those will hopefully help inspire other people to do the same.

I think you're correct. Like with the upcoming wedding. I've planned a bachelor party, a rehearsal dinner, a ceremony, the reception, and the honeymoon. And I won't even mention the tons of proposed menus I read. But this has been in planning since CJ and Owen met so I've had time. And of course, some of it allowed me to foreshadow a few things a couple of readers picked up on. That's always fun.