Carlos Hazday

I loaded in next month's AAA this week and thought of you. I'm doing an all-out blitz for questions after it goes live. I still have a few in inventory but they're all for authors I've already featured at least once. I want variety and the chance to promote different writers.

LOL I have little choice here. CJ's taken over my life. Who else spends time looking at pink flamingo wallpaper for a main floor powder room in an imaginary house? And it may never make it to the page or if it does it won't be more than a line of dialogue or narration? #nolifewithoutCJ

And that's all we can do. I suspect the number of reactions we get as a percent of views for each chapter may be similar to the response in real life. But can you imagine the number of messages someone like King gets whenever he publishes a new book?

No disagreement here. Recently, I had a conversation with another author concerning this. We agreed neither of us wrote 'to the market' although I acknowledge my series comes closer. Teen tales are always popular and even though my kids aren't angst driven, they're still the right age. Of course, the fact I have a liberal kid who dislikes too much government, owns a gun, and isn't big on public displays of emotion loses me some readers. I've matured CJin the almost five years of life we've followed and will continue the trend. Let's see what type of reaction that gets.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dugh!

Thank you. Your thoughts on the effect of the software update echo mine. Not sure if I mentioned it to anybody at the time but I felt the story discussion threads would see less activity once we could chat back and forth in the chapter comments. It's happened. I try to post tidbits in here on a regular basis but so far I've failed to entice more than a few followers to participate. Maybe it's because I provide so much detail there's no need to speculate? I tried to do something about it but readers complain when I leave too many unanswered questions in short scenes. Or maybe it's because of the way I reply to comments. But whatever keeps readers away from these threads (aside from the ones used to bs and chat) it's not only this one seeing less activity. Until you posted yesterday, Michael's comment from last Sunday was shown as the latest entry on the forums' page tab for promising authors. I realize there's fewer of us and hopefully that will change when @Parker Owens publishes his next story. Wish I had an answer, Spikey. And I'm sure management does too. Myr has tried to build a community for authors and readers to interact, but the response has been less than enthusiastic at times. I mean, the last CJ book had over a hundred followers but the largest number of reactions has never climbed into the 80s. And the 70s are rare for me. I wish I knew how to increase that without resorting to too many sappy scenes like CJ's proposal. I know I tackle controversial topics and sometimes my personal beliefs bleed through but for the most part I try to use a balanced approach hoping to start conversations. Aside from upsetting some readers whenever CJ and his gun make an appearance, that hasn't worked either. LOL

Thanks for reading and the continued support, M8 Even though the sad chapter generated tons of reactions, I'm not planning too many more like this one. They're tough to write and I also want the series to be uplifting. At the same time, people die in real life and I felt it was appropriate to show it. Guess the dads agree with you. They sent flowers to the hospital to cheer Liz up but afterward made a donation to a charity in her honor. Her ashes will be part of her Australian home for the rest of time.

Thanks for reading, Jack. I hope you enjoyed it even if it was through misty eyes.

Thank you. Your comment and many others left on this chapter and the preceding ones leave me shaking my head. I have a huge ego but it's still hard to reconcile the praise with me being the author receiving it. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine my efforts would attract such a wonderful group of followers. I'm humbled.

It does make sense. I won't spoil it for future readers but when CJ and his cousin Rod take a road trip later in the series, a few details of Brett and Cesar's lives pre-CJ is revealed. They were typical urban, affluent, young gay men and had to learn how to be full-time parents.

@Potterslashfan I'm not planning a long hiatus...

@JeffreyL Thanks, Jeff. The length of my chapters has crept up over time so these short ones are rare. There may be a few more in the future when there's a significant event involved. I kinda like the focus not being diluted by something else.

I knew the song I wanted to use and when I went looking for the video I was surprised it was an homage to Iz. Seeing his ashes being spread over the water inspired the spreading of the girl's in the vineyard.

Welcome to the Hotel CJ Such a lovely place 'We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave!' Too bad your first taste was a chapter riddled with sadness. Those tend to be rare, I'm more of an upbeat type of writer. But I'm glad your first taste of my prose moved you. Thanks for the praise.

@pvtguy Thanks, Tony. I'm still fumbling my way through the story but I keep trying to make it as engaging as possible. Next book will be longer so there'll be more opportunity to bond with our boys.

Thanks for pinch-hitting for me while I was offline, Spikey.

@Potterslashfan The SD reference should be clear by now. Skinny was a joy to interact with and he's missed by many. As for what's coming, we have a wedding to plan so anything after that will have to wait. And any over-the-top plot twists will also have to wait. I'm not bringing in the unknown, surprise relatives until much later! Thanks for reading and the praise, bud.

@MichaelS36 Make sure he wears at least an apron while cooking. Splatters can be painful and dangerous...

@BlindAmbition Considering said biker has been home almost all day, and that at home clothing's not allowed, Danny may object to you coming in such close contact with the ink.

@Cris L YES! Mission accomplished! I think you had lots of company starting with the author tearing up a bit each time I worked on the chapter.

Sadness isn't one of the emotions I like to feature too often but I'm glad I seem to have gotten it right with this one. Authors like you keep pushing me to up my game!

Thank you, Dave. You have no idea how much that means to me.

Glad to hear I can still fake my way through. LOL

Thanks, JP. Getting the tone right was important. It's why I agreed so quickly to Mann's suggestion the events surrounding the girl's death should be in one chapter by themselves. Apologies for the crying. Hopefully, I'll make you laugh with the next one.

Did you start tearing up in the office? I think it's a rallying of the troops at a time when internal conflict could weaken them. Nobody doubts Cesar and CJ love each other even if at times they're at odds. Brett pointing out it was Cesar who already made reservations may be his attempt at mediation. He's just going to have to bite it and realize CJ's not going to back down. We'll have to wait and see how long that takes.