Carlos Hazday

Sometimes a simple short story surprises you and that is the case here. A silly premise and some decent writing are the perfect ingredients for a enjoyable read. A cute story that will put a smile on your face.

December 31, 2016 - Sydney, Australia

@jwh6868 I didn't have a specific restaurant in mind so the one you ate at sounds good. LOL So, you were in Sydney on 25 April 2009? Did you do anything special? I hope you caught the parade around Hyde Park. In case you didn't here's a picture I took that day. Guess we were ships passing in the sunshine, you and I!

@JeffreyL Glad you enjoyed the chapter, Jeff. There are a few trips planned to new places in future chapters, let's see if I can add fresh locations to your bucket list.

Carols? LMAO Hang in there, JT. It's almost over

Thanks. My problem's I want a break from CJ, I have half a dozen unrelated stories and some related ones in different stages of writing. I want to tackle a couple of them during a break from CJ. Of course, I have a responsibility to the readers so I won't abandon the story even if intending to return to it. So I need a realistic point in which to end. College graduation is it. I started out with the idea of 4 sections with 7 chapters each (ignore my OCD tendencies.) I listened to my editor and the last chapter in this book was split in two. I've already done the same with the next one. The final book will be quite longer. I mentioned before I'm writing fall 2019 events and I have so much to cover... Anyway, I don't want to cheat by skipping out yet I want a break. Hopefully, I'll find a happy medium here.

@Wesley8890 Don't hold back, Wes. What did you really think about the chapter? Thanks, bud!

@Daddydavek Can you get street view outside the US? In response to a previous comment, I mentioned Owen's education was inspired by one of my brothers.Three degrees is two more than me! I revisited a lot of the same spots but tried to focus on different aspects. Having all the siblings along made it a bit easier since I could focus on them.

Last chapter, @Daddydavek mentioned something about the chapter structure being somewhat different and I told him some of that was on purpose. This chapter's an example of what I'm trying to do from now on. When I have a bunch of unrelated scenes crammed into a chapter, some will suffer as I try to limit the word count. By limiting this chapter to the trip, I can give a little more detail or texture to what happens. I recently read something about a typical person these days having a shorter attention span and anything or 3500 words being a chore for them to read. I shoot for 5000 and have been over most chapters. That is the reason I sometimes appear to rush through some things. It's something I'm aware of and I'm trying to work around. Let's see how it goes. I do know there are at least three more trips in the future I'll devote an entire chapter to.

LMAO - You mean to tell me I wasted all those great speeches CJ gave? You may have just skimmed them? Where's the nearest cliff? Oh, wait, no cliffs anywhere in Florida. The before you graduate college line serves two purposes. First, it covers the four years at Georgetown which are the four books I have underway. The outline for anything further is real sketchy. Second, writing in the future is a problem for someone like me who relies so heavily on real events and locations. Everything that happens in 2018 has been written but I'm making a revision here and there to incorporate some realness. For example, I have a scene where some people are watching the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics. I'll watch those tonight and tomorrow morning I'll tinker with the scene based on what's shown. At some point, editing and publishing will catch up with real life time and then I'll be in trouble. Although I've written scenes or dialogue lines taking place as far as the 2030s but those I'm pretty sure will stand short of nuclear holocaust.

@Sweetlion Owen's degrees were inspired by my brother. He has an engineering one, an MBA, and a legal degree. He worked between them unlike Owen but I know my brother has benefitted from having all three even though he works as an attorney. Australia will always be a destination for these guys as long as CJ and Owen remain together.

Ritchie seems to have a few fans amongst readers and I wanted to give him some 'screen' time. Tried not to repeat myself describing this trip but something like the Bridge Climb and touring the Opera House are things every tourist should do IMO. I wish I'd been able to visit Australia at that age. I would have become a regular visitor!

@dughlas You hit the nail on the head with this one. Ritchie's had time to get used to the money and to having fairly liberal parents who allow him to experience things and learn from them. I think his problem's more what CJ mentions- he spends so much time with The Squad he sometimes forgets they're all older than him. In the first book of the series, I mentioned how much CJ liked spending time with his brother. THat has not changed. But what I see is CJ trying to pass on some of what he's learned. Whether Ritchie takes advantage of such an opportunity remains to be seen.

@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?

@Defiance19 How do you like the photo Gus posted today? You should also check out Adam Tippom's page. Cute picture of him and Gus together on both pages. Both men ripped into Pence and I couldn't be prouder of them.

@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

Didn't @Bucket1 say he thought those two made a cute couple? He had a bf during the Olympics in Russia but they broke up. If that happens again, I'm volunteering to provide comfort during his grieving time.

Kenworthy has the ripped body of a world-class athlete, he's handsome and articulate and being openly gay is fashionable so he's become a media darling. I think he'll be on TV a heck of a lot over the next two weeks.

You should follow CJ on IG LOL

@Reader1810 I waived my nobody-under-forty rule for him a long time ago. Did you see the pics I posted? There's a certain chapter that's getting some revisions after today's trip.

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.