Carlos Hazday

That reminds me of a NYE at the Dallas Eagle. I got to drip wax on a muscle-bound boy. Had forgotten about that.

Austin, call me. We'll talk

Notifications about reactions to my comments brought me back to this chapter. Wound up reading it again. It was even better than before.

Thanks, Gary. I had lots of help at the beginning with how tro structure a chapter, and even though I screw up now and then, I paid attention to the lessons. A lot of the dialogue style, if not the actual words, owes a lot to my brothers, some fraternity brothers, and motorcycle club friends. I try to use all those as references when crafting the fun banter. Not a lot of seriousness when those people were involved. The serious parts I think back on my involvements and dealing with politicians, donors, and whatnots.

@scrubber6620 & @weinerdog I know where this is going. In the next chapter Let me start near the end, it was great to see Karissa back. It made me smile. When I read her saying a mutual friend said hello, I asked Wolf how many readers he thought would figure out it was Dorian. I grin at the bar's name all the time. I have a dirty mind. But I think it's meant to evoke a farm under a sky full of stars. The place is like dealing with a Chinese restaurant menu. I'll have one from column A, one from column B, and could I just lick C to see what it tastes like? We need to run a train on Salvaggi. Trevor, Wolf, Carlos, Cody, Adrian, Ethan, Casey, Darius. Is that enough?

Next time he threatens to stop writing a story, I'm recruiting you to help me torture him until he rethinks it.

They're a problem throughout the Caribbean. Thankfully, once you remove the venomous spikes, it's a tasty fish. They're popular in aquariums and probably escaped into the wild that way.

I'm avoiding speculation on the 2024 presidential election. Our politics are so screwed up they make my head spin. Ritch couldn't hold a position in the administration. The Bobby Kennedy law. Their love affair's one for the ages. But since I don't write romances... LOL

Chaps too. But without anything underneath.

Thanks! I'll repeat myself, even though I write for myself, reactions and comments from readers are always welcome and appreciated.

🍆

I have four to choose from in my mind, I'll use at least 2, probably all four. I've been toying with the order and how it would all flow during my morning walks. Google lion fish.

His journal entries wouldn't be sufficient so I would either recount the events directly or publish news reports. Press releases would also be good for announcements.

Running into Taylor Swift was written just for fun. Interacting with Sam Parker and the Pentagon big shots had an ulterior motive. It cements CJ's a military supporter and can interact with officers as well as with politicians. Just think of all those Air Force cadets he knows and how a few of them will play a part in a future Abello administration.

@frosenblum The Biltmore's gorgeous. A few years ago about six uf us took a motorcycle trip to the North Carolina mountains and we did a side trip to Ashville. It's gorgeous country and the estate's magnificent. They grow grapes and sell wine from them and other vineyards in the area.

Spreadsheets and rereads. LOL For this story, I wanted to establish CJ's relationship with the groom. Since I created Paul with this wedding in mind (wanting to establish a relationship with the Parkers) the first thing I did was find his previous appearance. Once I read it, I decided it would make a perfect prologue.

Owen's not a nag so I think he limits his orders. The ratty cutoffs are full of holes and things could slip through one of them. Even wearing a budgie smuggler underneath.

Thanks, bud. Best ball's the way to go when you have players with different levels of competency. CJ figured he'd be playing with old classmates but.... surprise!

Definitely. I've been churning out a lot lately, and I'm slowing down a bit to catch my breath. I actually finished the next CJ story today, but there's a lot of work remaining before I even have anyone look at it. I need to finish editing a story for someone, need to clean the CJ story, and I have to research/write this year's Earth Day story. I'm going with invasive species this year.

You know CJ sent her a DM as soon as he was back in Washington. If I was him, I would have dropped JLo's and Chipper's names.

The first one was in Everhope with guests and conversation revolving around Liebe and the pregnancies. The second one will take place in Capitol Hill with a group including some of those you mention. It'll happen while Owen's parents are in town in July, and the initial draft's written. Just about a dozen more passes and it'll be ready. LOL I have a third one outlined for the middle of August. Brunch this time around. An out of town visitor will be there, and a Squad member's getting ready to move from Washington. Their dining table can seat 10, so that means 8 guest plus CJ and Oz. No more planned right now, but I'm toying with the idea of writing a book covering the time between the summer of 2022 and CJ's appointment as ambassador to Cuba. I have enough on my plate for now, but if it gets added to the list, I'm thinking of using CJ's journal to highlight a few events. A couple of sporting events, meeting Will and Kate in Boston, the twins birth, a trip to Australia, Mardi Gras/the Air Force Academy/Denver fundraiser as mentioned in Cadet, and of course Ritch's graduation. I can keep it tight by limiting each incident to one chapter, some short, some long. My mind's always turning and I keep trying to find ways to share interesting events without repeating myself when it comes to domestic routines.

Considering all the heavy duty conversations, I went for the silly approach to end the story.

Wolf said there were no shenanigans in this one chapter. I figured we needed a rest.

CJ's such an innocent. Jay and Jen goaded him and Dave and Steph tricked him into borrowing a boat. Turnes out Spike was the only one who didn't lead him into temptation. The man was just unfortunate to deliver unwelcome news.