Carlos Hazday

Thank you! My goal's to always make readers feel as if they're in the middle of the action.

I wanted Lucy to be between Harley and CJ personality wise. She won't talk as much as her brother but will be part of the banter when appropriate. I definitely did not want her to be the female appendage often portrayed by authors. Any appearances by her after this trip will reinforce she's more than a pretty face.

Yes, you did. LMAO

I hated it when teachers gave assignments to complete over the holidays!

That's too far in the future! My mind refuses to think about anything after this story. Well, I do want to write that Vegas party week in Novemeber 2027, but after that...

I realize not everyone agrees with my approach, but I definitely like breaking up the series into different stories. While now and then we might end up with unanswered questions, I prefer to keep each entry to one or related events. You'll notice the next story expands on some of the things mentioned in Key West and Everhope.

Same to you! Be back on January 1 for the next installment.

And these people will still be traveling and having adventures.

Thank you, my friend. I wanted to post this yesterday, but the daily limit forced me to delay it. It looks like Grandma Liston's being a pain again. I'm sure Liebe will put her in her place.

It shall, my friend. A break to catch our breath and we'll be together again.

LMAO - Their parenting methods were derived from how a BFF and my brothers raised their children. Things are quite different these days from how I was raised, and I keep trying to show them giving the kids lots of leeway to fail or succeed on their own. Hope the new year brings health and happiness.

Thanks, Chris. Look at the banner on my profile page. I already changed it to the next story.

Thanks, Gary.

Sunday, 9 May 2027 Barcelona “I want you to come with us, Ceej.” Jefferson clung to his father’s leg while Roosevelt tugged on his coat and nodded in agreement. “I can’t, guys.” He squatted and placed a hand on a shoulder each. “I have to go to work. And you three”—he glanced at Liebe standing next to Owen and winked at her—“are going to have so much fun with your cousins.” “Grandma’s not going to be happy with me. She’ll be upset when I tell her I don’t want to go to mass wi

LOL - They wanted to sample wines from different Med countries! I'm saving the Israeli and Greek ones for when CJ charters the boat to cruise the Santorini and the Agean. FYI - The next story and a couple of others coming up all have them drinking rose.

No matter what action, turns, and twists I may come up with, it always comes back to family. And in this case one that gets along. Now you made me think of some that have issues. Have you watched the Netflix documentary? I haven't.

She's a little quieter, but she can keep up. I liked writing the dialogue with the stew since I rarely get to do 'girl talk.' And yes, she ends up in Malibu with a long commute, but I suspect she'll ride a motorcycle to work.

I miss Harley too! I'm trying to rotate through the entire Squad in the summer of 2022 stories, and I haven't decided which one to plug him into. I have two options. So far, Ritch was featured in Key West, Brad and Lincoln were in Everhope, and Carson's all over Newport. CJ and Owen are obviously in wvery one. That's six out of 12 and I have six stories in which they could appear. Plus, I'd like the football players from New Year's Day, Dr. Mookjai and his wife, and Tony and Colt from New York to make appearances too. Let's see how much I can cram in.

Mateus was big when I was in high school! I never knew about how popular it was until I went looking for an European rose. I have the guys drink a lot of rose during the summer and I'm running out of good reasonably priced ones. Can't have them drinking 500.00 bottles all the time. LOL I'm honestly not sure what I'll share next. AS I mentioned, I've been struggling to write lately, mostly because there are a lot of ideas floating around in my head. It's why I decided to outline a bunch of books. One story revolves around Owen's parents visiting Washington in the summer of 2022. Wrote the 1st chapter, but I've been stuck on the second one. It's the one where they all hit the National Zoo and have an Aussie reporter tag along. As for the Cuban mini-trip, it happens in August 2022, and I have a prologue written, but that's it. I have been listening to a lot of old Cuban music lately trying to pick what I want for the soundtrack. At some point I'd love to write the November 2027 Vegas party. Lots of life-changing events in that one, and it would feature the entire Squad for the first time in ages. We'll see.

Great premise. I like alternate history tales.

Meant to comment on this line and forgot about it. I haven't been to the National Zoo in a couple of decades, so I've been doing some research for a visit I have planned in July 2022. Did you know although the government funds most of the zoo's operations, capital improvements are underwritten by supporters. Their species survival program was rewarded early this year when a cheetah bor 5 cubs and another one gave birth to two a few months later. At least one of the cubs was named by a donor. It's a common practice so having a kangaroo named Brett could happen.

Same to you. Owen was easily folded into the family, and I suspect Lucy is now as much a member of the gang. I wanted to differentiate her reaction when dealing with the family finances, and hopefully I showed some of it shocking her, but she takes it in stride. Having known them all for so long probably helps. I think this is the end of Ritch the Romeo for sure.

The good thing about writing short stories instead of long novels is the ability to cover lots of events. January sill bring another CJ story, and February something different. Not sure about what follows since I've been struggling with how to structure the next story I'd like to share. Hopefully I'll get something written.

Thanks, Dave. Among a few other things, the proposal was a primary reason for this story. Hell, I even saved it for the end of the story! Assuming Ritch gets two-weeks leave for the wedding, I think they need to honeymoon in Europe so they don;t lose an entire day when he returns to Italy. I'm thinking Croatia's Dalmatian Coast might be a good choice.

I think I previously mentioned this in a previous chapter's comments. Next story we return to 2022 and travel to Newport, Rhode Island for a wedding. You may want to re-read at least the ending of Everhope; Newport picks up right after it.