Carlos Hazday

Totally! Did you see I called you my hero? I'm kinda jealous to be honest, and so should everyone else. I'll rally my readers to support you if you need a hand.

I have a feeling those three (and eventually Davey) will be as foul mouthed as CJ. We got an inkling of it in Loving Anniversary.

Mrs G beta read my anthology entry and mentioned something about Liebe being headstrong and resembling her. Then she mentioned kicking a bully in the nuts while a kid. I sent her the little section where Liebe explains her issues. Mrs. G became my hero at that point. And you're entirely right. Yes, her getting suspended was something fun and funny to write, but the intent was to show her developing a personality similar to her parents and how CJ being in the public eye will impact their lives for the next 20+ years. They're all stuck on a boat together for a week, so except when the kids and CJ nap, they'll all be in every scene. Okay, not when they hit a dance club in Ibiza. The toddlers and the geezers will remain on the Circus.

The entire story's posted but I thought only staff and I could see them. How did you manage to read ahead? They didn't even offer chicken fingers as an alternative to burgers? I've been on a couple of cruises, but this is something I've never done. You realize the ratio of crew members to guests is about 1 to 1? I think they'll get better service than I ever did.

I debated delaying chapter 1 for a day or two, but decided I wanted to bring the family in as soon as possible. Next week we explore the Gaixample, visit a little church, and hear about what they did the previous day before Ritch arrived. We get to meet a new character and hear about th lives of two we met in a previous story.

We might get to see one or two of their antics. The have a father who wants to try everything at least once, an uncle who's a speed demon, and a grandfather who's a 4o-something teenager. I'm sure those two will be the best behaved kids in school. The principal may have CJ's number on speed dial.

Hitchcock did it before Lee. And as I've previously mentioned, the inspiration to include myself came from Clive Cussler's books. I always thought his MC, Dirk Pitt, was hot!

I'm glad I don't get called out more often for all my typing mistakes.

Thank you! My next story's title Newport! LOL 21 started having financial issues a while back and I was worried I'd written in the future about it. Not sure what the current status is, but I thought they had found financing or a buyer. That place's an institution and I hope it remains open. At least I got a visit there a long time ago.

LMFAO FanDuel has really good odds on them right now. I'm planning a semi-involved conversation about pro sports ownership during the next Everhope dinner party I write. Two of the guests will be NFL players. After I wrote this, Welcome to Wrexham started airing on FX. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought a football team in Wales and made a documentary about the club's first year under their ownership. I planned to trash several owners (Commanders and Dolphins in the NFL and Suns and Mercury in the NBA and WNBA) I'll bring up Wrexham and how Rob and Ryan are interested in winning but more so in the community. I see CJ and Owen following that approach. Can you imagine CJ in the middle of an election and the pro team he owns being in the playoffs ?Not that he would milk the publicity, but I'm sure his opponents groaned whenever CJ was on camera talking about his team. At least they got Liebe a decent tutor!

That Carlos guy is popular with this family. It's like he's their Big Daddy or something. But they've also read stories by some guy named Wolf. Brett loves werewolf and dragon stories.

I'm pretty sure in a few years they'll be referred to as the Abello Family by almost everyone. CJ does get the most important job in the world.

I think it's too late for you to be reading at lunch. LOL This is a true prologue. It tells us what's going to happen and introduces most of the support cast. The drag queens don't make an appearance for a while.

I previously mentioned my big boat experience was limited to sailing on a 65 footer. With only 4 of us on board, I pulled my share of lines and I didn't have a Champagne flute in my hand every waking hour. This is not a vacation you plan in a month or two, unless you're buying the yacht. I figured Brett had at least a year. The first indication this group's not typical of other wealthy Americans was them having no dietary restrictions. Can you imagine a group who order food the same way they order at Starbucks. I'm pescatarian, lactose intolerant, and don't eat carbs. Please prepare a five-course banquet within those parameters. The chanlers in Barcelona and Palma will help coordinate several events related to Cesar's 50th. I said this was much longer when I first wrote it and a big chunk of what I deleted concerned Nina. I had her as a Putin supporter who decried Western morality that allowed men to marry other men. But that would have repeated some of CJ's previous battles and I prefer to offer new conflicts. I had them suggest hand food while sailing, but Nina's being difficult. How about a 20 degree tilt? LOL Such a pleasure to see you comment on the story!

I rewrote the prologue countless times. The original was much longer and I realized these was the support cast I was introducing and there was no need to mention a lot more about them. We'll get a few more bits about them in upcoming chapters. But CJ & Co are still the stars of the show.

I think Liebe keeps her last name when she gets married, but Baravento will need to be added to the list. CJ and Owen we know have experience sailing in Tom and JP's catamaran. Hell, CJ even took sailing lessons his first summer in D.C. Now about our favorite couple stealing a boat as I may have mentioned...

Parker's ears must be ringing. LOL I can so see CJ losing his cool. At least he's being realistic about what's coming, and it'll serve as a lesson to let Ozzie handle stuff like that in the future. My goal with this one was to explore their lives once CJ's won his election, and show how living in a fishbowl will impact all their lives. He might be the politician, but the entire family is part of the operation.

It's been that long? Damn! I recall you suggested the Canary Islands but wanting to use Barcelona and Ibiza as setting, the Balearic Islands won out. My list of ideas and possible future stories keeps growing. At least I got this one out of the way.

Don't forget Lucy! Last time we saw her was in 2024 when she and Ritch drove off in his Porsche after graduation. She'll play a bigger part in this story. As for Parker, he probably made more money tutoring one girl for a short time than in one year as a teacher. Nice work if you can get it.

Wait until they go sightseeing in Barcelona and spend time at a vermuteria!

You live down here? My goal's always to entertain readers (including myself) LOL A few characters weave in and out of the story, but the biggest chunk of it is all family interactions. The prologue was from the captain's POV, the first 3 chapters are all from Liebe's and we'll experience events from each character's view at least once.

She usually jumps when her name gets mentioned; I'm surprised she hasn't reacted yet. She need to tell us what really happened all those decades ago when she was Liebe's age.

I suspect by the time the twins are her age, CJ and Owen will have to accept their kids have potty mouths and their only recourse will be to hammer them when colorful language's employed outside the home.

The twins will get plenty of air time. They're only four, but we'll get to see where their personalities are headed. And two think those two wind up as naval officers. What's out world coming to? LOL

Thanks, bud. Glad you enjoyed the opening salvo.