Carlos Hazday

Brad 4 Harley 1 Northman 1 Brad would seem like the obvious choice, wouldn't he? I mean, he's living with them even if I'm about to move him to the garage. LOL

Brad 3 Harley 1 Northman 1 Work on Everhope slowed this week, but it's already longer than Key West. You know that dinner party for 10 I mentioned before? It's not easy to write a conversation between so many characters covering half a dozen subjects. Fashion, furniture, babies, abortion... Come on, it wouldn't be a Carlos story without at least one controversial subject being raised. Shooting for the middle of August, but we'll see. Not making any promises. In the meantime, here's a teaser.

There's a novella length story written and almost entirely edited. Although it's set in the future, it called to me and I had to write it before returning to 2022. It'll go live at the end onf this year or on Jan 1, 2023.

LMAO - Ah, yes, dear old Stevie. I'll dispose off him in one paragraph in the next book.

so far... Brad 2 Harley 1

I hope readers don't mind the lack of spies and kidnappers. But I do plan on having a couple of FOX reporters show up so CJ can beat up on them.

When Pete announced his candidacy, my brothers sent him money. The youngest one said Pete was middle of the road enough to piss everyone off but he thought he'd make a good president. That attitude of people being radicalized is what I want to change. Yeah, it's fiction but you never know. CJ will have to be crafty and build a cadre of supporters if he wants a chance to win.

That's a good point. Although Brad's a Republican who voted for Trump and is very conservative, he was the first one in the group to encourage CJ to run.

It could be if CJ's able to get a word in. LOL While writing this story and the one I'm working on right now, I've kept a list of Squad members who interact with CJ and Owen post Mexico. So far it's Ritch in person and Ethan over the phone. Brad will show up as soon as they return home since he's now their housemate. Harley I think will show up on the Fourth of July. I want to have the OGs together.

Thanks, Theo So, what kind of stuff did you discover. I know I throw in things that make sense to me but are often missed by readers.

Thanks, bud! I read over the Cadet chapter a couple of times before expanding it and was kinda surprised I covered the weekend in less than one chapter. This one had me give Biden dialogue, bring back Stone, and give myself a bigger part. LOL What I wanted to show was CJ and Ritch interacting more like equals with each interaction. I also got to sow the seed of a future presidential run. They have a goal, now they have a few years to implement it.

Glad I could set the mood for a good weekend!

LMAO No, they don't. And I'm jealous of them. If I was their age and could afford it, I'd be off somewhere every weekend. Between June and the end of August I see them going on 5 trips. Let's see how long it takes me to write about all of them.

When I wrote about CJ's involvement in Clinton's 2016 campaign, I lost readers because they disliked the political content. It surprised me since I'd been mentioning the subject from the moment he moved to DC. The dads will probably break the piggy bank to help get CJ elected.

@Clancy59 Liebe was fortunately spared the anxiety her parents went through. The shooting, shouting, and spilled blood I'm sure were jarring, but you can tell CJ and Owen have already been telling her how to deal with strangers. She glanced at her fathers before allowing Stone to pick her up. And wait until you hear her recount the events in Mexico when she's 7 years old. That scene's been written for a while. LOL The family interactions are driven by Brett and Cesar. They set the tone and their sons follow. I pity the fools who try to hurt any of them. I'm trying to re-balance the amount of detail I include. Some of my early stuff makes me cringe these days. Too wordy and too much detail. The pendulum swung in the opposite direction and a lot of the spinoffs were somewhat terse. As I said, I'm trying to re-calibrate. I'm in the middle of writing a dinner party with ten diners. Talk about juggling conversations! Anyway, I describe the cocktails, food, and wine, but stopped short of the china and crystal patterns. but I thought about them LOL Not sure how much sightseeing they'll get to do in Rhode Island. They fly in and get whisked to a dinner. There's a golf tournament somewhere in there, a beach clam bake and or rehearsal dinner, and the wedding at The Breakers. For once, CJ and Owen won't be in the wedding party, but everyone will know who they are because of all the media attention.

Thanks, Tor!!!

Although not a CJ/Owen/Liebe story, CJ makes an appearance in next month's offering. September will see my anthology submission, and I hope to publish Everhope in October. If I get inspired maybe it'll be sooner.

Thank you! And thanks for the chapter reactions and comments. It's fun to see how binge readers progress through the series.

LOL Who knew it would be so easy? A little dose of CJ and the lynch mobs retreat.

Awesome! I'm trying this new approach while juggling multiple story arcs. Let me know if I miss anything. LOL

@Butcher56 We'll find out more about the suit against the AFA during a meeting with Ethan in Fire Island. The guys may be back in DC, but that doesn't mean they'll cut back on their traveling.

Although the events in Mexico had a favorable conclusion, I think they'll affect them for a long time. Not so much Liebe since she's so young. Ritch's the first person other than Owen to hear it from CJ's mouth. I'm certain if the fathers don't know they at least suspect. Anybody want to guess who the next person he tells is?

LMAO Over 8k words and you think he'll find it too short? A couple of readers complained about my previous story's ending--what else is new--claiming Cadet had gone further into the future but I didn't cover everything in CDMX. I explained that story was limited to events in Mexico. With this one, and a few others, I plan to continue setting CJ up for what's coming. Originally, I planned on a multi-chapter story covering the summer of 2022, but decided to break it up into several shot stories. It helps me get stories out faster since had I stuck to my plan this wouldn't have seen the light of day until next year. I'm currently working on Everhope. It picks up with their arrival in Washington and ends a week later when they fly to a wedding in Rhode Island. Not a lot of conflict or action in any of these. They're meant to flesh out CJ and Owen's new reality. Lots of slice-of-life stuff.

Psst, buddy... I've got some great scenes that can get you happy. I'll give you a good deal. LMAO - Glad you enjoyed that. There will be a continuation after we pause for another story.

“What the fuck they want now?” CJ was exasperated. If his grandparents did not stop finding excuses to constantly call, he planned to disown them. There was just so much tender loving care he could handle. “It’s Ritch.” Brett raised a finger to his lips. “I’m putting him on speaker. Don’t say anything.” Although Owen seemed apprehensive about not revealing his brother-in-law would be talking to the room, he shrugged. CJ grinned. Knowing Brett, he expected some fun with the conversati