Carlos Hazday

Overachievers they are, a mere visit to the Oval Office won't be the end of their summer. Hell, it may not even be the highlight! Seems they'll be headed to Tokyo later in the year, and I suspect that may have them in the news again. I'm trying to expand their international awareness.

In Key West they shared their plans with Ritch and now in DC they're setting the stage for the future. Aside from presidential security briefings, CJ and Owen garnered plenty of attention while in Mexico. The technology centers, the Oscars, the New York Times profile, and finally the little incident at the end of their stay. Instead of being seduced by the fame, they'll use it to advance their goals. I'm pretty sure that won't be the last time they interact with a president over the summer.

A couple of weeks ago, I was disappointed nobody realized Brion named his service dog after the world's greatest swimmer. No disappointment today thanks to you. I couldn't use CJ as the name for Biden's assistant, so mixing fact and fiction sounded cool. The West Wing remains my favorite TV show ever. Even though I generally prefer action shows like Reacher. Proof that intelligent conversation can move people as much as guns and bullets.

Give the man a cigar! That would be the first clue. The second one's the lack of two dreaded words at the end of the chapter. LOL

Let's hope Oprah gives some of her money to CJ's campaigns! If you tune in next week, you may get to have dinner at Everhope. CJ's cooking for a couple of friends.

Thanks, bud!

Sometime soon, they'll sit with reporters. Part of their strategy to keep CJ's name in front of people. They'll spend a week in New York later in the summer (Manhattan, Sag Harbor, and Fire Island) and I'm toying with the idea of them making the rounds of all the networks. I need to watch morning TV to get some ideas, but I'm dreading Fox and Friends in the middle of midterm elections. What I really want is CJ to face off against Tucker Carlson, and I haven't figured out how to do it yet. Unfortunately, that also means I have to watch him a few times. Hope I don't puke. But his next confrontation will be with an 18 yo wealthy, liberal girl. CJ may verbally slap her in front of her father. With his consent. LOL

Leave it to CJ and Owen to have the balls to turn down a presidential invitation. Not sure I could ever play it that cool. LOL

Back at you! It feel right to be replying to comments on a Friday morning. I really wish I could most every week!

Great to see you around here first thing in the morning, Dave! If CJ and Owen thought they'd have a relaxing year back in Washington, they're slowly realizing that's not in the cards. The summer of 2022 has been a busy time for them so far. Next week, we'll hear a bit more about Liebe's future siblings.

Me too. And I suspect someone will be happy to help you play with garden-variety hoses the rest of the summer.

“Thanks for doing this, Mark.” CJ shook the man’s hand while bouncing Liebe in his arms. “Say hi to Mark, Munchkin. He’s a friend of ours.” She had slept most of the flight and remained drowsy. “Hi.” The accompanying smile was faint while she rubbed her eyes. “You’re cuter than you look in pictures, kid.” Mark relieved CJ of the backpack threatening to slip off his shoulder. “Nothing to thank me for. You guys hired us to provide security, and hell if I was gonna allow anyone else to

Returning to Washington, D.C. after the Mexican ordeal and time off in South Florida, CJ, Owen, and Liebe must adapt to their new reality. They are all celebrities and must navigate a sea of friends, well-wishers, and reporters. A meeting with President Biden in the White House could set the stage for CJ reentering the political arena.

I'm glad he wasn't sent home. Looking forward to him being trampled and bloodied at impression.

Seriously, I hope it turns out well. I had some liver issues a couple of years ago and they scared the crap out of me. "Arrival," Everhope's first chapter will be available in two days.

I don't trust GA's post-dating system, so even though the chapters are loaded, I'll publish them manually. It usually happens after my first cup of coffee.

That's right, you're back working. Congratulations. I promise the story will be waiting for you when you have the time.

Did you have fun playing with all those big hoses? Don't mention this to anyone, but I plan on publishing the next CJ story this Friday. You came back just in time! Brion could be a great character. Since I sort of gave Brad his legs back, Brion will allow me to touch upon disabilities and coping mechanisms. We'll see how much ink I can give him.

Thanks for the feedback, HH. I can't recall if I've materially changed any chapters after publishing. Fixing punctuation and spelling are regular occurrences since even the most picky of editors will miss something now and then. There are a few instances when I wrote into the future, and matters didn't match reality. I wrote about two celebrity couple who broke up by the time we reached the date of the chapters, and there are references to a sports team that changed it's name twice after I'd written about them. Not sure if or when I'll address those. Once again, thanks for the feedback. The number of views on chapters hints at some readers never leaving a reaction of comment, and I'm delighted when I do hear from someone like you who's reading.

Going for the pity approach, I see. LOL You should check out the CJ forum and follow it; it's where I post announcements of upcoming stories.

Excellent point! While working with @kbois recently, she mentioned I wasn't as scary as some had suggested. (I am, but I wanted to lull her into complacency before striking) I told her I didn't want to make her work sound like mine. And I've done the same with other authors. We all have our particular style, and editors should respect them. My style, as @Mrsgnomie discovered, can be terse. Transitions between scenes can be minimal or non-existent. I accepted a few of her suggestions and explained myself when rejecting others. I think we both walked away with a better understanding of how we write. Authors I read for will discover I'm big on simplifying and eliminating echoes and repetitions. A few people have ended up with a page full of one word highlighted repeatedly. My usual comment's something like I got rid of one, you ditch the other 22. Finding a good editor who'll stick with you is golden, but rare. I've had someone guide me for a long time, and I'll be forever grateful. Mark Arbor's had the same editor for the last century and I'm always impressed by that. As for beta readers, ardent fans are not always the best choice. I want someone who will challenge me and make me think. Find someone who leaves thoughtful comments on your stories instead of someone who only praises you. I don't have the luxury of a proofreader doing a final clean up all the time, so I run chapters through Grammarly right before posting. Imprefect though it may be, it's another tool we can use.

I don't think I'll kill anyone in 2022 or 2023 so they're all safe over the next few stories. But sooner or later... I mean, I got a couple of old geezers running around.

BTW Although Everhope will go live soon, I'd like to talk about Wheels. I'm heartbroken What I thought was a clever move went unacknowledged. I may just have to kill Brion's dog and replace it with one with a better name. I'm telling the cops you guys made me do it.

LOL Yeah, CJ jumping into all sort of things will be regular events.