Altimexis

I already do that, but unless I’m missing something, I’m restricted from scheduling more than one posting in advance. It used to be that I could schedule publication of all of my chapters at once. Still better would be if I could schedule automatic chapter postings on a specified day of the week at a given time.

This all looks great! I'd like to put in a word in favor of posting schedules for authors. As one who prefers to complete and edit a story before posting it, I like the idea of being able to post and entire story at once and schedule publication of the individual chapters. It used to be possible to do that, but current restrictions prevent scheduling more than one chapter at a time. That means I have to schedule reminders in my own calendar to be sure I remember to schedule each new chapter publication once I've published the last. One other thing: Is there a way GA could reach out to authors who've abandoned a serial story? Perhaps if we could match a struggling author up with a mentor, we could help them get past whatever it is that's blocking further writing. I know there isn't much that can be done about the curveballs life throws us all, but just having someone to sympathize might help them to resume writing.

On Chapter 26 - Hunter is finally becoming someone I can like - not so self-centered. Looks like we're heading to a sort of resolution. LB appears is visiting GA on a regular basis. I just don't understand why he does't respond to our comments, or even answer my PMs and emails. He's ghosted us… again.

@LittleBuddhaTW last visited 4 hours ago. I don't understand why he doesn't post something to let us know he's alive. Here's hoping the reason for his most recent visit is to get ready to post another chapter or three. In the meantime, Chapter 19, which was posted over the weekend on the AD site, confirms my suspicions about Miguel's dad. Even so, it's a shocker! That's all I'm going to say until the chapter's posted here.

I assume people are discussing their disappointment in Hunter’s behavior in Chapter 17, two chapters hence. I’ll wait until it’s published on GA before saying anything more than this: Hunter isn’t just horny or promiscuous. He’s self-destructive. He needs help.

I hope that nothing is wrong. I've sent LB an email and a PM and received no response. What I fear is that we've lost him again. After some very productive writing in the early days of GA, he just disappeared. I was thrilled to see him writing again after a fifteen-year hiatus, but perhaps he was just keeping his mind occupied after the breakup of a longterm relationship. Now he has a new boyfriend and perhaps he's too busy to post. At least I hope that's all that has happened. I just hope he doesn't disappear again without even saying goodbye. Most of us manage to balance our personal life, our work life and our hobbies, but perhaps LB can't. Having hobbies separate from one's personal life is important. With all the craziness going on in the world, especially now, I find writing fiction to be particularly therapeutic. I hope that LB finds his way back to his writing but if not, it'll be his loss as much as ours. He's a gifted writer and I wish him the best, either way. Regarding this chapter, I'm particularly fond of reading about American traditions from an outsider's perspective. It was fun reading about Hunter's attempt to recreate a traditional American Thanksgiving in Colombia. It was even more fun reading about how all of his friends viewed the holiday. I could sympathize with his friends when it came to being forced to watch American football, and the Detroit Lions, no less. I grew up in Indianapolis before they had the Colts and without a local team to root for, never understood the allure of the sport. The Colombian boys are much better off playing what the rest of the world calls football and what American's call soccer. Chapter 16 is already posted on AwesomeDude. I'm not going to give anything away except to say it's a very steamy chapter in more ways than one. The two chapters taken together are a nice interlude - a therapeutic respite after the trauma of Chapter 14. Why do I get the impression that all hell will break loose in Chapter 17?

Finally!! I hope that you're okay, @LittleBuddhaTW, and that you were merely distracted by good things in your life. If you were sick, injured or otherwise detained, we'd like to know so we can keep you in our thoughts and prayers, or whatever. I sent you an email and a PM. Please take a moment to stay in touch! This is by far the most intense chapter, but judging from the cover art, we're in for more of the same if not worse. The scene in the ice cream parlor seemed so realistic that I almost have to wonder if LB went through something like this himself, or at least knew someone who survived a terrorist incident. The loss of Ferney really brought the war home. I have a feeling that in saving Hunter, Carlos will play a bigger role in the future.

I almost reacted with the angry emoji, but crossed fingers seems more appropriate. I’ve read the next chapter on AD and it’s the most tense one yet. Respectfully or not, I see little reason to wait when the story is available on another site. I certainly hope AD is okay. I’ll be really upset if anything bad has happened to him. Frankly, I’ll be kind of pissed if he hasn’t posted because he’s in love. Don’t get me wrong – I really hope that’s the reason and I don’t want to think of the alternatives – but I’d like to think that he’d value his faithful readers enough to at least let them know the story will continue after a delay. I would really hate to put LB in the category of authors who would abandon their readers because they’ve lost interest or have better things to do. One thing to consider is that GA doesn’t allow for automatic publishing. They used to and I took advantage of it by setting up a publication schedule for all of my chapters at once. That way, if anything happened in my life, my readers wouldn’t be kept waiting. Now, however, one can’t schedule the next chapter until the last has been published. I suspect the reason is to thwart automatic chat bots. LB, I really hope you’re okay, but if you’re in love, please come up for air long enough to let us know what’s up.

I sent an email to his proton address this morning (Saturday). I haven’t heard back from him yet. He last visited GA on Feb 22. I’m genuinely concerned. The AwesomeDude site has been handled by Alien Son ever since Mike (The Dude) died. He manages the site and takes care of posting. Stories are submitted in their entirety, vetted by an editorial team and then coded and posted on a schedule without the intervention of the author. In other words, LB had nothing to do with the post of Chapter 14 to AD. For those unfamiliar with the AwesomeDude site, Chapter 14 of Medellín can be found here.

Likewise!

I was pleased with the way Hunter let Yeison down gently. I wish he’d done it sooner, but he’s only sixteen. I’m a bit concerned, though, that denying there was someone else will come back to bite him. The thing that really got me about this chapter, however, was the redemption of Miguel. He was nice, he was sensitive and he wasn’t afraid to show his tender side. He gave Hunter the space he needed… and he cooked for him. We also got some insight into Miguel’s dark side. He grew up in the shadow of the underbelly of the cartels. He was and perhaps still is friends with kids who have been subsumed by it, yet he’s managed to float above it all. It’s no wonder he became a bully. I think Hunter could be very good for Miguel, and Miguel’s connections might help to protect Hunter in the future.

I don’t have anything to add that hasn’t already been said. Just thought I’d mention that half the USA got slammed with a winter storm. Here in NYC, in my corner of it, we got a foot of snow and ice. Something tells me you don’t get any snow in Columbia.

Let me get this straight. The healthcare system gives out PrEP for free, but condoms are a luxury? Nothing is more expensive than an unplanned pregnancy. It might not cost $320-390k to raise a kid to age 18, as it does in the US, but it’s still bound to be a major contributor to poverty. Would it be impolite to suggest that lack of condom use has more to do with male machismo than with cost?

What’s so strange about having a melted hunk of cheese in hot chocolate? Cocoa is the basis of a molé sauce, which is great on chicken - not that I eat chicken anymore. Frankly, I think I’d rather have melted cheese in hot chocolate than bubble tea. As long as the cheese is creamy and not too sharp, I think it would blend nicely with cocoa. I’ve been putting off commenting on this chapter because I’m just not sure where this is leading. Actually, I think I do know where it’s going and watching a train wreck in the making is both fascinating and horrifying at the same time. I get the feeling that there is a big puzzle piece missing that Hunter isn’t letting us see that would explain a lot about why he has trouble with relationships. It might even make more sense of why his father would involve him in his work. However, that Hunter considers the relationship he had with Rory at the age of what, fifteen, to be the gold standard is really pathetic. Oh, a lot of teens think they’re in love, but high school relationships are usually very shallow and teenagers are so naïve. Not that I think Grindr is a good place to start either. I reiterate that Hunter isn’t ready for a steady relationship and he needs to be honest about that upfront, with himself as well as with his dates. Plus he needs to use condoms!

Yes, it’s much better now.

I wasn’t going to say anything, but then I remembered how I felt as an author when someone gave truly constructive criticism. To me, that was worth far more than a ton of praise, as it helped me to be a better writer. The last chapter ended with a lot of drama and a real concern that Yeison wouldn’t make it home safely. It seemed that their relationship had ended before it had really begun, and then there was the kiss. LB really left us hanging at the end of the last chapter, and I expected at least something in this one to address that. Instead, it’s as if none of all that drama had mattered. There was a lack of continuity that left me feeling disoriented. In general, this chapter felt disjointed, and yes, emotionless. Perhaps that’s because of the way Hunter feels in the midst of all the chaos. Rudderless. I can only hope things become more clear in the subsequent chapters.

What kind of father would use his own son as bait? What kind of father would ask his son to befriend a kid he hates as a way to get to his father? What kind of father would ask his son to lie to his friends? What kind of father would bring his son to an unsafe place in the first place, apparently for the specific purpose of helping to infiltrate the Clan? I don’t know if Hunter’s father is aware of his son’s struggles with depression or his risk-taking behaviors. From Hunter’s perspective, the two of them have always been distant. Could the reality be something else?

Fortunately, there hasn't been any conservative blowback, nor liberal blowback, for that matter, since this story was published some 2½ year ago. The protagonist is the 15-year-old son of a democratic politician, but he's equally critical of people on the left as on the right. It's a sad commentary these days that political centrists are an endangered species, not just in federalist governments such as in the U.S., but in parliamentary systems as well. Except for the plot element of the missing state certificates and a locked pouch containing duplicates, the other elements of the story are based on verified accounts of events as they unfolded on January 6, five years ago. Of course the protagonist and his father expressed their own opinions, but they are presented as just that – opinions. I take pride in the research I do for my stories and do my best to present a balanced account, even if the narrator is from one side of the aisle. That there aren't many Republicans in my New York stories reflects the political makeup of the city. My Indiana-based stories have at least as many Republican characters as Democrats.

Not to bring up the 300 billion barrel elephant in the room, but I really loved this too. Stay safe, LB. The future for an American expat in Colombia could be perilous.

I can’t say I particularly like Hunter, even though he’s personable. It’s not just that he suffers from insecurity, depression and the tendency to act impetuously, even as he recognizes the consequences. I realize that is something that goes with the territory of being a teenager. Hunter has made a lot of bad decisions and he continues to do so. He engages in self-destructive behavior, almost as if trying to punish himself. LB, you certainly know how to create the most complex of characters. I knew right away from when Yeison and Hunter got together, that their relationship was built on a foundation of sand. I was shocked that Hunter agreed to be his boyfriend. He isn’t ready for a steady relationship and is probably only pursuing one as a salve for his insecurities. The result can only be disaster after disaster and many broken hearts. Perhaps he’ll eventually meet a boy who understands him, puts up with his shenanigans and yet makes him feel loved through it all. Maybe then Hunter will find he can banish the darkness and leave his insecurities behind. Maybe he’s already found that boy and doesn’t know it yet. In the meantime, he should stick with boys who aren’t looking for a long term relationship, and for God’s sake, he should always use condoms.

LB, don’t forget to submit Medellín and Extra Innings to the other sites to which you posted Swing for the Fences.

Oooo! Bareback? Both times? And in conjunction with Grindr? Did he do that in the US? Hunter needs to get tested! It isn’t just about HIV, although that’s still the strongest argument for using protection. HIV might be treatable, but it’s still incurable. It’s still forever. However, with ready access to antibiotics, resistant gonorrhea and syphilis are likely rampant and difficult to treat. This is high-risk behavior. Hunter is playing with fire in more ways than one. As much as I like the character of Yeison, I just don’t see a relationship with Hunter as being a long-term. That’s not to say they can’t be loving boyfriends for the next two years, but after that, Hunter will go off to college back in the States or at a top international university. Yeison might not be able to go to college at all. Frankly, sixteen year olds shouldn’t be looking for a life partner at that stage in their lives. I still think there’s more to Miguel than meets the eye.

What a delightful story! I liked the use of the third person perspective, not to isolate the reader from the emotions of the characters, but to enhance them. In Swing for the Fences, everything we knew about each character was from Nick’s perspective. That was appropriate to the story, as delving into anything more than Nick’s tortured soul would’ve been exhausting. Even though we might have liked to peer into Jack’s psyche directly, it was essential that we experience Jack’s meltdowns from Nick’s perspective. This was an entirely different story in all respects. It wouldn’t have been the same if told from either Jonah’s perspective, or Tommy’s, or from Christian’s for that matter. Experiencing the raw emotions that both boys felt - the uncertainty and fear of screwing up - is what made this story so special. As an added bonus, we got to see Nick and Jack from an entirely different perspective. Wow, the perception of their relationship is so different than the reality. It’s funny the way Nick hated math, but his friends saw him as a math whiz. I hate to lose Danny from the sequel, but I’m really looking forward to seeing more about Kai. I have a feeling he’s going to add a lot to the story. Some of my more memorable characters in my own series have been about exceptionally smart kids trying to find their way in a world that doesn’t understand them. LB, don’t expect a lot of readership over the holidays. People are busy with family obligations, gifts, preparing for finals, finishing term papers, or traveling. Hell, I somehow missed the notification that you’d posted this story. I appreciate your dedication to finishing the sequel, but sometimes the best thing you can do is to take a week or two off to write something else. Doing so can give you a fresh perspective that only enhances your writing. And definitely post the story on Noah. I think we’d all love to read it.

Since I'm following LB, I'm surprised I didn't get a notification of it, or maybe I just missed it. Life is busy, and not entirely in good way. Thanks for the response.

LB, I'd keep an open mind about writing more Extra Innings stories, particularly as you've yet to post the first one! Just because you haven't received feedback on the concept doesn't mean the shorts won't be popular, once they're online. Yes, your primary focus should be on finishing Stealing Home, but that doesn't mean you can't pursue spontaneity when it strikes your muse. Although we all enjoy it when we receive positive feedback from our readers, I write for my own enjoyment. Not that I don't make changes based on reader feedback, but my writing follows my heart more than anything else. My sci-fi thriller, Conversations With Myself, posted in 2018, resulted in very little feedback, yet I feel it represents some of my best writing. Being proud of what you write means a lot more than all the positive feedback in the world.