Hudson Bartholomew

Glad you enjoyed the story! Thanks for reading!

Glad you enjoyed it!

There is a sequel! It's here:

Thanks!

Thanks!

Thank you!!

I mentioned in my last blog post (which was back in December, omg!) that I have a couple of books being published this year! The first one came out on Monday!! It's called Inside Darkness and it's about a humanitarian aid worker struggling with PTSD and an Asian American journalist who encounters systemic racism. It's dark and gritty and angsty; the sex is fast but the emotions are slow burn (I stole that last part from a reviewer, hehe). It's hard to believe that I am officially a Published Author (TM). There was no party, no cake, no one handing me a big cheque. Just some nice people sending me congratulations messages on social media and a friend took me out to lunch. From the outside, being an author looks so glamorous, but at the end of the day it's a job just like any other: finish one project and move on to the next! Still, I'm super proud of myself for having chased after this dream and having accomplished it. I have another book coming out in July and a couple where I'm waiting to hear from the publisher, and still more waiting to be written on my laptop. Big thank you to everyone here who read my early stories and gave me such encouragement to keep going! I couldn't have done it without you! If you would like more information about my book, you can find it on my website: http://www.hudsonlin.com/book/inside-darkness/

I do have to consciously remember to include stuff like metaphors and similes. Otherwise, my writing gets stripped down to, "he did this, then he did this, then he did this." 😅 I also try to remember to use all the senses. What does a room look like? Smell like? Temperature? etc. It helps paint a picture and makes the reader feel like they're actually in the room with the character.

I'm definitely not a fan of posting most of a story online and then asking readers to pay for the ending. it's disingenuous. One of my parent's friends has a long history of working in direct marketing (also called multi-layer marketing or pyramid schemes, you know, when people try to sell their friends a bunch of stuff that usually doesn't work?). Anyway, this "friend" only comes calling when she has something new to sell. Then she'll be super friendly and nice. And because she's a friend, we all feel like we need to support her and spend tons of money buying stuff we don't need. Once she's made a sale, she disappears. Authors who use sites like GA solely for advertising purposes feels like this family friend. GA is not an advertising platform, it's a place for people to share stories, talk about stories, and form a community. To take advantage of that is wrong. And I say that as someone who has posted free stories on GA, and who is now also publishing ebooks. Yeah, I would love it if my GA readers bought my books, but I'm not going to hound them around the site until they do. If people want to buy my books, they'll reach out to me for the info themselves.

I enjoyed On Writing a lot. It's half biography and half writing tips. I think most of his advice is good, but might not work for everyone. Like, I think he recommends writing everyday, but that might not be practical for everyone. As with all advice, take it with a grain of salt and figure out what works for you.

This is my biggest fear. Writing myself into corners, wanting to take the story in a new direction that doesn't match with what came before. Which is why I can't post a story until the whole thing has been written and all the plot holes addressed. I don't know how people do it... they are far braver than I am.

Thank you!!

Yeah, Erik was kind of picking fight, maybe without realizing it. And the whole leaving New York thing is a weird mental game that doesn't always make much sense! 😊

Hahaha, it's not a fun activity! 😅

I'm so glad you like it!!

Haha, yes, they can "work" very hard on making a Nathaniel, but I'm not sure how successful those attempts will be! Thank you!!!

Thank you so much!! I really do consider this their happily ever after. Whether they'll eventually get married or whether they'll have kids still up in the air, but that doesn't mean they won't still be happy together for the rest of their lives!

Thank you!!!

I'm sad about not having more stuff to post on Sundays, too! We'll see about the wedding and a baby... that might be a little while yet. Thank you so much!

Agreed! Erik did have to make some very difficult decisions, definitely not ones to be made quickly or lightly.

Thank you!! I didn't know Wesley had an insatiable baby lust! Hahaha. I hope that did the trick for him, then

Thank you! I definitely consider this an HEA for them. I've no intention of breaking them up after they've worked so hard to find their way to each other. Whether they'll get married and have children is up in the air, but that's not the only definition of a happily ever after!

Thank you so much!!

It's so bittersweet, right?? I'll miss these guys, too.

Thank you!!