G Younger: Blog

Tracy hands down gets me the most emails. It is not even close. People either hate her and advise I never let poor David anywhere near her -OR- David needs to cut the poor girl a break.

As a writer a character like Tracy is golden. In my case I dated a Tracy in high school. She was this girl that no mater what she did to me I kept coming back for more. Turned out she really was nuts...

At the time all my friends couldn't figure out why I let her have her way with me. The thing was I knew of her past abuse and her battle with mental illness. I just couldn't bring myself to just abandon her. Plus, when she was well she and I clicked.

The thing was, she was having issues and at some point when you are a teenager you have to walk away. Your just not emotionally equipped to handle the constant drama. Over the years I lost touch with my Tracy. Last I heard she finally got the help she needed, but for the two of us it was too late.

So I draw on the crazy girl I fell in love with to write Tracy and I understand my readers frustration. Looking in you can see the car wreck coming ... and it is coming ...

Thanks for reading and keep sending me advice on how David should handle Tracy.

G Younger

First of all, thank you for reading my story. 8,200 of you downloaded it the first day. People had some similar questions.

Q: What is you posting schedule?
A: I post a chapter once per week on Saturday.

Q: How long is Stupid Boy - Sophomore Year?
A: 39 Chapters / Over 950 pages / Just under a half million words.

Q: What are people saying about the Pre-Release Version of Sophomore Year?
A: Here are some of the comments I got back.

Kurt - I just finished Stupid Boy - Sophomore Year. You are really developing as a writer! The stuff with Tami over the summer had all kinds of subtlety and layers I hadn't seen from you before. Wow.

Chris - AWESOME!!!!!!! Couldn't put it down and finished in one day. I can't wait for Junior Year.

Kev - I finally got around to reading the first two books and I have to say I laughed, I cried, I enjoyed the hell out of them. Sophomore year was even better! I don't really understand football, but you made it come alive. I might actually start watching the game. The good news for me was this was not just a story about sex and football - there is an actual story. You have characters that I have come to love. I find I root for some and want to kill others. I look forward to your next story.

After the Dramatic Turn was announced on April Fools Day where David becomes a ... werewolf! My Editors tracked me down and explained why that was a bad idea.

I even had suggestions from readers about how we could turn Lincoln High into a bastion for zombies and vampires ... maybe some witches too ... Tracy has to be something,right!? It almost writes itself. I can see it now, Tami has to choose between Mike (vampire) and David (werewolf). We could pick teams ... Of course I would be on Team David. Wimpy vampires...

Anyways, my evil editors (BlackIrish, Askepot, grisbuff and Jim7) told me I had to follow the script of a small town boy who plays a little football and all the girls who complicate his life.

The big news is how will David survive the Steroid Scandal that is about to hit and get off the JV Team if he wants to win a State Championship ... while his best friend is off to the UK. I wish I new...


So be looking for another Stupid Boy book tomorrow.

Here is what I figured out from the almost continuous emails today.

Little Tony
1) In general people liked it... but it is no Stupid Boy.

2) Too short - People like more character development than they can get in the short story. They also felt like I left them hanging with some lose ends.

3) Some wanted to continue. A few thought it was a complete waist of their time and that if I did a serial I would end up having to escalate each book to the point of using nuclear weapons... You all should try writing and see the fun feedback you get ;-)

Do Over Story
1) There is a group that really likes them and had some good suggestions. Frankly I was going in a different direction, but hey... not bad ideas.

Sword & Magic
1) WOW! It won hands down... not even close for second place (Do Over).

I have the beginning of the three choices... now it is time to write.

Stupid Boy and I need a break from each other. Book 3 - Sophomore Year will be released on June 6. The editors are working on the last few chapters and we should be ready for you on time.

The plan is to let the timeline catch up. I don't plan on starting Junior Year until at least the first of the year. So that leaves me seven months of writing time...

I just posted Little Tony. The purpose of that story was to see if I could write a short story. Wow, it was much harder than writing an epic length novel. The whole story was about the same length as a chapter of Stupid Boy.

So, I am asking the readers what they want next... and I will give you three choices (of course write ins are welcome - except Stupid Boy).

1) Turn Little Tony into a serial of shorter stories.

2) Getting it Right. A do over story, but not focused on getting rich or famous, but a better life. There will of course be some science fiction aspects to it and I am thinking of tackling basketball.

3) The Third Son - Swords and Magic adventure where the third son (who can't inherit) has to forge a life of his own... while everyone tries to kill him.

Let me know which idea you like best.

Finally, the reviews are starting to come in from the people who bought the pre-view version of Stupid Boy - Sophomore Year and they seem to really like it. I actually found myself laughing out loud as I was editing a section about a squirrel causing havoc.

Thanks for your responses in advance.

G Younger