Javier A. Robayo's Blog

Riding with a friend

I entered a challenge formed by the American Cancer Society. The challenge is to ride 300 miles in the month of March to raise funds for research. I love cycling. Always have, and I thought it'd be good to do something meaningful. Thousands of riders joined up and share who they ride for and every story reveals the enormous impact the disease has on so many lives. I ride for Brian Shortt.

Brian and I became friends when our daughters became besties. One of the nicest people I've ever met in Clint...

Farewell to my Silent, Furry Friend

Bailey came to be part of our family after her first family disbanded. She had in fact been picked by someone else, which was why it made no sense for the people at the shelter to insist for my wife and daughters to meet the pup. Well, not so much a pup, a grown pup, a stocky British Chocolate Lab. I didn't know Bailey at that point. We had picked out a Lab at the shelter and went and got name tags and food bowls and a leash only to be informed that our pick went to another family, effectively b...

The First Ever

The Gaze, a novel, Genre: Women's Lit
Samantha Kay Reddick is a survivor and survivors don't overcome their trials unscathed. Samantha bares deep scars within and without. Regret and grief, and the pain from memories of a man she once loved, are the demons she hopes to escape in a bottle of vodka as guilt, real and imagined, tortures her heart.

For more than ten years, the maelstrom of her life grants her peace only in the emotions committed on a piece of writing the boy who...<![endif]--><!--[if gte vml 1]></div>

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"Mom!" Emily's voice is sharp. "I just said I don't want to wear jeans. God!"

I stop at the top of the steps at the frustrated tone of Emily's voice. Two responses immediately come to my mind. One, I come down and backhand her mouth for taking that tone with Mom; two, I stay right where I am and curse her from a distance. Neither is a realistic option, except for rushing down and make sure a fight doesn't take place again.

When I reach the front door, the tears running down Mom's face are my...

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"Mom!" Emily's voice is sharp. "I just said I don't want to wear jeans. God!"

I stop at the top of the steps at the frustrated tone of Emily's voice. Two responses immediately come to my mind. One, I come down and backhand her mouth for taking that tone with Mom; two, I stay right where I am and curse her from a distance. Neither is a realistic option, except for rushing down and make sure a fight doesn't take place again.

When I reach the front door, the tears running down Mom's face are...

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"Sorry but, like, why is your sister so weird?" My best friend asks, her face a mask of concern that makes me uneasy.

"Steph, please." I didn't even bother to look up from the enthralling world of Junior Algebra. I've become used to my friends' opinions of my little sister to the point that I can't even be offended.

"Sorry."

I shrug.

"Does she really like that stuff?"

"Knowing Emily, if she really didn't like it, she wouldn't even be into it." I tap the textbook. "C'mon, focus."

Stephanie shakes...

일 one

일one
"Sorry but, like, why is your sister so weird?" My best friend asks, her face a mask of concern that makes me uneasy.

"Steph, please." I didn't even bother to look up from the enthralling world of Junior Algebra. I've become used to my friends' opinions of my little sister to the point that I can't even be offended.

"Sorry."

I shrug.

"Does she really like that stuff?"

"Knowing Emily, if she really didn't like it, she wouldn't even be into it." I tap the textbook. "C'mon, focus."

Stephanie...

5 Questions on :(:

After reading through some of the emails I've received since hinting at a new novel, I felt I needed to answer some of the questions as quickly as possible. I picked 5 since most others are very personal in nature. So here they are:

1. Where do I get the book? - PA, NY, OH, RI, MA, Spain, Ecuador.

My apologies. :(: is a Live Book which means that you are getting the chapters one at a time as they are written on the blog. Very unconventional, but it does force me to stay committed to the...

Intro

소개
intro
Emily ignores the sting in her eyes and the pain through her thighs. If anything, she welcomes the physical pain. It's a welcome distraction from other types.

Bright pink strands of hair shake like frayed flags in the wind as she moves to the beat.

Five... Six... Seven... Eight...

The drop builds up in a staccato of snare drums and sharp tones. Her teeth clench, brow furrows in fierce determination to conquer the upcoming movements.

One,  kick right... Two, side step and pop... Three,...

:(:

Growing up, Brooke Amaya often heard people remark on just how different her little sister is.

Different in every way, from clothes to music and everything in between, none of those differences compare to the ones in their lives as teenagers.

At 17, Brooke is familiar with the ebbs and flows of puberty, hormones, and the typical teenage convoluted bundle of feelings notorious for healing and wounding with equal measure. However, she never felt, or witnessed the destructive emotional maelstrom...