Like, Love, or Leave #AtoZchallenge 2026 #Writing #Plotting #StoryBeats

My theme for the 2026 A to Z Challenge is plotting Book Three in my Existence series — Cave of Existence.

As they're debating what to do and how to do it, more problems arise. 

Eden and Jez have a huge fight.

 

Jun was playing guitar by the firepit. Eden started singing a song to go with the tune. But the lyrics were very suggestive. Is it an actual song, the kind that's published and out in the world? Or was Eden seducing Jun? 

Jez demands that Jun and Eden kiss. If there's nothing going on, it won't matter. Xavier says it's a bad idea. So, naturally, Jez leaps on him and kisses him. Really kisses him. Wend's fury is obvious as the wind kicks up. Heath tries to calm her as he clings protectively to Hannah. 

💋🌪

Have you ever been romantically interested in someone who was attracted to someone else in your social circle? 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249351265-cave-of-existence - "Want to read" (Book is not yet published)

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📚💙 — J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge

🛒Existence Series books: https://amzn.to/4rQwBsv
https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  I'm grateful for follows!  https://www.goodreads.com/j_lenni_dorner
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website. 

Important dates for A-to-Z 2026:

April The International April Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog Hop 

May 4 -9 Reflections (bonus blog hop)

Knowledge #AtoZchallenge 2026 #Writing #Plotting #StoryBeats

My theme for the 2026 A to Z Challenge is plotting Book Three in my Existence series — Cave of Existence.

The Debate over what to do and if they should do it rages on in the next part. The multiple layers of problems (that they're aware of) are laid out. 

Heath and Xavier debate if searching for the ring giver is the best use of their time. There's the pregnancy issue. And weddings to plan. Maybe The Eyes in the Shadows have been thwarted, and they can let their guard down. It might be time to focus on what they know. 

Heath quips about days long ago when he created advanced mathematics, "not so one could simply apply what they know, but so they'd yearn for more knowledge, to answer questions that seem to have no solution." 

Wend tries to talk to Jez about how she's feeling. But Jez doesn't want to discuss pregnancy and babies. She's barely winning to be "trapped" in a committed relationship. Honestly, the two barely have common ground. 

Are you friends with anyone you barely have anything in common with, and how do you make it work? 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249351265-cave-of-existence - "Want to read" (Book is not yet published)

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📚💙 — J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge

🛒Existence Series books: https://amzn.to/4rQwBsv
https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  I'm grateful for follows!  https://www.goodreads.com/j_lenni_dorner
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website. 

Important dates for A-to-Z 2026:

April The International April Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog Hop 

May 4 -9 Reflections (bonus blog hop)

Just Do Something #AtoZchallenge 2026 #Writing #Plotting #StoryBeats

My theme for the 2026 A to Z Challenge is plotting Book Three in my Existence series — Cave of Existence.

The "act one problem" is where the protagonist discovers they have an issue they have to resolve, and is asked to set off on the story adventure. The protagonist decides whether or not to do whatever it is they need to do. This is where we are in the story now.

Xavier suggests trying to find the guy. The problem, of course, is that they have no idea where to look. 

"Well, we know he dropped by your parents' place in February of nineteen-ninety-five. So, sure, that ought to make it easy. Caleb, break out the bloodhounds, gotta follow an old trail." Heath rubbed his face with his palm following his sarcastic remark. 

Hannah suggests that the guy might show up at their important life events. This steers the conversation to Wend and Xavier having a child, which might cause him to show up. Thus, Wend reveals that she seems to be barren. An argument breaks out in the group over how to deal with this situation. 

How might you comfort someone who was struggling with infertility? 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249351265-cave-of-existence - "Want to read" (Book is not yet published)

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📚💙 — J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge

🛒Existence Series books: https://amzn.to/4rQwBsv
https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  I'm grateful for follows!  https://www.goodreads.com/j_lenni_dorner
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website. 

Important dates for A-to-Z 2026:

April The International April Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog Hop 

May 4 -9 Reflections (bonus blog hop)

I Know That Guy #AtoZchallenge 2026 #Writing #Plotting #StoryBeats

My theme for the 2026 A to Z Challenge is plotting Book Three in my Existence series — Cave of Existence.

Catalyst- We're at the part of the story where everything has been set up, we know where all the main characters are (physically and metaphorically), and now something has to happen to move the plot.

Hannah digs up an old home movie. Once the group returns and the old "white sheet on a clothesline" outdoor theater is set up, the old film begins to click. Chance's high school graduation party. Several members of the Existence spot their previous selves. And then there's a man by the gift pile. He leaves an envelope. Barely engages with anyone, as far as the film shows anyway, and leaves. 

But Xavier recognizes him. 

It was a birthday gift. Was he thirteen or fourteen at that party? He couldn't recall. There had been no card to indicate whom it came from. It wasn't even properly wrapped. Just a plain, velvet ring box mixed in with the other gifts on the table. Weeks later, he found the note inside, under the ring. It said to take care of it because one day this ring would lead him on the path to saving his heart and the world. - Fractions of Existence

Have you ever recognized someone in the background of an old picture or video? 

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249351265-cave-of-existence - "Want to read" (Book is not yet published)

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📚💙 — J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge

🛒Existence Series books: https://amzn.to/4rQwBsv
https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  I'm grateful for follows!  https://www.goodreads.com/j_lenni_dorner
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website. 

Important dates for A-to-Z 2026:

April The International April Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog Hop 

May 4 -9 Reflections (bonus blog hop)

Horses #AtoZchallenge 2026 #Writing #Plotting #StoryBeats

My theme for the 2026 A to Z Challenge is plotting Book Three in my Existence series — Cave of Existence.

🐎

Of course, this place has horses! And a few pack mules, too. Some of the group opts to go riding while Hannah is busy looking for something she believes might help uncover the mystery of who gave Xavier his ring. It's a beautiful and romantic area. Perhaps some of the couples will get more than the answers they came for, like some sunset romance.

What would you consider a happy, romantic, outdoor, sunset date? 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249351265-cave-of-existence - "Want to read" (Book is not yet published)

---

📚💙 — J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge

🛒Existence Series books: https://amzn.to/4rQwBsv
https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  I'm grateful for follows!  https://www.goodreads.com/j_lenni_dorner
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website. 

Important dates for A-to-Z 2026:

April The International April Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog Hop 

May 4 -9 Reflections (bonus blog hop)

Grand Canyon #AtoZchallenge 2026 #Writing #Plotting #StoryBeats

My theme for the 2026 A to Z Challenge is plotting Book Three in my Existence series — Cave of Existence.

Xavier's ring is acting up again. Wend demands to know who gave it to him. She remembers it acting strangely in a previous life when they had trouble conceiving. 

He describes the man. Hannah suggests, though it's a long shot, that she might have an idea. The group goes back to her place. It's in Kanab, Utah, where "her Frank" built it, overlooking the Grand Canyon. (Hypothetical example of the home.)

This gives Wend and Jez a reason to spend more time together. 

Hannah points out to Heath that they can't start at the beginning again. They aren't going to become new parents. He remembers the good times. She remembers him being gone, remembers occasional military members showing up with stories of the husband she hadn't had contact with for years, then for decades. That she couldn't move on, was alone and suffering, and that he was out saving everyone but her. 

In this life, he was born to parents who are out saving everyone but him. The neglect that shaped his chronic "misbehavior" in this life may have been some cosmic retribution for the unintentional neglect he inadvertently inflicted on her in his previous life. 

Hannah asks whether they are still compatible, or if she's just better than the mountain of humans he's climbed over the last few years. Heath has to prove they still share core values, communicate well, trust and support each other, have the same long-term goals, and that he respects her worth and achievements.

Have you ever wanted to see the Grand Canyon? Do images of the Grand Canyon evoke any powerful emotions (happiness, gratitude, fear, etc) in you? 

Photo by Tim Hart on Unsplash

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249351265-cave-of-existence - "Want to read" (Book is not yet published)

---

📚💙 — J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge

🛒Existence Series books: https://amzn.to/4rQwBsv
https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  I'm grateful for follows!  https://www.goodreads.com/j_lenni_dorner
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website. 

Important dates for A-to-Z 2026:

April The International April Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog Hop 

May 4 -9 Reflections (bonus blog hop)

Flag #AtoZchallenge 2026 #Writing #Plotting #StoryBeats 🏳️‍🌈

My theme for the 2026 A to Z Challenge is plotting Book Three in my Existence series — Cave of Existence.

Still in the setup phase, this actually goes back to "D," as the main characters are still establishing where they are in life right now. 

Is Eden one of The Existence? Is Hannah? What Are They? 

Caleb angrily debates this with the others while heavily drinking, trying desperately to be intoxicated. But what really has his fur in a bunch is that everyone seems to be paired off. Finding their soulmates. Well, La Dee Dah, but Caleb already found his when he met Heath. And now Heath, the playboy of the group, the one who seemed incapable of keeping his pants closed, has committed to one individual? One memory flood just washed away everything from this lifetime? 

And Jez, who was so unwilling to commit, is asking him to go look at bridal gowns with her? 

Oh, and an interesting statistic, as Caleb just looked it up, in the early nineteen-eighties, Eden was a rarely used name in the United States, and mainly for baby girls. So Caleb declares that at least he's no longer the only one "waving a rainbow Pride flag" 🏳️‍🌈 in this group anymore. 

Meaning of the colors (Original 8-stripe Pride flag) :

Hot Pink: Sexuality

Red: Life

Orange: Healing

Yellow: Sunlight

Green: Nature

Turquoise: Magic/Art

Indigo: Harmony/Serenity

Violet: Spirit

Do you have any strong feelings about the rainbow Pride flag, or the LGBTQIA+ community? 

     * note, hateful and intolerant comments will be removed

Alternative discussion:

There's another scene in Heath's apartment where Hannah discovers he has a secret library. A vast collection of books, thousands of which he has reviewed online under an assumed identity. 

How many books have you reviewed online? 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249351265-cave-of-existence - "Want to read" (Book is not yet published)

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📚💙 — J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge

🛒Existence Series books: https://amzn.to/4rQwBsv
https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  I'm grateful for follows!  https://www.goodreads.com/j_lenni_dorner
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website. 

Important dates for A-to-Z 2026:

April The International April Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog Hop 

May 4 -9 Reflections (bonus blog hop)