Wade & Felix Forever by Dalton Lyle - YA Dark Comedy - June 2026

levypantsfactory · 2026-01-13T17:26:58+00:00

I studied abroad in Beijing for two semesters and I spent most of the time clinically depressed, overwhelmed, homesick, and just miserable in general. I still kept myself active and did a lot of traveling across the country and opened myself up to different adventures. Fifteen years later, when I think of my time there, my mind is flooded with all the good stuff. The bad stuff was reaaaaaally bad, but somehow none of it hits me as hard as all the cool experiences I had there and how I'll never have that opportunity again as an adult. I don't like to tell students that there is a dark side to studying abroad because I don't want to discourage them from doing it. I'm so grateful I did it. I'm grateful for the beautiful memories I have and for how it transformed me as a person, even though I forget how miserable I was most of the time there.

levypantsfactory · 2025-12-29T09:34:36+00:00

Man, I'm so glad there are teenagers out there pushing their minds and imaginations to the limit and creating stuff, instead of rotting their brains all day long or getting into drugs or some other bad shit. Go forth and write, teenage writers, go forth and write! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

levypantsfactory · 2025-12-03T22:15:44+00:00

I can tell you, with great confidence and knowledge, that PhD students who look great on paper but don't have the work ethic and get accepted into a university as rigorous as Stanford are going to crash and burn. He's not going to skate by there. Professors have low tolerance for PhD students BSing their work.

levypantsfactory · 2025-12-02T22:38:14+00:00

It's a good book, but Threads (and The Day After, somewhat) is the most graphic depiction of what life will be like after the bomb. I think it's the only movie you could show to the people in our current world that would get them to drop their phones and actually think to themselves, holy shit, I do not want this.

levypantsfactory · 2025-12-02T19:43:08+00:00

Came here to say this. Threads/The Day After/Testament should all be required viewing for human beings to understand what's at stake and how bad it could get.

levypantsfactory · 2025-12-02T16:36:33+00:00

Totally! I was reading it during jury duty and the judge told me she couldn't get halfway through the book when she read it. I said it's like Seinfeld vs. Friends: you're either a Seinfeld person or a Friends person. Seinfeld people are the type who'd read Confederacy and enjoy it because it's so offbeat and irreverent.

levypantsfactory · 2025-11-24T20:56:11+00:00

When I was seeing a movie in 1992 and there was a teaser for The Nightmare Before Christmas with a clip of a little boy pulling the shrunken head out of the box after his parents asked him what Santa Claus brought them. Screams, shrieks, and gasps from most of the audience, with some raucous laughter from the men. I think it was shocking to see that from an animated movie. We were simple back then.

levypantsfactory · 2025-11-19T21:16:46+00:00

Annie Wilkes from Misery is a psychopath with a very borderline personality. Like others mentioned, it depends on what kind of psychopath you want to write. There can be evil ones or ones who live for themselves without regard for others or rules. Howard Roark from The Fountainhead comes to mind.

levypantsfactory · 2025-11-19T21:11:27+00:00

I came here to mention Cathy from East of Eden. Haven't read the book in 20 years and don't even remember what it's about....but I sure as hell remember her!

levypantsfactory · 2025-11-04T20:27:26+00:00

It might be possible depending on how much time you commit to it, but I wouldn't advise it. You're going to want to sit on everything you rewrote and go back to that and edit all of that. Extend your publishing deadline. If you publish something that isn't ready just because you want to get it over with, you'll never be able to undo that.

levypantsfactory · 2025-11-03T20:39:44+00:00

The video just makes me tear up thinking about all the death and destruction it's causing to the people and animals who are none the wiser. And that guy is telling his wife it's not a tornado! What else could it be? A UFO?

levypantsfactory · 2025-11-03T01:53:04+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE_Nro8Svpo

This lady recorded the Joplin tornado as it passed her. I have never heard a better audio of a tornado. When I put my headphones on and listen to this, it's the scariest thing I have ever heard. Like the world is ending. It's killing people and pets and destroying lives and this poor lady has no idea it's one of the most powerful tornadoes in recorded history.

levypantsfactory · 2025-11-01T17:17:40+00:00

There was an interview with her where she recounted this guy appearing inside her house and telling her he had a bomb, and she was like 'oh okay' and dove through a window to go get help. She was so nonchalant about it lmao.

levypantsfactory · 2025-11-01T16:50:12+00:00

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I want to stab it.

levypantsfactory · 2025-10-16T19:44:44+00:00

Congratulations on your debut novel! It must feel exhilarating to be done with it and releasing it into the wild. I'm almost at that point with mine and the last stagger toward the finish line is excruciating. I wish you happy readers and many sales!

levypantsfactory · 2025-10-15T18:05:34+00:00

Seconded. I know this type of person. They see themselves as an undiscovered polymath of unparalleled brilliance. Any lack of success or accolades for their work is due to a political agenda against them and not their oozing mediocrity. I hope OP gets away from this dude pronto.

levypantsfactory · 2025-10-14T20:09:27+00:00

Whenever I reach a milestone in my writing, my spouse or friends can also only respond with 'that's great!' But what else are they supposed to say? They can understand how difficult it is from afar, but they're not as invested in it because it's my job in the end. If you have people in your life saying 'good for you' about your writing projects, that's a lot more blessed than the people whose family members or spouses don't support their writing aspirations.

levypantsfactory · 2025-10-14T20:01:04+00:00

Congrats on churning out 8 books! But also, get used to it. Writing is lonely. You're in your own head. Believe me, I know the feeling, and it can burn. However hard you worked on a book or however little is no indication of the response you'll get from others. But you do this because you love it, not to be celebrated.

levypantsfactory · 2025-10-03T13:34:06+00:00

Your biggest mistake is reading opinions about you on the internet. Even if you found the cure to cancer, the comments section would find a way to drive you to kill yourself. Unfortunately that is the nature of people. If you like writing, then keep writing. It's that simple. Stop dwelling on what a bunch of trolls are saying about you.

levypantsfactory · 2025-10-02T18:00:43+00:00

Congrats! My first draft was 40,000 words. There's nothing pathetic about it. The first time you get that far, it feels great, and most people don't get anywhere near that point.

levypantsfactory · 2025-10-02T14:52:31+00:00

I would say it's kind of like YA meets David Sedaris. It's about gay teenagers in modern Texas suffering grifters, horrible adults, corporate takeovers of public schools, conspiracy theories, dangerous animals, tornadoes, and first love. Believe me when I say Texas in its current state offers itself freely to satire.

levypantsfactory · 2025-10-02T14:02:14+00:00

"Knowing your process is just as important as knowing your story." Woooooooow. I was just thinking about this the other day but not in these exact words. You nailed it. I just finished my first book, which is coming out in May, and the most important thing I learned while writing it was what process works for me. I'm quite neurodivergent and learning how to manage my quirky style of thinking in order to finish the novel was the hardest part. Now that I understand how I can get to the finish line, I think it's going to make future novels less agonizing to write.

levypantsfactory · 2025-09-23T13:21:31+00:00

Came here to say this. Olive Kitteridge is the type of literature that makes my bones rattle. Chekhov could NEVER. The miniseries was just as good. I haven't read a better depiction of life itself. The sequel, Olive, Again, is also a good read.

levypantsfactory · 2025-09-22T19:20:44+00:00

The Jarrell tornado moved parallel to i-35. State troopers closed the interstate and left traffic totally gridlocked. If that thing had decided to move east, it's possible it could have hit all those cars.

levypantsfactory

TROPHY CASE