Hey hey hey lovely people! Are you ready for Friday???
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You may have noticed that every single chapter before this has a big old "(2ND DRAFT) before it. You know what that means... I've changed things. Tomorrow I'll be presenting to you the beginnings of my third draft of this novel, which means we're starting from scratch.
You're probably rolling your eyes. ANOTHER new start?? Well, I've been reading over your comments from the last two drafts of this sequel, and I've been taking into account the things you liked and didn't like, and the things you felt didn't make sense, and the things you, to be frank, called me out on!!
I needed those call-outs, and I appreciate them. In the last draft especially, I was forcing things that didn't feel right for the story. Why would the public suddenly hate The Famoux members? Why was I forgetting characters entirely, like Marlon? Why was Emeray acting so weak after ending on such an independent, strong note in book 1? It didn't make sense, and you called me out on it, and I needed to hear it!
To make an analogy, I don't want this book to be received as I've seen season 8 of Game of Thrones be received. I've heard people say that they feel like the show runners saw some fan theories and went, "Oh, let's make sure we do something no one anticipated," which was to the detriment of several character arcs and plot points.
Now, as you know, I've been pretty transparent in the past about how I read your theories and try to make sure I'm doing the thing you least expect. While sometimes that works, other times it makes for a lower quality story. At least, in my story's case. Not GOT. GOT will forever be one of my favorite shows ever and far superior than any story I could ever write.
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So anyway, this time, I'm listening to your concerns. I'm responding to your comments. That's something I didn't used to do too often because, to be honest, I was very intimidated by my readers and didn't want to seem like some kind of annoying omnipresence within the story. But being engaged with the conversation is important.
I know there will be less readers because of the break I took, and I want to connect with you who stayed. I want to reward you for that by making you a character in this book, by reading your works, by supporting your art however I can. I want to let you know how much I appreciate your existence in my life.
