Wow. Just, wow.

To anyone that has read even a word of this novel, thank you. Seriously, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

This novel was a really huge step for me. I was accustomed, up to this point, to exclusively writing fantasy. Sure, I had written some short stories or excerpts of other book ideas that included young adult or coming-of-age, but nothing like this. I had never written an ounce of mystery in my life.

And, oh my God, I loved it.

Cromulent is the first full-length book by me written for Wattpad. My other novels, The Gods' Descendants and The Red Stone were written exclusively for me, myself, and I, and then later uploaded to Wattpad for fun. They were written in a Word Doc rather than the Wattpad website. Cromulent, on the other hand, was written on Wattpad, for Wattpad, and because of Wattpad.

A couple of years ago, my friend AJ and I were reading a phenomenal book on here called "Confessions About Colton" by colourlessness. I loved it. AJ texted me one day and asked, "Do you wanna write a murder mystery together?" Uh, yes please. We planned our characters: Carson, Avery and Dakota. We bounced back ideas between making the narrator the real killer and the victim not even being dead. We called it "The Curious Case of Carson Harris" before laughing at the alliteration-riddled, ridiculous title. Eventually, I took over the project and wrote some of my favorite chapters ever. The prologue to Cromulent is one of my most beloved writing that I've done, period.

Would I change things a little bit if I could? Yeah, maybe. Make the falling action a little slower-paced and flesh out some characters (especially Liam), probably. But overall, I'm so happy with the final product.

So aside from thanking my co-creator and inspiration, I have to thank xenoclea and Shahed_AK_Erhoma , who are probably my two biggest fans. Shahed, your advice and confidence-boosting comments absolutely rose my morale. Erika, your comments, theories, freak-outs, and love for Landon and Pierce is what made me wanna continue writing this story. So, seriously, I love you guys, thank you.

Is this the last you'll see of Cromulent? No, not at all. There's no way I could let go of these characters so easily.

Over the course of however long, I'll be writing short stories in the POVs of other characters, publishing them on this story. For example, we'll get to see Carson's thoughts in his last moments, Pierce's life, Xander's redemption, and so, so much more. Unanswered or confusing questions will also be addressed, like, "Why did Carson write Avery's name?" I'm so goddamn excited.

Is there gonna be a sequel? That, I'm not sure. Recently, I've had ideas going through my head about a second novel. Right now, I'm thinking of it focusing as a future-lawyer Avery, mentored by Pierce, taking on her first big case. Is that ever gonna come to fruition? I don't know. I won't make any promises, but hey, if you see a sequel appear on my profile, check it out.

And because I'm getting kind of emotional, because these characters and story and mystery have been with me for about two years, I'm gonna ramble on. Here's some fun facts about each character:

Avery:
Avery majors in Law, falls in love with Classical music, and suffers from PTSD.

Pierce:
Pierce is actually a really good singer, but he doesn't like to sing in front of anyone. He is also an avid World of Warcraft player. Pierce's character was originally going to be the main antagonist. His character was inspired by Henry Drummond and E.K. Hornbeck, characters in the play Inherit the Wind.

Mr. Summers:
Mr. Summers's characterization was slightly inspired by Nathan Fillion's work as Preston Northwest on Gravity Falls, and his love for Grateful Dead is inspired by my own father's love for them.

Katherine:
Katherine, superficially, is meant to be a stereotypical rich girl. However, when you get to know her, she suffers from mental disorders and loss. I did this purposefully to avoid putting her in the "obnoxious rich girl" category (which is what she was going to be originally).

Matt:
Matt frequents Avedon's, which was named after photographer Richard Avedon. Matt and Avery date after college.

Hunter:
Hunter was originally going to be a female, not a male. The names "Matthew" and "Hunter" (and their surname) were chosen after two kids in my school--kinda. There were these two twins in my school that I saw a lot, so I gave them names since I had no idea who they were--I called them Matthew and Hunter Summers.

Landon:
Landon's personality was loosely based off of Wheatley from the video game Portal 2. Landon is pansexual.

Liam:
Liam goes to college in California. He never forgets Avery.

Jane:
Jane's name was inspired by the phrase "Plain Jane" (which Landon mockingly calls her). Though Jane is beautiful, her life is much blander than Avery's.

Dakota/Johanna:
Johanna's surname, "Creonte," is a reference to Creon from Antigone. Dakota only went out with Amy because she thought being in a relationship would make Avery happy. Dakota regrets everything.

Xander:
Xander originally did not exist in this story--he was kind of a last minute addition. Xander becomes a writer in the future. He dedicates himself to being better and doing better. He believes that he will never be able to make it up to Avery and Katherine, though.

Some facts about the book:
Inspiration for this book includes: the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the play Antigone, the play Inherit the Wind, and the musical Chicago.
Pierce is my favorite character.
Avery is one of my favorite protagonists that I've written.
I've been thinking of a sequel more and more lately.

And that's all I can think of at the moment! Again, I had such a blast writing this, and I hope you had a blast reading it.

This is not the end of Avery, Carson, Pierce, Katherine or anyone else, but this is the end of Cromulent.

Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you at the next book.