Hello, little gay people on my phone!

Whew okay... well for starters, what the FUCK.

On April 19, 2019, I finished Hidden Secrets. It was the first fanfic I published on this site and I completed it in 2015, but bc I didn't feel like I ever did the story the justice I wanted to, I started to revamp it a year later, when I was quarter of the way through Rising from the Ground.

But because I was in an almost two-year slump that I've talked about, where all I wrote was poetry & updated my Jily fic Lifeguard-shameless plug but check it out if u haven't, it's *quality content* if I do say so myself-I didn't get around to completing HS until last year.

On March 19, 2020, I finally finished the sequel. Rising from the Ground was never completed, even as an old version, and because of the major plot changes the book went through during revisions, I had to start over almost completely. I'm currently on quarantine bc of this whole coronavirus pandemic, two weeks after my spring break and I finished my second Wattpad book.

Am I emotional? Did I ever think this day would come so soon, and line up so perfectly with when I finished HS last year? Am I proud of myself and how far I've come? Yes, hell no, absolutely.

I could sit here and talk for hours about what this story and these characters mean to me. I could write novels solely on how pouring my soul into this project made 2019 such a good year. It was the year I graduated high school and then took a gap semester before college, so I was pretty much home for the biggest portion of it, and unable to work.

My mental health was the worst it had been in a long time, but these babies kept me going. Working on RFTG persistently and routinely gave me so much to look forward to each day, and my characters have even made their way into my dreams several times now. I am very attached to them.

Now, there was a plagiarism incident that soured my mood recently because having someone rip off my characters is something I take personally and it was the first time it happened to me. But I don't want to dwell on that anymore, so let's not.

Overall, the support I've received in this story has been incredible and I'm so grateful for each of you that followed Polly's journey in this book. I will be focusing on my original manuscript for a while, at least until school is out, but given how things are going in the world, I'm hopeful I'll be able to get started on the sequel sooner than I initially planned.

Speaking of the sequel, and final book-yes, of course it was coming. I haven't even tried to be discreet about it lmao ((; Besides, the story is far from over.

It will be called Wasteland.

(insta saw it first) but here's the cover reveal!! I am crying & once again proud of myself :,)

Without further ado, I'll get into the questions because eeeek I'm excited!!

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Q: How many POV's will Wasteland have?
A: Four. The same three that were in this one will remain (Polly, Sibi and Theo), but Joseph will have a part to narrate too since he plays a big role :)

Q: Is anyone going to die?
A: Multiple people ... oops

Q: Why was this book told through multiple POV's?
A: 1) too much stuff going on to be told only through Polly's limited perspective
2) the jump back and forth between characters allows for building suspense
3) intro to Theo and his backstory that felt satisfactory since his role is big in the story

Q: Will Breeze come back?
A: Yes!

I tried to cover questions that have either come up or (I think) might come up, but if you have more, drop them in the comments below and I'll respond as best as I can

but in the meantime I want to ask YOU a couple of questions if you've stuck with me this far bc I want to hear ur thoughts :')

1. How did you like Rising from the Ground?

2. What's your favorite character? Feel free to choose more than one since the cast has expanded so much

3. What were your favorite scenes/chapters to read?

4. Do you have any predictions for Wasteland?

5. Any feedback, whether positive or negative, in regards to my writing or elements of the story you wish were different/think worked well?

(feel free to answer however many you want)

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This got awfully long, but once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being here and sticking until the end. I've seen my writing grow and challenged myself a lot with this story, and it's my favorite thing I've written to date. Even though it was originally intended as a duology, I'm so excited for Wasteland with how things have turned out after the revision process.

I hope you will continue to stick with me in the final installment of Polly's journey. I love and appreciate all of you. Thank you.

~ Jay 🤍