Hi! ❤️

Thank you for tapping that read button and drifting into the fantasy world of "Wild Beauty".

Here's a brief background about this book. I've been thinking about it for a while now that my readers will love to know where this world was birthed. As I was retelling this very tale to my mother, I realized that my readers too deserve to know how "Wild Beauty" came about. I hope you read to the end and enjoy it. If not, you can skip this part or not. Stay and enjoy it, please.

"Wild Beauty" started in 2014  when I wrote it as a story on a  ruled paper (about five princesses who had a father and enjoyed palace invites and games) and shared it with my three friends with whom we sat on a wooden desk every day of class in secondary boarding school.

The times we would have spent dosing off reading for tests and preparing ourselves for boring lessons, we used those times for telling each other stories out of this world.

We received many punishments (washing school dishes, picking rubbish all over the school and so many more) for making it on the list of 'noisemakers'. We just had so much to talk about; movies, songs, stories concocted out of nowhere, yada, yada, yada.

When my friends liked the story I had written on paper, I decided to write it down in a blue A4 book (so that I don't lose it) just two pages that I didn't know where they would go, I didn't know that it would become a book. Then my goofy friends wanted another page, wanted to know what happened next, to say I was overwhelmed is a light way of putting it. I was mind-blown.

They became so invested I couldn't leave them hanging. I had to get them something to read or else they would continuously ask me 'What happened next?' So, I wrote some more and they loved it and asked for more. They were like little goblin Olivers in 'Oliver Twist', always asking for more and more and more.

I had to think. I did for a while until one day I came to a sudden halt. My readers hated me for that. But...what choice did I have? I wanted to update too but I couldn't. Because...life, school and all the in-between.

By the end of 2014, I was a semi-candidate readying myself for finals in UCE exams (Senior Four, S. 4). I discontinued "Wild Beauty" to focus on excelling in my finals. I passed O'level and went on to A'level which I gave my all. I starved all my other 'distractions' so I could get that government scholarship to university which I'm glad paid off. Because if it didn't...I would haunt school like Jen. (She's a character in "Wild Beauty". Lol. I almost gave you a spoiler, smh). 

It bothered me that I hadn't finished this story for over 9 years because once I was out of high school in 2016, I went on to prepare for university. Life was on a continuous roll and it just wouldn't stop for me to get any writing done. I couldn't create anything.
I feared the work I had to do because I already had so much to do already. I like good grades so balancing books with writing books, well, let's just say, one of the books would win and it would be books. Sacrifices had to be made. I am one who starts things and finishes them so you can tell how much that bothered me.

And everytime, I would have classmates that had read the story and my family asking me, where the story went. I would smile nervously and say, "Yeah it's there. I'll finish it eventually." I hoped.

When the pandemic hit, that was in 2020, my creative juices were set free because for once in a very long time, my long busy school life came to a sudden halt, my brain got breathing space. It came to life. It's like I finally got some air after a long marathon. All I had to do was wake up, not go anywhere, be with family, eat, exercise and be home without serious things to think about but my favourites, like writing. Boy, was I excited. A long vacation had come my way and it would last for over seven months. Wow!

Immediately, without letting a day pass, when a total Lockdown was announced in my country, I got down to completing handwriting "Wild Beauty" Book 1. It was a hectic process that I can assure you.

I'm handwriting Book 2 as I speak. I enjoy handwriting my stories. The ideas come fast, I don't lose them easily and I don't get interrupted by tapping sounds on the laptop keyboard. (If I'm to rank; its first handwriting, phone typing then PC/Laptop typing for my creative process.)

I'm learning how to create while on the laptop keyboard. I got to say, it's hard. It's not easy at all, but I have to learn how to do it if I'm to write all these books flying north and south in my head.

So, after handwriting it, my best friend Brizirock, offered to type it alongside myself. It was skeletal really, none of it made much sense but the world was there and the story that I felt had life in it. I didn't give up.

After typing the whole of it for the first time, all the excitement I had went down the drain when the document varnished into thin air. It was lost on the PC. We couldn't find it. I hadn't backed it up anywhere (a mistake I'll never do again, I don't trust computers to this day. I double-check, only to triple-check, quadruple-check and all those other checks). I was crashed.

With determined juice and vengeance against the mean PC, Brizirock sat down trans-night and did it all over again. It gave me hope after I had spent times rolling on the floor in tears of frustration.
She gave me hope.

So, I got up and went on to edit the chapters. Chapter one made sense, other chapters not so much. I had to put a lot of flesh on a story (I had spent years not revisiting) created by a 14 year old who thought she was just writing stories for herself and her three friends/deskmates. I had to make it make sense because I feared that the Wattpad community would tear me apart if my story sucked. (I have different thoughts now, the Wattpad community is by far the best thing that happened to my writing) I had to make it make sense for my readers.

The day I posted the first chapter on Wattpad, my goodness! The nerves! The heart thuds! I almost collapsed. It was my first work. I hadn't been on Wattpad in forever and this account had zero followers. I didn't know if anyone would actually read my work. I knew the story had promise. I enjoy it myself to this day. I just didn't know if anyone would read it because I didn't have followers. I didn't know anyone on Wattpad.

And then...

I saw those 46 reads on that one chapter the day I first updated. I was re-energized.   I told myself, "You can do this! Those 46 people you see there, they believe in you. They believe in "Wild Beauty"."

The rest is history folks! There you have it "Wild Beauty" fans. We are at 4k reads now and I'm still stocked by how awesome all my readers are. Y'all are so wonderful and amazing. Thank you.

Fun Fact: "Wild Beauty" was not the initial title of the story in 2014. It was in fact "Silver" the name of the prince, whose kingdom holds the Elixir, a key to revitalising the immortal. 😊

Voice of Reason: Don't feel rushed by those who are making it fast. Keep working at your piece or whatever it is you're doing. One day, when you least expect it, you'll find your people in the masses of many. There's always an audience for your gift. Keep at it. Your readers are there. People who believe in your work and love the world you build.

Hope this inspired you.

I am working on Book 2 and I know you will enjoy it. ❤️ I want to give you the very best, hence the sleepless nights and endless hours of writing and writing and more writing. I love you that much.

Please follow, share, comment and vote.

I believe in you. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you and again I say, thank you. ❤️

Feel free to PM me. ❤️😊

Love,
~Sefora 💚
@brighteverafters

25/08/21
16:36 GMT

Here's the first handwritten draft 🤌😂💚 that I wrote at 14 years. I'll tell you the truth, I'm freaked out by the things my mind conjured up when I was that age. Only a few of my friends got to read it. I called it my love story and added the tag "Don't read pliz". Please read it guys. 😂 I've changed my mind since then. It's not even my love story I promise. I was just shy about my teen classmates finding out about my writing and wild imagination.

AN: What do you think? 😂💚🤌I think I had it then and I have it even more now! Thanks for taking your time to read "Wild Beauty". It means a lot to me. For each chapter you engage with, please vote, the 14 year old me will be very glad and the 23 year old will be much proud of you. Thanks a lot.
Love,
~Sefora 💚