Warriors #6: A Kittypet's Destiny

Author's Note

Wow.

Wow.

As Lilypetal once said... holy pile of maggots.

I'll have you all know that I've already teared up several times since typing "THE END" on the Epilogue.

My goodness, you all - can you believe it? Here we are, this series finally being complete after SEVEN YEARS.

Many of you all haven't been here for seven years, and don't worry, I won't yell at you if you haven't, haha, but that's how long this series has been in the making.

And that's why the fact that this six book arc is finally done completely BLOWS my mind, and why the fact that it's over is hitting me so darn HARD.

I apologize in advance for this long story (the one I'm about to tell, not this six book arc, haha).

This series first came about when I was in early middle school, all because I was inspired by all of the Warrior cats fanfictions that I read here on Wattpad. I suppose, like Lilypetal, my determination and passion for the Warriors serious brought me to want to write my own, so I did. I created a she-cat named Lily, and she was going to interact with the canon characters during the Power of Three.

I created one book, it gained some reads, so then I made another. And then a third.

Shockingly, those three on their own - Kittypet Clanborn, Warrior Rising, and then Shifting Shadows, gained some popularity. Why? I'm not sure - because my writing, attention to detail, as well as actually taking the time of day to check for grammatical errors, STUNK.

I'd originally planned to just make my series a three-book trilogy, but when I saw the (now baffling) attention that my books received, and wanted to write MORE. I began a fourth book - Darkness Awakens.

But unfortunately, my high school career didn't let me take that book very far, and with how busy I was, I unfortunately had to leave that fourth book stranded at Chapter 6, four years ago (oh my goodness I'm sorry don't worry everything that I'm saying eventually leads to a point I promise).

And to be honest, with this busy-ness, this series was thrown to the back of my mind, and whenever I did think about it, I dismissed it, pretty sure that I'd never get the chance to finish it off.

And from here, I've actually mentioned this in a previous author's note, but COVID-19 waltzing in is what finally brought me to return to it. I went into Wattpad, reread through all four books, and immediately thought. Holy cow... there is no HECKING way that I'm going to leave this series stranded anymore - I am going to flipping FINISH it.

And so, I did, and now, here we are, over a year after that very moment.

And I could not be more thankful and happy that I did. I seriously wonder how I could have possibly gone on in life like a normal youngun without finishing Lilypetal, Goldenshine, and Swiftflight's (Swiftkit's, if we're looking at the timeline) stories, haha.

And now that I finally have, it feels completely unreal. Like, it's barely processed. It's just so crazy to think about.

But the fact that I've finished it is only a part of what blows my mind - your endless support is the other part, and I am incredibly grateful for all of you <3

I mentioned that I had lots of support when I first began the series seven years ago, but once it went on a hiatus, and I returned to it come COVID, it was basically like starting from square one all over again.

But I persisted, and like Lilypetal - I let my determination and passion for what I was doing lead the way. And sure enough, after I continued to push myself (and also after I edited the first three books...) so many of you guys came into the picture, and my heart feels so warm when I see and "hear" how much my writing inspires you, excites you, and just makes you want to read on. Your comments always put a smile on my face, and seeing the reads on my books rise so rapidly is still so wild to see.

You all are what further pushed me to finish off this series, and put out my best possible work for you all to read. Thank you, THANK YOU. Goldenshine is QUAKING at how heroic you all have been to my series.

And speaking of wanting to read on, that reminds me...

I've already heard from many of you lovelies that you are very sad that this series is ending. If it wasn't clear enough already - I am too. I don't want to see this all end, and I most certainly don't want to see Lilypetal, Goldenshine, and Swiftflight's stories end.

SO THEY'RE NOT FLIPPING GOING TO.

Okay, so while I'm definitely going to take a bit of a break from writing for a couple of months - my summer plans and my job currently stealing a lot of my time - I am MORE than certain, and MORE than eager to continue writing, so I AM.

I've already "talked" a lot, so I'm going to make my explanation of my future plans brief, but I plan on editing and finishing Mistpelt's Story (which currently still represents my middle school writing skills), and then giving each of my lovely protagonists (Lily, Golden, Swiftyboi) either a novella or super edition! I REFUSE for this last book to be the end of their stories, so I'm going to continue them very soon. I hope that you all are excited!

*sigh*

But anyway, I think that that is all that I have to say. Did I mention that I can hardly believe this is happening?

I almost want to keep typing so that I don't have to officially finish this book and mark it as complete. That will really make it all set in. But I suppose that I should learn from Swiftflight - hiding the truth and bottling up my emotions won't do ANYTHING for me.

Alrighty, you all. I'm going to let you go now. As I've said in my previous author's notes, if you've made it to this point, you are absolutely AMAZING, and I appreciate your support immensely.

Thank you, and I sincerely hope that you've enjoyed this journey as much as I have.

And finally,

~ may StarClan light your path ~

- warriorcatlover345