Yellow Eyes And Still A Threat

Merry Christmas

Hello there!

How's it going? I hope everything is well.

I know this is out of the blue, but I have a good reason for it.

I have a special gift for you. Something that has been in the works for a while. It's taken about a year from this month actually, and I think it's something you are going to like.

But before I do, I think I need to explain what happened between the last post I made to this book to now. I'm guessing it's a little confusing to have an update on this book with a special announcement, only to have silence once again, right? I didn't mean for it to go like that, which is why I think I should explain what was going on.

I made an announcement several months ago in this book, saying I had a special announcement for you guys on my public message board concerning this book. I'm not sure if you guys took the time to read it, but it was quickly hidden by more posts I made on the board. Not my best idea, but hey, you live and you learn, right?

After posting said message I ended up not following through with what I had originally planned out. I ended up in a dark place for a while this past fall- not gonna lie, it sucked, and took a lot of the joy I had over the summer out. Between struggling with getting through college, dealing with problems within the family, and not having a steady confidence in who I was, I was dealing with depression more than I have in a long time.

I'm not saying this to get pity or have you feel sorry for me. I'm learning to be transparent not just with people, but with myself. The old me wouldn't admit she was going through depression. The me now, however, isn't going to deny it. But I'm not using it to get people to read my books either lol.

Long story short, I've been going through therapy, diving into the word of God more, and learning to be okay with me, who I am as a person. Healing is not easy, let me tell you, but it's worth it, even if it takes a while. I'm still healing inside, from what happened to me in the past, and what I've done to myself mentally over the years. Through that, though, God especially has been by my side every step of the way; when I felt like I wasn't putting the work in my therapist was telling me to do, or if the work was feeling like it was only making things harder, God kept reminding me to keep going, and that He was going to be there with every step of the way. Through healing and working on being a better person, I've been able to learn a lot of things about how to deal with things like fear, loneliness, and depression, as well as understanding that who I am is who God made me to be, and that He only makes good things (Genesis 1).

One of the things God allowed to be a tool to help me cope or heal was writing. That's how I ended up on Wattpad; one of my siblings told me about it, and the moment I signed up I started writing my first fanfiction (which is no longer up on my profile only because it was never finished). Writing fanfictions kept my mind off of the bad stuff I was going through at that time; it was an escape for me. Granted, I did a lot more writing than I did dealing with my emotions and feelings, but looking back I see that a lot of how I was feeling was projected into a lot of the characters I wrote about, original or otherwise. Writing was and still is at times is an easier way for me to explain how I feel or what's going on in my head than speaking (not always, but a lot of times it does).

The more I wrote, the more I realized that this was what I wanted to do with my life; to tell stories. And when I talked to God about it, He gave me the green light for it, so I knew He was going to bless me through it. And He has, so much so it still leaves me in awe at what He's been doing.

This book, "Yellow Eyes But Not A Sith," was an adventure from the start; in the beginning it wasn't meant to get so big. It was just meant to put out a random story that was in my head. But it got big, and the count of readers keeps growing! We're already at 40.6k readers, and it's been how many years since the story ended? And while there was a sequel in the works, "Yellow Eyes And Still A Threat," but that was put on pause for a while, mainly because of writer's block if I'm being honest. The fact that so many of you enjoyed the story has always encouraged me over the years, even after I had finished the book.

Which has led us to now, present day.

Like I said at the beginning, I have a special Christmas gift for you guys. I'm so happy and excited to finally say officially that "Yellow Eyes But Not A Sith," is being remastered as an original story! For a year I've been working through drafts of new, polished storylines, making a whole new world, and shaping out some fresh faces for you to love and enjoy! It's gone through quite a bit of changes so that it sounds and feels less like a Star Wars story, while carrying the same elements of good versus evil.

Turning this book into an original tale isn't the whole gift though. The gift is that it is going to be published here on Wattpad on Christmas Eve!

*internally screaming*

I have been waiting to announce this for so long! It was supposed to be published earlier this year, but was pushed back to this month. I think I like it better this way; being able to give you guys this book for the holidays seems almost perfect! Plus, it's a way of me saying thank you to guys- you're enthusiastic comments, your questions, even your votes have meant so much to me over the years. I thought this book was going to be a flop, but then you guys showed up, and you were the encouragement God used to keep me going.

So, thank you guys.

I really mean it.

*wipes tears from eyes*

I'm not crying, you're crying!

For further announcements on this original book, I have created a booklet where I'll post things leading up to the release date. It there you can also ask questions if you have any about the book. I'm also going to post this announcement on the paused sequel, so if you're also following that story, you're going to get this same post, just a heads up. The book it titled, "Q&A and Updates for Yellow Eyes But Not A Sith Remake." You'll know it when you see it.

I'm so excited to show you guys this new book! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have rewriting it! This will be a new adventure for both you and me! I can't wait to see what happens!

Stay safe friends, and God bless you guys!

- D. K. Meole