HeartBLOOD

Note from the author

Id lie if I was to say that I didnt plan out writing this in my head about a million times before. But now that Ive actually gotten to this point, I have no clue of what to say.

I remember sitting in chemistry class next to my friend Ines on some random morning in the beginning of February 2019 and giving her a piece of paper, on which I had written down a few book titles. One of them was HeartBEAT.

Then I asked her which title sounded the most appealing to her, deciding to write the story she picked out. Through basically a coincidence, that was the day HeartBEAT was born.

Now, three years and almost three months later, this is what weve got: Three books, 215.623 words and a home for me and others.

When I first started creating this universe, I had a story to tell. But once that story was told, I couldnt help but find myself escape into the world I had built in my head, ideas flushing my mind, bits of dialogue in my phone notes. I just couldnt let this go.

So, I decided to make this a trilogy, come back to my safe place and create more memories here, even though that meant fixing a lot of plot holes.

For years, writing this piece had been on my daily to-do-list, but it also probably was the most ignored thing on it. I remember having my first little breakthrough on Wattpad with HeartBEAT, at that time I got a new ballet teacher and completely fell in love with my sport. Whilst writing that very first book, all I did was dance and write, when I wrote I thought about dance and when I danced, I thought about the things I could incorporate into what I wrote. For multiple months, this was my life.

And when I went back, I was more excited than ever. I wrote like a crazy person whilst planning book three, through travelling and school, through highs and lows, two chapters a week were the goal- and you beautiful people have been right there with me, making me feel appreciated and giving me what I needed to keep going.

And this is why this matters so much to me. Not only is this a reflection of all the stages Ive gone through from fourteen to almost eighteen, it reflects my entire development as a writer just as much as it reflects me as a person.

Ask a hundred people, and at least ten will tell you about how they wanted to write a book. But, shocker, if youre lucky, one of them will have actually started. It takes bravery, it takes dedication and a whole lot of passion to sit down and make your ideas come to life.

Countless late nights of writing, endless days of dreaming, infinite weeks of planning and eternal moments of contemplating whether this was good enough lead to this- a story of a lifetime, a story of drive and compassion, a story of honestly and hurt, a story of love and forgiveness. A story of people struggling to find happiness. A story of people struggling to find themselves.

For you, this is a book. For me, this is an era I am leaving behind- Im onto bigger things, graduating highschool, new hobbies, different priorities, but so many HeartBEATs had been put into this, so much HeartBLOOD shed and HeartBREAKs survived.

Before going to bed, for more than three years I have thought about this story every day. And only now do I realize, that I wont have to let go of this, for the characters still live inside of me.

Alec taught me to fight for what you love, Isabelle taught me to greet people with open arms, Simon taught me to take everything with ease, Raphael gave me stability, Maureen showed me that letting go for your own happiness is always going to pay off, Magnus showed me that sacrifice will come back to you, and Maia taught me that life is easier when smiling. NYABM taught me that I can do much more than I think I can. This trilogy has taught me that I am a lot more passionate than I think. Writing has taught me that theres a place for me in this world. But most importantly, I have taught myself how to make me happy.

Because this makes me really happy.

Thank you for seeing this journey through till the end with me, catch you at whatever's next,

XOXO, Ally Maii