Vintage Rob

Original Preface

Dear Readers,

LOUD and QUIET are companion stories. One is not the other's sequel, because they occur at the same time.

Start with the one that appeals to you the most.

LOUD is narrated by Robert Pirone in third person past tense. QUIET is narrated by his daughter, Makiko Lombardi, in first person present tense.

Whereas QUIET is a slowburn YA thriller with a dash of the paranormal, LOUD is a slowburn suspense without any hints of the paranormal.

Some events in LOUD and QUIET overlap and take place from different points of view, but most events are unique to each story.

Some events alluded to in QUIET are shown in LOUD.

In the Foreword/Request of QUIET, I gave fair warning that I am a white, cisgender male, because I wrote from the point of view of a biracial teenage girl and wanted readers to be aware that they may have issues with the representation. (I saw very few objections.)

LOUD is written from the point of view of Robert Pirone, a white, cisgender male character, so warnings about representation may not be necessary... However, if you want all lgbtq+ secondary characters to be good, then LOUD may not be for you, because some lgbtq+ characters in LOUD are good, but some are not. If you believe an lgbtq+ safe space means an lgbtq+ paradise, be forewarned. LOUD includes some depictions of homophobia etc which are not condoned, I believe, by the writing and certainly not by me.

Please speak up if you object to something, either in comments or a dm. I will consider your viewpoint carefully.

So, please give LOUD (or QUIET) a chance! If you lose interest, let me know where and why, unless it is not because of the story or writing. Your feedback may help me improve!

Finally, all rights reserved. In other words, don't copy my work! No one has my permission to reproduce any of this. If you see this novel elsewhere, please please let me know.

This novel appears exclusively on Wattpad, and I would like to keep it that way.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Peto