SMOKE (The Aurum Trilogy Book 2)

Acknowledgments

A year ago, in the wee hours of the morning, a girl was typing away--her thick-framed glasses askew and her hair falling in loose strands from the top knot perched above her head. Her eyes were sleepy and dark circles gathered underneath them, showing signs of sleepless nights and long, tiring days. Her fingers work their way through the all too familiar keyboard, its clickety-clacking noises echoing through the night. She was the only one awake, her brows furrowed in concentration and the fluorescent light above her burned like a beacon, telling her not to quit, urging her to the finish. Finally, she typed in the last words of the ideas that have long inhabited her head. She typed them and relief floods her. Tears began to form on the corners of her eyes. She can't believe it. She can't believe she's made it this far. The girl shed her tears and smiled. Little did she know that the epilogue was only the beginning, that there were more years to come, more readers to befriend, more criticisms to receive and more ideas to weave and jot down. But to her, in that moment, the ending was beyond perfect. It was unexpected, but it was perfect. And it was all that mattered to this sleep-deprived lass. She folded her laptop and yawned, marking the date on her calendar and scribbling something in her loop handwriting.

'Finally finished'.

There is a long list of people I would like to thank. A year has passed by since that young girl typing furiously in front of her laptop finished her first novel and I still can’t help but wonder how that aspiring little girl can be the aspiring author I am now today. I have told people so many times about how writing changed me, about how it became something worth living for, something I would look forward to, how it became a sign of defiance at my family’s warnings to go to bed early, and how it became a symbol for dreams that were meant to come true in the near future. I cannot deny the fact that I still dream of New York and a famous publishing company picking up my book, but for now, I am content with the so-far 24,391 reads and 738 votes my readers and non-readers have given me. I am content with the fan mail I could never answer confidently, with the feedback (both honest and not-so-honest) given by friends, and with the meet-ups I could never say ‘yes’ to.

I thank God. I thank Him all the time for the talent He has given me, for constant inspiration and for guiding me through tough times and dramatic twists. He is the author of my life, and this story, along with mine, would not be possible without Him. He’s always watched over me, watched over ‘Steel’, and now, I know that he will also watch over ‘Smoke’.

To my absolutely awesome team, thank you. Thank you for sticking with me in the sequel. To Nadine Agoncillo who designed the cover this book and who always always always helps me promote my chapters even in the middle of the night, I hope all your dreams come true. You deserve them, and I know the future shines bright for a girl like you. Thank you, Zam Maclang for pulling me together, for thinking of ways to make twists more twisted and for bearing with me when a sudden text pops in your phone regarding what would go better with the entire plot. I know the storyline won’t be this amazing without you, and I hope that love comes to you at the right time and gives you what you need. Remember to believe and just wait.

I could also use this “happy first” letter to thank my first supporters. To my Mom, who has no love for books or any kind of reading despite my constant persistence and noisy nagging, I thank you for giving birth to me and for supporting me in my writing career. I thank you for acknowledging me and being proud of me even though you’ve never tried reading my books. I have no hard feelings for you. All I feel for you is love even though I’d probably send you to the home for the aged when I grow up. (Just kidding!) I love you, Mom and I will always be your daughter. To Lidel Bajao, who has kept my collection of ‘written’ (yes, they’re written by pen and ugly kid handwriting!) and unfinished novels, thank you for believing in me from the first moment you became a new girl in school. Your faith has never wavered, and up until the very end, you believed in that silly, little girl who wanted to write books and draw illustrations along with them for a living. Thank you to several other readers—Marcen Gonzales, (who is the only Team Jonathan supporter in my class) Katryna Lino (Team Daniel), and Mikee Yoo (also Team Daniel)—who read the book even though it’s not yet in print and picked up by any publishing company. To my wattpad readers, thank you for the votes, for the interviews, for the comments and for the feedback. I am not a perfect writer, and I still have trouble with my tenses, but thank you for trusting in me. I may not know you all personally or virtually, but I thank you, nevertheless. My online writing has been the best roller coaster ride because of all of you.

Thank you also to a very special friend, Shannen Julia Sisante, who is currently reading the last book of the trilogy and is also a die-hard fan of Jonathan Kress. She is my real-life Lia, and I hope she knows that I can’t thank her enough for the many things she has done for me—for keeping my chapters and for inspiring me and telling me that my work was not some piece of shit and for telling me that ‘Smoke’ was at par with ‘Steel’. I love her to death, and I hope she knows that she is and will always be my soul sister