Mischief Managed

author's note

Dear readers,

The journey of writing, editing, and publishing this story has been monumental for me. It's been more than a year since I typed the first words of "The Hogwarts Express", and in that year, I've grown exponentially- not only as writer, but as a person too. I traveled to Europe. I learned cello. I started high school. I cried tears of happiness and tears of sadness. I've made new friends and let others go. I've been growing up, and it's crazy, you guys.

Bit by bit, step by step, word by word, I'm discovering who I am. Growing up is so frightening and exciting, so stressful and so exhilarating, and I like to think that "Mischief Managed" is a story about growing up, too. In the first chapter, Bree is eleven years old. In the last chapter, she has been dead for thirteen years. Between then, she changed- she made a very special group of friends, she lost her father, and she fell in love. Through her experiences, she learned about friendship and loyalty, grief and closure, and relationships and self-discovery. In the epilogue, she is able to embrace her love with open arms and her friends at her side, (Remus in life and James and Lily in death).  I am so proud of her.

Several things surprised me as I wrote and rewrote "Mischief Managed". First, I was surprised by how attached I grew to all my characters, especially those that I created- Bree, Dylan, and Bree's parents. I loved to write them, and they stayed in my head long after my fingers left the keyboard. Their storylines brought me to tears. I never imagined I would grow so close to them, that they would ever become so real to me. It was wonderful, and I hope they were just as real to you, too. The second thing that surprised me was my desire to stray from JK Rowling's world. I wanted to make up my own world, and the constraints of fan fiction often felt like cuffs around my wrists. Not to say I'm still not totally in love with Harry Potter; the series will forever and always be my favorite books in the world, but I'm certain now that writing fan fiction just isn't for me.

Writing this story did, however, leave me with an addiction for writing: to staying up late typing drafts, to sketching out characters, and watching the story play out in my head nearly every moment of the day. Writing a story is incredibly exhilarating, and I recommend to those of you who are on the fence about starting your own story to just go for it- jump over the fence and race through the field beyond. You'll encounter road blocks and storms, unmarked paths and hostile creatures, but, if you persist, you'll reach the meadow. Flowers of words, a world of blue sky, and characters, big and small, surrounding you. Trust me, the result is worth the work. For a writer, I think, the ending always is.

Now that I've rambled on for quite a bit, I'll start to wrap things up. I'll give you guys some glimpses of what's next and then some final words. So, my next project isn't exactly set in stone. I have a couple ideas in mind- original stories- and the two main ones at the moment are both fiction. The first would be a contemporary about a girl who, much to her parents' annoyance, studies art history in college, and then accepts a job offer to work as a tour guide in Nice, France. The second is a fantasy, and this one I'm very, very excited about. I don't have too much decided for certain, but I can say it's set in a world with empires, kingdoms, and magic, and one character is a pirate on a quest (there is romance, too;). Once I finish a draft for either story, I definitely plan on posting a few chapters on Wattpad, but my ultimate dream is to get published. To see my own book in a bookstore would be the proudest moment of my life.

Alright, so this is (finally) it. I have to thank you guys, (especially those of you who have survived this overly-drawn out author's note- love you very much for that:), for the constant support. Seeing your votes and comments every week always brought a smile to my face. You guys were my encouragement to tell this story, and I truly, truly hope you all enjoyed how I did. I don't have the words to express how grateful I am for that. Readers like you are the best gift anyone's ever given me.

With much love, gratitude, and hope,

Kylie

P.S. It would be unfair of me to end this letter without thanking my best friend of all- the person who I bugged about story ideas for endless months, the person who saw more than half of this story before I ever published it, and who encouraged me to keep writing even when I was sure I would give up. That's music1or1books. Talk about inspiration.

She's a incredibly humble genius, a brilliant writer, and one of the most beautiful, wonderful people I've ever met. I'm so lucky to be her friend.

I know you'll be reading this (you even encouraged me to keep writing this through my tears), so I just want to thank you again for being one of the best humans in the world.

Seriously. There need to be more people like you.