How to Save a Life ✓

final author's note

Yes, I know I'm two weeks late in posting this but please forgive me, laziness is a true curse, people.

Thank you so much for joining me on Kate and Noah's journey. We can't forget Aphrodite either, of course. I originally started this book a year ago during a bad time in my life and I wrote the first chapter as a way to express what I was going through. Although I can't remember now what made me so upset back then, I'm incredibly thankful that I brought these wonderful characters to life. This wasn't originally going to even be a book, but as I continued to write more chapters, I've grown to fall in love with Kate and her shyness as well as Noah because of his, well everything. (Don't tell anyone I have a secret crush on my own character, I might get sent to an asylum.)

I thought I'd share some fun facts about this book an alternate routes I could've taken:

-I wasn't sure if I was going to make Kate live or die at the end of part 2. In the beginning when I was just starting to plan the book, I debated which ending would be more impactful. But then I started thinking and I wanted this book to have some sort of a happy ending because I feel that it IS possible to get better. Suicide is NEVER the answer, and I wanted to show that with Kate. Plus I had so much more things that I wanted to cover and that wasn't possible if Kate died. I'll just save the character deaths for another book. ;)

-Aphrodite wasn't originally going to be a main character in the book. You guys could probably tell as she didn't start to appear until the end of part 1. She had a minor cameo in chapter three when Noah was laughing at her joke. Noah and Didi weren't even going to be a couple! Well, not really. They were just going to be friends that went on a couple of dates until the end of the book when they break up. As I was writing the HTSAL though, I grew to like Didi and I thought it'd make more sense if they just stayed a couple. Plus I have a cute little backstory for them that I might reveal in the future.

-Continuing with Aphrodite, I was going threw a Greek mythology phase where I was obsessed with Greek goddesses and beings. I knew I had to name her after one of those goddesses. It was between Athena, Hera, Aphrodite, and Calypso. I know Calypso is a nymph but I loved the name. We all know who won that battle. I wanted to make her name ironic by making her the least feminine girl ever but Didi turned out the opposite as I wrote her. It doesn't matter though, Didi still turned out perfect.

-I'm a big #Koah shipper (#Nate? #Note?) I know I never had them end up together but in the beginning they were end game. That's the reason why I planned for Noah to break up with Didi in the beginning. But then I thought about how I might accidentally romanticize mental illness if I did that and I decided against it. I did not want Noah to be the reason that Kate got better. He might have influenced it, as the support of friends help a lot, but ultimately she is the one in charge of her own happiness. Either way I still think they would make an amazing couple. Although I am the author, I do not control the characters in the slightest and I'm almost positive that they do not have feelings for each other. Kate, maybe, but Noah is 100% in love with Didi and I don't see that changing.

-I originally wanted to include more backstory and focus on the Noah, Andrew, and Sarah arc as I hinted in part 1 but I didn't have the time. Maybe I'll remake HTSAL into a novel and expand on all the arcs and include more backstory that I didn't get to do here. Would you guys like that? There were so many things that I didn't get to include that I wish I had (like what exactly happened to Kate's mother after she abandoned Kate.) I didn't really touch up on that and I'm worried some readers might be confused on why she left in the first place. If anyone thinks this might be a good idea, leave a comment. If enough people want a novel version, I would totally start working on it.

-The three parts in the novella were used to signify the various stages of healing. In the epigraph, I said that healing isn't a linear path and sometimes there are days when you feel like absolute shit, and days when you feel like you are on top of the world. I wanted to expand on that here. In part 1, Kate's life starts to get a little better as she realizes that she doesn't have to be alone and that it's possible to make friends. I do believe Kate does have slight social anxiety which could have been the reason why it was so difficult for her to accept that she could have friends and be Noah's friend in the beginning. In part 2, things start to get worse and secret's are revealed that affect her academic and social life. The high emotions that Kate experienced could explain why she snapped at Andrew and Aphrodite at various points. This obviously explains the low point in her life. Part 3 is a loop where things are bad in the beginning but it gradually starts to get better again as Kate realizes that she actually does have a support system and that people care about her. Although the book ends on a happy note, it does not mean that Kate's life is suddenly perfect.

There are obviously some more fun facts but I do not want to bore you. Check out my other books if you haven't already cause they're awesome. (lol, please don't catch my bluff.) If that doesn't convince you, I'm happy to say that Kate will make an appearance in my book Broken Heart Syndrome. It takes place in Seattle the summer after Kate moves up there to be with her dad. She will make occasional appearances in the book. She won't be a main character so don't expect her to appear in every chapter, more like every 5th.

Again, thanks so much for joining me on this wonderful journey and I hope to see y'all in the future. I love you guys and see you next time.