Fury and Flame | 3

Postliminaries | Author's Note

Congratulations, you lived through all the heartbreak, unnecessary angst and over-the-top edginess!

Honestly, this doesn't really feel real. In my head, I know it's over, but it's not really registering. I've been working on and sharing this story for so long that it kind of felt like I would never be done, but here we are.

It's really weird to me when I think back to when I was a stupid little fifteen year old writing book one, kind of just making things up as I went. I can even remember the day—December 19, 2016–the idea hit me and just kept snowballing. I know I've said this before, but I never expected this series to go as far as it has and be as big as it is. What started as a project to distract me from my crumbling mental health has turned into the thing that made me want to pursue a writing career. It's strange to see how far it's come in three and a half years.

To be honest, I think this might be sadder for you than it is for me. I still have to rewrite and edit these books a million times, so I have plenty of time to spend with these characters. Plus, they're all living in my head anyway so it's not like they ever really leave me. Sorry lmao :)

I know a lot of people have asked where exactly I'm taking this series in the future, asking if it will be published or optioned for a TV show or something (sorry for that shameless flex). This series was never meant to just be a series of Wattpad books. As soon as I had the idea, I knew I wanted to have them be published for real, but it never seemed like an attainable hope. Of course, now that I'm older and have become more popular, it seems more realistic than before.

As for the series Wattpad-wise, I will slowly be rewriting the first book to be more professional. There will be better scenes, it will make more sense (and be less cringeworthy), and the characters will just be better written in general. I'm hoping to get most of this done during the summer, but who knows? I'm not even sure if I'll ever post those versions on Wattpad or just query them straight to agents or what.

I also keep getting asked if there will ever be more books in this series. The answer is this: likely not, but I always keep endings open in case I do want to write something else. Also catch me probably writing fanfiction about my own characters someday.

On that note, I want to thank you all for sticking with me for this long. Props to you for staying after the absolutely shitty first half of Blood and Bone. For some, you've even been following my work for more than a year. You're the reason I even had motivation to write in the first place. You don't even really know me as a person in real life, and yet you loyally support me. I see every comment and vote, every time you recommend this book in someone else's comments. I never want to be famous (ew I promise I use that term because I can't think of a better word) for the sake of it. The numbers only are important to me because it's how many people I get to reach with this story. So thank you for taking your time for me. It means so much.

That being said, you'd better show me any fan art, memes or dirty Jesla fanfiction you make ;)

While this series is over, I'm not just magically going to stop writing. You've probably already seen my new duology, KINGSLAYER, because I was never sure when I was going to begin posting regularly on it. Finally, the time is now and it officially begins on June 1. As I'm sure you've noticed, I have a certain style when it comes to characterization, romance, action, etc. so I'm sure you will get the same connection to the next series as you did this one.

      See you on the next one,

      Rachel

      ( P.S. The next chapter will be an 'extras' chapter, where I will answer any questions you may have about the characters—their pasts, likes/dislikes or how they would react in a certain situation—or any specific part/line, etc. For example, I already know I'm going to get a million about the characters' zodiac signs so that's a given. If I don't answer your question in the next chapter, I will answer it in the comments. You can either ask here or in my PM's. )