Sam Smallbear

Hi y’all!
          The latest chapter of the story is up. I changed quite a few details and scenes in this remake, including Lewis and Samir’s meeting and removing the scene with Dion because I’m saving that interaction for another chapter. Instead of bumping into each other on the street accidentally, Lewis and Samir’s meeting is much more of an intentional confrontation. And you’ll be able to see Samir’s side of things in the next chapter.
          Hope you enjoy! ❤️

Hi friends!
          I know it seems like I fell off the face of the earth, but I promise to explain as best I can.
          I am back, with a few updates and good news!
          Firstly, I wanna apologize for my absence and for the lack of updates. I have not abandoned The Hitman's Guide to Dating your Target, nor do I ever plan to. Recently I went through some major changes that took up all of my time, including moving 3k miles across the country to be with my fiancé. (Yes, while I was away I met and fell in love with the kind of man I thought could only exist in the stories I write, and I've been over the moon with happiness.)
          Moving was a pretty huge task and took all of my focus. But now that things have settled and I'm finally experiencing the peace, love, and happiness I've always dreamed of, my wonderful fiancé, who's been my #1 cheerleader during this past year, sat with me and encouraged me to fully reconnect with my writing.
          
          That being said, I have two goals in mind:
          First, I will be continuing chapter updates of the newly renovated "The Hitman's Guide to Dating your Target", however I wont be including illustrations for every chapter like before, as this was a bit exhausting for me in the past and I want to focus primarily on finishing the written part of the story.
          Second, I have been working on a brand new, standalone novel that I plan to query next year and traditionally publish as my official debut novel. I'm very proud and excited for it and I hope to show you all more about it very soon as well!
          
          So I will be spending my time working on these two projects simultaneously. That means that chapter updates will resume very soon, if not before Christmas :D
          
          Also! My surname has been changed to "Smallbear", and will remain as such here and as my author pseudonym even after my married name change. 
          
          Anyways! THANK YOU so much to everyone who has stuck around this long to see the continuation of this story. I owe you all my best work and I cant wait for you to see what's next!

Hi!!
          
          I have posted a new update on the status of the story and myself in the ‘Author’s Note’ section of Book 1. Please check it out and leave a comments if you have any questions!
          Love y’all! ❤️❤️❤️

Hope you're well! ❤️

Hi I love your background and I also use procreate 

hi 

… RED HAIR?!
          
          It’ll take a while for me to update the story to match this new change in text and in the illustrations. But you may notice going forward that a certain someone is no longer blonde.
          
          In the biggest “kill your darlings” moment since changing Samir’s name from “Nathaniel,” I have decided that Lewis being blonde kinda… makes no sense.
          Having red hair matches his personality much more.
          
          Hopefully this won’t be considered the biggest blasphemy of this series. But I assure you it’s for the best. This change won’t alter the already established plot. But his red hair color will be brought up more and has relevance later, as it is unusually bright, even for the type of sci-fi fantasy world he exists in.
          
          I chose red as opposed to brown to maintain that Lewis is known for being “unusually beautiful” and red hair is the most uncommon natural hair color.
          Lewis’s parent’s appearances will also be changed drastically, with his mother also having the same naturally red hair.
          
          So yeah. Pretty big little change there. But it’s gonna be a fun one.
          
          I’m still in the process of moving to my new house and an important work deadline, so working on this story as often as I would like will be tough for a little while longer. But once I’m beck to updates, I will let y’all know.
          
          See you around! ❤️✨

Already May, and it’s been pretty quiet here, hasn’t it?
          Don’t worry. This story has not been abandoned!
          
          I will be resuming chapter updates very soon. I’ve just been EXTREMELY busy with work, new lovely people in my life, and plans to move this summer. There’s been a lot on my plate, and unfortunately not much spare time for writing and social media, but that’s clearing up very soon as I wrap up preparing for my new home and some other big, happy changes as well.
          
          Life is getting really good. Which means more stories and updates around the corner for you all.
          
          Thank you so much for your continued patience. I will keep you informed on my progress in the future. ❤️✨

Important story change for returning readers.
          (If you haven’t already read HGDYT, please disregard this, as it contains spoilers for book 1)
          
          I would like to inform returning readers of a significant change to the story, i.e. the circumstances and type of abuse Lewis faced under Ivan.
          Please know that I am in no way doing this to make Ivan seem less evil. He is still just as horrible of a human being. This is simply to adjust Lewis’s character development, backstory, and motivations, as well as Armen’s, and to remove any unnecessarily graphic imagery. It’s bad enough these experiences were happening to a child, they don’t need to be as violent as previously portrayed. So I am sightly lessening the severity of his traumatic experiences.
          
          So, in this remake here are the changes being made regarding this:
          
          - Lewis was not physically beaten by Ivan. Only Armen was. However there was some mild physical force used occasionally (Shoving, gripping, etc)
          - Lewis’s s*xual abuse was through grooming and coercion, rather than threats, force, and violence. “Gratitude” was a common manipulation theme in the Mink household. (Think of it more as Lewis being made to feel obligated to “earn his keep”) 
          -This is why Lewis has a fear of being indebted to people or owing them favors, yet will use his body as “sweetener” in business deals. His abuse completely warped his perception of social interactions. 
          - Lewis did not learn of Ivan’s responsibility for his parents death until he was 17
          -Ivan’s blatant and overall racism has been slightly reduced and is now primarily targeted towards Black people and Black inner-city culture.
          - Armen never speaks of his mother, as he was forbidden to, and Lewis has no idea what her name is or what she even looked like, as Ivan removed all photographic records of her and Armen keeps the last existing photo of her locked away.
          
          Thanks for reading! More updates coming soon.

Hello, lovelies!
          
          I would apologize for the chapter delay this time around, but I won’t. I’ve been doing frequent therapy sessions and just got back from staying at a friends place without my computer so I could focus on just myself. But I’m back now and feeling great.
          Some super good news: my therapist informed me today that my anxiety has gone down from severe to mild in just the past few weeks, which is a huge thing for me. :D
          I’m really proud of the personal progress I’m making and am super ecstatic.
          
          Now, back to some writing stuff.
          
          The illustration is completed, so I should be dropping the next chapter by early tomorrow. Then the momentum of chapter releases will pick up again like normal.
          
          Also! I will be changing my author name here and across my socials soon. So don’t be alarmed if you see this story under a new author name. It’s still me. I’m doing a refresh and positive reset in my life, irl and online, and initiating my new chosen name is a huge step in that.
          
          Thanks for understanding! See y’all soon. ❤️✨