is officially on Wattpad. Gosh—can you believe it’s already been a month since the book finished? My first babies, Evie and Stan, are out there now. Past me would be so proud. Honestly, Before I Avow started as a random idea that popped into my head in the middle of an online class. It was originally supposed to be just 20 chapters, but that didn’t feel right—so I rewrote the entire book to give their story the justice it deserved.
I want to thank my sister (she’s also a writer—check out her stories!) for pushing me to write this. She would even grab my tablet just to read the next chapter, even when I wasn’t finished writing it yet. She’s one of the reasons I kept going. Her technique? She’d ask, “What happens next?” which would force me to verbally tell her the upcoming chapters—ideas would pop into my head, and I’d jot them down right after.
I also want to thank my high school best friends. They encouraged me to finish the book and were eager to read it—even with all its flaws and grammatical errors. I still remember one of them messaging me in the middle of the night saying, “Where’s the book?” even though she knew I was nervous about letting them read my work because they know me personally. Little by little, I opened up and told them I was writing a book, and they would beg-SLASH-DEMAND that I send it to them. Honestly, they’re the best. They made me comfortable sharing my stories with people who know me, and their feedback has been incredibly helpful.
Lastly, to my silent readers on Wattpad—thank you. Thank you for reading and finishing the book despite its imperfections. Your constant support, even just by showing up for my weekly updates, made me fall even deeper in love with this journey.
It's not a secret that I've been writing the second book in the CHESTERFIELD CLIQUE SERIES. I'll update soon (well, as soon as I'm free from my responsibilities in real life) Stay tuned!
With Love,
- Serene Aquira
