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A Thank You

  Hello everyone,

  Haven't posted here in a bit as I've been patiently waiting to see if I would reach my final goals.

  Around three months into the start of my series, I created a set of goals I hoped to achieve by the end of my first series.

  1. I want to hit 1 Million views.

  Lofty, I know. But at the time I had about 750 followers and had kept up with all the chapter postings required for my twice-a-week schedule. It seemed doable.

  2. I want to hit 3k Followers.

  Between shoutswaps, ads, and hopeful word of mouth, this seemed barely within reach.

  3. 500k Words.

  I'm a teacher by trade, and a coach as well. Tack on the family life, and this was probably going to be the hardest goal to reach. Surprisingly, I hit it months ago.

  4. If I hit all of the above, I'm going to apply and get a publishing contract.

  I hit this before I ever got close to the above three. At around 1500 followers I sent a message to Podium, and was shocked to hear back within a week or two. After a great meeting with Chelsea, I was approved for a three-book contract, and signed only a few weeks later. The first book is complete, we're almost done with the cover, and I'm told they're entering the audiobook recording stage soon. A few notes for this.

  Audiobook by: Jonathon McClain- I had multiple options, but felt he would best fit the story. Love his work.

  Cover by: Fred Birchal. A very talented artist who ABSOLUTELY nailed the cover.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Copy editing was done by a kind woman whom I'm not sure would want her information out there. Either way, she did a wonderful job, and helped me gain an even better grasp of grammar and editing.

  The dedication is to my wife, as written below, and I'm extremely happy with my first books appearance and weight.

  My next series will be Primordial Poet: Haikus and Heroics, and my next book will be a novella, The Boy and the Stick. I'll obviously have different goals for each.

  Overall, none of this would've happened without Royal Road helping to push me forward on this writing journey. It's a very, very big deal to me. Something I've dreamed of since the fifth grade (31 years ago). I worked hard to get a bachelor's degree in English with this express purpose, and, hopefully, I can turn everything into writing full-time.

  So, a deeply felt gratitude to all of you. I'll be posting this in celebrations as well, but I wanted to also say it here. To everyone who has encouraged authors to reach further, to go beyond the scope, to push the envelope and test out styles that have rarely been seen, you're the best, and I appreciate you. To everyone who reads quietly, laughs softly, and enjoys those solitidinous moments of introspection, I applaud you. To those who have been with me, step by step, every time I post a chapter, I thank you.

  This has been a wonderful ride, and even if, somehow, this ends up being my only series. It was worth it.

  Here's my dedication (I've never liked the simply put, "Thank you").

  This is for my wife.

  There are times when I am crude. Rude. Unloving and selfish.

  You help mend those holes in me.

  There are times when I feel like I am shouting, not out loud but from the inside.

  And you help to quiet me down.

  I know I am certainly imperfect, that the man you had hoped for when we married

  isn’t the man you ended up with in the end. And yet, you still love me as I am.

  You encouraged me, unfailingly, to write as much and as best as I could,

  knowing my obsessive nature and driving it in a positive way.

  Although this damaged package wasn’t delivered to you with the grace in which

  you received it, I still love you deeply, and thank you for not just being

  beside me, but propping me up, foibles and all.

  Thank you, Misty.

  You’re better than I have ever hoped for, or deserved, in a partner.

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