Hello readers!
Thank you for taking the time to chat with me, I appreciate it. I've struggled a little with when and how to let you guys know this. I didn’t want to do it right before I posted The Roommate because the last thing I wanted was for people to think I was doing it to get attention for the story. I didn’t want to wait too long to blindside anyone either, so here it is. After careful consideration, I have decided that The Roommate will be my last multi-chapter story. I don’t know at this time if this “retirement” is permanent or temporary, but at the very least I’m taking a long break. Writing has become such an amazing place for me to be myself and as much as I love it, I’m exhausted and I’m becoming way too busy to dedicate what I need to create a good enough story for you. I’d like to thank a few important people and then plan to do a FAQ to answer any questions you might have about my decision, but feel free to ask me anything else. There’s no hidden motive or secrets with this, so I’ll answer anything you want.
I wish I could thank everyone who has ever read my stories and I sincerely mean that. I had no idea when I started writing that it would end up like this, with me meeting and making friends with so many amazing people. You guys have been so supportive and I can’t even express how much that means to me and how much YOU have helped me improve my writing just by reading and reviewing. You told me what worked and what didn’t and I didn’t let those fall by the wayside. There are a few people I would like to thank personally, and again if I forget you, it’s not because I don’t appreciate you. And it would take me until next Christmas to list everyone.
First and foremost, I want to thank secamimom. I was in the middle of writing Blackout, my first real multichapter story. I’d gotten some response to it and I was happy with how it was going. I happened to be a Twilight Fan Group with secamimom and I mentioned that I wrote Blackout. She commented back how much she loved it and I’ve honestly always remembered that moment. It was the first time I genuinely fangirled and experienced the pride of being a writer. I actually realized that people were reading my stuff and it inspired me to write more.She’s been with me from the start and I can’t say how much that means to me. Thanks girl!
smyers09, you are my bestie and I am so thankful for you and all the support you have shown for me. It did not go unnoticed.
RoseArcadia, thank you so much for making the blinkie for CoC. It meant a lot to me and I am in awe of your talent.
Nic, You brought me into the world of The Lemonade Stand and I could not be happier with the wonderful people I have met there. Thanks for supporting my stories and being such a wonderful person!
Jaime Arkin, I haven’t known you long, but I am convinced that we are kindred spirits and I am so happy to know you. Thank you for the amazing blinkie you did for The Roommate, it totally captured the story and I was blown away by it. Thank you also for heading Team Tudorward. You guys blew my mind with your donation. I never thought someone would pay that much for me to write. You are forever my lovebutton : )
Thanks to anyone who has ever made a banner for my stories! You make them come to life and I appreciate it! Also major, major thanks to my beta kdillin for all of her help.
FFPassion/Irene, I don’t like to pick favorites, but I ALWAYS looked forward to reading your reviews on my stories. They were so thought out and detailed and its so nice to hear from readers like that. Thank you for your investment in my stories and for your time spent telling me what you thought.
RoyalTwiGal, I enjoy you so much and have loved getting to know you, especially more recently. You are simply fabulous.
Last, but certainly not least. ImHereToReview. You are my twin and my partner in crime. This girl has stuck by me through EVERYTHING. I first met her when she entered my One Shot Soundtrack Contest and blew me away with her entry. Then we decided to take on a few projects together and I was so so impressed with her dedication, especially when I was busy with school and didn’t always have the time I wanted to commit. After all that, she even agreed to preread The Roommate for me and anything else I needed help on. She never complained, was ALWAYS eager to help. And the one thing I love most about her is that she is always honest. If she thought something wasn’t quite working, she’d say it. If she loved something, she’d say it. Thank you Twin for always being there for me and for your dedication to our little projects. You make me smile : )
Now for the FAQs:
Did something happen to make you leave?
No nothing happened. There were no asshole reviewers, no bullies, no nothing. It’s just me and my life. Are there some things and people in this fandom that I don’t quite understand or like? Sure. But nothing negative brought me to this decision.
Are you leaving the fandom completely?
Hells to the no. I still plan on writing some one shots and maybe entering some contests every now and then. The one thing that I may be a little more absent on is Twitter. I will most likely be using my personal one a little more. I welcome you all to follow me on my personal Twitter, I just won’t be pimping my stories or talking about FF on it. Follow me at @ALoznak
Are you taking your stories down?
I have no plans to take any of my stories down. I wrote them to be read. If this changes with any of my stories, I will make sure to give suitable warning for preparation. I’m not looking to surprise anyone or pull any shenanigans.
What are you going to do now?
Like I said, you’ll see some one shots from me I hope. I also hope to begin seriously working on my first piece of original fiction. Everyone says they’d like to get published someday and I’m one of them. I know many people read fanfiction for Bella and Edward, but if I ever get the honor of being published or end up posting this original fiction elsewhere, I would invite you all to read it. It’s a story I’ve had in my head for awhile now and have worked and reworked it several times.
And I'd also like to take a few minutes to say something to all the haters out there. I've been lucky enough to only experience a few catty reviews, but I have seen what lengths some people have gone to just to be thoughtless, hateful bitches. There's no point. Stop using the internet and its anonymity as a crutch for your ridiculous bullying. You are an adult (or you should be to be reading these types of stories), stop acting like a drama llama middle school kid. If you don't like a story for whatever reason, move on. No one is forcing you to read them. No one is forcing you to leave a nasty review. Think before you speak. Your words can affect people, people who are putting themselves out there by writing stories FOR you. That doesn't entitle you to harass them. There are some wonderful people in this fandom but there's also a lot of ugly, and I don't mean what stares back at me every morning when I look in the mirror. We're here because of our love for something, let's not forget that. We're all Twi-sisters (and a few brothers).
Now for one last announcement before I go. Throughout my writing escapade, you could probably imagine that I’d started several drabbles on plot bunnies that never matriculated (*giggles*) into real stories. I will be posting these on my blog (or the links to the gdocs) so you can read them if you choose to do so. Please note before you read them, they are incomplete. They may be a chapter, they may be a chapter and a half. I do not take any responsibility for you reading and being sad that its not complete. Sorry. I don’t feel any need to sit on them when people could read them. I reserve the right to continue them later on, if I end up returning to full length fics. Please join and follow my blog www.mandyleigh87.blogspot.com if you’d like to receive updates on me or read these drabbles.
XOXO,
Mandy
