Dearest Reader,

As it always has been, this story is a work-in-progress. I'm a perfectionist, and I'll probably never stop tinkering with it, ferreting out mistakes, thinking of better ways to relate what I'm trying to show, the story I'm trying to tell.

I apologize for the enormous gaps between updates. My life has been very hectic over the last few years, and while I never truly abandoned this project, I admit I did not give it the attention it deserved. The Animorphs were a favorite series of mine as a young person, and I'm happy to see that it's still maintains a niche following among new and old readers alike.

I promise that this story will have an actual conclusion, one that is as satisfying as I can possibly hope to craft. I need the closure as much as you do, and I will deliver. Chapter 1 now exists in its final state (though I can't promise I won't continue to tweak it now-and-then). I've stripped away some of the clunkier prose, and my more adolescent attempts at being witty and clever. I'm not trying to mimic the voices of the characters in each chapter—I'm trying to slip into their skin, get comfy in their brains, and acquaint myself with their respective psyches. K.A. Applegate wrote a wonderful series, but there was very little exploration of the effects of the "secret war" waged by a group of American teenagers.

My story is dark in many places. It is told from an adult perspective, as both myself and our heroes have grown and matured quite a bit since that first morph. This is not a story that exists in the world of Scholastic Books anymore, and it certainly isn't going to be held back by any moral reservations regarding what the "kiddies" should or should not be exposed to in literature.

I hope that gives you a better idea of where I'm planning to go with this, and reassures you that this time, I really am going to finish this. To paraphrase Marco, I want this story to end. So stick with me, and we'll see who emerges from the rubble alive and victorious together.

Best regards and warmest wishes,

CJ