Dear friends,

I would like to take a moment and thank you. ALL of you. Whether you're reading to please someone (like my sister...) or you've been here since day one, thank you for your support, your love and your honesty with me. The only reason I found the motivation to get to this point was because of you. Right there.

Which makes you kind of amazing. In fact, it makes you really amazing. You've inspired me and trust me, that's something to be proud of. I've read your comments dozens of time. I've looked at the 'traffic stats' hundreds of times. I've wanted to give you all hugs millions of times. Because you are amazing. You are spectacular. You are beyond anything I had ever hoped for.

So thank you.

I love you.

A lot of people have been telling me that this story is unique because of its mature themes. Abuse, adoption, loneliness, death, etc. Those are pretty profound, serious topics. Which was done intentionally. I think a lot of the time the serious issues are either over dramatized or brushed aside like it's not a big deal.

It is a big deal. Just not the end of the world.

Some people out there have dealt with these kind of things. Some of you are dealing with them RIGHT NOW. And if you are, I want you to know that you can get through this. Even if your family isn't falling apart or you aren't facing huge life decisions, sometimes life is just plain hard. But it's okay, yknow why?

Because I believe in you.

You are capable.

You are brilliant.

You are original.

You are beautiful and

YOU CAN DO IT.

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I end nearly every message and chapter that I write with 'Love you!' because I really mean it. I want you guys to be constantly reminded that someone out there cares about you. Even if it feels the world has turned agaisnt you. So don't be afraid.

And in case no one has told you...

IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.

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Sorry for the mantra, but you guys mean a lot to me and I feel like that needed to be said. But I'll get off my rant for now.

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IN OTHER NEWS: .

The most requested thing you guys suggested was more FAX. It actually made me laugh with how honest you guys were about it. I try to keep the romance far and few in between simply because I think too many stories don't let it develop realistically, which is something I really tried to do within 'Once Upon a Secret'. HOWEVER, the people shall get what the people want!

I will be adding a couple more chapters to this story. I don't think I will be writing a sequel for this story, because I don't want it to drag on.

I do have another story in the work, which I am super excited for! It will be very different in setting and plot, but I'm hoping to keep the character personalities as close to the originals as possible, like I did for this story. I'm not sure when the first chapter will be posted, and I will try to put a note in one of the chapters here, but just in case I would keep up with my profile to see when it gets uploaded.

Oh! Just in case you weren't aware, it has been CONFIRMED that James Patterson is writing a (supposedly) FINAL Maximum Ride book! Some of y'all were talking about it in the reviews and I didn't believe it at first but WOW! It's really happening! I'm super excited. It will be in stores January 19th, 2015. So look out for that. The movie is still in the making, but I don't know any other details about that.

Lastly, I want to thank you guys again for everything you've done. It's been awesome to have you with me on this journey, and I hope to see you in the future!

Love you!

-wise_yet_harmless