An Overdue Hello
As stated in the title, hello everyone. Long time no see-and for that, I do apologize. I hope you give me the opportunity to somewhat explain.
Masking Misery was a major outlet for my teenage depression. At this point in my life, I was really hurting. This story helped me confront my feelings and gave me a refuge at the same time. I am so grateful for it. And I am SO grateful to all of you, who, even as late as 2020, still write me reviews. It touches me that the story I am most proud to have written, and is the most personal to me, has helped so many.
As you can probably realize, though, I am no longer a teenager. I still struggle with depression, but am in a better and healthier place in my life. At the time I wrote this story, I had never experienced love, just my own fantasies of it. Now, I know what it is. Now, I know what recovery feels like, in a sense. Now, I know what the otherside looks like; somedays, the other side is still dark and bleak, but the days like these are never nearly as long. And, the better days are far more.
Since I have been transparent with you thus far, I fear I must disappoint you. I do not think I have the knack for writing that I once did. I fear that what I have written in this story thus far has been the "peak" in my writing adventures. I fear it is much harder these days for me to sit and give you this quality content-and I did not give you this by my lonesome; I had help from FANTASTIC beta readers and great suggestions in the reviews.
Honestly, I deal with different issues in my life these days. I have different challenges and different worries. But a lot of those challenges and worries are still rooted in how I felt during this period of my life. For that, coupled with the support you all have given me over such a long period of time, a large part of me wants to give you closure in this story. The trouble is, it has been 10 years since I have tried to write this passionately and eloquently (which is saying a lot, considering how many mistakes I found reading back through). It has also been a couple years since I have watched the series. And again, being one hundred percent transparent, I wasn't sure where I was going in my story past this point. I didn't know what recovery looked like. However, I do now. I know what it looks like for myself, at least.
I hope to continue doing this story the justice I had all those years ago. It will take me a lot more time, and probably a lot more help (again, I had fantastic beta readers), but it is a challenge I wish to accomplish for myself, and for my dedicated readers. I don't really know how I am going to attain the closure for Raven that I had set out for almost 10 years ago, but once I put my mind to it I believe I will be able to give it the ending you all have waited for, for so long–myself included. A huge thank you again from the bottom of my heart for the continued support and patience all these years (and how patient you have been! 3). I cannot wait to proceed on this journey, together, once again.
Stay Strong,
Kmarie96