Thank you for reading Accel World: America Volume 3; Operation: Rescue the Princess! It genuinely surprises me that people read my work, which I did mostly for fun until a friend of mine (who eventually became my copy editor) suggested that I post them online for more constructive criticism, in an effort to better my writing. The invitation is always open, to anyone who has enjoyed (or not so enjoyed) the story thus far. I welcome it, as anything that will improve my writing is good as far as I'm concerned.

Looking back on my first three volumes, I'm amazed at how the story has taken shape, much further from my original idea. You know they say that any plan never survives first contact with the enemy, and I'm fairly convinced that writing is the same way. Luckily, the characters in these story know exactly where they're going, which is good for me, because I don't know about you other writers out there, but there are absolutely times when I think I've written myself into a corner and then one of the characters will just DO something on the page I never thought of and the problem solves itself! I often wonder if published writers go through the same thing...

Anyway, many many thanks go out to Axar for reading through the story and offering multiple ideas, suggestions, and (this time around) a decent bit of dialogue in Chapter 5. If you can't tell what he wrote and I did, then it means he's a pretty good writer himself! Either that, or he's been reading my stuff way too much! He's also the one who takes the time out of his busy schedule to actually type the story out, which for personal reasons, I can't do, instead writing everything by hand first, then giving it to him to do all the editing and other stuff.

If you've read the last chapter (which I hope you did since you're reading this afterward) then you noticed that it ended on a bit of a cliff hanger. What did Rick decide as his new personal avatar? Well, honestly, I was pretty stumped to come up with an idea, so I figured, why not let my readers come up with something! SO! I hereby invite you to leave a suggestion in the comments section as what Rick should select as an avatar. It's not really a contest, but more like a... group writing assignment. Either the selection with the most votes (if multiple people suggest the same thing) or the one I like the best (because it represents some sort of personal growth or maturity of the character) will be selected and revealed in an upcoming volume. The window for you to make a suggestion will close on July 4, 2023.

Again, thank you for reading my series of stories. I hope you enjoy them. Granted, I enjoy writing them, so I'd probably still be doing it, even if they weren't being posted. As of now, Volume 4 is in the works and I hope I'm able to finish it in a timely manner. Comments are appreciated but not required, as the fact that you've read my stuff is more than enough. I cannot express with words how it makes me feel when I learn that another person has "followed" me, that you think I'm worth the time and effort. It makes all the finger cramps and bleary eyes late at night totally worth it.

Quovatimus