The Energy of Sun Rays

by CatLadyFirebird

[ON HIATUS] This wasn't the way things were supposed to be. They were supposed to be planning a way to tell Dotty and the boys their good news. Not…his mind trailed off, refusing to finish the thought. Not this, it finally came up with instead. Definitely not this. [CW: major character deaths] *WILL HAVE POSITIVE ENDING*

22. Notice to Readers II

Hello again, lovely people!

I wanted to start by saying a huge thank you to all the people who asked after "The Energy of Sun Rays" at SMucK-a-Palooza 2024, and those who expressed concern when it became obvious I was getting sick. I'm happy to report that a round of antibiotics has fixed the tooth infection (I am making an appointment with my dentist for a more permanent solution) and that, as of today, I've been able to start working on the story again.

In my last update, I estimated the fourth quarter of 2024 for story re-posting. Well, as someone I met in April quipped, "life is gonna life." I won't bore you with all the sordid details; instead I wanted to give you a progress report of where we are and what's going to be happening:

First, "The Energy of Sun Rays" has now been split into two stories. Given that I'd already planned a sequel to it, we're now at a series of at least three different stories. I have some ideas on the books for a few more.

Second, in light of the split, I've retitled the story. The new version is called "Standing in the Dark," and I am going to post it separately as a new story instead of updating this one. What I'm planning to do is to post one final update after this one, about a week before I start posting "Standing in the Dark," so that you know to watch out for it. When I'm done posting "Standing in the Dark," I'm going to permanently delete "The Energy of Sun Rays."

Third, I'm still hoping to have it up during Fourth Quarter 2024, but well, life did have to life. Right now my best estimate is December 2024 or January 2025.

"Standing in the Dark" will have thirty-seven chapters, and once I go live, I'll post one chapter a day. As of today, I've written 20 of the 37 chapters, and some really awesome people have been doing beta reads. At their request, I'm not going to name them, but rest assured they are amazing and I simply cannot say enough about how grateful I am to them.

And to you!

Thank you again for being so welcoming and patient, and know that I am making a major effort to get this to you as fast as I can without compromising the quality.

-Cat Lady Firebird
October 7, 2024