Knox (Marino Brothers Duet, #1)

FELIX UPDATE

[TW: MENTIONS OF HATE, DEATH, MENTAL HEALTH, EATING DISORDER, AND MORE].

[FELIX: OFFICIALLY ON HOLD UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE].

First of all, thank you so much to all the readers who have made Knox the popular story it is today. Your love for my story and the way you guys only hope to see the series continue makes me so warm.

But unfortunately, this community comes with a lot of readers who aren't as kind as most of you.

For those who missed it, I got married a few months ago. I kept this news very hush hush until I announced it after I was officially wed. Getting married wasn't just getting married. It meant packing up and moving to a city 2 hours away from my current residence, helping my husband set up and settle in our new house, working hard to pay off all the money we spent on our wedding as it was pretty grand, and just overall adjusting to a completely new life.

It's been tough but also some of the happiest months of my life. I've truly been enjoying myself and just focusing on this new chapter of myself, which naturally meant little to no time for writing.

In this timeframe, I've come across some truly awful comments and messages about why I haven't uploaded yet. Almost every week on my Instagram I reiterate my reasoning for those who missed it and I also have posted about this on my Wattpad profile as well. For months I have been explaining why writing hasn't been possible for me lately but for some reason, it's only made readers that much more aggressive towards me.

Don't believe me? Think I might be overreacting or taking it to heart? Too sensitive? Let me copy and paste real comments and messages below just to show you what I have to go through on a DAILY basis:

"Am I the only one who notices how she always tries to emphasize how "happy" her married life is? It is like she is trying to make us and herself believe a lie that never happened lmfao."

"Hate authors that do this like if u take this long then no one will care about your books anymore just watch."

"WHY FELIX NOT OUT YET!! Author you better be dead😒"

"You promised your readers something you have to keep that promise 🙄"

"Hi author tell me why you don't release Felix book ! Your being selfish because you only care about popularity and think to much of yourself I think :("

"Still not out lol. fuck you"

And these are the LEAST triggering ones, a lot of them being instantly deleted because of how unnecessarily cruel they were.

Sooooooooo, yeah. I'm just laughing at my own pain to cope lmao. Also you can easily scroll through my message board and comment sections to find all of these. Hard to believe they're real and people are this cruel, huh?

And yes I have thousands of wonderful and supportive messages among these and the haters aren't worth my time and I should focus on the readers that want the best for me, of course. But I've been on Wattpad 7 years now and these are just a few comments out of thousands from ONE BOOK ONLY. Multiply that and more among the 9 books I have published. It's a lot and everyone has their limits and I've officially reached mine.

I went on hiatus initially because I was getting married and dedicated all my time to wedding planning and starting a new life. I returned to share the news with my readers because I love sharing everything with you guys because you guys are literally my friends and I love you. But to log back on to share something so personal and joyous about myself only to receive such spiteful comments has completely wrecked me. I'm honestly worried I'm heading back into a depressive episode because of it.

So I've formally decided that I'M LEAVING WATTPAD. Not before releasing Felix, and not before releasing the rom-com I'm working on because it's helping me heal and I think you guys will love this story, but after putting these two books out I won't be writing on Wattpad anymore.

Over the years the community has become toxic. Immature kids commenting crap they don't realize has repercussions, online bullying and death threats, people taking out their anger and frustrations on me as if I'm the one responsible for them...it's too much. It's started to take a physical toll on me. My ED is back in full force from the anxiety the hate has caused. I'm losing weight rapidly and am now severely deficient and in bad health. I've cried and guilted myself over things that aren't in my control. I'm losing my love for writing when it was once the only thing that kept me alive. And now it's killing me.

That's why I'm taking joy in this new story I'm writing. That's why one day I'll publish my books in the real world and get paid for my efforts and enter a community that doesn't attack me because this platform gives them free access to me. I think that's the biggest issue. This generation is so used to being behind a screen that they forget their words have consequences and have become spoiled in how they treat others. A free platform is basically inviting the hate because anyone can read my stories and say whatever the hell they want. If I'm gonna get hated on, at least I want to be paid in compensation.

So yes, Felix will eventually come out and so will my new project. I'm taking my time but my main concern is my mental and physical health and not letting online hate ruin such a wonderful time in my life. All my energy is going to be given towards my friends, family, and my husband who has been my rock through all of this. I don't want him to have a depressed wife when we haven't even reached half a year into our marriage. I want to be the best version of myself for him because he is the only one who deserves anything from me right now.

Felix is on indefinite hold and the rom-com will release first (date also pending depending on my health). After that, I'll officially be leaving this platform. I hope to publish my stories and with that I would be removing them off Wattpad as well. Hopefully you guys are willing to support me and pay for my words going forth so I can make a full-time career out of this.

Thank you for a great 7 years. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to overcome the hate but I want you all to know I tried my absolute best. Despite the extreme lows, Wattpad changed my life. I hope the last two books I give you will do your expectations justice. See you soon!

P.S. please be kind going forward. If you see hateful messages or comments about Felix's book, inform the readers. Your help would mean a lot.

Love,

Amber Isabelle ❤️