Voices

a u t h o r ' s n o t e

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for following me on this incredible journey. I'm really, really grateful that you decided to finish reading this book. Wow. Thank you! I want to enter this to the 2016 Wattys so I'd really appreciate your support. Thank yooooou!

It took me 2 years to finish it. I'm not even joking haha. I wrote a first draft that was set in a school but it didn't feel right so I scraped it and tried writing is from solely Lou's POV but it didn't feel right either so I scraped it again and went back to writing from Lou and Sam's POV but in a different setting and time and it finally felt right. You gotta listen to your characters, you know? I wrote at least 20k words for both versions haha.

I know I said I'd tell you why this book means so much for me so, here it is.

I came up with the idea for this book two years ago because, at the time, I had an obsession with mental health and wanted to raise mental health awareness (I still do) so tada, the idea to follow two teens who are going through anxiety and depression and are suffering in silence.

But as I continued developing the idea, it started becoming more and more personal. You see, if you didn't know, I have anxiety and depression as well and, in my culture, it's not normal to go see a therapist and most people in my situation will just end up going through it alone.

I channelled this part of me into Louisa and into Sam as well. I mean, I've never gone through anything as traumatic as losing my parents or my significant other (thank gosh), but I've also had my fair share of losses and pain.

What Lou and Sam thinks, about fear and not loving yourself and insecurity and such, I feel all that. I'm socially awkward, I love being alone, I'm scared of change. I just- Yeah, basically think of Lou and Sam, combine them, and you have a huge part of who I am.

I'm not ready to share the rest of my story with the Internet yet (and, if I'm being honest, I don't even know how to word it. It's all just a jumble of thoughts *cue TFiOS quote about constellations*) and I'm sorry for that but I promise you, I will someday.

Once again, thank you so much for following me on this journey.

I also really want to take this time to thank God for this book and for guiding me to where I am today. I'd never be here without Him.

I also have a book up on this awesome site called Radish Fiction, which is now available on both iOS and Android, called Paper Hearts and Sam will be a supporting character in there (yay for crossovers) so you could check that out too! If you don't know how Radish Fiction works, basically authors get the opportunity to put out their chapters for a very small price which the readers have to pay OR readers can wait for 7 days to read it for free. I really love the concept because I can earn a bit from doing what I absolutely love. Want to check it out? There's a sample up on my profile.

I also have another project I'm working on and as I've said, Project: Survival is sort of a prequel to that series the Enigma series. And yes, I am writing a series. I'm completely terrified with writing series but I thought I'd attempt one so, yeah. The Enigma series (more like a trilogy) will be out reeeeal soon. I promise. I just want to make sure everything is in place before posting it.

The Enigma series is going to be a Sci Fi Dystopian series, since I've been dying to write a Dystopian for ages. You see, my all time favourite genre is Dystopian Fiction, that's why. It's not perfect, and it's a very new kind of story for me to attempt but I do hope you'll stick around for that. I'm so excited for the series. The first book is called Illucisco so keep a lookout for that!

If you're more into Teen Fic or Romance kinda stories, do check out for You Had Me At Hello. It's honestly quite different from what I nornaly write, considering I've been writing a lot of sad or bittersweet stories. I've just posted the first chapter and I'm absolutely in love with how it's turning out.

Please check out 29 Words as well. It's a short story about leaving someone you love dearly (wanna know why? Check it out!). I'm entering it in the Wattys as well I'd really appreciate the support!

In the meantime, you can check out Project: Survival (and 29 Words, Until We Meet Again and If Only too please) and any other of my works.

Once again, I plan on entering this book in the 2016 Wattys so do share this book (eg tell your mum and dad and siblings and dog and friends and granny and give me a shoutout etc) if you can! I'd really appreciate the support. In return, if you want, I could give you a shout out or dedication, whichever you choose. Just tell me in the comments below!

I love you all so, so much.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share this story with the world.

Love,

Angelyn