Paper Trails 2 | Draft

Authors's Note

As an author, it's very easy for people to get confused. They see your characters are a certain way, and it becomes easy to think the author follows that same belief system. I've said it in the beginning of the first book, and maybe I didn't say it in the second so I'm saying it now. My characters views do not represent my views.

I don't agree with a lot of the stuff my characters do, say, and believe. But they're characters. They need to be realistic. They need to be complex. They need to change and grow ovetime. I'm not an experienced writer. Wattpad was my first and only platform. Before this, I never shared my works. It's scary, because I will always second guess myself. I will always believe my work can be better.

That being said, I want to stress the importance of loving yourself, respecting yourself, and knowing when you are in a dangerous situation. You don't need anyone else's love but your own. You can't expect someone to love you if you don't first love yourself. If you rely on others for love and happiness, you'll never be truly happy. Respect yourself! Know your worth. You're beautiful/handsome. You're amazing. You're you. Keep being you. There's nothing better. And know when to walk away. If you are in a relationship and you feel like you're not being treated the way you should be, don't be scared to walk away. Fucking do it. Go to police, go to family, go to friends for help. Because it can get bad. It can go far, and you may regret not walking away when you felt you should have.

I created a character with abandonmemt issues. She's felt alone her entire life. She couldn't find the love she needed from family, so she went looking in the wrong places. I created a character who (yes) gets attached to the wrong people. Yes, her love for Tyler was misplaced and so she got too attached. But she never experienced it before, so to her it was what it was.

Please don't be like her.

Find love within yourself. I promise that is all you need.

A lot of you believe Neila and Niccoló's relationship is abusive. In the beginning, it was. Most definitely. And when I knew I wanted these two to try being in a relationship, I had no plans of making it so "abusive". But I saw an opportunity to teach people the reality of it. It is so easy to break someone without even realizing it.

Nic doesn't mean to be abusive. That's all I can really say. I'm not defending him, I'm not saying that makes it okay.

He just...has issues.

He's still human. Humans are so flawed. We are so very flawed sometimes. Try to remember that.

Sometimes we go so far we don't know how to get back.

Lastly, I know these two books were an emotional rollercoaster. I want to kind of reel it in with this last book. Focus on Neila, and not so much on her relationship with Niccoló. Niccoló will be in the book, of course, but he's in prison so don't expect him in every chapter lol.

It's about Neila now. Whatever else happens, happens.

I hope you love it.

xx