A Love Like Ours

THANK YOU

To my lovely readers,

I hope you left me some truly outraged comments on the final scene of the last chapter because it'll make this all the more enjoyable to reveal:

You didn't seriously think I'd end the book on that note, did you? :)

Well, if you did or you didn't, I've got good news for you—an epilogue is DEFINITELY in the works! My hope is to post it next Friday, usual time, but that particular day is already filling up for me, and I figure everyone is going to be busy with Dunkirk anyway. So it might take 1-2 weeks, but it IS coming your way.

Now, did you watch the video up above? If not, I hope you will cause there's some pretty cool news about a BRAND NEW BOOK that I won't be posting on Wattpad because I'll be SELF-PUBLISHING it instead! And I'm gonna need some of your help with that, so please check it out. (Soz for the not-so-great quality, I filmed it on my phone). That's me btw lol.

Now, let's get into this. Because as usual, when I started reaching the end of this book, I began having a lot of thoughts. I think it's pretty hard not to get nostalgic when you reach these kinds of milestones. I mean, another year of my life has come and gone, and a large part of that year was spent with these characters—listening to their thoughts, feeling their pain, sharing in their laughter and love. I know I sound like a crazy person lmao, but it's true. Harry and Madelyn had quite the journey this time around, and once again, I feel like I've grown right along with them.

This book was a challenge for me in every sense of the word. I knew I wanted to test these characters, because I knew that their love was as strong, as durable as it gets. But little did I know how hard it would be to pull them apart the way I did. How difficult it would be to have them so thoroughly misunderstand each other. How challenging it would be to guide them back to each other.

Because so much went into this—and so much of it was stuff I'd never experienced before myself. So many of their decisions were choices I'd never make myself. (Or at least, I don't think I would. Like I said, I've never been in many of these situations—I'd like to think I'd make better choices, but who the hell knows.) So, every step of the way, I found myself questioning what was "realistic." Would Harry be able to forgive her? How? What would Mads have to do—what would she have to prove in order to earn his forgiveness? Would he ever be able to love her again? Trust her again? Would he ever be able to look at her again and see the girl he loved, not the mistakes she made? Would Mads truly be able to redeem herself?

These were things I had glossed over in brainstorming this plot, sure that what I had in mind would work. You already know I don't plan my plots down to each detail—I have major plot points in my mind and I just sort of run with them. So when I reached each pivotal moment for Mads and Harry, I found myself faced with all kinds of doubts, all kinds of questions, but the ones that kept coming back for each of their breakthroughs were: Is this realistic? How can I make this as realistic as possible?

I'm still learning—in life and in writing. And I like to think I've learned something new every day in the process of crafting these stories, but particularly this one. It was my biggest challenge yet.

But I think the biggest thing I learned from this story (and the thing I struggled to come to terms with most) is this: "Reality" is completely subjective. My reality is different from your reality. My reality is different from Madelyn's reality. Madelyn's reality was different from Harry's reality. And so on and so forth. Just because I wouldn't have made the choices Madelyn made, doesn't mean they aren't "realistic". Just because something might not seem "realistic" to me doesn't mean it hasn't happened to someone else. People from all over the world go through all kinds of things—good and bad—that I may never have to go through over the course of my life, and vice versa. That's reality. I may never have two men as wonderful as Rob and Harry after me, and that's my reality—but it could very well be the reality for another lucky lady somewhere in the world, and that's her reality.

You see what I mean? Or am I just talking nonsense? I think my point is that while I struggled with the details of this part of Madelyn and Harry's story, this was their journey, and my job wasn't to judge it—it was only to convey their reality as truthfully as possible.

And I NEVER could have anticipated the kind of undiluted PASSION that you guys would respond with. Every chapter, your comments challenged me even more because you challenged THEM even more. Your emotions, your questions, your honesty and insight all made the writing of this book that much more difficult, but that much more rewarding. Because I never wanted to let you down almost as much as I didn't want to let myself down.

You pushed me throughout the writing of this book. And because you pushed me, I grew as a writer. And I'll never EVER be able to thank you enough for that.

How we've reached this point—where I now have FOUR completed books under my belt, one still in the works, and Book Three of this series still to come—is BEYOND my wildest dreams. And I'm sure I would've reached this point eventually (I love writing too much to be doing anything else) but I'm not sure it would've happened this quickly, this early on in my life, if it wasn't for your support. If I didn't know that I had a bunch of people from all over the world rooting for me each week, I wouldn't have reached this point today. I'm sure of it.

So, THANK YOU for always being there. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for pushing me. Thank you for being excited with me. Thank you for feeling so much for my characters. But most of all, thank you for being my friends. Even with this little dream of mine, I never imagined I'd find friendships like the ones I've found on this journey. And I consider myself SO lucky to have gotten to know you all in this process.

Book Three is still untitled. I'm still in the brainstorming stage—I only have a couple of major plot points in my head. But I can tell you that it's going to be structured a little differently than the first two, and that means I'm going to need a little bit more time to plan it. Yes, I'm FORCING myself to plan it, haha. So, I'd like to give myself that time to ensure that when I do start posting, it's something worth reading—and it's something I'm proud of. Between that and the fact that I'm going to be self-publishing my other book (which is called "Trace the Edges" btw--see the video above), I've decided to hold off on posting Book Three until September. I hope you understand, and I REALLY hope that you're as excited for this next chapter in Madelyn and Harry's story as I am, and that you won't mind waiting a little bit for it to arrive :)

So, this is it. The end of A Love Like Ours. I'm a bit of a mess, to no one's surprise, haha. But I hope you've enjoyed every moment of this story (even the torturous ones lol). I know I have. And I hope you'll help me keep this story and Out of the Ordinary active in the coming weeks. Tell your friends about them! Reread! Let me know what you might've missed the first time around :) Or if you're looking for something a little different, check out my Radish stories! Somewhere in the Middle is completed here on Wattpad, and I'm about halfway through the sequel, Crossing Boundaries on Radish, too. Not to mention, you'll be able to read Trace the Edges soon enough! And I can't wait.

In the meantime, I'm more than likely going to be rereading bits and pieces of OOTO and ALLO as I dive into Book Three (and bc I'm sure I'm gonna be dealing with separation anxiety) so I'll be around. Believe me, not posting here is going to stress me out—I'm gonna miss it so much. But I'm planning to use the time wisely, including posting more of Maddie's Journal, and I'll try to answer whatever comments I've missed on both books, too.

*SIGH* Okay... just... THANK YOU.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. You've become my biggest support system over the course of this journey, and I can't wait to see what we can do together in the future.

I'm endlessly grateful to each and every one of you.

So, with all the love in the world, I'll see you in Book Three.

Laura. xx