explosion (jay halstead / one chicago)

final author's note: what now?

alright, here we go - this book is finished. it's pretty surreal to me because it feels like i only just started writing down liz's and jay's story a few weeks back. anyway, in this final part i wanna take the time to thank you all, say some things about the non-happy ending, tell you about the sequel and what else is next.

first of all, i wanna sincerely thank each and every one of you for reading this story, and for continuing to read it until the end. i'm beyond grateful for the response to 'explosion'. i would never have expected any of my stories to get more than maybe a few hundred reads, and we're at 27k as i'm writing this. one of my main principles is to not look for success through certain achievements in numbers since i strongly believe that the content i create is more than worth it as long as there's at least one person out there whose day it will make better or who it will make smile. but still, seeing all of your support in reads, votes, comments, and rankings warms my heart every day.

honestly, thank you so much to everyone who has read this story, and even more to those who have left a vote or comment, or sweet message on the way. i'm not going to name anyone here since i'm scared i'll forget people when i'm put on the spot, but you guys know i'm talking about you and i read every notification, so i know it too. this story has been my first attempt at writing again in a while, and i was in a really bad place mentally when i started it. i'm a lot better now, and writing, as well as interacting with you guys, has played a key role in that. i can't put into words how much your support means to me, so thank you! ❤️

now where does the ending of this story leave us? i know that most of you were probably hoping for a happy ending for liz and jay, and i get that you might be frustrated, because hey, i would have liked that happy ending for them, too. the truth is, this story was planned to have a sequel from the start, with the first book ending this way, and the sequel picking up a few years later. in fact, seeing that so many people are reading this story, i thought a lot about giving it an alternative happy ending for those who do not want to read the sequel, but i won't do that for now, because a happy ending just doesn't sit right with me at this point. maybe i'll do it one day, but i won't promise anything. i'm sorry to disappoint you with this ending. if you're looking for a happy one, i advise you to read the sequel and you might find it there...

having said that - the sequel to 'explosion' is called 'remorse', its prologue is online now. you can find the story on my profile, and it would mean the world to me if you give it a chance. 'remorse' takes place a few years after 'explosion'.

if you enjoyed 'explosion', and you like what i do, feel free to read 'remorse', or my upstead story 'scripted reality'. i have quite a few ideas for more one chicago / jay halstead stories in the future, so if you like my writing, it wouldn't hurt to give me a follow either. if you wanna support me even more, then give me a follow on here and on instagram ( @ written_by_maya on there, too), because i'm trying to get professional with my writing, and every support i can get means more than you can imagine!

other than that, i will majorly edit 'explosion', hopefully still this month. i will edit chapters, make three sections, delete author's notes (nobody who is reading after this point cares about what i had to say months ago i guess), add chapter titles, and rewrite the prologue in third person to make it fit with the epilogue. more importantly, though, i will change the storyline and characters a bit to make it fit a particular season, namely season 4 of pd / season 5 of fire, so it will fit with the sequel starting off in season 7. i might also change liz's looks a bit.

again, thank you so much for everything! i hope you had fun reading this book, because i surely had fun writing it, and i hope to see you all again reading and writing other stories ❤️