So. Coliseum is now on a permanent hiatus. I'll explain exactly why this is, and what exactly this means. I'm not going to leave everybody hanging because, while it may seem that I am cruel right now, I'm certainly not that cruel.
I'll start by saying the all the storylines that I began for Coliseum, its complete outline and whatnot, will see the light of day. It is all canon in my universe for Seb and Paris, and I am not going to leave it right here, just after Braelyn has called. As I said, I'm not that cruel. I do, however, think that this story is done. I will probably not post anymore of it on FictionPress. Again, please hear me out, because it is not all bleak, I promise. I have quite a few readers, way more than I ever, ever expected, and I do feel that I owe you all an explanation, so you're going to get that.
This is like a break-up; I want to say "Oh, I don't feel like it's working out" or something like that. Which is basically it, in a nutshell. I love these characters, I really, really do, and I know exactly where their story is going, and I believe that I could make a pretty good story out of it. To be honest, when I wrote The Eiffel Tower, I thought I was a decent writer. I've now got some university education under my belt, and my English marks are only rising, so now I know that I'm a decent writer. Not a good one, but decent. And that may sound arrogant, yes, but the point is, I know that I could write this story. I even want to, in a way. I want to tell you all exactly what happens to Seb and Paris, and I don't want to leave this characters behind. However, I was happy with the end of The Eiffel Tower, and it was only because of my own want to play with these characters, combined with all of you readers, so clamoring for more, that I decided to write a sequel. I've realized that it doesn't need a sequel. I did pretty good the first time around, and I'm actually happy with it. So I really do need to leave it be.
Also, while I did know where I was going with Coliseum, I just wasn't having an easy time writing it, and it did show in my writing. I know a few of you pointed out that Seb and Paris didn't click as well as they previously had, and personally, I knew that the story was going to get soap opera-like again. I mean, reading a whole story of them happy wouldn't be particularly interesting, so I don't think it's a surprise that I was going to put them through a bit of a wringer. Just a bit. But thinking of the storyline, it just seemed like overkill, like too much, and as I said, I was happy with The Eiffel Tower. I'm happy ending it there. So that's what I'm going to do. It's not ideal timing - as in, I wish I had figured this out before starting this one, but it has to happen, I think. It's for the best, and no, I'm not just saying that.
I will leave the first three chapters up. As I said, they are canon. It would have been in Chapter Four that the first bit of plot well and truly kicked off, so I've decided not to let it really get going. Furthermore, I will be making available other chapters as well because many later ones are finished, and it would be a shame to waste them. Since I am considering all of this canon, there is no reason that I can't share them with all of you. Also, I have so many unfinished scenes, just bits and pieces really, that I am free to share as well, little bonuses I guess, so you'll get that as well. As I said, I'm not going to leave you all high and dry. You've all been way too good to me for that.
Now, this is the actual good news. I wasn't lying when I wrote in my profile that I was rewriting Coliseum. I am rewriting it, with huge, huge changes. The biggest thing is, it's going to be Gabe Laken's story now. Which, thank God, because Gabe is one of my personal favorites, as well as a favorite for many readers, and so it just works out really well that I can use him as a lead. I always thought about following up The Eiffel Tower with a story about Gabe - it may have even been suggested to me by a few readers as well. I had scrapped that idea, obviously, but I think it's a much better fit. It won't be such a soap opera for Paris and Seb, and it'll be a new story. Because really, for Paris and Seb, a sequel would mean ruining some of the happiness that they found in The Eiffel Tower because I would need a plot. That's just not as much fun as possibly giving Gabe his own happiness, to be honest.
What does this mean? This means that everything I had planned for Coliseum will now be just the subplots of Gabe's own story, which is titled Electric Feel. So, as I said, all canon, and the extra chapters and scenes from Coliseum will be just bonus tidbits, different points of view to see some situations that Gabe will also deal with. It will actually work out pretty well, a situation where I can have the best of both worlds. That's what I'm planning right now, because honestly, I don't see any reason why I wouldn't keep what has been going through my head, even if it doesn't become its own story. Not that it couldn't change, but I don't think it will, just as I'm not going to say that I'll never return to Coliseum, but right now, I would say it's unlikely. However, I hope you can all forgive me for this, and I think the fact that it's Gabe will help with that, really.
I am really thankful for all the support that both The Eiffel Tower and Coliseum have had, and hopefully, you'll all enjoy Electric Feel. Now, I didn't want to leave you with just a semi-bleak message, so I have posted the first chapter of Electric Feel, if you want to check that out. Please, any feedback, I would love to hear it since I'm obviously changing things up a bit, and I'm really interested to know what everyone's thinking. So, thank you, everyone, thank you so very, very much. I really can't express how thankful I am for all the readers I have gotten over the years, it's truly insane to me. So, thank you.