Author's Note:

Hey, guys.

I don't normally do this, and I really get irritated when I see one of these, but here I go, submitting an Author's Note as a faux chapter 11, getting people (maybe?) excited about nothing. Sorry 'bout that.

Anyway, I know I haven't updated in a long time, but I have two very good reasons for this (one probably way better than the other, but really, they're both important).

One, it's my junior year of high school and I have never in my life been so overwhelmed with school. I'm handling it nicely, you know, and I haven't felt truly stressed out in quite awhile, but it takes up a lot of my time, and what with that on top of volunteer hours and potentially adding work on top of that (there's a very good chance I might be getting my first real job, like with a paycheck and everything. How cool is that?), I want to spend my free time doing nothing. TV, reading, Internet. Things that don't make me think. (I think I have SAD, too-the weather here is so depressing and it makes me want to crawl in a cave and sleep till summer.)

Second, I'm kind of at a loss with what to do with this Internet version of the story. See, I haven't written anything new for a long time, but a few weeks ago, I finally got inspired enough to start working on it again - only, I'm revamping it a little bit. I think I have at last gotten chapter one the way I like it. I'm moving things at a little slower pace, trying to actually develop my characters and exploit as much as my world (which I am obsessed with) as I possibly can and still be tactful and interesting about it all. It's a real challenge, but my friend Karla (who becomes a raving, rabid fangirl when this story comes up in conversation XD) is somehow keeping me motivated, so who knows where this will all go.

However, I don't know what I'm going to do here on FP. Do I take it down? Do I replace the chapters with my shiny, new-and-improved ones? Or do I keep up what I have and just leave it at that, and keep the rest secret? If I was absolutely without a doubt certain I could finish this novel, I would definitely pick option three. (Okay, or one. I'm so paranoid about my stories. They're like my children.) I have re-planned the whole story (I knew where I was going, I just didn't know how to get there), I'm rounding out Alicia and developing her character a lot more (I've noticed she's kind of creepy and has the potential to be a Mary-Sue, which is not cool DX) and the whole bit. She's got normal healthy fears like clowns (evil!) and horses and thunder and small spaces etc, and all that goodness. She just doesn't talk a lot. And for a very good reason!

I think the point I'm trying to make is that I am really confused about where I stand with having this story online. I'll probably keep it up, since I couldn't bear to take it down after how hard I've worked for most of those reviews. (I'm shallow, okay? Sue me, I'm sixteen.) But I will definitely not be updating for quite some time.

And as a parting note, I have taken into very careful consideration all the reviews I am very thankful to have (:D) and I really am taking the criticism to heart and working hard to make my story as amazing as it can be. It has so much potential. I just need to stop being a lazy-butt and keep at it strong, and finishing it. Which is not my strong point. I rarely ever finish the things I start. D':

Anyway, I love you all, and I promise, this will not be the last you hear of Mal and Alicia! Whether I start updating again or I finish it over the next few years and get it published (a possibly very naive hope, but hey, if you're gonna dream, dream big), you will definitely be getting more. Not anytime soon. But someday.

Thank you for your patience and your reviews. :)

With love,

Hayley, aka The Lucy Program