Author's Note:

This story was originally written in 2016, and it was my first attempt at writing a story. I have learned a lot while writing it – and almost as much when editing it.

Originally, I had an outline that was supposed to be around 30 chapters long but, somehow, the story came to life and carved its own path with a momentum that ran on for 198 chapters. It ended up in the same general direction but came out with a far better quality and flow than I would have managed if I had followed my original outline.

When I had written the last word, the exhilaration of finishing my first book – after seven months and over a thousand hours of writing – was something I couldn't put into words. The exact thought that came to my mind was, "Wow, what a ride!"

Somehow, the story itself added scenes that I never dreamed of and made connections that I didn't even realize were there until I started to read and edit the story.

Since that first draft, which was rough enough to be used as sandpaper, this story has been through two major rounds of editing and several minor ones as I polished it up to reflect my improved writing abilities.

I wasn't alone in this monumental task; a handful of faithful and extremely helpful editors stuck by me throughout the last editing round. They put in hours upon hours of work as they tried to wrestle my typos, grammar mistakes, and comma blunders into something along the lines of proper English.

Please give a big round of applause to my editors!!! @Hippopatacampus, @FireAlwaysReturns, @Misain, and @bellasweetie15

And thank you to everyone who read and voted! I really do appreciate it! What is a writer if no one likes their books?

This was a fun experience, and I enjoyed many of the reader's comments. Thank you so much for our journey together. I truly enjoyed it.
  

Some statistics on the story:

This was my first story.

Writing Time: 7 months (I had it completely written before posting it – and it took me 7 months to write it, devoting all my spare time to my newfound obsession.)

First chapter was posted on August 19, 2016.
Completed: August 31, 2016. 

First major edit: October 21, 2017
Second major edit: November 12, 2018

Story length: 495,000 words (Roughly 870 pages in a word document – single-spaced!)

If this story has you wanting more, I also wrote it from Laura's POV in a different book.

For my current cover, I would love to give a huge thank you to Jimena Vivanco (@JimenaVivancoo )!

Many of my readers know that I strive for perfection in my writing. Well, the same applies to my covers - and Stiles had the patience of saint during a two-week-long ordeal where I bombarded her with countless revisions, alterations, and tweaks.

Somehow, she remained patient with me and my numerous requests. And I simply cannot fathom how she managed it.

As for how the cover turned out... Wow. They say a picture says a thousand words, but I am completely speechless. With grace and elegance, she managed to pull off a cover that I had been dreading re-doing due to what I wanted and how I wanted it done. And I know I am fussy, so much so that most cover artists simply tell me that what I want either isn't within their abilities, or they don't want to make that many revisions.

I honestly cannot give her enough credit for her stunning quality of work and attention to detail, for her patience, for her cheerful responses that replied to each and every request for change or modification, and, most of all, for her willingness to put up with my relentless drive for perfection.

Jimena, you have my heartfelt thanks.

Covers & Artwork:

Here are some other covers that have graced the cover of this book or have been graciously created by other people.

My previous cover:

 This cover was actually made by someone on the Wattpad Graphic design team - and I was very surprised (and touched) when they sent it to me. 

The below cover was created by @Lord_Argon  

The below cover was made by @crookedaydreamer

The Cover below was made by FleezyWriter (Very impressive - and a huge thank you to him!)

This fanart was made by @SierraJohnsonHinson

The fanart below was made by @Viupcake - of Diane sitting in a tree and sharpening her knife in chapter 56

The cover below was made by chinesewaffles  

This ingenious fanart was actually a cupcake made by ToriAndHolly (remember the 'Dice' ship? Diane-Ace)