Rise of the Dark Alpha

479  Author Note & Reader Shout-Outs!

Wow, I can't believe we made it! You are amazing.

For real, this book was a huge stretch for me. Despite the similarities of shape-shifter-goodness with Anima, the reality is that this book leaned heavily into contemporary thriller and tickled the toes of science fiction. When I first started writing it my husband asked me to describe the plot and I got as far as, "He's a guy who can shape-shift into a wolf because he's a scientific experiment run by the Bundaberg group and—"

And ever since my husband shakes his head every time something happens with Alpha and says "I just never expected your readers to want to go the CIA thriller route." (You and I both know that's really only at the heart, but I kinda like surprising him, so let's run with it.)

Anyway, trust me, I had a LOT of apprehension about this story and whether readers would take to it. Publishing for the first couple of weeks was literally nail-biting for me. To my very genuine surprise, right from the beginning instead of screaming at me, "Where's the romance?!" you kept talking about how breathless you were from the fast-pace and shifting worlds.

INSERT MASSIVE AUTHOR SIGH OF RELIEF HERE. (Like, for real, I still go a little shaky when I think back to those first few days…)

So, thank you for taking this very unique journey with me. Thank you for not giving up when things looked so dark.

Thank you for having your theories and sharing them with me in the comments (that's a serious joy to me!)

Thank you for loving Yhet with me, who remains my favorite character in this entire story (more on that in the Author Q & A that's coming next week) and for not going "WHY THE HELL DID YOU WRITE A BIGFOOT?" when he showed up.

Thank you for hating Nick, and loving Ernie. (For real, it was a belly-laugh surprise to me when y'all started calling for Ernie's later appearances and torture of Nick.)

Thank you for loving Zev even after he was deceived into so many despicable things. That is, perhaps, the most heartwarming part of this story to me, that he had taken steps and gone to lengths that in normal humanity we would often reject a person for, regardless of the circumstances. While I am, of course, NOT a fan of any of Zev's extra-curricular adventures, there are people in my life who have been twisted into events and "sins" that they deeply regretted. I know how precious it is when someone will love them anyway, and I'm so thankful to you that you didn't run screaming from this book after Zev's past was revealed.

And finally, just thank you for being here with me. For me as an author, literally the most satisfying part of a story is having it out in the world and getting to talk to people who love it. The fact that you do makes me feel loved. For real. So thank you.

I'm going to answer your specific questions during the Live author chats, and post the brief, written versions here later. But for those of you who've been here since the beginning (or close to it) I want to say thank you, personally. Now, I know many of you don't comment, or don't comment often, so you may have been just as loyal, or just as invested as these readers without me knowing or realizing. I want you to know that even if I don't know your name, I know you're there, and it means so much to me. Thank you! Thank you for being here, reading, and for supporting me as an Author.

Now, without further ado, the reader shout-outs:

Janell_Apple: Thank you for having as much emotion and investment in my characters as I do. For real, you are a gift to me. I pray God blesses you for the gifts you've given me.

PBMamaRae: Thank you for being a sister, a helper, an encouragement, and just for helping me write better. (Or help me know when I don't have to?) You are my safety net, and it's a balm to my soul.

Sravanthi82: You're a friend and I'm glad to call you that. Thank you for being here for Zev and Sasha and everyone else! I'm so glad I get to keep sharing my boys with you even when they're not on Webnovel. Thank you for being so willing to go with me!

Antonette_Wiggins: My giggle-factory! (*Insert cue-dramatic-music GIF here*) I always anticipate your comments, both here and on Facebook and Discord. Thank you so much for being more than a reader.

Kirstin_Peterson: Girl, you are my heart. Thank you for trusting me and for being a friend and not a fan. You remain in my prayers.

Amanda_Tippey: THANK YOU for adding your eagle eyes to my arsenal before the judging for the werewolf competition. That was a gift, and such a stress relief. You'll never know what a blessing you were!

Tessa_Whalen: I think you're my spirit-animal. I'm just saying.

DespinaNY: Your generosity and continued support have humbled me in ways you'll never know. You're an example to me, and I'm so grateful for ALL the journeys you've taken with me.

Metal_Mom: You never fail to make me laugh. Like, never. 1om: You never fail to make me laugh. Like, never.

Thank you also has to go to Melissa_Hayes, Cindi_127, Margaret_Mason_7304, Kendal_Michalak, Nyx1663, April_Guerita, Kathleen_Blessing, Amy_Spicer_Szarek, CarolineBarkuloo, Rose43, Annachomer, Daoist1twLHF, Veraworks, Maria_Daris, T_Ray6, Michelle_Stephens_4041, Sharne Pretorius, Debbe_Phillips, KaitMarie2003, Aoi_hoshi_cath88, Mariela_Valencia, and so many more of you who have continued to come back for more. (I am CERTAIN I have forgotten important people…) You bless my heart on a personal level just for being here and believing that I can take you on a journey. Thank you!

If I left your name out, just be certain that when I see you next I'm going to kick myself. My brain has holes the size you could drive a truck through (writing 4 webnovels at once last year aged me about 10 years, lol.) Please be certain that if you were forgotten, you weren't truly. You are a part of my personal journey as a writer here on Webnovel, and I am grateful every time I see or think about you.

Now… it's time. Time to move on to other things. There will be some new content coming in the next couple weeks. I hope you like it. But if you haven't already, I hope you'll visit linktr.ee/authoraimee and meet the two NEW heroes that I'm currently writing off of Webnovel (*cough* one of them is a lycan *cough*) But even if we never see each other again, if you made it this far… thank you. You have been the most important part of changing my life in the past year and I will go to my grave being grateful for you!