Book 1 Author's Notes

Hello everyone! Boy, uh... how about that Book 1, huh?

I like to do Author's Notes as full chapters only after pretty major events. For those of you who have stuck around for quite a while, you're probably aware that I also took a lengthy break after the Cabal War finished up, that one was for around a month. I'm doing something pretty similar right now – most likely it'll end up being slightly extended due to fun and exciting times going on in my life right now that I don't want to get into too much; good things, but personal all the same.

So to get to the point in plain language: Book 2 will likely not start until sometime around early May, or potentially mid-May if things line up better around that time. I know delays aren't fun, but it gives me time to set up a few things both in- and out-of-story.

For those of you wondering why I'm labelling this Book 1, it's because this feels like a much bigger shift than the rest of the story's twists and turns. Without giving anything away, there will be a pretty drastic shift in how things play out from Book 1 to Book 2, and I hope that it's enjoyable for everyone, both in terms of how each chapter reads and in terms of the overall direction the story starts to take now. John's path has been changed a lot from his carefree roots... and it's safe to say he won't be satisfied laying around in Springfield for long, whenever he eventually returns to the old world.

And in case you're wondering – no, I have no idea how many "Books" I will end up creating, because I'm not entirely sure where I will divide them in the future. I have the story laid out in my head but I don't feel comfortable labeling where each book begins and ends until I get there, honestly. I was hesitant to use the term "book" at all, because I grew up with a lot of trilogies, and the "Hero's Journey" that resolves in three arcs, etc... that all feel too constrictive. But my favorite animated series (Avatar: TLA, for the record) used Books and went to 4, and creative mediums as a whole have sort of moved away from trilogies being the ultimate, most desirable length of series, so I decided the term was good enough, especially for a written work.

With that out of the way...

This story has gotten me attached to it – in a way I'll admit I didn't fully expect it to, nearly 200 chapters ago when I began. Most of my works have not been this expansive, and none have lasted this long with me as active as I am now. While I've slowed down a lot – from three chapters a week, to two, then to one as I do now – I think the quality has increased in some measure to go along with that. I no longer feel as rushed or hurried on most deadlines, and so getting through the chapters I'm less motivated to complete has been easier because I have more time and don't have to slam out as many words for no reason. It makes me feel a bit better about the story as well, because I feel like my chapters have gotten longer, but more impactful, and I no longer feel the need to interrupt major moments or put big cliffhangers in long conversations for the sake of cranking out 2-3 chapters a week.

I hope that has come through... and speaking of seriousness of my chapters...

I know the end of this Book is quite a surprise for many readers, especially in a genre/story that borders between Shonen, Harem, and straight-up Erotica anime styles depending on the branch and arc. I know those aren't really the kind of genres that are normally conducive to that heavy of a tone shift. I like to think that the build-up, foreshadowing, and writing style came through in all of it, but I know for some it will inevitably fall flat.

To those who had emotions invoked by this story but continued on because they enjoy it enough to justify some hard moments, I applaud you. To those who were disappointed by choices I made but appreciated the story enough to continue overall, I thank you for your appreciation and kind words. To those who quit reading due to one of the two major decisions I made so far (and to those who quit for any other reason), I thank you so much for your time. I don't blame anyone for stopping. I mean, I know they probably won't see this anyway, but I appreciate anyone who tried my branch out, even if they disagreed with my direction at some point.

To those left, I have a few things to say!

First of all - in case anyone was worried this will be a "Game of Thrones" style branch (book or TV series) – the answer is no. There will be no Red Wedding, and I'm not going to be killing characters left and right just to make you nervous about your favorite characters. While I'm far from perfect, most things I do are in order to set up future points or turn the story in a new direction.

On that note, though I can't promise anything specific, I hope that Book 2 will pay off a lot of moments from Book 1. I have no idea how long Book 2 will go on for, though, so buckle up for the long haul... but there were lots of things I wanted to do but needed to set up and give their proper time to stew. I'm bad at foreshadowing without giving things away, so... just hang tight. And maybe if you're wanting to more directly ask about something you think might be significant...

There's an upcoming Q&A! I've never done one so far in this branch but I thought it would be fun to try out to break up this massive delay in chapters, and also as a celebration of the end of the first book. The setting/style will be a sort of behind-the-scenes/cast-interview, where everyone who has been in a "scene" of my branch of The Gamer so far will be getting interviewed and take questions from the audience. Basically "John Newman" will be played by the actor John Newman, and the same with the rest of the cast, acting as if they're all filming an ongoing TV series.

Bit of fourth-wall breaking, bit of meta, bit of humor, all sprinkled over honest answers to questions. I won't give any direct spoilers away, but if you have anything you wanted to ask the "cast" of my branch, go ahead and check out this link! I only left one field, but you can use multiple lines and ask as many characters as you want a question – but only one question per character, please! This Q&A should come out some time in the next month, depending on how fast questions come in.

On a similar note, if you haven't already, check out this chapter here for details on joining The Gamer's Discord! We have a very active community and tons of discussion on everything under the sun. Every branch has its own chat channel, and there are tons of off-topic rooms to discuss your favorite hobbies in.

Finally... thank you all one last time for reading this far. I do write the story in my head how I want to see it turn out, and I always try to write characters for myself so that I'm proud of the story I create, but I'd be lying my ass off if I said that I don't appreciate everything you guys do for me and the appreciation you've all shown for this branch. Views, likes, comments, direct feedback (both positive and constructively critical)... it's always so great when you can share something with a community and have them enjoy it, and also show you how much they enjoy it, and what they want to see from it in the future.

I hope to have Book 2's first chapter up and running sometime in early or mid-May and we can all pick up this journey again together. Until then, don't let the lack of updates cause you any grief or fear.

If you've seen nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times.