I am voyaging towards the unknown.

Slowly, I felt the paper against my hands as I crumpled it into a ball. Another one of those drafts written and yet remain unsent. The paper balled in my hands as I tried to squeeze in as much as I can. I am never good enough.

My phone rang. My agent. She had been calling me fervently over the past weeks, and somehow I am unable to face her or provide any excuses. “Your publisher is already waiting for that sequel”, “How many weeks will we have to wait?”, “Maybe you just need a new environment”, “I’ll book a hotel for you in Palawan”.

The phone continued to ring. I turned my phone over to hide the name of my agent, and let the ringing play over until it eventually dies.

How have I turned out like this? I traced my keyboard. Type anything. Any. Damn. Thing. And yet I was unable to write something. Have I lacked the passion I had when I was still starting out? Was the first few books just a beginner’s luck and my luck has eventually run out? My mind had been filled with plots then, and now, crack my brain open, and the emptiness feels so overwhelming.

It is time. This is the time. I have often wondered if I could venture out into a different genre, imagine the vast array of stories I am able to choose from. Somehow, mind started to be flooded with different ideas. My hands, landed on the keyboard, this time with a purpose.

To my avid readers,

Thank you for being with me throughout my journey when I was still starting out as a writer until I have come to accept it as my career.

You have all been with me as we accompanied Khreyan and her adventures and misadventures. From the five books we have all been with her, it had been a wondrous journey. Right now, the world of Amyr will seem to be far off as I will temporarily leave that world and write a new set of characters who you will love just as much as you have loved Khreyan.

One day, I will get back to her world, by then expect a conclusion to her story. Amyr is a vast world, and new stories will eventually be developed for all of my young readers and young at heart. As the people of Amyr would say “Thiero en swila.” Farewell, for now.