Thank Yous
Dearest SMTM readers,
---What a ride it has been! To think that the idea for this story came to me while on holiday during the summer of 1996 and has now culminated as a 58 chapter saga is simply mind-boggling. When I started writing this fan fic in 1999, I had very little vision and hardly any writing experience. I was 14, and I figured that this was the best way for me to play out my silly Backstreet Boys fantasies. However, more elaborate plot ideas soon started to bubble up in my head and voila- SMTM was born.
It might sound lame, but I can honestly say that I don't know where I would be today without this story. It is thanks to this medium that I've been able to develop my passion for the written word. My life is richer for it, and it's all thanks to YOU.
So to begin with, I'd like to thank each and every last person that has bothered to read my story. An additional thank you goes out to those of you who took the time to give me feedback; whether it was in the Message Board, Guestbook or through E-mail. Even those occasional less than stellar comments were appreciated, as it is all part of the learning process. I could never adequately express how much your words have meant to me over the years. I surely would have given up on the story ages ago had it not been for those few messages requesting new chapters. Likewise, thank you to all of those whom have stood by SMTM all these years- I truly hope that you've enjoyed the ride.
Now, I can't let this opportunity pass without mentioning four outstanding people I have been privileged enough to become friends with thanks to this story. In alphabetical order they are:
Alyssa: Lyss, what can be said here that I haven't already told you a million times? You are a genius, plain and simple! So brilliant and talented, it actually scares me. Thank you for constantly harassing me, and by so doing forcing me to write even when I wasn't in the mood. Thanks for all your help and inexhaustible supply of good ideas. You have been more help to me than you will ever realize. When it wasn't our fics, it was Buffy. When it wasn't Buffy, it was Harry Potter. With our endless supply of common interests, it seems fitting that the only thing on this earth that can keep us apart is a freakin' ocean! If only we lived on the same continent, I know we'd be the best of friends. Till May 2004!
Dayna: I'm sorry I made you out as such a floozy! It's nothing personal, I swear. Thanks for your support and encouragement. You've been such a great friend to me, and you're always such a blast to talk to. Dude, you gotta get that HP story of yours rolling! I'm dying over here.
Erin: The only one of the four I didn't introduce as a character, and the one I owed it to the most! How many fics have you finished in the time it took me to complete just this one? LoL Anyway my sweet, you are simply AMAZING! I've been more open with you than anyone else I know. You are so understanding, open-minded and easy to talk to... I just couldn't ask for a better buddy. Thanks for all your support and help through my writer's block. You kick ass, my Claynadian friend!
Rick: THANK YOU for ALL your support! You have been so encouraging over these last couple of years... I could never thank you enough. Thanks for all your enthusiasm! I'm still waiting for your demo tape in the mail, you know.
Now that the story is over, at least we still have HP to discuss LoL. There probably isn't anyone out there that shares my Potter enthusiasm the way you do. Our chats are always highly amusing, and I thank you once again for being so great.
Well guys, I guess this is it. I just have a few things left to say... I was 12 when SMTM was conceived, and I am 19 today. Naturally, there are many things about this fic I would change given the chance. I won't deny that there are certain passages that make me cringe just by thinking of them because they are so cheesy and lame. But if I am to be perfectly honest, I am still very proud of the way the story has unfolded in spite of it all. That said, I sincerely hope that you've had as much fun reading SMTM as I've had writing it.
That's all folks!
Andrea
2003