Dear Readers and Reviewers,

If you are reading this, then I am assuming that you have finished reading A Life to Pursue. Also, I am assuming that you are pissed, upset, angry, and disappointed. I have read your many reviews and messages, and I decided to answer the most common questions.

Firstly, I completely understand where most of you are coming from. I agree that I rushed this story, and it was thrown together. That is completely and utterly my fault. Honestly, I could have done a lot better with A Life to Pursue. The way I imagined it didn't exactly turn out the way I expected, but I still went with it.

However, you should all understand and consider the fact that I took a four-year break from writing. That's four years that I had to forget my story and my characters. When I came back to A Life to Pursue and decided to finish the story, I knew that I couldn't continue writing a story with characters that I lost a connection with. I didn't have my initial passion that I possessed when I wrote this story when I was only fourteen. As a result, I decided to wrap up the story as quickly as I could.

One reviewer asked me if the ending I planned was the same ending I wanted from the beginning. And the answer is yes. The way I ended things with Zane and Ryan is the original plan that I had for them and this story four years ago. I didn't want them to get together. I planned on writing a sequel to answer all the questions about Ryan and Zane, but I'm not sure if I will write it or not. So don't hold your breath.

Ryan's loss of passion for art is mainly a result of being left empty. She did paint after the incident, but she lost the spark that she possessed in order to make her art come alive. She lost Zane, who she loved. So she's empty and lost. She's not the same person she was. Skateboarding now terrified Ryan since she fell, and it's a constant reminder of the physical and emotional pain that she had to bear. It was all so overwhelming. She lost her inspiration.

She had doubts about submitting the contest, but Luke and Derrick as well as Cameron persuaded her otherwise. Art school was what Ryan always wanted. What she dreamed for. If she didn't have that, where is she going to go? What is she going to do? She didn't have a backup plan. Cameron was launching her modeling career. Daniel was working at So Real. She needed something to hold on to. I imagined Ryan going to art school, and thinking "Now what?" I wanted her to discover herself again. I wanted her to find a new inspiration.

And for all of you asking who Andy is: She was the character from my other story Dreams Only Last for a Night, which I deleted.

Oh, and the title Happily Ever After was meant to be ironic for those who did not seem to catch that. I love the drama of a non-happy-ending. I apologize for pushing your buttons.

Thank you all for reading the bumpy ride that was A Life to Pursue.

Sincerely,

Jodi