After several years battling a chronic illness, I'm finally well enough to write again. Although I probably won't have too many more forays into fanfiction, I still find it a wonderful way to try new techniques and get feedback on my writing. It's a different type of feedback from my critique group. Hey, sometimes we all need a :) or a good job instead of a biting diatribe.

If you're reading my profile, I hope it means you read one of my stories and enjoyed it. If so, thank you for reading. I hope I can hold your interest through the final chapter. If I failed, I apologize.

Lady Khali

P.S. Are you guys happy now? My profile's no longer a blank page.

P.S.S. Although the image manager looks beyond cool, please do not ask me to create art for any of my stories. My stick figures look like something drawn by a reasonably competent eight-year-old, not something I want the world to see.

AO3: archiveofourown (dot) org /users/Lady_Khali http:///users/Lady_Khali

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kristlechester

Since FF makes you do the copy/paste/edit insanity for everything other than twitter and google, I've pinned the wattpad links to the top of my Twitter account.

WattPad: wattpad (dot) com /user/KristleLC https:///user/KristleLC

Website: https : / / kchester (dot) com

First Apprentice (serialized novel in progress): wattpad (dot) com /story/123517817-first-apprentice https:///story/123517817-first-apprentice

Note, this is a completed novel at approx 60,000 words with an 80,000 word sequel currently running through my critique group. It posts one chapter at a time on Fridays.

09/29/2017: There's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and now Harry Potter and the Cursed Fanfic aka The Well Groomed Mind/Mind's Guardian. I'm not going to get into all the real life issues that reared their ugly heads every time I picked up this story or how I simply couldn't write a Sirius Harry discussion that made me happy or even the nine-month-old english cocker spaniel who likes to hang on my arm while I type. (Typing in bed with a blue tooth keyboard is my new thing...) I do have it outlined through the end of the book and hope to continue working on it and finally wrap this thing up.

On another note, about a year ago I was made aware that a certain forum not affiliated with FF or AO3 had picked up WGM and basically torn strips out of it. Without naming names, I will say I read your comments and laughed. Perhaps it escaped your notice, but your forum likes a certain variety of dark Harry Potter stories. That's fine. I personally enjoy those myself. However, WGM is not and will never be the type of story your forum membership enjoys. My Harry is a self-interested little brat, whose sole goal in life is to be left alone by both sides. He has zero desire to fight, create his own side, lead the dark/light, etc. He simply wants to get well and move far away. That's it.

Years of participating in critique groups and submitting to various publications under both my own name and various pens have given me pretty thick skin. Luckily. If it hadn't, my writer alter ego would still be curled up in a ball, rocking in a dark corner some where never to emerge again. Words do have weight. When you tear into a fanfic because the writer didn't take it the direction you wanted, you've both defeated the purpose of fanfic and possibly killed the the next Jane Austen years before a modern day Sense and Sensibility sees daylight. If you don't like the direction, there are hundreds of thousands fanfics out there. If you don't like the direction, go read something else. Better yet, go write your own.

Did this forum impact my ability to continue WGM? No. My 13-year-old malinois died almost a year and a half ago, my parents recruited me to help with several business ventures (basically a second job), etc. Still, I look back on my reaction and wonder how many people stopped writing because they read comments like yours. (If you're someone who has stopped, PM me either here or on WattPad for encouragement and critiques.)

11/01/2014: I'm back! Sort of. I've started rereading The Well Groomed Mind, planning new scenes, and placing major events on a timeline. That's progress, right? (Nod your head.) Why haven't I written? Shortly after I posted my last chapter, my grandmother began exhibiting signs of dementia. I cleared every non-essential project off my schedule and spent that time with her. Best decision I ever made. About six months ago, she broke her hip. I don't know if it's the morphine they slipped her when we weren't looking (opiates and dementia do not mix), trauma from the injury itself, the permanent disruption of her daily routine, or simply dementia's cursed progression, but she no longer recognizes me when I visit and hasn't for the last several months. She's still happy to see me. We laugh, cut up, and retell old stories she still remembers. I've become her "coffee girl". She may not remember my name, but she does remember my press pot! Guess the coffee makes a better impression than I do. She now has aides during the day and no longer needs my assistance for breakfast and lunch. I still eat supper with her a few times a week, but that's not as mentally taxing so I'm back to writing. My original is currently running through my critique group. I have another in pieces. Fan fiction isn't at the top of my to do list, but it's back on it. It's fun. I love the community here and can't wait to start posting again.

7/16/2012: There seems to be some confusion about this, so let me clarify a few points. The Well Groomed Mind is a two book series. What is currently posted is book 1 in its entirety. Since FF does not offer a series grouping, the book isn't marked as complete and book 2 will be posted as part of the currently posted book.

Re: FF's Recent Story Deletions: While I wish FF's take down method turned the story into a draft instead of deleting it, I respect them for enforcing a policy that has been in place for ten years. By contrast, AdultFanfiction has consistently enforced their 'no writers under 18' policy. In my opinion, FF is finally catching up with them. This is a good thing. There are laws in the US intended to protect children from internet porn, including the written variety. The more explicit stories on the site expose FF to take down notices, law suits, and potentially prison time because the site is not setup to protect children from MA/X rated content that is incorrectly labelled M. I applaud them for finally administering their site. That being said, as a fanfiction writer I prefer AO3's business model (non-profit). I like the direction AO3's headed and the initiatives their involved in, but I will continue posting on FF.

10/22/2012: I posted the first chapter of The Mind's Guardian, known on FF as The Well Groomed Mind Part 2. There seems to be some misconception about Well Groomed Mind being a WIP. Allow me to clarify. The Well Groomed Mind refers to Part 1, which is a complete work. The Mind's Guardian refers to Part 2, which is a WIP. On sites that offer a sane method of managing serial works, they are TWO separate books. So glad we straightened that out.

A short rant about Deathly Hallows and civil wars (posted here because I'm tired of typing this into reviews)

I've always believed Harry Potter at it's core is simply a retelling of a disneyfied fairy tale. I'm sure some of you are yelling in outrage about now. After all, the series did grow progressively darker. It wasn't all goodness and light. To you, I simply say it had a happy ending. The bad guy died. Life went back to normal. The three main characters all lived happily ever after. (However much we may love Fred and George Weasley, they weren't the main characters.) From the beginning it presented a very narrow black and white view of the world. I'm not arguing this perception doesn't exist in the real world. I wouldn't. History is written by the victors. Pick up any history book and you will find a rose colored view of the winning side. For example, here in the states we teach our children World War II was a just war because the Japanese attacked us first. There are so many difficulties with this perception I don't even know where to start. All I will say is this. Germany wasn't the only country that imprisoned people based solely on their ancestry. Pot meet kettle. Admittedly, the two situations had different outcomes for the people involved, but that's almost beside the point.

War is a string of atrocities committed by all parties involved. The larger the scale, the higher the odds we'll need new words to describe the sheer horror of human ingenuity. Even then, words will always fall short.

Looking back, while the plot holes and logical leaps that made little to no sense irritated me greatly, Deathly Hallows depicts an almost cartoonish rendition of a civil war, tries to turn muggleborns into Jewish holocaust victims while utterly failing to comprehend how such a situation evolves over many years from the regime first coming into power to the final solution stage, and then has a happy-happy epilogue where every thing is right in the world and the main characters even get along with their old school nemesis, who incidentally was on the other side during the war. Civil wars do not work this way. You certainly don't return to the status quo after one or guess what...you get another civil war.

I'm sure some of you are shouting "it's a children's book, you moron!" at your monitors about now. To you, I say this. It is not a children's book. By definition, it is a young adult book. Young adult refers to a sector of the book market that is NOT clearly defined by age brackets. 55% of young adult book buyers are 18 or over. 28% of these buyers are between 30 and 44. 78% of the 18 or over consumers purchased the book for themselves. I can also think of several 'young adult' books that Amazon does not recommend for readers under age 18. This is the difference between Harry Potter or Twilight and The Mouse on the Motorcycle.