:evizyt:

I can't believe that it's been 12 years since I first entered the world of fanfiction. I was twelve in 2005 when I read my first story, and in late 2006 I started to write. Harry Potter and FanFiction have changed my life in innumerable ways, and the gratitude that I feel toward this community is indescribable.

A professor once told me that you should always keep reading, because there will come a time in your life that a book will get you through something for which there is no other way to get through. I believe that wholeheartedly.

There is so much joy and beauty to be had in writing. I encourage everyone to continue to exercise their empathy muscle with excessive reading and writing. I hope that J.K. Rowling knows that what she has created stretches so far beyond the wonderful, spectacular, and often humorous world of Harry and co. There is the delicate romance of Lily and James, the steamy back-room confrontations that (definitely) happened between Hermione and Draco, and, and the slow burning sadness of Snape. Hermione's delicate tragedies were my own; Lily's aggravation over James was my own. So much of my life has been quietly dictated by fanfiction -- book recommendations, my english major, the joy that I derive from honing my creative side. This world and others is such a beautiful place. Imagination is a commodity we cannot price. The elegant, simmering anger of Ahab, the coarse money of Jordan Baker, the pristine Aslan, the magic of Rand Al'Thor, the business intuition of Moll F., the brazen excitement of Lyra, the insidious worm Duke Roger, and the forever companion of our hearts, E Bennet.

Keep writing, friends. I know I always will.

000

PM me with any questions -- but I am not planning on abandoning any stories, I solemnly swear.

000

A note -- some of these stories were written long ago and contain some problematic ideas (I'm looking at you, Travesty of HF), that I no longer agree with. However, I'm going to leave them up, because they also contain other things too. And if reading them makes you think, then all the better.

000

My stories are erratically updated...eccentrically plotted...unintentionally ignored...inadvertently missed...reviewers spontaneously thanked...occasionally forgotten...eternally adored.

-xoxo evizyt