We Survivors [Original Draft]

Author's Note

Wow. I am so glad that I was able to finish this novel and share it with all of you. Your comments and support have meant so much to me during this process, and I can honestly say that I would never have finished without all of you. I mean, you guys all saw how long it took me to finish it even with so many of you eagerly awaiting the next chapter! In fact, I have been starting and not finishing novels since I was about 9 years old, and this is the first one I've been able to complete. Check it off the bucket list!

I should also note that I was horribly, horribly overdue with posting pictures from the Fan Art Contest to the story, but I have now added entries from sally1828, ariserose, and Ever_Winter to the chapters where their artwork fit best. Ever_Winter "won" the contest, so please check out her story "Earth's Survival" to support her work! And even though the contest is over, if you feel inspiration strike you can always contact me and I'll check out your work and include it in the story if I like it!

So what's next for We Survivors? Eventually I'd like to go through and make some major edits, and maybe even clean it up and try self-publishing it. Until then, it will remain on Wattpad in this draft form for you all to read. If you have feedback you'd like to share that could be useful when I start the editing process, go ahead and direct message me here on Wattpad because that's always so helpful! There were a few things noted a lot - Nadia cries way too much, there should be Jake chapters sooner than they are, requests for more of Nadia's and Jake's conversations before they meet, etc. - that I know I will be working through when I edit. If there are any more, do let me know! :)

The most common question I seem to be asked now is whether there will be a sequel. I have a pretty good idea of where I could go with the next installment, and a vague idea of how a trilogy could shape up. I love the characters and I think I will eventually come back to them and continue their story. However, I don't think I'll be writing or posting it for a while. I have some other projects that I would like to work on first, so I can let the sequel sort of stew on the back burner for a while.

However, some good news! While I did take a bit of a hiatus from Wattpad since finishing up We Survivors, I have been writing during that time. I have a new story that I am planning to start posting (if all goes well) next Friday. The story is called "Songs of Snow" and is a fantasy set in a sort of Nordic-inspired fairy tale-esque world. I do hope that if you have enjoyed reading We Survivors you'll check my new story out too!

So, again, I can't thank you all enough for reading, voting, and commenting on We Survivors. When I first started I never in my wildest dreams thought that I'd make it to #1 on the Science Fiction Hot List, or be Featured, or have 880k reads (and counting!). You are all such a great community on this site! 

I also wanted to post some of the timeline and milestones that We Survivors reached, mainly for inspiration to fellow writers here. It certainly didn't happen overnight so don't get discouraged! The best thing you can do is to read a lot, keep writing, and be an active member of Wattpad (read other writer's stories and leave positive comments, reply to anyone who comments on your story, enter contests, etc.). You never know - you may just find a whole group of readers who love your story, as I did. :)

[x] First Posted on Wattpad || 11/16/15
[x] Ranked on Sci Fi Hot List || 11/20/15
[x] 100 Reads || 11/24/15
[x] In Top 300 of Hot List || 11/28/15
[x] 500 Reads || 12/11/15
[x] In Top 200 of Hot List || 12/17/15
[x] 1K Reads || 12/19/15
[x] In Top 100 of Hot List || 12/23/15
[x] In Top 50 of Hot List || 1/15/16
[x] 5K Reads || 1/19/16
[x] 1K Comments || 1/19/16
[x] In Top 25 of Hot List || 1/24/16
[x] 10K Reads || 1/31/16
[x] 1K Votes || 1/31/16
[x] In Top 10 of Hot List || 2/9/16
[x] 25K Reads || 2/17/16
[x] SciKick Starts Winner || 3/2/16
[x] 50K Reads || 3/10/16
[x] In Top 5 of Hot List || 3/16/16
[x] 5K Comments || 3/17/16
[x] 5K Votes || 3/19/16
[x] 100K Reads || 4/22/16
[x] 10K Votes || 6/9/16
[x] Featured by Wattpad || 10/02/17
[x] In Top 3 of Hot List
[x] 25K Votes || 12/14/17
[x] #1 on Sci Fi Hot List || 10/24/17
[x] 500K Reads || 2/21/18

It also has reached as high as #7 on the Adventure Hot List and at some point got up to 50K votes. As I write this, it is slowly approaching 1M reads (currently 880K). I will be so excited if it gets there!

Again, thank you all so much for reading. I truly couldn't have done it without you.

- L.J. Thomas

P.S. Update - We Survivors reached one million reads as of November 2018, three years after I began writing and posting it on Wattpad. I have no words except that you guys are all amazing. :')