Dear Readers,
Please be aware that I no longer believe previous statements I had posted on this novel and on my page.
Unfortunately, evidence has been found to be lies and I don't feel comfortable keeping statements on my page that are not true, even despite the fact that I believed them to be true when I wrote them.
On a different note, if someone would be so kind as to remind me if soot is in this book please? I will take the time to go through and remove his character if he is. I honestly cannot remember and I do not have the time to go through this novels notes; it is exam season for me.
I am not comfortable with the idea of having any work at all published with his name on it in my name.
You are all very funny by the way. I still get notifications from time to time when people comment things. I am glad to see people still enjoy this book after all these years. I hope it brought you all the same level of happiness it brought me to write it.
To me this wasn't just a fan fiction, this was a novel with its own characters that I had created. I made the decision to make this novel a fan fiction in hopes that more people would read it, and it worked.
Stygiophobia isn't just a gay fanfiction. It's a slow tragedy being slowly woven into a fragile and broken man finding what it means to truly be happy. It's about what it means to accept yourself in your totality, and to give yourself the utmost grace in everything you do. To appreciate every day you have and enjoy it with your own will. To take what has broken you and push it aside, to stand even when you have fallen. Stygiophobia is about having an open mind, being able to listen instead of rage. To be gentle even when all you've ever known is anger, and suffering, and pain. It's about accepting sex and love for what it is, finding beauty even in what others find disgusting. It's about letting go of the past, and embracing the future. It's about standing up for who you are.
This book was always meant to have a strong message. I feel that I accomplished that in many ways. I often worry it was overshadowed by the fact that this is a fanficiton, but I know in my heart that what I wrote is something worth reading.
Take care everyone. And please, if you feel so inclined check out my poetry book. The earliest entries are not my best work, but the latest ones are quite passionate. I feel that they may resonate with some of you.
Much love,
Alexander.