elrhiarhodan

I've been going back and forth, debating with myself for the better part of two weeks, and as much as it pains me to do it, I need to put Return and Rebuild the Desolate Places on hiatus for a couple of weeks.

There is actually one more unpublished chapter and I thought about posting it today, but decided against it for a couple of reasons. Primarily, because Chapter Twenty ends with the most important scene in the whole story - the scene most readers (I think) had been waiting for. This is a natural point to pause and take a breather.

What comes now is the ending of the story, and there are still twists and turns and many problems yet to be sorted out. But there comes a point, when writing serially, that it becomes difficult to actually end the story - to find the natural point of conclusion. I need to take a few weeks and write the rest of the story in a single go, without the pressure of weekly posting - otherwise it feels like it might never come to an end.

The goal is to finish my White Collar Big Bang over the next week or so, then focus on finishing Desolate Places. I will recommence posting no later than the first week of October. If everything goes according to plan, I'll actually be posting sooner than that, but I don't want to promise and not deliver.

Thank you to all my readers who have been so patiently following this story, for leaving feedback and encouraging me for so many months. You have my deepest apologies for needing to take this hiatus.

And because it's Thursday, you all deserve this: