Well, here we are at the end of the first month of the new year. I don't know about you, but I feel like I've lived at least a year just this month.
Taking things back to Beary Fun was done on a whim. After giving John and Maddison some time on their own and seeing how well it worked it was easy to allow things to escalate. Establishing wider connections between all the characters gives me places to go and things to work with, which I need to keep things moving with the writing style I have. Since there isn't really a main antagonist the plot has to be driven by the mundane sorts of things that regular people contend with. Of course framing it inside a poorly planned coffee shop, or a weird pizza place, is a little more fantastical but I'm sure there are parallels in everyone's regular lives.
For Evrina things have been pretty emotional. Having the conversation with Jess before having Reggie and Alex show up, plus Carol appearing for her to lust after, it's been quite a ride for her.
John has added Maddison to his list of possible pairings in the minds of several readers. Which brings him up to 3 now I think. A lot of people are still going for AlexXJohn, but VictoriaXJohn isn't giving up. Now there's another camp pulling up for MaddisonXJohn. Even I can't say who will win. I do think that he and Maddison would make a good couple though. She isn't very intellectually challenging, but she's extremely keen and kind. I suspect she would be happy to hunt ghosts because she's basically happy to be anywhere. There's a case to be made for all of them and people often do. I guess we'll see where it all goes together.
There are stories to tell yet and I hope to get to the "final" part of Nina's backstory this year if I can. It's one of the last things from the earliest versions of the story that I've never gotten to. After I've done that arc I think I won't be quite so worried about my own mortality because I will have illustrated the last very old, very important, thing to establish her core structure at long last. After that I'll be able to move along without the weight of it hanging over me, or the worry that I haven't told the story.
It will be an adventure for all of us. I hope you will stay with me for it.