Dear lovely ladies,
I hope this won’t come as too much of a surprise to you, but I feel it is time to end this chapter of my life. This will be my very last book club post on the blog. So very much has happened since I first put my Fifty thoughts out there, sharing on Fan Fiction in the hopes of finding my feet after my world had tilted on its axis, my views radically shifted because of a book I happened to buy.
Did you know that Meander was born from that moment? I never intended for it to get as big as it did, for garnering so many readers and, eventually friends, from all around the globe. All I meant to do was purge this story that I couldn’t let go, but instead it took me on a helluva’ ride, a journey of self-discovery that’s left me forever altered. I hope you know I was blown away by your overwhelming support as you embraced my story, all the reviews, the feedback, the patient (and sometimes downright impatient 😉) waiting for the next chapter, the mid-week teasers and the speculation, the encouragement and, like I mentioned earlier, the friendship that came along with this blog and the book club.
On the 13th of May, 2012 I posted my first chapter on Fan Fic with no more than a vague notion of saying goodbye. As you already know, that was not to be. 72 chapters later, with almost 400 000 words in Meander alone, a handful of short stories, a blog migration with a steady book club component, and just over 4000 reviews just on FF, saw me to this point in time, a time where I have to accept that all good things must come to an end.
Am I a little sad? Yes, hand on heart, I can say that I feel the sting of goodbye. 😔 From here we forged our own little world, first bound to Christian and Ana, and then later, we found each other in the books that followed. The commitment, love and time that’s gone into cultivating the blog, has been my privilege and I thank you for making it possible, for being there and always being so positive. The vast majority of you are silent readers, and I respect that, but know that I see you in my stats and views. I know you are there, the vocal ones (you know who you are, girls – we all do 😉😂) as well as those of you who choose to simply watch and read from the sidelines. I thank ALL of you for seeing me through.
But it is not all bad news. I’m not going anywhere, after all. I will still be here, the blog will continue hosting Meander if you ever feel the need to spend some time with my version of Christian and Ana. And despite the book club coming to an end, you can still see what I read and how I felt about that story if you follow me on Goodreads. Between the blog, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter and Co, I’m sure you’ll find a way to get hold of me should the urge ever strike ya.
Now, for the very last time, let’s chat books. Sadly, with another crazy week behind me, I didn’t get to finish anything, but Tripping on a Halo by Alessandra Torre, is proving to have a very interesting premise. Not sure where she is going with this quirky tale, but so far, I’m happy to go along with the trip.
Also, I’m still enjoying A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, book 6 in the Outlander series. As predicted, the sh!t did indeed hit the fan with more drama for my beloved pair. I think I handled it well, though. At least I didn’t have a sleepless night worrying about the characters. Let’s call that progress, eh?
I’m not sure where I’ll be going next, but please find me on Goodreads if you are keen to connect with my reading journeys. Also, it gives me the opportunity to see what books you are falling in love with. Click the link to find my Goodreads handle here.
With that, it’s time for my final farewell. For all the clicks and the likes, for all the reviews and advice, the suggestions, and the feedback, the constructive advice, that likes and the shares, the book suggestions and dissection of the Fifty movie franchise, for the jokes and the videos, the emails and chats, for keeping the blog a happy place despite differing views, for standing up for me when the occasional harsh review appeared, for being your beautiful and very best selves, thank you, lovely ladies. You’ve been nothing short of spectacular. MERRY CHRISTMAS! May 2019 bring you joy like you’ve never known and the peace I know we all want for our precious world.
In the evergreen words of Looney Tunes:
fifty shades of grey and more 