Anyone who is watching the index will have noticed something. During the last update of the database, my name fell off of the list of active authors. This means that it has been two and a half months since I have had anything in the Neopian Times. Those months have passed in silence from me for most of you, and the purpose of this open letter is to break that silence and explain what I have decided.

Ever since I have stopped writing for the Neopian Times, I have found myself in the position with a "public persona" that requires commitment and participation which I have not given it. As a result, I feel that I have left people dangling- expecting me to fulfill roles and duties that I have neglected. For anyone caught in any of these positions, please accept my sincere apologies. For the foreseeable future, here is what you can expect:

It’s hosted on the same site, although I consider it a separate project. I closed the author applications on it. I don’t plan on writing in it, but any current authors are free to do so. You know the rules, and as long as you abide by them, the playground is open any time you want to enjoy it. I have no plans on updating the system. Yes, I know there are lots of things that could be done (I know more than anyone just what the possibilities are) but at present I have no desire to put any creative energies into it.

Many thanks to Laura Cushing and her husband Aus for the dedicated work they put in on the project. You’ve done a great job of creating a writers’ and readers’ community, and you deserve congratulations for it. However, since I have been almost totally inactive since about the first two weeks, I think it only fair to publicly acknowledge that fact. I have already informed Laura of this privately, and let her know that she can (and let’s face it, should) change my access and responsibilities to those of a regular member. Again, this is another area that I have no plans on going back to.

If you didn’t know I was a member of it, then you can skip this paragraph. If you did, then you’ve figured out that I’m inactive as of way back. I do not plan to resume my activities there. I have notified Tdyans of this and told her to do whatever she felt best in regards to any rank or position that might apply to me. You have been a great bunch of people and it’s been a lot of fun knowing you. Everyone needs a support team, and I feel that I have had one in you. I only wish that I could offer some of that support back to you now, but my interests are going elsewhere. Feel free to stay in touch with me if you want!

As for writing in the Neopian Times itself, that too has reached an end. Partly it was my decision, partly it was the new editor’s. I did send in some submissions at first, but when none of them were published, I decided it was time to let it go. I know that I could have done more to get in- I could have contacted people personally, I could have tried more often with more pieces, and any number of other things. The point is that I decided it didn’t mean that much to me, and that I would enjoy my freedom from the pressure of continually coming up with something new. That doesn’t mean I’m quitting all of my writing. I am determined to keep that someway, somehow. It’s been sidetracked for now, but I look upon that as only temporary. For those of you interested, keep an eye on my personal site for anything new I post there. I have some non-neopets short stories up now.

I do continue to plan on keeping my Neopets account(s) active- although ‘active’ is a relative term. That means that my pets will get fed, and I’ll be in on a more or less daily basis to keep an eye on things. It also means that any of you wanting to neomail me will most likely get me. My neomail inbox shouldn’t be as full now as it used to be!

Till we meet again--