Thank you very much for reading this story. If you read this version as it came out, I appreciate you. If you're reading this now that it's completed, I thank you, too.

This version of the story was always intended to be a draft of sorts. I'd never written a novel before, and there were a lot of elements I didn't fully understand when originally publishing this series of chapters. For one, I wrote this entire series, by myself, in a vacuum, with no feedback from anyone. Not editors, not friends--nothing! That led to a lot of pacing issues due to the weekly update nature of this story. Chapter lengths were also a big issue. I constantly struggled with the correct size. Even using other stories as reference, I kept thinking "should I do this one way or another way." It was all very eye-opening.

I think most notably, and I only realized this when trying to make revisions on this story, is that I made a stand alone book with some world building elements in the background. I don't think I combined them well enough, personally. Once Scarlet becomes Eden, the story felt like it ended. Felix had evolved from the depressed person to an admirable one with courage. Sure, the story seemed like it could continue on from there, but it it made everything beforehand feel like an extended prologue or, in my eyes, a complete story. Even when I tried connecting it with future content later, it always felt like I was sticking a new series on top.

It's part of the reason why, for the final version of "Terrestrial Paradise" I decided not to besmirch the name of Felix/Scarlet for revisions. What I wanted to say was already said. At its core, this version of TP was a drama about a broken person finding a path to redemption. There were fantasy elements and hardships, sure, but that was the story that drove me. It's why I wrote and connected with the plot. At the time I made this version of TP, it was 2021, I was depressed, and I was using this story as a medium to sort out my own feelings. It wasn't so much a series as it was a therapy session.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Having taken a break to think about the story, I felt there was a need to start fresh with a new main character. The world of "Terrestrial Paradise" will persist. A lot of the supporting characters will return in some form. The unanswered questions about the Voiced, Synborn (they'll be renamed), the power system (getting a rework for the sake of world building and storytelling) will remain. The prologue (now removed) will be reformatted (only slightly) to fit the new story (since it is now confusing since this draft is a stand alone, in a sense). But Felix & Scarlet are done. I tried rewriting for them, but it felt painful. They served their purpose in this draft, and they will always be a part of this "world" since it would have been impossible to make without them.

Right now, I expect "Terrestrial Paradise" will be re-released in 2025. (If you're reading this, yay, hopefully I was on the ball) I'll upload a slew of chapters daily throughout January and February then think about a schedule thereafter. If this new version of the story fails, I'm done. All my ideas from multiple stories are being shifted and combined into that one draft, and I probably won't have the energy to try again on another story, at least for a while (lol). If I do, it'll be something entirely different. But I won't leave people hanging. If I were ever to fully give up on this series (or any series), I'd publish my notes and outline for the future so people at least knew how I thought it would end.

So thank you for sticking with me! I appreciate your support. Whenever you're reading this, just know I appreciate you!

Thanks again!