Hi! It's me, Alexis.

Back in November, I started a little story off the top of my head,
just to see what might happen. Would it go anywhere? No idea. But
it felt like it might have legs - or tentacles, considering. That
story became 'Voortrekker', of which today's update concludes Part
2 - and brings the total word count up to just over forty-one
thousand, with the story still not halfway done. Legs, indeed! Or
tentacles, considering.

To start from a simple vignette of strangeness and hope on a world
orbiting a new sun, and become a tale of love, politics, warfare,
and strangeness spanning the entire solar system and beyond...I'm
amazed and delighted that my little story has come so far and grown
so much! And none of it would ever have happened if it hadn't been
for everyone who's participated along the way, both in helping me
find the story I want to tell and you want to read, and in the
Cosmic Voyage project overall.

In particular, I want to thank ~tomasino, from whose forehead the
concept sprang full-grown, and ~kensanata, who mentioned it in a
place where I could see it. Had both those things not happened,
this story wouldn't have either! And perhaps I'm not the only one
who thinks that'd be a shame.

Above all, though, I want to thank each and all of you who are here
reading this now, whether you've followed Voortrekker since the
beginning or have just come along now to see what all the fuss is
about. No one writes in a vacuum, even if sometimes it feels that
way. Your critique and your compliments have shaped this story
every bit as much as I have, and on days when I feel as if I can't
possibly string three words together in a way that makes sense,
remembering that you're out there waiting for the next installment
gives me the motivation I need to try my best. Thank you all!

This sounds like a valedictory, but it's not one. Not except for
now, at least - Voortrekker has become by far the largest creative
project I've ever taken on, and I need a break! So I'm taking
one. For the next few weeks, I'm going to be recharging my
batteries, attending to various boring life things that I've lately
let slide in order to give this story the attention it deserves,
and preparing to carry the plot forward in Part 3.

I might write a thing or two of another sort, too, in that
meantime. If I do, you can find it at https://lexie.space, where
all my writing lives. You can also find out how to contact me
there, if that's something you care to do. In particular, if you
have thoughts on the story so far or where you might like to see it
go from here, please do let me know! I won't make you a promise
that I'll incorporate those ideas, because it'd be a promise I
can't know for sure whether I can keep. But this isn't just my
story - it's *ours*. So I'll do my best to tell it in the way we
all like best!

Regular updates will resume April 7, on the same
Wednesdays-and-Sundays schedule. In the meantime: stay awesome,
check out https://lexie.space for more of my writing, and let me
hear from you if you've got something to say!

Love, Lexie.
