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.