A Letter from Me

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1. Reality vs Fiction (How Bad Is it Really?)

Dear Lovely Reader

From December 2022 to July 2023, it has been a tiring and stressful journey to write this book. Not because I didn't care for the characters and wanted to get it done ASAP but what made this story in particular more difficult than anything I've ever had to write before is the fact that (as you all know by now) it is directly inspired from my reality.

Haiti is the country where I was born, raised, and still live to this day. I am now twenty-two years old and the drastic social/economic change that this country has been through over the last couple of years is horrifying, to say the least.

That being said, I've had some readers ask me via private messages if I love my life here and I've always done my best to give an honest answer. I am blessed enough to have a comfortable life. I go to uni, I have friends, I go out (very rarely but it's just me lol), I live in a beautiful home and there are some things that I don't have to worry about.

The last thing I wanted to achieve by writing this book is to make people think that Haiti is a hellhole where people die en masse every single second. Like many countries, there are good days and bad days here. However, for a lot of people, there are more bad days, and for many others, there are never good ones.

What I want to emphasize is that the gang problem is real. "A Better Sky Somewhere" has barely touched the surface of how widely the gangs have spread in many cities throughout the capital and the provinces. The countless kidnappings, deaths, and the horrors that victims and their families go through when they get taken are so inhuman that I will save you from speaking about the things that have been circulating in the news here.

I still wanted you to know what parts of this book were inspired by reality so I will list below a few events that happened in the country :

a) The breakout at the prison of Croix-des-Bouquets happened in 2021. I lived there at the time and it happened on a day that I was going home from uni. I met a girl on the road and we continued to walk together because no public transport was taking the risk of driving to the commune. At some point, the girl and I had to take refuge inside a church because of the gunshots before we continued. She reached her home first so I had to keep walking by myself. I never want to think about this day ever again.

b) The mention of the seventeen American Christian missionaries that were taken happened in 2021. There was also a Canadian among them and thankfully they all got released.

c) The shooting at the local market of Croix-des-Bouquets that Norabel got caught up in is something that I experienced myself. I never wish for anyone to go through a similar experience because I honestly thought I was going to die back then.

d) The police operation that Ethan's father died in Village-de-Dieu was inspired by a real operation that took place in 2021. Many police officers died in horrible conditions, their bodies were never retrieved and for many days there had been sickening images about their massacre circulating on social media.

e) Like Norabel I also got caught up in a protest one day as I was leaving uni. I was with a girl from my major so it wasn't as scary as it would've been if I were alone but we did have to pass by barricades made of burning tires and there were scary-looking men making sure that the barricades stayed in place so that no cars could go through.

As you all can see there has been crazy shit happening here!!

I don't know what this book can achieve yet but I do hope that it's able to reach many people because most of the time it feels like we're a forgotten part of the world and no one cares about what's going on here unless it's some devastating natural disaster like that earthquake back in 2010 when the whole world had their eyes on us. I will not get into a political rant about the powerful countries that do know about what's going on here and could help us but have done nothing.

Lastly, I want to thank every single one of you who has dedicated your precious time to read about Norabel and Ethan. I love interacting with you in the comments and I enjoyed reading your stories as well. I'm happy that some of you have become my friends and I hope this can continue for a long time!

The next step for this book is to participate in the 2023 Wattys. I will also try to get it published after a massive amount of editing. Of course, I will keep you guys updated if I do get a book deal.

2. What about Keisha and Kadrick?

I know. I know. This isn't the ending you guys wanted for your second favorite couple BUT I had always planned to make it like that for the simple reason that there will be a BOOK 2. Yes, you read that right, Keisha and Kadrick will have their own story.

However, I will not be writing this second book right away because I need time to detach myself from Norabel and Ethan to be able to do my best for this couple. The only thing I can tell you, for now, is that this second book will not address the same themes as "A Better Sky Somewhere". It will be focused on romance and not the actual social conjecture of the country. I already did that so I don't plan on repeating myself in another work.

I'm sorry I can't tell you when I will start writing this book BUT...

I do have another complete romance story that you can check out. 

Take One More Step is about  a reclusive ballerina and a guilt-ridden soccer star. They clash and connect when forced together by scandal, navigating a tempestuous dance of secrets, passion, and redemption.

It's a sports romance new adult novel that includes the following tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity and reverse grumpy X sunshine. 

Here's the cover:

3. Playlist & Accolades

I have made a love playlist for Erabel with some of the songs that I used as quotations for the chapters that were the most romantic between Ethan and Norabel. You can find the Spotify link on my Wattpad bio. I also edited a picture of the playlist because I love making aesthetics and I couldn't help myself lol. My Spotify username is BooksByCassy and the playlist name is Erabel.

As of today 7 July 2023, this book has won 10 awards from user-based contests on Wattpad and I'm grateful for every single judge, host, and accomplishment! I also prepared a picture for those accolades.

(Pictures Below)

4. Readers Talk

The last thing I wanted to share with you is some of the sweetest comments that many of you have left during this book. I wanted to do something nice to show my appreciation so I took some screenshots and edited some pictures that I kept looking at whenever it felt like I couldn't finish writing this story.

5. Final word

I think I've said everything I wanted so I will keep it short.

Keep sharing your stories with the world and be proud of every single line, paragraph, and chapter that you write. You owe it to yourself to be your best cheerleader.

All the love as always

Cassy, xx