I’ve been kind of re-skimming WA recently, which is a big deal for me. I hadn’t been able to so much as glance at the thing since posting the epi ten years ago. I’ve always had a lot of anxiety and negative feelings surrounding it, but upon re-reading it, I can totally see it for what it is: A love letter to my fave angst tropes. I mean, the whole thing is 410k words. It’s like basically 5 stories in 1. And even though I could have chosen one and given it the justice it deserved, I didn’t want it to end because yeah, there were a lot of negative experiences surrounding it, but also a lot of positive. I sort of grew up while writing WA, not just as a writer, but also as a person. And I know it probably sounds over-dramatic, but I’m honestly not exaggerating when I say that I think it saved my life. When I started posting it, I was in a very dark place. I kind of funneled that dark place into fictional people and ended up building a new life and family along the way. How cool is that?

This is all to say, I’m finally in a place where I can start loving this stuff again. My BFF Angel and I (who met through WA!) are co-writing a dark YA series of standalone romances, with so many of my fave themes. Trauma, bullying, addiction, social issues, violence, pretty rich high school boys being douchebags, hurt/comfort, frantic dry humping, you feel me you feel me. And the best part is that Angel—she of BEST plotting and structure—is doing something I could never achieve and giving these things actual direction and purpose without me having to drag it out for a meandering 410k words (how does she do that? Idek). It’s just been super fun! The first book is 120k and the second is shaping up to be much the same. We already have a third and fourth in the works. Each book is a different couple with different issues, all existing in the same prep school setting.

But I couldn’t do this project without telling the WA world (however few may remain) about it. Because as cheesy as it sounds, while WA was my love letter to my fave angst tropes, my work on this series is a love letter to what that other love letter built.

If you’re interested, you can find more info at SamRue(dot)com, or follow me on Facebook @SamanthaRueAuthor, or on Amazon as Samantha Rue. I’d adore the idea of writing for you all again!

Book 1: Devil May Care (mybook . to/DevilMayCare)

Book 2: A Deal with the Devil (mybook . to/ADealWithTheDevil)

Thanks for reading and going on all those old wild rides with me!