Thank You

Dear Readers of 40 Weeks,

This morning I posted the final chapter. And as I have stated in many tweets, author's notes, review replies and probably other forms of communication I'm forgetting as I write this, this story often felt like I was going through the pregnancy with Elphaba.

Due to writer's block, the immense amount of research this story (and I myself) demanded, and that unfortunate disturbance known as Real Life (and in Real Life of a Teacher, that expanded to writing lessons, reports, marking, and job hunting) this story took me five months to write, three and a half to post and probably a month or so of research and planning between when I had the idea for this story and when I actually wrote the first word.

So, in total that was actually about nine months! Haha, I hadn't added that up until now. Don't you love irony?

Although I originally thought that this story would just be something light and fun to use an idea (which is the whole format of this fic and the 'each-chapter-is-a-week-of-the-pregnancy-thing) that I actually had when I was still writing House fanfiction and abandoned at Week 5 (that was when House started going downhill and I lost interest and inspiration for the fandom). Plus, it would cover the many requests I was getting for a sequel to Out of the Blue and Three Leaps Ahead!

It required a lot of research, because I obviously, have never had a child or been pregnant. And although I had some knowledge, having 3 younger siblings (2 of whom I remember my mum being pregnant with), 2 friends who had been pregnant, done a year of Child Studies in high school and reading/watching a thousand books/movies/TV shows that involved pregnancy (I like babies. I admit it, it's an addiction); I knew that wasn't exactly the same thing.

And I wanted to do this right. And as factual and realistic as possible. I'm picky about that.

But I have been completely overwhelmed by the response to this story. I feel like I say that about every story, but I'm always surprised! I love how many reviews and tweets I get from people saying they've learned something about pregnancy or something they didn't know. I love helping people learn things- that's why I'm a teacher!

So I wanted to write this and thank you all for your reviews for each chapter and for going through this journey with me!

And once again, I am getting a lot of requests for another story in this series/universe. Which is very nice of you all!

I always thought that if I was ever going to do another story in this series, it would just be a one-shot of Ashur's 18th birthday and him receiving the journal. After all, there's many interesting questions that could be answered! Does he have siblings? Cousins (either through Kastle or Nessa, or fake cousins through Galinda and Boq)? Is Frex in his life and what is his relationship with his maternal grandfather like? Are all his grandparents still alive? Are both his parents still alive? 

But you guys constantly surprise me with your thoughts, questions and what you want to know! So far, I've had suggestions for:

• "Something about Nessa as she deals with her fertility issues and perhaps her and Halim going through the adoption process or perhaps something following Galinda through her first pregnancy" (via Bookworm0485)
• "We all want to see Ashur grow up and (maybe) get siblings." (via ElphieOnEarth)

(I'll add any more I get to this list as they come)

Also, Fae the Queen wrote her own one-shot/sequel to 40 Weeks, called The Journal, so check that out!

But I just wanted to say thank you! I am currently on chapter 12 of Come What May (which would probably be a more impressive statement if I knew how many chapters there would be...), and I'll keep you updated on my progress.

If you have any questions, thoughts, comments or... whatever, post them below! (or tweet me, but I like comments. No one comments on my blog, haha). 

Thanks again!