TL;DR- Thank you for being amazing. · 6:45pm Mar 24th, 2014
Hi folks,
My last few blog posts have been in-the-moment cheering, and I don’t think that really conveys the gravity of my gratitude for all of you. Especially those of you who decided to give me a watch. That in itself is an honor, and I am thankful for your support and interest.
As you probably know, my three Princess Twilight Sparkle’s XXth Birthday stories have been in the Popular Stories column for nearly three days. I’m not sure how that happened, or why, but I do know that it’s all your fault and I couldn’t be happier.
It’s been almost a full year since I decided to dive into writing MLP fan fiction, and you’ve all shown me that the old adage is true, you can do anything if you put your mind to it. To be so welcomed and to receive as much kindness as I have through this site... Well it’s enough to really go to a guy’s head. Make no mistakes, I’m not going to pull any kind of horse-famous bullshit, I’m just chuffed as chips and proud as a puffin to write what I like and have it so well received. Thank you, thank you, a dozen times thank you.
I wanted to share a few pieces of data with you that have completely blown my mind. Over the weekend I left the verdant green hills of Seattle, and drifted south on a tumbleweed 737 to Arizona to catch a baseball game. And pet horses. And hang out on a farm. It was pretty great.
During that time, my first story, Princess Twilight Sparkle’s 500th Birthday received:
• 3700 new views
• Over 150 upvotes
• 2 down votes.
And that’s not even mentioning all kindness shared with me regarding the other canon stories in the Birthdayverse. You all have been awesome. Over the last three days, whenever I pulled my phone out of my pocket, it was like pulling a band of merry minstrels or an awesome dog in cool sunglasses out of my pocket. I could not help but smile. I’ve never experienced anything like it.
And I want to do right by you all. Chapter 2 of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s 25th Birthday comes this Thursday. I hope that it lives up to your expectations.
Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart. You’ve helped me prove to myself that I can be an actual-factual fancy pants author. Once this story is over, work will begin in earnest on my own IP. I'm hoping some of you will read it and find it just as enjoyable.
Thanks in abundance,
-Dan
P.S. Thank you!
I couldn't believe the growth that PTS500 got. I spent some of the weekend watching the stories rank up, and its been pretty incredible. None of them have experienced that sort of growth since they were first posted. In fact, PTS505 got a higher growth than when you first published it. The Birthdayverse group has grown a bit and ER250 has gotten attention.
I know EQD doesn't agree, but I think you did something right.
The Birthday stories are amazing. I laughed.
Not surprising, really, since very few people have bothered writing Twilicorn stories that at least try to keep it grounded in-universe, and the Birthdayverse stories are very refreshing in this regard.
Also, now I'm jealous that you've got more followers than me.
Welp, time to write another one-shot to fix that.
1951992
I find myself agreeing with this post. The stories are certainly refreshing.
1951992
Do it to it man, your stories are awesome!
1952001
Thanks!
*Hug!*
I recall reading Princess Twilight's 500th when it first came out. It was a wonderful read and I loved it. I was then pleasantly surprised when I saw a sequel and I dove right in. You're a fantastic writer, so it only fits that they've grown as much as they have. I'll be reading this third story very soon!
Also, you live in Seattle? That's awesome. I do too. Born and raised.
1952252
Nice! I'm an import from the land of the face-eating sun, Florida. But Seattle is my home for the foreseeable future. Thanks for keeping it so awesome before I got here
1952253
Are you serious? That's awesome! While I am born and raised in Seattle, I only recently moved back. Two years ago I moved to... Take a guess.
You probably guessed it. That's right, Florida. I lived in Clearwater, FL for two years. Now I'm back in Seattle though without any intention of leaving ever again.
What made you move to Seattle, if you don't mind me asking?
1952266
Work dried up in Florida, and the tech industry doth flourish out here. It was the move that changed/saved my life
1952289
Ironic, I moved to Florida because I was having trouble finding work out here. I ended up finding one in Florida, so that's where I went. Eventually decided though that I missed home too much.
Either way, it's neat you're up here too. Perhaps we could meet up some time. It'd be nice to know other fans of MLP in real life. I only know a few, and they don't do anything like fanfiction. Do you happen to have a Skype account?
1953290 I should do one of the local meet ups. That could be fun. There's also Everfree Northwest, which could be another possibility, and I'd likely get the opportunity to meet my prereader for once and buy him a drink! I don't skype, but I am on twitter if you need more of my inane babblings. Find me @sbstepdad