Date: Tue, 04 Oct 2005 05:20:06 -0700
From: Phantasm
Subject: Jasons-Haven-40A

Jason's Haven
by Phantasm

Author's Explanation For Delay

Since the last chapter of Jason's Haven was posted to Nifty on August 1, I
have received a large number of emails asking if the story would be
continued. I hope to put this question to rest once and for all. Barring my
death or the sudden end of planet earth, Jason's Haven will continue with
many more chapters to come. The exact timing of the next chapter is a little
harder to clarify.

Since I started writing Jason's Haven, I have been flooded with literally
hundreds of emails of support and encouragement. Needless to say, I was both
surprised and honored that the story has been read and enjoyed by so many
readers. Your emails have given me inspiration to continue my work on this
story. I can not tell you how much your kind words have fueled my work. As
the story continues, I hope you will continue to let me know that you are
enjoying the story. I hope you do likewise to other authors if you enjoy
their stories.

Often lost in the shuffle is the fact that behind every story posted on
Nifty is an Author. An ordinary person with ordinary problems. Sometimes,
life gets a bit messy and authors are not immune from this. The last three
months of my life have been extraordinarily difficult and to try and focus
on my writing would be detrimental to the work itself. Given that so many of
you have strongly stated how much you like the story, I feel pressured not
to cheapen the story by writing for the sake of posting chapters. In other
words, I will not ruin the story with sub standard writing.

The initial delay in Jason's Haven was the result of an extremely nasty
email I received from one of my readers. The email was of such an offensive
nature that it nearly caused me to forget about finishing the story to keep
from receiving any further emails of that nature. Many friends and
supporters online kept me from throwing in the towel. The criticisms in that
email were so outrageous and unfounded that it caught me off guard. However,
I have gotten past the email and I am determined to continue the story.

To give you a brief understanding of myself, I will tell you that I am in my
mid forties, married, and I have three children. The oldest of these
children is now an adult. She was a result of a previous marriage and was
adopted by her step father when she was thirteen. Although I no longer have
any legal responsibility for her, I am the one she turns to when she is in
trouble. In August she was arrested for parole violation and was released
into my custody until her hearing. This furthered the delay of the story as
I dealt with having her back in my home.

It has been less than a year since I decided to stop living my life as
everyone else wanted me to live it. I am gay and pretending not to be was
not helping the situation any. So now I am faced with cleaning up a second
failed marriage. My two remaining children have been split apart as the
youngest one lives with my estranged wife and the older one lives with me.
This has left the older boy with some behavioral issues at school which I am
also forced to deal with.

Adding to the chaos is the fact that my father was diagnosed with terminal
cancer in 2002 and he was given six months to live. He has beaten all the
odds and lived far longer than predictions. However, his luck has run out
and he is now in the painful end stages of his life. We are told that he
could leave us any day now. At this point I am an emotional train wreck and
trying to do any writing at all would be futile as well as detrimental to
Jason's Haven. So I implore your patience as I work to return order to my
chaotic life.

Thanks again for the many emails of encouragement. Tim and the boys will be
back in action very soon. Please feel free to drop me a note at
phantasmic1@hotmail.com at your leisure. I will always answer your emails
unless they are outright flames. Thanks so much for your patience and
understanding.

Yours,
Phantasm