Shadow of the Colossus

by Nicole Grotepas

  —The End.

  Or is it?

  Join me for future releases and more adventures with Holly and her crew!

  A Note from Me

  So I know what I want to say here before I have even written the book.

  This time, my note to you contains the best of me, because I’m not exhausted from a very tight publishing schedule and from pouring every ounce of my energy into the marketing and publishing of this book. Or maybe it’s the little break and the long roadtrip I inserted into the middle of my summer.

  Last evening I was sitting in a local climbing gym while my kids took their classes. They’re still quite young, but that’s the best time to help them hone their basic instincts when it comes to rock climbing. You know, like ballet on a vertical wall, there’s music and rhythm in the forms and the practice. Before they out-think themselves and get too scared or decide that the best way to get up the rock is to muscle their way up, they’re learning how to finesse the routes.

  I like to think epigenetics is a real thing and that they have absorbed some good, cool parts of me rather than just the bad choices I made—like smoking for a few years, and . . . Wait, that’s the only major mistake I made in my twenties.

  Kidding.

  The point is that due to my culture and heritage, when I got married and moved to the Phoenix area, the bouldering crash pad that my friends gave us as a wedding present immediately began to collect dust.

  I worked a lot at that time as Stoker went to school for recording engineering. I tried to merge into the local climbing scene, but most of the people at the gym were guys. And as a newly married girl and due to the influence of my religious upbringing, it was frowned upon to fraternize with a bunch of dudes while my husband was at home.

  Oh, and my skills were a bit rusty because during the time that I dated Stoker, I had zero time to climb—I was working full time and my climbing friends were as well.

  Then we moved to Nashville, and I didn’t climb there either. I tried, but same thing—the gym was full of males and I am female. Etc.

  This isn’t to blame anyone. The idea is that, as I sat there last night watching everyone else climbing and the poetry of the sport, I realized that I have constantly shed the things that mattered to me in order to make other people happy.

  This story has a good ending, after I dish out my advice to anyone who wants to read it: don’t give up what matters to you to make other people happy. Find out what you love and stick with it. Because that is what’s beautiful about you. That makes you interesting, unique, and valuable to the people around you.

  Change is inevitable. Circumstances influence what we can and can’t do. And if you have to cut back for a while, that’s not the end of the world (like for me and buying books or music when it isn’t financially feasible).

  I just think that eventually, what is left? Me. At the end of the day, I can’t continue to blame my past for influencing my present. Yes, it has some influence. But it doesn’t have to have all the influence.

  So, my kids are stellar at rock climbing. I see just small bits of myself in them, but they’re good at what they love because they love it. Not because of me.

  And last night, I found myself sorting through the problem: how the hell am I going to get on the rock again?

  I have an answer. And I hope that you too can always stay true to yourself, to who you are. And embrace it. I’ve watched myself adapt to make others happy around me, which makes me less happy. I see my friends doing it and I know that it’s not sustainable.

  Writing is like this. Sometimes I think it’d be easier to just give it up. But it’s the ONE thing I have never given up, from the time I was twelve.

  And I never will.

  And the next “Note from me” will perhaps be about how goddamn hard it is to rock climb at THIS age. *Wink*

  Thanks for being here. Now go kick some ass till the next book comes out!

  If you love this series and want me to write more in it, consider leaving a review. It’s the only way I know that readers love it! xo

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  Races:

  Centau: a race of people from a system of planets in the Centaurian constellation. Very tall, dark skinned, with hair colors ranging across the lighter hues of white, silver, blond, etc. They’re far more advanced than humans. They are the race responsible for having terraformed and settled the 6-moon region. Muibaus produces an element known as hydrantium that when refined provides a form of energy that powers ships, vehicles, and energy weapons.

  Druiviin: a race of people from the planet Yaso. Violet skinned with hair ranging from white to silver, and almost blonde. Rather calm and peaceful and more given to artistic pursuits.

  Constellation: a race of people from the planet Acxia. Their pale skin is reflective due to conditions on their home planet. Their moral advancement is similar to humans.

  Human: a race of people from Earth.

  Locations:

  Ixion: a gas giant in the solar system Achelois. Also known as Muibaus (“pale mother”) to the Centau. Provides hydrantium and ionium to the settlers of the 6-moon system. Also referred to as Moebius.

  Kota: a moon orbiting Ixion. Capital city, the City of Jade Spires.

  Paradise: one of the 6-moons which is a central hub for storing and shipping elements mined from Ixion such as hydrantium and other goods.

  Itzcap: the most idyllic moon of the 6-moons. A popular place for resorts and vacationing.

  The Sliver: the safest region of Kota and most populated.