Where Oh Where is Grumpy Bear???

[centexhairysub]

Does anyone know what happened to the author Grumpy Bear?  He was right in the middle of a story several months ago and said he was having to go to Florida for a few days on a trip and the next posting would be delayed.  I do not know if the trip was business, pleasure, family issues, or what; but I do not think he has been on the site since.  Does anyone know if something happened to him?  Is he just taking a break?  Or did he just disappear?

Any information would be greatly appreciated...

 

 

 

[Mrsgnomie]

2 minutes ago, centexhairysub said:

Does anyone know what happened to the author Grumpy Bear?  He was right in the middle of a story several months ago and said he was having to go to Florida for a few days on a trip and the next posting would be delayed.  I do not know if the trip was business, pleasure, family issues, or what; but I do not think he has been on the site since.  Does anyone know if something happened to him?  Is he just taking a break?  Or did he just disappear?

Any information would be greatly appreciated...

 

 

 

Have you tried emailing them or messaging them? To see if they respond?

[centexhairysub]

Just now, Mrsgnomie said:

Have you tried emailing them or messaging them? To see if they respond?

Yes, and nothing.  

[Mrsgnomie]

17 minutes ago, centexhairysub said:

Yes, and nothing.  

Hmmm. Curious. 

[Grumpy Bear]

Hey all,

After a long, LONG hiatus, I'm back.  Long story short, it was a combination of...

Starting a new job which required all of my attention and energy for several months.  I love the new company for which I'm managing project work, and I've had to do a crash-course in learning the Radiology field in order to stay up to speed with the work that I've been doing.  It has been a pretty intense half of a year.

Also, when I left I did fully intend to finish the Worlds Apart story and continue the Werebears in America series, but was dismayed at the sudden flood of negative feedback I received at the cliffhanger point where I left the story.  I know that it was a pretty dramatic, graphic and dark twist on the tale, having our hero unwittingly host a party where the attendees were bears who have lost their way, and had paid for the opportunity to rape his weretiger love and potential mate.  I had to put the relationship in jeopardy, and it took a major, horrific physical attack to sever the bond between the main characters, temporarily or permanent.  However, upon finishing my training week, and seeing the outrage over the state of the story, it made me extremely sad, and I just couldn't bear to pick it back up for a long time.

I just got back from a family reunion, and was talking to several family members about the writing that I had done last year.  Out of interest, I got back onto the site anonymously, and re-read all four of my first stories, start-to-finish.  Today, I logged back into the site for the first time in many months, and realized that people did miss me and my stories, and it has given me hope that finishing the incomplete story might be worthwhile after all.

Give me a week or two to pick up the writing where I left off, and I'll see if I can't raise our beloved werebear and wolf-lycan crew from the dead!

Thanks,

-Grumpy 💙

[Howzat]

Hey @Grumpy Bear - welcome back! We were all so worried about you when you disappeared.

Negative comments must be really hard for an author to read - especially when we (the readers) don't know where you're taking the story next.

I say ignore them!!

Great news on your new job.

I'm delighted to hear that you're going to start posting again - I'll have to re-read the unfinished story to remember where we were.

Glad to have you back on board.

Mark

[Mrsgnomie]

Sometimes negative feedback is negative so much as "emotional" feedback. Especially with hard cliffhangers when readers are attached to characters. 

Glad your back and hope to see some continuation on your story

[centexhairysub]

@Grumpy Bear, certainly hope that you pick up the story and work to completion in a manner that fits what you want.  More importantly, I am glad that you are okay and it was just life getting in the way.  I truly was worried that something had happened to you.  

 

[Grumpy Bear]

It really became a bit of a viscous cycle over time.  The first month was really all about my new job consuming my time and energy, but the longer that I stayed away from writing and this site, the more guilty I felt about abandoning the 5th story in mid-stream.  The more guilty I felt, the more I dreaded coming back to finish, worrying what people were thinking of me.  I tried to push it out of my mind, but the character of Siku kept intruding into my thoughts, begging me to overcome my own personal issues and finish his story.

 

[Grumpy Bear]

Hello again Grumpy Bear readers,

I apologize once again for disappearing for many months in the middle of a story.  If I'm being honest, the truth is that depression is a terrible thing that sucks all joy from your daily life and leaves no passion for the things that once made you happy and proud.

I am still suffering from this bout of depression on a daily basis, but have found the will to pull myself up a bit, and have learned that writing can be good therapy. 

So, I have picked up Gods and Ancients where I left off, and have 2 new chapters nearly ready to publish.  I think you'll all like the direction that the story is going to take in the next few chapters, and I hope that my readers will return with me as I work each day to not only better myself but also to finish this tale!

Thank you all for reading,

Grumpy Bear 💙

[centexhairysub]

@Grumpy Bear, as much as we all would love the story to continue; you must take care of yourself first.  

[Howzat]

2 hours ago, centexhairysub said:

@Grumpy Bear, as much as we all would love the story to continue; you must take care of yourself first.  

@Grumpy Bear great to hear from you - @centexhairysub is quite correct - look after yourself first! The story (even though we miss it) has to come second.