Hey Team Squad,
Need some help. [SPOILERS]
This week has been one of the hardest of my life.
I appreciate those of you who reached out and shared kind words. On Monday, my dog, my Mooncake, a solid rock in my life for over 14 years, passed away.
After about 10 vet visits, she just declined so fast over the weekend. On Monday, we took her to the vet first thing in the morning. Within 30 minutes, she went into shock. My wife called me, I raced up to the vet, and we were told they thought the mass cell cancer had returned and spread throughout her body, but they couldn't find it. Her heart was beginning to fail.
We did EVERY single test, bloodwork, X-rays, biopsies on multiple bumps...everything came back negative.
We said goodbye, and then she was gone.
It was like a nuke went off in my heart.
I've been slowly getting back to work. I won't lie; it's been hard because I wrote the graphic novel not only as a goodbye to the show, but also as a goodbye to my dog, Tardis. Maybe that's what people are feeling after they read it.
When we pitched Final Space as a show, we pitched it as a story about a boy and his dog. Well, my dog was only four years old at that time. When I wrote the novel, my dog was about 12 years old.
I got Tardis when I moved to Nashville, and I was so alone in a house I was renting that I wanted a friend. (The first episode makes a lot more sense now.)
I walked out of a taco shop with my wife, and there was an adoption truck. In the back was the dog that nobody wanted, my dog. She was tearing into a pack of water bottles.
She was perfect.
Every time I thought about the ending of this story, I thought of my dog. What would I say? What would I say knowing that one day this day would come? To finally let go of something I loved so dearly.
And even knowing that day would come, I didn't realize how painful it would be.
I'm close to the end of these pre-orders. Truly. There are a bunch we're still trying to get out. The crazy thing is, the last 8K has been harder to get out than the first 40K.
I'm at the final push.
I need some help, though. Just a little boost.
Could a couple of you tell me what you thought of the story in the Final Chapter? When I read that stuff on Goodreads it makes me want to fight a bear for you guys, and it will help get my mind off the pain for a little bit.
I love the patience. I love the understanding. And I promise, until the very end, I will see that every last book gets delivered. We went so hard for two and a half months straight, pulling 12 hour days. My energy is low, I get tension headaches everyday now, but my soul has still got the fight in it. I'll keep fighting.
Thanks guys! -Olan