Hey, you guys. I finally got around to putting something together for one final update. What can I say about this Web Site? It most decidedly was not my life, though for awhile, it was my main creative outlet, and ultimately, the inspiration of every other avenue of writing I have taken.

I started The Marshmallow Tree in July (according to the oldest file dates on Angelfire) of 2001. The busiest update period was probably the first six months or so, where I had an update every couple weeks, and in fact, every single week for the first couple of months. For the first three years, I managed to keep up with an update almost every month. But I've been slowing down. For the last year, I only have just over a half-dozen updates. And quite a few of those were cop-outs, uploading little writing tidbits and scraps to the Short Stories section, rather than writing something new, and marshmallowy, for the Site.

I've spent most of this evening going over files, working on the final update, and it's been... nostalgic. I don't like leaving things unfinished, so I'm glad for the sense of completion to this Site. I decided somewhere in the early 20s that I was going to stop doing streams when I hit number 30, because I was losing interest, and 30 was a nice round number. I reached that goal last November. Having done little updating since, and being much more absorbed in what I'm hoping will be a burgeoning, real writing career, I've come to realize that I just didn't have any more energy to spare for this place. It's been a wonderful outlet, but I've expanded my horizons, I want to see my name published, and I need to challenge myself and devote myself to finishing and polishing all these story ideas I have, continuing to come up with new ones, and getting the finished product out there to editors.

But I didn't want to just abandon The Mallow. I thought I should say goodbye, and I promised in previous (cop-out) updates, that I would have something new first. So, I direct you to the Special Projects section where you'll find your last update. I do wish everyone a good life (for real), and I hope you do enjoy the last update. I've also thrown up several more bits of scribblings and whatnot in the Short Stories section. There's quite a lot of stuff in there now. It's mostly little things, not really complete works. But perhaps worth a look, if it tickles your fancy.

You guys have all been great. I know there's still people stopping by and checking the Site (no telling why, given my dependability on updates lately), and I appreciate it. This isn't a job. This is the Internet. The only reason for creating any of this is so that someone else can see and enjoy it. The modest amount of traffic I get is my sole reward for these labours, and my only encouragement to keep doing it. It's kept the Site alive this long, and I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out. So, thank you for that.

If you're a newcomer, great! I have a ton of stuff archived here, and while I won't be adding to it, there is plenty to keep you busy. If anyone ever wants to drop me a line, new or old, my e-mail is in the About page, and I would love to hear from you. I don't normally get a lot of fan-mail, but it is always gratifying when someone takes the time to tell me they enjoyed something I wrote.

There's not much else to say. Life isn't always perfect. Sometimes it seems like there isn't much reason to be happy. It's good to keep a sense of humour, in good times as well as bad. If I've ever cheered you up on a bad day, good. Maintaining this Site has cheered me up more than once as well. I'll miss it, but I had fun with it, as I hope we all did. Please join me in wishing a happy retirement to the Marshmallow Tree, and I will see you in the funny pages.