Author's Note
Content Warning
This book is set in a fictional version of the real world, so in addition to the fantasy elements, the characters also face real-life situations—often bad ones. In this story, there are elements that could be disturbing to some readers, so please look them over and consider if you want to read the book. I offer more specifics below, but the book contains the following: language, violence, descriptions of a natural disaster, and mentions of sexual assault, child and domestic abuse, suicide, mental health struggles, and sex.
Note on Diversity
The subject of diversity in fiction is a sensitive one. There is a concern that authors speaking from perspectives that are not our own could potentially lead to misrepresentation and further harmful stereotypes. While I do write from the perspective of characters of different races, genders, sexualities, and mindsets, it is never my intention to be harmful. I always do extensive research and listen to the advice of people from those groups on what they find problematic when authors outside of their experience write from their point of view.
I also do not force diversity into my stories for the sake of it. When my characters are different races, sexualities, genders, et cetera, it is because that is who those characters are. They are born in my head as those people, and I do my best to make them as realistic and three-dimensional as possible.
I don't pretend to understand what it is like to live in different circumstances than my own, and I never intend to speak as if I do. I learn as much as possible and make my best effort to prevent perpetuating stereotypes.
I apologize for any unintentional harm that might come up in my work because of this issue.
More Detailed Content Warning
* Language: As a writer, I believe there are two categories of words that are considered offensive. The first category contains the words some people dislike but that do not aim to hurt specific individuals or groups of people. The second contains the hurtful words, the ones that are targeted and meant to make people feel inferior. Because I view those two categories as different, I use them differently. The words in the second category are present here only in dialogue—specifically comments expressing racism and denigration toward people with mental health issues—and they are not excessive. In terms of the other kind, the words that are subjectively bad but not intended to hurt, there are a lot.
* Violence: While there is a lot of violence throughout this book, none of it is excessively graphic. I don't "show" gore, torture, or anything too gruesome. There are, however, mentions of blood, violent fights and assault, and the sights, sounds, and feelings associated with them.
* Natural Disaster: The premise of this book centers around a tsunami that destroyed a large part of the city and caused deaths, and there are descriptions of the event and the aftermath.
* Sexual Assault: Instances of sexual assault that happened in the past are mentioned, but nothing is shown. However, it comes up several times and has a significant effect on several characters.
* Child and Domestic Abuse: There are no instances of these shown, but they are mentioned, with light detail, and they have a significant effect on several characters.
* Suicide and Mental Health Struggles: There are mentions of suicide, but it is not shown. A few characters make disparaging remarks about people with mental health issues, and the subject is talked about several times throughout the book.
* Sex: There are mentions of sex and some scenes showing intimacy, but there are no sex scenes or descriptions of specific sexual acts.