kalleah | The Song of Yarru, Author's Notes

I didn't want to muddy the waters of chapter eight or the epilogue with a lot of author's notes, but I did have enough to say to want to share my thoughts.

I'd like to thank

platypus and

nonelvis for their invaluable and tireless beta work with me. Additionally, thanks to

np_complete and

sensiblecat, both of whom read early drafts of the opening chapters and provided me with reassurance that yes, the world of Yarru and its characters felt real. I also have to tip my metaphorical cap to

platypus's partner, who provided us with the appropriate Latin names for the Yarruni species I mentioned.

This story started with the image of the Doctor and Rose emerging from the TARDIS onto a platform in a redwood-like forest. I kept trying to banish the image of the Ewok city in Return of the Jedi from my mind, although others have suggested Tolkien's Lothlórien, which I find far more flattering to the Yarruni.

I started this story at the beginning of April next year after having sworn up and down, and in several public forums, that I would never publish another WIP. I felt like I would have more flexibility in crafting the story to be able to go back and revise the story rather than post something and be permanently committed to it. That was both a very good idea and a somewhat limiting idea. I found that while my original intent was satisfied, I also missed the ongoing dialogue with the readers about where they thought the story was going and to respond on the fly to the feedback there. Will I do it the same way again? Depends. My plan is to stick to shorter forms for a while, but I'm not ruling out longer pieces as I so foolishly did about 100,000 words ago.

One of the things I've enjoyed most about writing this story and The Hidden Well was the ability to delve into the science of the subject matter. Even when I'm handwaving something, I like to have at least some plausibility within the confines of the story I'm telling. Thus, Aiku's magnetic coil is based in fact. Transcranial magnetic stimulation has been proven to be able to turn off the ability to talk – while leaving the ability to sing. I thought the reverse could be true. Bird syrinxes are incredibly precise instruments, although there's debate in the scientific community about whether they actually breathe and sing at the same time. Alpha Mensae is a sunlike star, and the naming convention to have the fourth discovered planet be named "Alpha Mensae d" is consistent with current extrasolar planetary naming conventions.

Thank you for reading, indulging me, and enjoying this story.

And, for the record, my favorite character from this story is the Crotalistria cachinnabilis that goes dancing with Rose, although I am terribly fond of Watson.