Hey, back,
tweety!!!
I think I like it here. :-D Hope Mel updates soon....
Melanie, I think you are way too critical of yourself! I am also reading your main story while waiting for you to update this story, and I am enjoying it immensely! I agree that there are some flaws in the main story, but there is no perfect story out there. Even seasoned, professional writers cannot write perfect stories with no faults. Your prequel and your main stories are simply different styles of writing, but both very much worth reading. While it is true that the main story's overwhelming number of characters compromises character development when compared to the prequel, I find it really exciting because there are just so many characters running around, bumping into each other, and there is mayhem everywhere! Like Xaari said, it's so very fast-paced that the action makes up for the slight drop in character development.
I left you a message a while back on winglin, but you never responded, so I am not sure if you have read it. I will repost it here.
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Hey, Melanie! Surprised seeing me here? Well I decided to drop by and read this story while I am waiting for your update on your prequel. I admit I was rather reluctant to read this story at first since I really just wanted to read about Wallace Chung and Sun Fei Fei. YOU are the one to blame for that! LOL! You made me fall in love with the Wallace Chung-SFF pairing (as Sit Chung Nam and Black Rose) and now you expect me to move on and read about other actors? Noooooo.... That won't happen! But then I got impatient and decided to take a peek at this story. Boy am I glad I did! It's loaded with characters and everything seems to be happening at once and characters seem to run around bumping into each other or killing each other, but I'm having such a great time! It's much more elaborate that the prequel given your much larger cast, but I am slowly developing some fondness for a few of the characters. Sit Chung Nam is still my #1 man but Lam Yik Lun is now a close second. I'm only on chapter 22, but so far I like him the most. You must find it strange that I would like a gentleman like Lam Yik Lun and yet love a ruthless bandit like Sit Chung Nam. I can't exactly place my finger on why right now, but when I read more of this story and figure it out, I will tell you. LOL. For now, I'm going back to reading! At least this story has more chapters to keep me occupied. I already dread getting to the last chapter and having to wait for the next update! I know you have a life to live, but oh how I wish your primary job was just writing...
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You're doing a great job entertaining us, Melanie! I've read a few wuxia novels (fanfics and original published ones) and your stories are by far the creme of the crop. Just because they're not published doesn't mean they're not as good as the published ones.