On Wed, 17 Dec 1997, Dave Eddy wrote:

RPM - acct 3/5 wrote (in part):

Mike Loader, along with Susan Doenime, has been writing one of
the most original and well thought-out stories I've ever read,
'Ill Met By Starlight'.  It's dark, sharp, and at times it's
very chilling.

It's also gotten zero response from this list.

 
This is a great shame.

I agree with you that Ill Met By Starlight is one of the great
Ranma stories.  Whenever a new part comes out, I save it
and read it when I can.

Gosh. :)

I blush to admit that I haven't actually taken the trouble to
respond.  This is very remiss of me.  How can I expect people
to respond to my writings -- and they do -- if I don't myself?
The FFML is a society of give and take, and for me, for a
while now, the relationship has been a little one-sided.

I could plead burn-out and pressure of work, but how much
effort would it have taken to drop a quick line, saying, "I
read the story and enjoyed it."  Not as useful as true C&C,
but fan mail has its place in encouraging an author.

So.  Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

Wella... I'm not entirely innocent on this matter myself. I used to be one
of the more frequent C&Cers, back when dinosaurs roamed the list. These
days...

Normally I would send this missive in private, but I felt that to
admit fault in public would be good for both me and the FFML.

So let me begin a new leaf by saying, to Mike, Susan, and anyone
else who's made it this far:  I very much enjoyed IMBS 7.  I read it
when it came out, and apologise for not responding before this.

Hey, no sweat. We write it not because of the praise (although I'm an
egotistical fellow who enjoys the praise very much), but because we are
vicious, cheerfully maniacal loons who have a great deal of fun crafting
mayhem and suspence.

While I regret that I have no specific C&C to offer, I can say that
this is one of the few darkish stories that I enjoy.  The writing is
always at least good, and the plot carries me along.  There are
never any technical problems in IMBS, and part 7 is no exception.
The vision of Ranma expounded in this series is interesting and
compelling, though I would not want to see it become general
in fan-fiction.

Yikes, wouldn't that be awful. o.o I wish there were more good comedies.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for an explanation for
the state of the IMBS Ranma to be made.  Every now and again we
get dribs and drabs, and the romantic in me keeps hoping that Akane
will help reform him and thus prevent his death.  Ranma may be a
superman, but he is as vulnerable to sneak attacks as anyone else.

Heheh. Oh, you lot'll find out. Eventually. We'll keep leaking bits to
tide you over.

So, Mike and Susan, thank you for what you have done so far and
please, pray continue.  I await the next part with interest.

Thanks.

Seriously, we do get comments (mostly from RAAC), so it's not like we're
being totally ignored. And we'd keep writing the thing even if the FFML
and RAAC crashed tomorrow, because we're in love with our own story. It's
fun making these things.

--
David Eddy -- Senior Consultant, Progress Software Melbourne
dje@progress.com

Screening Coordinator, Melbourne Anime Society
My fanfics are achived at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/8341