To All Book Lovers (′Dance. Falling Cherry Blossom ra)

To be honest, of Shadow's books from Desire to Holy Court, I had only read Chronicles and the Holy Court I was reading now. When I was bored and looking for a novel, I thought of Shadow, but I didn't know whether he was still writing. In Chronicles, I saw so many things, both good and bad. What left the deepest impression on me was still the tragedy of Infernal Affairs. Though it was only a few chapters, it could make readers emotionally invested.

At the time, two things left an impression on me. One was Phantom Queen and Long Yutian. The other was people cursing Shadow.

There was probably nothing to say about the first point. But the second was very important.

Why did people curse Shadow, even to the point that Shadow called them out by name? Setting everything else aside, I personally liked such people. At the very least, they had read seriously and savored the book with care. When they saw something they felt was wrong, or something that did not suit their tastes, they spoke up. (This isn't saying that everyone else didn't read carefully or anything, so don't fuss over this point.)

I saw many people say that Shadow had improved greatly. I thought so too, but everyone should think about it: Shadow's progress did not come from his own efforts alone. He also needed everyone's advice. As Confucius said, "When three people walk together, one of them can be my teacher." There was no need to say more about that.

A good book was not built on a chorus of praise, nor on a chorus of abuse.

It was built on praise mixed with the opinions and thoughts of many people. If Shadow were left to write blindly on his own, I believed many people would still read it, but there would always be some regrets. Amid a chorus of abuse, there should be people who came forward to support Shadow, turning those insults into jokes again and again through the facts. Face everything with sensitivity, harmony, and reason.

How was Shadow's writing? Different people had different opinions. How were Shadow's fans? Very good and very powerful. But I hoped to see even better and stronger Shadow fans, so that every reader who came across Shadow's books would stay. I wondered whether everyone could join together and cheer for Shadow, so that everyone would recognize Holy Court and acknowledge our Uncle Shadow, who kept his head down and worked hard at writing. (Ahem, that's right, he's an uncle. Ten years spent sharpening a sword—it was time to draw it.)

Falling Cherry Blossom, above all.

November 13, 2012, 22:26:58