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Story Information
Details:
Web Sites:
Discussion Forum:
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Standard Disclaimer
This piece of fiction is intended as ADULT entertainment. It contains material of an adult, explicit, SEXUAL nature. If you are offended by sexually explicit content or language, or if this material is deemed illegal at your location, please DO NOT read any further.
All characters in this story are fictitious; any similarity to any persons, places, or situations is purely coincidental. The author does not necessarily condone or endorse any of the activities described in this story.
This story may not be reproduced in any form for profit without the written permission of the author, Dai_wakizashi (dai_wakizashi AT hotmail DOT com).
This story may be freely distributed with this disclaimer attached for non-commercial purposes! Distribution or use at commercial sites is subject to author’s written and explicit permission. Currently the above listed web sites have explicit permission to carry this story.
Copyright © 2003–2006 Dai_wakizashi. All rights reserved.
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Credits
Several people are involved with this work apart from me as the author.
From its first days until now, I had had several editors. There was Rob and Terry, initially, who have been editing this work, but had to leave. There were several others, and today, Scott, Kevin, and James are involved in the editing. There were many short time contributors, too, most of them readers who volunteered some information on a particular subject or sending me short notes or lists of errors they have come across. I appreciate the efforts of all my editors (past and present), and my readers who have contributed to this story. Without their help, certainly, this project wouldn’t even have taken off nor would have continued this far.
Guys, thank you, thank you very much!
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Availability and Presentation
This story is being posted at three web sites:
Among the three, ASSTR gives me the most flexibility in controlling the presentation, and I genuinely believe that the copy being published at ASSTR might surprise you—I’ve tried to make it attractive with judicious use of small images and also give a “book feel” to make your reading experience as enjoyable as possible.
Of course, the others (SOL, and EWP) are also very good, but I don’t have much control over the presentation.
In addition, all the sites have facilities for anonymous communication; that is, if you ever feel like dropping a line or two after reading my rants here, or parts of the story! ;-p
Alternatively you can join in my forum (at Yahoo Groups) where you can participate in discussions, look at the extras (such as photos), and receive notices when a new chapter is posted (or new material is added to the sections of the forum).
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Foreword (Summary of the Story)
I decided to open this introduction with the above words (courtesy of one of my readers, B. Doom), because I believe it manages to describe the story very eloquently—it didn’t hurt that it reminded me one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost, too.
Despite its heavy and very slow start in the cold dark woods (as told in the first few chapters), it is a romantic story with plot and complex characters that will draw in the patient and introspective readers. It uses a very intimate first person point of view, allowing the reader to perceive the world through the eyes of the protagonist, and let the reader experience his thoughts and his innermost world. The pace varies a lot, but you’ll notice that it is contemplative in many parts, because the protagonist is a contemplative character (besides being other things, but you’ll need to discover those things in time as you read!)
Initially you are presented with one facet of the protagonist, but as you continue, you’ll discover that there are many facets to him, that he is all too human, full of contradictions. He has his strengths and weaknesses, so he’s not a super hero, not even a hero. Yes, he’s a wounded and angry (almost bitter) young man, who has built walls around him, but he’s also contemplative and gentle man with an inner strength. He’ll go through some changes, but those changes do not happen overnight. In other words, this is a journey, and a tale of growth, of change, of discovery, of romance, of... many things.
Besides him, there are several major and some slightly minor characters that you’ll get to meet. Like him, the other characters have their stories. I think that quite a few of them will be memorable as you come to discover each little tidbit about them.
There’s the protagonist’s sister; beautiful and attractive in her own right, she’s strong headed, sensitive, playful, intuitive, and at times emotional. Always loyal, she’s a force of nature to recon with, because she can be a powerful ally or a formidable adversary. Once, she was his best friend and a playmate when they were young, very much loved and respected by his brother. Nowadays, she’s on his case: pushing, probing, urging, and reminding him she wants her brother back.
There’s the sister’s best friend. She used to be a constant fixture around his sister then. With whitish blond hair and gray eyes, she had all the makings of striking good looks, if she could only shed her baby fat. But is that how the brother remembers her from his younger days? Or is it the fond memories of her crystal clear voice, and her talent for playing the guitar? Or is it something else; a memory forgotten, or conveniently misplaced?
There’s the mysterious ex-girlfriend; a dark eyed, raven-haired beauty with a wild streak, who stole his heart and weaved a web of enchantment around his soul, and eventually broke his heart, one summer not too long ago.
There’s the new woman. Slightly older and mature, she’s alluring, caring, and uncannily perceptive at times. Will she be able to break down his walls, and steer him to safety? Will she eventually take her place beside him, as his mate, companion, and a friend? Or will she be another heartache?
Like the protagonist, I’ve tried to paint each character a piece at a time. In some instances, my brush strokes are bold and wide, and in others, minimal or short. Parts of the main plot and some of the subplots are painted in a similar fashion. Over time, you’ll begin to connect the dots and come to see a picture emerge, whether it’s one of the characters, or a part of the plot. That is why I stated that the story develops slowly, and would appeal to introspective readers, because it does require an active participation from the reader. If you’re the curious kind looking for something different, then you might enjoy this story. (I have to note that this may also be a reflection on my part, because I am not into instant gratification, thus my reading, and consequently, writing habits kind of follow that trend. A pet peeve of mine is that we’re living at a pace too fast which has conditioned us to seek instant gratification, but that’s my opinion. YMMV!) :-)
In some respects, you can think of parts of this story as something of a Matryoshka doll or a puzzle picture. There are layers upon layers in some parts, and hints distributed in various chapters, which will require patience and attention to detail on your part, so that you can peel the layers and look, or pick up the pieces and try to reconstruct the picture puzzle. It has also other peculiarities that you’ll discover in time, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise or your discovery of them by talking about them. I’m pretty sure you’ll find out some of them very quickly.
The story also contains some explicit scenes—and I’m told some are very hot—but I have to point out that they are there for the purposes of the plot. So, this is not a stroke story where people hop into bed and get on with each other at every turn of the page. In that respect, I have to say that I tried hard to stay away from gratuitous sex scenes while telling this story, and I hope that I’ve managed to give the reader some tastefully done erotic scenes that suit the story, perhaps even a few original ones along the way—you’ll be the judge.
So, with those words, I hope that you’ll decide to join this journey, and perhaps enjoy it. If you find the initial going a bit rough, then I would like to remind you that you’ve already read this intro and decided to take the plunge, so there must have been something that already aroused your curiosity or grabbed your interest in the first place—I certainly don’t believe in false advertisement! I think what might help you to form a more balanced opinion is to sample several chapters, perhaps a quick browsing through them to get a sense of the story. [I’ve already given a hint in the short description of the story: for example, chapter 6 or 7 offers a good contrast to the first few chapters, and chapter 11 may be appreciated by other folks who are into martial arts and some philosophy stuff].
Well... if you’re still interested... why don’t you turn the page to Chapter-1? ;~p}
Dai_wakizashi
Dec 2006, The Netherlands
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