Here is the partial text of Avid Reader's review of The Dance Club [2]:
''I like this story and this version of your mercenary Ranger....
I guess you can't do a sequel because if Ranger took Stephanie to visit his grandparents, he'd HAVE to tell her his real name, wouldn't he? His real last name must be Mann, but I'd love to know his real first name. I think I'm almost as curious as poor Stephanie.
I guess we'll have to use our imaginations to picture Ranger, Stephanie, and Dr. Mann out on the golf course, then having a meal together. It appears this mercenary Ranger is closer to his mother than your normal mercenary Ranger. (Not that anything about Ranger is "normal.")One question: Why DID Ranger cut his hair short?
Answers: in reverse-ish order...
Ranger cut his hair because he was finished playing Ricky, and wanted to be himself [sort of, as best he knows how], for Stephanie, plus that very long hair is a pain in the butt, especially in hand to hand fights.
Ranger's last name is NOT Mann, that was one of his dad's aliases, and the name his dad was using when he and Elizabeth married [and his brother Nick was born/adopted: see Take a Chance on ff].
Ranger could have juggled the Miami thing, his grandparents use Manoso...and in fact it could have been a very fun story; at one point it was entirely planned.
No he is NOT closer to his mom in this version but they do enjoy a round of golf together now and then. It isn't that they're not close, either, not in the sense that Ranger doesn't love his mom, he does; and she loves him, of course. In her own way. It's that they have personality conflicts, unresolved childhood resentments and communication issues....
No sequel because this story doesn't mesh with my other Mercenary Ranger world and it it gets too confusing [for you guys and esp. for me]. As a writer, making the stories all go together is a huge problem, or puzzle....readers catch every mistake! (Which is actually good because it means they read, remembered, cared, about the story lines.)The next two long fics I have planned are currently unready because I have, for example, continuity issues with both, in my regular MR world.
And last, when I first wrote this story, readers were mercilessly scathing and hated the fic. It was my very first published story and being flamed was a shock to me. I loved it but it got horrible reviews and rants (the cutting sarcasm was the worst)...so I quit writing on Yahoo and only began posting on ff recently. This story and its sequel were set aside and forgotten...
It makes me happy that it is enjoyed now, even if the context is off.
Thank you all for reading and for your input and feedback.
love
sunny
