Hi, I'm finally getting around to putting up a few words here.

I've never played a computer game in my life (!) and got interested in FFVII by a circuitous route...after picking up Advent Children as an ex-rental DVD without knowing anything at all about it, except that it was in Japanese, and I was then in the early stages of learning the language and looking for practice! The story was utterly confusing to a complete novice, the imagery utterly beautiful, and the storyworld compelling. So, from that beginning, I started reading about the backstory, watching cut-scenes, finding images and finally, reading fan fiction, which has proven to be quite addictive! I realised some of the writers had never played the games either, or very little of them, which is akin to writing about a book you've never read. I am fascinated by FFVII as a 'phenomenon'; something that has jumped its original form to become a world that lives and breathes in writers' and readers' imaginations, and whose characters have taken on a life of their own, way beyond the original games. I also see that no other FF episode has anything like the amount of fan fiction that no.7 has, and I do think about why these particular characters and story have inspired so much devotion and passion...but that's another story!!

I'm currently working on a set of original novels (among other things), and am resisting the urge to write fan fiction until I've finished what I'm doing! Then...we'll see. meanwhile, thanks to all those who are writing and giving so much reader pleasure.