Wow... just wow. In the two short days since I first uploaded my story onto this site, the feedback from the readers has been nothing short of overwhelming. I thank you all for your kind words and support; starting this journey was honestly just an exercise in creativity, as I wrote these chapters on my lunch breaks at work. I have gotten a good amount of constructive criticism from several readers as well, which has been very enlightening and invigorating.
I wanted to extend a special thanks to pawwriter for his review of my story. Upon reading his reviews of other stories, it is exceedingly clear that he has a fantastic eye for detail, but also genuinely reads for sheer enjoyment. My communications with him have been fantastic, and I just wanted to give a shout out to him for jumping on my story so quickly to publicly give his opinion of it.
As for the future, I am currently working on a sequel to "An Unforgettable Melody," continuing the story of Mike and Melody. The tone and direction will be different, so it will be submitted under a different title, but I'm having a lot of fun writing it thus far. I'll start posting the chapters on here probably within a couple of weeks, though my wife and I have a big move next month, so something could always come up. Stay tuned!
Finally, I wanted to address a suggestion one reader made to me in our private communications. He is, just as I am, a great fan of Joe Brolly's and 800ibgorrila's genie stories, which remain unfinished to this day. He floated the idea to me of possibly trying to finish their works. While this is extremely flattering, I am certainly not the right person for that job. Unfinished as they may be, both "Genie Chronicles" and "A Beautiful Wish" are masterpieces in and of themselves, and any ending I could provide simply would not do them justice. As a musician myself, many famous composers left grand works unfinished at the time of their deaths, such as Mozart's Requiem and Schubert's 8th Symphony. Another composer coming in to try to finish those simply would not be able to do them justice, and they are better off left as masterpieces of those original composers, albeit unfinished.
Again, thank you all for the incredible responses I've received to my work thus far. Stay tuned for the upcoming sequel, "A Bridge Between Worlds."
-auguy86