This is me, too. I replied to all (mostly before reveals) and got a flood of replies from all my comments, and it didn't seem to me as though it was less than usual (though not more than, either. But I didn't keep track). I was particularly impressed that Fahye replied to the comments on Interlude (Rise Up) because there were so many. I definitely think more highly of a popular writer for doing that.
Re: Are replies to comments way down