Mancunian

Great questions and answers. For once I think I may know who it is so I'm going to have a guess and hope I am right. Could it be @quokka? I hope I'm right, I love reading his stories.

Hi everyone, I hope you're all having a good day.

You are right and I should remember. But I'm a nice guy and trying to remain optimistic. I have reserved a bed for him at The Boot for when he needs it, which I'm sure he will when he is deposed.

You obviously don't recognise politeness in your pea-brained republic, here in the UK we consider it crass, rude and extremely impolite to discuss a lady's age. Being nice and polite is not kissing ass.

And I thought you was only 21 😃

Hi Terry, catching up on reading is hard work, lol.

Another heartwarming short story where Cupid fires his arrow. If you haven't read any of @chris191070's short stories you're missing out, go find them after reading this one and follow this author, he is a master of the short story that leaves you wanting more.

All of the right ingredients for a HEA. A peaceful idyllic setting, two hunky good-looking men, lovable furry animals, self-discovery and eventually love. Have you got Cupid working for you? Thank you for another heartwarming short story.

A great, feel-good, short story that leaves us wanting more as @chris191070 intended. I'm hoping for a follow-up as you will when you read. So go on, I dare you to read it, you won't regret it.

A great short story that reminds us love can strike unexpectedly, anytime, anywhere. And by design, you have left us wanting more, any chance of a follow-up in future?

It's been an interesting experience reading this article from the start and getting to this point in the conversation. The comments are as varied as they are interesting, and for those who think there opinion is not valid or something that shouldn't be said I'll say this, all comments are valid and valuable, without them nothing will change or improve. As a result here's my tuppence worth. I don't think many readers realise how important their comments are and the effect they can have on an author. I've seen some chapter comments that appear to be an attempt to rip into an author because of factual and story errors, writing style and poor comprehension of the english language. These comments have no value and can have a negative effect on an authors motivation and attempts to write a story. In my opinion, and that is all it is, this type of comment should not be left and if they are they should be removed. But don't confuse these comments them with comments that are constructive criticism, they can be useful and helpful. Comments that are intended as constructive criticism are usually written well and give helpful advice that can be welcomed by an author, but maybe a personal message would be a better option causing less embarrassment and/or ill feeling. I've had some good constructive advice from some readers and welcome it. If an author is posting a story as they write, comments can affect the way a story is written or even affect the storyline itself, sometimes this can be good but not always so an author should consider their story and what they want before allowing the comments to affect their story. One story that I posted as it was written received a comment asking about the relationship between two characters. After considering the comment I added a chapter in the form of a flashback giving background to that relationship and I'm happy to say that it was received well, maybe it was because I acknowledged the comment and gave credit to that reader for inspiring the extra chapter. It could easily have gone the other way but luckily for me it didn't. Readers comments can sometimes inspire further stories, that is not to say they should but it can and does happen. Maybe we as authors should acknowledge the readers who inspire such ideas. I've read stories where the author has made the effort to acknowledge and respond to readers who leave comments, this is something I try to do, and it appears, in most cases, to inspire readers to comment more. I know that I am more likely to comment on stories where the author responds to comments. I've also read stories where comments have been left by readers and the author hasn't acknowledged or responded to the comments, admittedly those stories are few and far between, and have noticed thgat the comments and reactions dry up and stop coming. If we as authors want readers to comment we should acknowledge and resond to the comments left, if we don't we will not receive comments and will be cutting off a route to some of our inspiration and motivation. In conclusion I'll offer the following advice to authors. When you receive a comment from a reader acknowledge it and respond, even if it is just a simple thank you for your comment. If a reader leaves a comment that inspires you or gives you an idea for another story, acknowledge it and thank the reader, give them credit for the inspiration or idea, it will make them feel valued as a reader. Hopefully, your acknowlegements and responses will generate more comments which will boost your motivation. Sorry for the long winded comment, hopefully, it will be of value to us all.

And there was me hoping that Boom Boom had learned how to play nicely and behave himself, lol.

We both know the effort is worth it. We enjoy the satisfaction of seeing a completed work of art, because that is what a completed story is, a work of art. When our readers enjoy it that is the icing on the cake.

The praise is well-deserved, absorb it and enjoy it. I know that other readers will agree with me.

Another good short story of Ken Hall and his family getting involved in investigating crime. I have to be careful about what I say or I'll give everything away, so read and enjoy.

Well, that's another murderer caught and in jail. As it turns out he was reacting to abuse he received in his youth, but that is not really an excuse, what happened? Didn't therapy help, or didn't he have any? Tom and George need to be careful or one day one or both of them could get seriously hurt. Now I have to be patient waiting for the next case.

It may smell fishy to you, but I smell trouble and danger.

Thank you, Albert, it is good to be back I missed you all but I needed the break to get my head back together again.

Things are getting interesting, Ken and Joe are getting ready to share some loving with Alex and the lads are putting themselves in danger again. While I'd love to commend the lads for caring enough to want to help I feel like banging their heads together in the hope of knocking some sense in, chasing murderers is dangerous.

It's great to be back buddy, hopefully, soon I'll get back to writing.

This is a well-written and compelling read. It tells of the complexities of Pete's life in his early years up to, and through, his first years in high school and is full of action. Pete's story is being brought to us in a series of stories and this is the first instalment. Be warned that when you get immersed in this story you will be left begging for the next instalment that the author, @Al Norris is currently working on and the current readership is looking forward to. Al Norris and this series are well worth following.

We all know that this is not the end of Pete's story, it is only the end of this instalment and I can't wait for the next instalment. Pete has definitely been put through the wringer with almost everything seemingly stacked against him, it's a good thing he had his Uncle George to fall back on. Jeremy and his cronies deserve to be treated as adults for their actions and are looking at some serious jail time, I hope they are prepared to be 'Bubba's friends', lol. It looks like notoriety is on the cards for Pete's future thanks to the media, hopefully, it will be short-lived and allow Pete to get on with life as quietly as he wants, my guess is the media will say differently. But hey, that's in the future and in the hands of our esteemed author who has done a great job so far.

I love this and I know Terry will have enjoyed working on this story with you. I'm not going to leave a review until I know if you are leaving it as complete or changing the status to add more chapters, more chapters or a follow-up would be great.

I love it, a real slice of life that many can and will relate to. I've heard many tales of makeshift exhaust repairs using old tin cans, luckily I've never had to resort to that. Reading this reminded me of the tales I heard when listening to my father and his friends reminiscing. I wonder what stories that car could tell if only it could talk. And yes, I'd love to read more about Zippy and Mikey's developing relationship. I'll bet they had a lot of fun in the back of that old Volvo, I'd love to know if they kept and restored it to have re-enactments of their first night.

I've given up on trying to catch up on all of the notifications, there are too many of them, more than 32 pages. At least I've caught up on the important ones and some of the others, I tried, lol.