what is the most interesting/complimentary/satisfying comment you have received

[Jason Rimbaud]

Des, you are so bad.

Jason R.

[Guest Fritz]

The ones I like the best are those where the writer finds something in my stories which helped him through a bad time in his life, or helped him understand that bad time better and be able to deal with it. I've only had three letters of that type, but to me they shine above the others. They tell me that I have connected with the reader and helped make his or her life a little better.

Of course that is a two edged sword and in two of those I was also asked for advice, something that was scary. Yet in most cases it is possible to lead the reader to his or her own answer to his problem. Too frequently we can't see the forest for the trees and having someone else point that out is more helpful than one would believe.

My second favorite type are the ones where they say the characters have come alive for them, and that they feel they know the characters and like them.

Third on my list are the ones which point out mistakes because I learn from them. I can only wish that more readers were willing to point out such mistakes, but fear that they are afraid of offending me.

[Oliver]

Rceiving e-mails with great thanks for helping people dealing with their feelings is the greatest thing that can happen to you. I got several, and every single message is as special as the other.

Beside that I got a lot of mails and messages in my guestbook with questions about myself.

Who are you?

How old are you?

And more...

That made me think. For me, the most special thing about a story is that there are no pictures. As a reader, you make your own interpretation. Its like radio against tv; you hear a voice, you can make up your own mind how the voice is looking. So I like to be a little... ehhh... mysterious.

After publishing around five stories on the internet, and getting more and more questions about myself, I wrote a short story about all the characters from those stories, who organised a surpriseparty for me in an restaurant, and a bar later. "Thank you Oliver, for making our lives." They had questions along the evening; "why did you make me the way you did?", "am I like you?" In the story I told a lot about myself, answering those questions. Believe me, it was great fun to write. At the end of the story two of them (a very happy couple) drove me home, drunk as I was. My car stayed at the parking of the restaurant.

The next day one of them, Luc (that is the Dutch/French version of Luke, I presume), picked me up to get my car. He was always the person of all my stories I felt the most related to. I had put a lot of my own doubts in him. We talked about that. In the end I kissed him, saying goodbye.

That end of the story gave me the most rewarding reaction from one of the readers.

He was mad. Furious! Where on earth did I had the nerve to kiss him?! I didn't had the right to disturb the beautiful relationship he had, I should have known better.

From that moment I knew it; the persons that I create are alive for some my readers.

And that feels good.