All Comments on 'The Lighthouse'

This was so good.

The characters built so well. The setting was marvelously described. The emotions so clear, roiling, sharp and hot.

The end so sudden, both tragic and happy.

A wonderful piece of work.

Well done.

... in the contest. Another wonderful addition Dr. M, as always.

Lizzy

Good Luck in the contest

your name on a by line. You never disappoint. Great job and good luck in the contest

You write my heart as if it were beating on the tip of your proverbial pen. "We insult nature when we pretend we understand, because it's a mystery, Julia. It's all a fantastic mystery." Yes and yes and yes. You write the mystery, Doc. That's what is so captivating about your work.

And, in this story... I wasn't just in usual awe of your skill and talent and tale-telling... it went far beyond that for me in this one.

You have somehow reincarnated a dear, dear friend of mine through your Patrick--I could feel his soul moving through every word he spoke. Big, brash, bold, full of life in every breath. Luke died last year, he knew he was coming. He said it was a good day to die--every day is a good day to die. This story isn't close to my heart, it is my heart.

Thank you.

Selena

let me make a slightly different observation:

i'm incredibly liberal, so, believe it or not, this is no pseudo moral ranting; and yet --- the great story telling ability of the doc notwithstanding --- the story is not really about "romance" per se.

it is about confusion, cheating [by wife], and lack of sense of boundery [by husband]; it is about a woman who wants to have both a good husband [which she has in Seth, the smiling/tolerant fool, who thinks, like many readers here, that he is actually quite deep/wise] and a lover or a string of it, if necessary [esp. now that Patrick's gone].

those "deep" things Patrick and the wife [as well as the husband] are supposedly observing/telling us?,,, they are nothing more than cliched observations.

now, on the other hand, it would really be a "romance" for me if Seth and this woman come clean [know their personal bounderies] and say,

"Honey, I think we don't really love each other as we think we do. For you to sleep around and for me to not even be bothered much by it, an action which you take it to be of a tolerance or of an ignorance nature,,, I think we need to be courageous and go our different ways, in order that we may find out TRUE LOVE," THEN I'm okay. Again the writing is exceptional, so that's not the "issue."

for me, when the "romantic"/cheating wifes quickly observes, as she grabs her coat to run out the door to reach the hospital to see the lover, "Oh, Seth, you are such a good loving husband; I've lost you --- have stopped loving you --- but now I realize, during these trying times, that I still love you to no end,,,, again",,, and then rushes out the door, with Seth responding: "Honey, please, just call me when you get to your gentle lover, okay? I jus want to make sure you are okay; I know you must be feeling bad, as Patrick is possibly dying as you rush over to the hospital, but I will be here solidly for you, no matter what!",,,, this kind of pseudo and mutually deep understanding loving,,,, it is BS.

You must forgive me.I had to stop and come back to vote.I find when I've read a really good story that I must rush to the next one. Sometimes, with your work, I have to stop and think about your use of a word. Yes, I know the word, but sometimes I have to think of the context. Thank you for your gift.

"The story is not really about "romance" per se."

I guess that depends on your definition of "Romance." A romance is a love affair. Love, like life, just happens. Putting a moral boundary around it is a choice, yes. But it isn't a human necessity. Life is messy--love is messy. Things don't always wrap up with a neat little pink bow on the top where everyone lives happily every after. I commend this story for being about love, where it flows, and that IS romance, to me.

with all these amazingly good stories you've written, i wonder why i haven't seen your works in the bookstores. good luck with the contest.

Your work as always is very well written. It does nothing for me however. Your work has come with high commendations, but I was dissapointed somehow. Chances are that you as a writer, and I as a reader aren't suited for each other.

I wish you the best of luck in the contest.

"There hadn't been time. There hadn't been time."

This is a story that I'll remember differently in the daylight. Tomorrow, I'll find it uplifting. Tonight it's a merciless hit to the heart. As always, you strike a nerve with work that's deeply felt, lovingly told, layered with pain and sweetness.

You're the king of dirty talk, love and the master of a really good tale. I started reading and couldn't stop. A brilliant, brilliant story.

This was so much more than a story, Doc. It's somehow without boundaries. Each time I think I understand it, I think about something new and something more that it can be. I keep going back to your description of the jellyfish. This story is like that. Shapeless, transparent, pulsing, vague, but very real, raw and very powerful.

Simply Amazing!!!!!! thank you

Without a shadow of a doubt, the best story I have yet read on this site. Itw as captivating, it was honest, it was unapologetic, and it was beautiful. Well done. Well done indeed.

This was one of those rare stories that made me forget I was reading. I tasted the salt, felt the scales, etc... What I really like is that I can see Julia continuing on and what I imagine her life will be like. Thanks so much for writing!

sorry i am a bit late, didn't have time to read your story before the contest was over, but have to say it is a great story! i really enjoyed reading it...

Great story, good build up, terrific imagery. Really felt the characters emotion. The natural setting was brilliantly described, set. The sex was hot! Good ending, I just knew she would understand him, and feel him in the rain.

not enough sex

Your despriptions are so vivid, of both the environment and raw emotion, I was spellbound. I could almost hear the sea. Well done, it's great.

This was the most beautiful thing I've ever read anywhere ever. I just can't find the right words to describe it.

There is nothing more to be said.

Truly stunning. Transcendant, even. Thank you. Oh, and not to go off on a rant or anything, but i swear, the next nitwit who complains of "not enough sex"... please, stick a pencil in your eye. It's erotica, not porn. This was truly beautiful, and you should be proud of it, Doc.

But truthfully, I find something cold in it despite the fact that it's beautifully written. It's as if you don't interact with your characters, or dig down deep enough to bring them really to life. They seem sometimes stilted and a little withdrawn as if living behind a piece of glass where they don't feel.

I've read everything you've written so far and this is the first time I've left a comment, more because I think that there is something missing in work that could be so eloquently astounding. I hope you can dig deeper next time, find that special something that brings a story to life for the reader. Oh and congratulations on the win, it is deserved.

That was the best thing i have read on this site by miles...when i was reading the imagery of the characters fusing with nature it was like when i smoked weed for the first time in my younger days, your writing has the same brilliance and clarity that i experienced on that day.... great great stuff........

It is a shame the talented work was drug down by the central whore. The other characters were interesting in thier flaws but she by your words wasn't worth our time and her husband wasn't much better. A sad story but not for the reason touted.

Again a shame as the words and flow and introspections and painted pictures were very intriguing but damaged goods for the plot of a selfish woman who ate from both ends and a braindead husband who didn't respect himself. A pity.

Perhaps next time you will use toolsto capture the whole possible.

Pretentious as hell.

Doc, I just couldn't let the last comment made be negative. This story was beautifully written and had a wonderful message. Thank you for allowing it to pour out of you and onto these electronic pages. I am a liitle miffed that he died but it was neccessary and the ending was beatuiful. Keep it up please.

LF

lol! the silly story was nothing more than an attempt at sexualizing every single atom of nitrogen in the air.

there's no purpose, no goal, no point or any thing whatsoever in the story. the author, of course, tried (and many readers/followers gave him countless lollipops for it) to make a senseless elapsed time philosophical.

don't misunderstand me: the writer's good, no doubt about that. and so was Nabokov. but Lolita, this ain't. Lolita's actually darn erotic. this "story" was more like a little prostitute in Tijuana dreaming, for a few minutes, of having a home, a husband, and a "real life" in which she works standing on two feet

What a beautifully written story, and so masterfully told.

Congratulations on your work.

I guess it's not a 100% for me because it's hard for me to identify with Julia. I'd never be happy with her relationships with either Seth or Patrick. It seems to me that she was lost from beginning to end, and had found meaning in an affair only in her own mind, almost as something to comfort her or to justify her out-of-control behaviour. I know women like Julia, and even though at that moment they seem to think they have found some sort of meaning or sense of happiness, it always fade, and soon they're discontent once again. But perhaps, that's not the point of the story anyways.

I admire writers who don't delete negative comments. As a person who has been deleted for a justified critical comment on other stories (not yours, it is a credit to your work that you let the negative stand with the positive.

I believe THE LIGHTHOUSE is not about morality or sex or fish! I think it's about life...being a part of life...making the most of life....having the courage to be in the now...a natural relationship that grows between 2 lovers. One who teaches and one who searchs for the meaning of our existence.

Leighlilly

I am definitely one of your fans, and you write very well, but this story just felt nebulous somehow. Seth's character is never really fleshed out. Julia's sense of turmoil and displacement in the country as opposed to peace in the city is interesting for its unexpectedness, but is never quite resolved. At times her heightened feelings about the natural world leave more implied than explained, leaving me wondering what exactly was supposed to be happening. Also, Julia's sudden, almost psychic connection with Patrick, and the way she and Seth both seem totally ok with her affair, make this story less believable. The writing is excellent, and as usual for you a few lines really stick out, but you have much better work out there.

My god. I've read a lot of your stories and liked them, but this one just blew me away. The sex was very hot, and yet it was eclipsed by the meaning. (Um, just to be clear, that's not a criticism. :-) )

Thank you for having written this.

a great story, loved every word. i will go back and read it again. more than just erotica, allows the author to explore themes that tie things together.

omg that was so sad. but amazing at the same time. it felt so real

~cileena~

A little overwritten but otherwise an excellent story.

I love it!

Love it

Unusual to read this kind of stories now days...nice for a change... ;-)

Powerful stuff. I'm glad I found you.

I did not find this story at all interesting I ended up skimming to the end, just to see if it got any better but it did not. She was just another easy wife who could not keep her legs together. The author tied to portray her as confused and lost so we would buy her reason for cheating. She like most sluts had no problem cheating on her spouse. If she wanted to be with someone else than she should have left Seth first, staying and cheating just makes her a slut. I gave it a rating of "1" for the writing but the rest was pure shit.

A powerfully-told tale that is not one to be easily forgotten.

And it is really good to note that it is "written" rather than 'scribbled'.

There's a point to the tale.

Thank you

HP

so the goal in life is to die?

"It's not betrayal, it's the force of nature" NO BITCH it fucking cheating you sorry skank! so we need to know the questions of nature even if the answers are elusive. just take the drugs you silly bitch and connect.....................................................

What a beautiful and profound story. Thank you.

no longer solitary, singular, alone.

but part of all life.

one with everything.

universal

A very well-written story about a tramp. Writer's obvious talents are wasted on the subject matter. No matter how pretty the wrapping, it's still lipstick on a pig.

Beautiful story beautifully told.

A well written and paced story about fundamentally un-likable characters.

She is a cheating aduttress and her husband was essentially a voluntary cuckold.

Over. all pointless.

5 stars for the skill it took,

1 Star for everything else, but that one star drags the overall down to a 2.

I'm unable to understand the number of comments regarding'Julia's' character.. She seems like a regular person.. And stories don't require only likeable characters to make it from start to end with such a flourish.. Great angsty story about two no so nice people! Kudos on your writing style!

A passionate story of adulterous sex, but there is no Romance here. Julia might have fallen in love with Patrick, but she was lustful, desperate. This story would be more appropriate in the section of loving wives.

I can not agree with the argument of this story, in my youth I suffered a similar situation and it was very painful for me, I thought she loved me, but it was not like that, I was just a toy for her. For that reason I can not agree with the argument of this story, it is against my personal principles.

I want to emphasize that this is not a criticism to the author, simply, perhaps it is that this story is not for me.

Despite this, I give you 5 * for your work, since there are other stories of yours that are very appreciated by me.

I apologize for my English (yet), is not my native language.

A beautifully told tale of pure passion.

Thank you for your beautiful Gift

NorthPacific

I enjoyed your tale very much.

The love scenes were sensuous!

Thank you

Should it be in my least favourite category - Loving Wifes

My favorite line, "They called it a cerebral event. I always liked that. It makes it sound like a party."

Oh my God, I laughed out loud, scared my husband half to death! ! HAHA.

Seriously, have you ever read the ,"Celestine Prophecy"? You should, you are half way to Enlightenment.

You are now one of my favorite authors, right up there with Anne Rice.

Your words convey a very vivid picture, and are quite poetic. This story reached into me quite deeply, past where I’ve been taken before. The message was liberating.

interesting...