All Comments on 'Fire and Oil'

Great story!!!! Thanks for this believable, eminently readable story! It's an honor to read such fine writing this!

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Texas is such a well of stories, almost like we're in a whole 'nuther universe!!

Good to see woodmanone back in the fray.

Hooked

I enjoyed it, thanks.

I'm surprised an intelligent woman with a good career would marry such a self-obsessed asshole as him.

To see a story from you. You were missed. Few writers have what I call the human element. Your stories have that. Very refreshing. Thank you for the story. 5

I am surprised she didn't have another man in her life. Young, beautiful, successful, yet single. I can understand not married but she should've had someone. She was also back in town for 4 years and again, no steady boyfriend and they never bumped into each other?

Still, a nice romance.

P.S. not really an end of the affair story. More of a reconnection.

Sweet story, could have been in romance as well.

A well written nice romantic story. But where was the affair that was supposed to happen??

This tale did not conform to the parameters of the story. The end of an affair.

Because of that the story gets a 4/5 and not a 5/5

But it is sure nice to see you writing again Woodmanone.

Too many errors and typos.

The story plodded along without much tension. The injuries and girlfriend issues were fairly prosaic.

I didn’t think that the kid’s mom was all that great of a catch.

Better hope Overcritical doesn’t sink his rotten teeth into this one.

Wonderful story!

5

Nice and uplifting story about two young lovers and their tribulations in life. I enjoyed reading it. It lightened my spirit. Thanks for the story.

This was the first of your stories I've read. I was able to finish it, mostly because I saw unrealized potential as I read.

The editing was sloppy. Several times phrases, or very similar words, were immediately repeated. There were a few fat-finger typos (through instead of trough, was one example) and a number of times an incorrect word form was used. I didn't make notes but the type of error when a verb form was needed but a noun, adjective, or adverb form was used. There were also places where edits had been made but the discarded text was not deleted.

I have to agree with Anonymous about the main female character. I'm not sure a smart, independent, professional woman would give him the time of day. Introduce him to his son? Involve him in the boy's life? Maybe, but much more slowly and much more closely supervised. It's also unlikely she would have made much effort to tell her young son much about the missing father, especially after the way they parted and when there was no assurance they'd ever cross paths. More likely she'd tell him more when he was older. Rekindle a romance? Not so much. There's really no predicting the way relationships develop and progress. But in six years she never met someone else?

The Sally Ann bomb incident is an unbelievable and unnecessary addition to the story line. A public explosion which destroyed a truck, could have caused serious injury or death, required response of police and fire personnel would not get glossed over and gone unprosecuted - no matter how good a friend the sheriff was. This type of story has to be believable. I can suspend reality for a good story. But Sally Ann facing no consequences for a bombing? I couldn't get there. Especially not in Texas where you might face hard time for a third jay-walking offense and everyone and their mother is packing so police aren't very forgiving. A confrontation between the two women to add some tension? Sure. A cat-fight between the woman might have been believable, and maybe allowed the introduction of some levity. But even that would only serve as a distraction, contributed little, and didn't advance the story.

Thanks so much for a great story. I have missed your writing and hope to see more while I'm still around to enjoy it.

Thanks so much for a great story. I have very much missed your writing. I hope to read more while I'm still around

@carrteun

Woodmanone has been contributing stories to this site for 15 years. He has written some of the classics, and is in halls of fame in more than a few categories. He is one of the Original Gangstas, around here. He is still writing quality stories. In addition to being one of the OGs, he is one of the kindest people on Lit. He has earned respect.

Perhaps you don't understand writing to a deadline, as Woodmanone did here. Had there been more time, I'm sure the typing mistakes would have been few. When you have written as many stories, contributed as much to the site as Woodmanone has, come back and make another comment. Until then, write your stories, read anyone you please, comment anything you please, but don't expect to win any friends by dissing one of the OGs.

Thank you for posting, my friend. Write another story, please. Randi.

A good, romantic story. I did not like the protagonist much, but you told his story well and it was a 5* read.

One of the comments was: "no tension" and that says it all. A little mystery would help. And a few minutes reading this on the part of the author to clean up some really awful language - it wasn't grammar, it was just laziness. You could use an editor or just proof read the story yourself. If you speak English as a first language it will be obvious. 3*

1) "I know..... I took the coward's way out." Just as there are no atheists in foxholes, there are no cowards working on oil rigs. But he's your character, and if he is that delicate, insecure, and unimaginative, then Alyssa, and her son, are much better off without him.

2) "How was I supposed to find you?" Now that is complete bullshit. Its call a Paternity Lawsuit. She knew where he used to work, and they would have all his records, including his SS#. With the lawsuit she can get all his information for discovery. Guess she's smart enough to be a nurse, but not smart enough to seek widely available legal and PI assistance? Fail.

Of course allowing a bomber to go free is probably the dumbest part of the whole story. Guess this compassionate thoughtful coward is going to just shrug his shoulders when the next thing Sally Ann blows up has people in it. Was that really supposed to be an act of kindness? Just stupid.

All of which is really unfortunate, since the rest of the romance was endearing and sweet. Improbable as hell, but sweet. A beautiful if somewhat stupid nurse can't find a man to fill her life and be a good father? Whatever. You write whatever words you need to further your plot I guess.

Not bad, but a bit frustrating. It could have been really good.

Thanks for the effort.

I used to love getting lost in Jake Rivers and woodmanone westerns - both modern and historical. What a pleasure it is to read new stories from you. Thanks for sharing your work.

Too many holes in the story.

She knew where he worked before, could have asked a court to get his SSN and found out where he works now.

Is this how you react to a truck exploding? "Oh my God," Alyssa said. "Your truck Kayce. What happened?"

"Sally Ann is what happened. I saw her sneak around the building. Didn't think much of it at the time but then my truck became a car-b-que."

"You sure? Kayce nodded. "What are you going to do?"

Also, it's funny that people think you could live on a million without having to work anymore...

It took her a little over an hour to drive to Beaumont, but Mount Belvieu is 45 minute from her place, and an hour to Beaumont, but it's halfway between? Am I missing something? Was she closer when she made the initial trip?

/

"we intend to take care of all your medical bills, along with any rehabilitation you need." - Wouldn't that be like the MINIMUM expected, not exactly a generous offer? Heh, I didn't even think of his insurance, though even there he probably has co-pays and deductibles that they should cover.

/

If the case takes a long time, that increases the legal bill for the company, and their lawyers aren't cheap.

/

"When Joel was secure Kayce stopped for BBQ and drove to Alyssa's house." - Wouldn't there be a few hours between Joel getting out of school and Alyssa getting off work? Nothing was said about doing anything else until Joel told his mother.

/

Definitely could have used a Beta reader and/or more editing, and as you say, not quite on theme, but still a wonderful story, five stars from me.

Sweet. However, when someone blows up your truck, they have to be dealt with. That psycho could hurt his wife or child. She would have to be locked up. A "talking to" would not be enough.

It was pretty nice, but the psycho ex-girlfriend though. I'm guessing from the author's intro that he had to rush things to meet the posting deadline.

So let me get this right, she knew his name, the town where he lived which was so small he had to work high school jobs in another town entirely, she knew his parents were alive, and yet it never occurred to her in the nine months she was pregnant, or the 10 months after the birth before his mom died to try and track down the love of her life and father of her child even though with maternity leave she would have been at Mayo for less than six months, and already living with the baby within 100 miles of his parents ranch before his father died?

Nice story, but it jumped too fast from when Alexa and Maybe started dating again to their marriage. Should have had couple dates, intimacy. Would have added a pad or two,but the story would have flowed better.

The story was pleasant, however there were numerous grammatical errors and some misspelled words. A number of holes leaving questions. Honestly though, I did enjoy it. Can't give 5 stars and can't give halves so 4 stars.

Great piece of storytelling. Thanks for sharing. (good to see your stories again)

The ending came on in a hurry, surprised me.

Still a very good story. Thank you woodmanone, looking forward to your next one.

@sbrooks,

What is with the nit picking of stories that have been completed and published. You even rated it 5 stars. And the nit picking is not going to change anything.

A very nice story, to bad the deadline was looming, I would have loved to follow their rediscovering each other a bit more in detail. Thank you for this one 5* of course.

I hate stories that ignore basic reality. I know that this was not a critical part of the story, but there is no such thing as "tax free." Pain and suffering would be tax free by statute. Any lost wages are taxable, and if anyone pays the tax then the tax payment becomes additional compensation on which taxes must be paid, and that circle never ends. Thus, the story line of $1 million tax free where the payor paid the taxes is impossible.

I know that this is a common them in many stories, but I just do not buy the concept that a mother would not tell the father about his son and for 5 years. Children deserve to know, and will want to k now, who their parents were, and a good mother would never deny that absent danger to children.

So, this was a really badly thought out story and nothing new in the story line.

Great story as usual. Glad to see you writing again.

Thank you!

Great story Woody. Good to see you back.

Just stinkin loved this one

Sucker fo Happy End mon

Me liked it. Let otha mons talk da talk, yo have FIVE FAT SPLIFFS from me, mon.

Pretty nice little romance, but have to say there were a lot more errors than I would expect. Some might be a misunderstanding of local dialect variation, but mostly just felt like it had been rushed. Thanks for sharing.

Rnebular.

Frankly I was worried for a little more violence when we were on the last page and just starting the scorned gf. She apparently got her due and moved on.

Maybe it could be argued that she shouldn’t have needed to but I don’t think Alyssa did as much as she could have to contact Kayce or find him when she returned to Texas. Regardless, it was a good story with a happy ending.

Good, enjoyable story (with likable characters) bordering on excellent. There were some things that could have been tweaked plot-wise to fill some holes and some typos or minor grammatical boo-boos that could have been fixed, but the main thing was that the ending was about as rushed as going over a waterfall. That’s probably because of the deadline, but a little more there work there would have made a nice difference. I rate it 4.6*, so I rounded up to 5 based on the current score. Thanks for writing it and sharing it with us through the event.

"Can you tell me what happened from your prospective?" Nope, but, I can tell it from my PERSPECTIVE. Sorry, I had to do that, I'm a retired truck driver, high school education, and I see stuff like this all across this site. Many others including this author, and annoying as Hell. This is, however, a good story, well plotted, with the characters more than two dimensional. I am very well satisfied with all of this authors efforts.

You sound familiar with the little city that’s been growing leaps and bounds of late, Hell they’re building new schools two at a time and still can’t keep up with the population growth. You even got the spelling of the city name correct. I’m familiar with Bayou Bend RV as well. That polypropylene plant a mile away wouldn’t happen to be CP Chem Cedar Bayou would it? I’m curious if you’ve lived here before, just happen to be familiar with the area, or randomly found the place when looking for something that would fit the story. I’m betting it’s one of the two former and not the latter.

Hey Woody,

Always enjoy reading your stories! Very nice job with this one. Thanks!

Killian

Second reading. Really liked the story. I intended to give it a 5* but fat fingered a 4. Thank you.

Good story. Seems like the Sally Ann bit could have been developed further and offshore rig workers can afford round trip tickets to Minnesota once a month, but good story.

Soooo glad you are back. I really like all your stories. Ignore anonymous comments. This one was right on the nose for me. Thank you for this.

This author writes some really superb stories. The only negative comment to be made is that the endings are rushed, - and some editing is required. as usual, 5*s.

Ive been a couple of places the Author writes about. Specifically in this story, Myrons Steakhouse in New Braunfels. The Comal River too. Best wishes to the Author. Great stories.

Even for being rushed to publish, it's a great feel-good story with a happy ending.

Working my way through this author’s stories. So far every single one is 5*. Thanks to the author for writing them and sharing within the world.

Good story, Five stars worth, anyway. I grew up out in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico where my dad worked in the Permian Basin oil field for 25 years and that’s a tough tough way to make a living. It makes old men out of young men pretty quick. Or maybe they have women working on the rigs now, who knows? I doubt it though, I think women are smarter than that. Anyway, enjoyed the story, thanks Woodman.

I am sick of all the Texas bullshit. Terrible state, terrible politics.

Though I normally stick to reading (and commenting on) LW stories, this is the only story he's posted since the last LW one (7/4/17). So I felt this would be a must read. Glad I did, though I am giving it a 4 instead of his usual 5. Maybe because it being in Romance, I expected to have wetter eyes at the end of this. Instead, I found it good and sweet, but not all that moving. Which is OK. Meanwhile, all those criticisms about the mistakes apparently missed what he wrote in the intro (that he had to rush it to get it done in time for the event, and made changes after it'd been edited). So why point out what the man himself already noted? Besides, one can read past the mistakes, which don't matter all that much. It's the story that counts, and I for one never allow mistakes to get in the way of the story. Identified with the anon from 4 months who noted that he/she had been working his/her way through woodmanone's stories. Same here. And as usual, Randi nails it - and love the OG tag. And great to read nice comments from Stev2244, Hooked1957 and Legio_Patria_Nostra. Certainly hasn't escaped my notice that the best writers on this site also tend to be the most generous commentators.

QuickMagazine

Like some comments below, I'm making my way through Woodmanone's stories and just loving them. The typos don't detract from the excellent stories. Thank you for the enjoyment.

Mostly good, but the last part just skipped along too rapidly. Plus, Sally blowing up his truck deserved some payback. What if they or someone else had been injured?

Second time around. Regraded it from 4/5 to 5/5.

The story was a lovely romance and l thoroughly enjoyed it.

I read mostly LW, and when a romance is snuck in there I'm always waiting for the 'event'. I liked this story. 5/5

Nato_

A nice little story but for me not enough sex

5 year olds don't nap

If she wanted to find him it would have cost a couple hundred...

Great yarn! You sure can spin a good one! I’ve read and enjoyed your westerns, I sure hope you write and share some more of them. You’re one hell of an author! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love a love story.

Read again. Great story.

Car-b-que. 🤣

Your writing is just fine. Let no one get under your skin with rude feedback. I enjoy your prose.

Writing is story telling no matter the subject line. There is a book as recommended reading for writers in the movie industry. It's titled "Save the Cat". Many movies are directed and rewritten backwards from the end after being created into a screenplay. From forwards to backwards, the best is revealed in the writer.

Good story, although the ending was a bit abrupt.

Very special story

Really nice story. Good to see someone stepping up when they find out they have a child. Well written and very enjoyable. Particularly liked the Car-B-Que line. BardnotBard