All Comments on 'Learning the Smuggler's Blues'

You've got to get a Publisher and use this as chapter one in the long-awaited novel, expanded of course. Excellent writing, character development and story-telling. Don't leave it on the table.

Just so damn good especially the second time around:) Thanks:)) Ed

Great story.

this rings true using the fiction surrounded by faux facts, TK U MLJ LV NV

I like Smuggler's Blues as the second story in Tales. Wendy shows up in later tales, so it is good to know about her early.

You also get to learn a little about the teams because of the training she goes through.

A totally excellent story. Keep writing.

I love all the stories centered around these characters. This is a great series.

Great story. Laughed my fool head off at the mention of Marilyn's. Walked in one night. Walked out ten minutes later scarred for life. You nailed the ambience of that region perfectly. Loved the characters. Well done.

I’ve been a silent fan for awhile. As a submariner, I dropped spec ops in some stupidly inhospitable places. Fortunately, we always got them all back.

Only 5* from me for any of the shack series.

The reason I finally broke radio silence was that I may have noted a timeline discrepancy. If I’m not mistaken, “Gun, Gun, Teddy Bear” and “Behind Blue Eyes” would indicate Kurt left Howard’s unit before they moved Wendy to U-Tapao, but here he is playing a prominent role in “Smuggler’s Blues”. Is this the same Kurt? No big deal from an entertainment stand point. Just looking out for you so it all jobs together when you get published.

Thanks for your rich universe of characters.

Very respectfully,

captpat

Better than the best. A third reading I believe as I've decided to read them in the order you've provided...vaya con dios.

You do good work. I like how you make the characters identifiable.

The Shack Tales are always enjoyable, looking forward to your future efforts.

That made me laugh. Then the memories came back and I got neaseus. The ping pong balls and balloon popping were, uhm, curious? The eel show? Steel wool and bleach, indeed.

Shame its long gone....Was very eye-opening

...but puzzled about use of aircraft storage terms- sometimes hanger, sometimes hangar. A common american lingo fuck-up. When I put away my plane, I don´t hang it it up in a hangEr. I wheel it in to a hangAr. Sheesh, american writers.

This is more authentic and better written than much of the stuff I have paid to read on Amazon.

Write and write and I will read and enjoy

Great story as per usual. Even on the second reading.

A slut in sight. Damn fine read, some of the characters are reminicent of Alistair Maclean. Signed: BTW

Matt Helm. Donald Hamilton. "Mr Hamilton, could you autograph my book?" I grew up in Santa Fe, NM and would walk past his house every day on the way to school. I started reading "the wrecking crew" after I saw the movie - I was in 4th grade. My mom told me Donald Hamilton lived on Canyon Road and one day, pointed out his house. with no sense of discretion, one day I knocked on his door. From that day until I moved, he would wave at me when I walked by.

The way you incorporated the characters YOU made me " Wendy ",

Absolutely fucking amazing read, on of the best of " The Shack "

Cheers (_)>.

So, my Step dad and I love to read, he tells me here is a site that has good stories. Also gives me your name as one of his favorite authors and story tellers on the site as well. I am so happy he did, what an Amazing story and now just found out it's a start to a series cant wait to finish the rest!!!!!! You deserve a 10 but they only let me give you a 5, you truly deserve the rating great story, keep up the great work. Now on to Book/story 2-Gun Gun Teddy Bear and in the words of The Pointer sisters " I'm so excited and I just can't hide it"!

I know very little about the military and have never fired a real gun, but this was a totally entertaining story that I throughly enjoyed from the beginning to the end. The main character was well developed and the secondary characters provided excellent support for the story. I thank the author for giving me such a pleasurable reading experience.

You should definitely write mainstream action/mil fiction.

The story was engrossing.

I've been browsing Literotica, finding some authors I feel are as good as anyone. You're among the best. I absolutely love women with chutzpah and I've been fascinated with military fiction forever. (I was an odd girl, but I met some really amazing people that way).

In short, your story was very well plotted, the characters beautifully drawn, the action quite believable, and it made me grin and grimace at all the right places. I just wish I could have a chance to shoot an MP5SD myself...

Love the story even though there's only cheating in the background...

I have to come back to read it and put a smile back on my face. Good story line and well written.Especially now that my son (& the Conavirus") have me under virtual house arrest. I would need The Wendy to break me out. /s/ justjay

One more great addition to the pantheon.

Being retired military I can understand all the crap that went on Wendy. I only have one request though can you continue the story please.

...giving a five star rating to a story with no sex in it. Bravo!

Being a Vietnam war vet of the medic type I truly appreciated this story to the hilt. I spent time in Vietnam, laos, and Thailand. All the places you mentioned in Thailand I have been to although in 68-70. Great memories. And yes this shit did actually happen, especially during the war. Thanks for the memories. Of course I did have many BAD memories also, I am just trying to remember some better times to steel myself from the real pain from the war.

This is the third time I’ve read this and I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly each time. Thanks for sharing.

Love Wendy...

The S&W airweight frame is to light to fire hot loads. You would be better off using a small or medium frame Glock. The Glock can fire uzi round and not blow up.

I know nothing of the technical issues involved so sat down and read a fascinating story with touches of great humour, some of it gallows humour. 5 stars. Thanks.

Let's chat about Needles.

Love that you already have so many stories about the shack but would love an origin story for amos and his romance with ronni!! Please??

that the writing doesn't get in the way. Or have I got that upside down?

The writing is so damned smooth and error-free that it actually helps the already fine storytelling.

Second reading. Still smiling from the first.

Thanks for the excitement and the chortles.

Great story I love your action scenes and the bad (good) guys are really bad asses! I need more, more, more! I know I'm just greedy.

Anon’s Amos and Ronni plea. Ronni has to have a hell of a story, and Amos seems like one hell of a character.

I read Vodka Sting, fabulous by the way, and the next thing I know,I’ve reread 4 stories of yours in a row. Your characters are incredible, and you teased the hell out of me with Veronica and Amos, she seems extremely interesting.

I realy enjoyed this story.

Great writing, love these action stories, better than what's on TV!! We want more, more!!

More More More. ...Thank you

We need that story

I don’t recall having read this one until now. It was definitely a pleasure to find.

A true treasure of a writer on this site. ALL stories have been a great reading time!

Truly appreciate your time and effort writing and especially sharing your stories on the site!!!

Hopefully you get as much pleasure creating the stories as I have reading.

Please do keep writing and I will keep reading.

Another entertaining tale! Another 5 star writing job.

All your schtick, the descriptions of “the Crew”, even down ti the choreography of the Unit’s moves... I don’t know, dude. The Nang and Desert Storm, and all the heroes I met in my 22 years in, tells me your skills as a writer mask a bunch of other skills.... 10* my friend

Americans are so foreign. Why are they so immersed in gun culture. Disgusting

Hey 'Americans are foreign' anon 'When only cops have guns, it's called a "police state"'. - Claire Wolfe Smart woman.

F*cking awesome - 5+5*

Great series and awesome story!!!

Outstanding. Forgive this comment Literotica, but I never expected writing of this quality or depth on this website.

Amazing story telling!

Todd172, one of the best writers on this site and I'm sure elsewhere, If you haven't read the whole shack series you must. This is my third time around. Whenever I'm lacking for a good story I wind up back here. Look under Todd's bio for a complete list of the Shack series and the order to read them, they are great.

Even better the second, or is it third, time around. I finally got around to reading your profile and thought I'd go through the 'shack' stories in the order you recommend.

.

When I was in Sam's Green Machine, early seventies Germany 11B&11C, the M14 Sniper version was the M21 - I think, but I've been told it's been through many iterations over the years. Since I got out I've always wanted the civilian version - M1A - but every time I saved enough for what the price last time I saw one, it had gone up. Well, don't really need one for plinking at water filled milk jugs, so I guess now it's with the '67 Cobra 427SC in my 'wish but never expect to get list.'

.

Great writing, great stories.

As I've asked before, when does the movie come out ??? A classic series are the " Tales From the Shack " !

YOU SIR,

are one of the very, very view Authors that make the

"came to this Site to "release stress" but stayed for the story" a real thing!

Sadly 5* is the highest rating

exellent story, you should be writing books! Everything in the story was very believable and as good as authors of books with this type scenarios in them. I will be checking out more of your writings for sure!

read your info after posting a comment, i live in the ozarks too, you not only are great at writing but made a good choice in places to live, hope you and your lady take full advantage and enjoy the fishing and exploring the beautiful scenery of the hills and mountains in both Missouri and Arkansas, have a great life and ill be reading more, keep up the great teamwork! Few couples are able to do that, especially at your level.

Pulls your entire psyche into the story Rolls you around places you in the scene and at the end feels so good bravo 5* deserves so much more Bravo cheers an Aussie Shaq'a'holic

stupid.

Many thanks for sharing this great story with us. It was a pleasure to read. As a foreigner living in Thailand, I was impressed how you used Thailand and the colorful expat colony in this story.

Excellent as always. My thanks.

Brilliant! I'm a new fan! Thank you!

5 Stars on this one . You have a gift for writing . But then again almost all of your stories gets 5 Stars from Me . Thank You

Can’t stop. Fifth time through. Maybe best of all of them, but what a challenge that is. Slow revelation that Wendy has been recognized, as has been Spooky in other stories, as the Special Force she was born to be. The Shack!

I will repeat a comment I made at the end of the St. Clair saga. Logically, your work, including this piece, should be categorized as "Non-Erotic." But prior to my illumination at your hands, I would not have paid attention to anything labeled non-erotic. How silly and narrow-minded of me. You and your missus are just superlative storytellers, and I have richly enjoyed every one of them so far.

I am grateful for the reading guide you provide in the notes section of your Biography tab. As you suggested, Wendy's story has been my first leg through the Shack journey. I look forward to the rest.

What NO retribution on Wendy's cheating husband???

/

4.6*, Hooyah, some salutes

Damn! Still one of the best stories on the site, The Wendy is an iconic character, the 'supporting' cast all having their own stories to tell just adds grits to the mill. Brilliant stuff.

Awesome story telling! I've read all of your stories and decided to go back and read them again in the order you suggested on your profile.

I've said it before but, you folks need to get an agent and turn these stories into a mini-series for cable television.

Full marks of course and thanks for the entertainment!

A well organized story told with a certain degree of mirth is worth more than 10 BTB's, Cuck or and other tag. Well done.

Excellent. Just saw on the comments, from the last story of yours I read, that there was an order list for the Shack series. So I went back and read this. As always your work is just great.

I usually read the stories on this site for the explicitly described sex. I'm very glad that I read your story from beginning to end, even though the sex wasn't there. Very well written and entertaining.

When She Needed Help

She didn't even need to "Open Channel D." Wendy channeled a young Barbara Stanwyck to a 'T'. Excellent job! *****'s. Signed: BTW

Ummm Good!

I love this Shack series, started reading from the beginning, again! Maybe my third time, I lost count. Would make a great movie though. Keep up the great work Todd!

This whole series of stories needs to be made into an episodic series on TV, if not Netflix or maybe VetTV. Really great stuff! But in the interim, consider publishing more books! Needles & Delayney is a great read, but we need MORE!

What a great story. The humor on top of the intensity and action is perfect. Really wanted to see a bass shoved where the sun don’t shine. Laughed so hard. You are very talented.

Like it,something a bit different,yet entertaining.

Well I loved it! Rapid moving, little extraneous chitchat and funny. My advice: Quit the short stories and write your best seller(s) right now! (I’ll buy every last one)….

Fantastic! I’ve been meaning to read “The Shack” series because of the high ratings, and this first one didn’t disappoint. I couldn’t put it down! Well done, and thank you for sharing your work. I look forward to reading more.

5/5 - What a hoot!

This story is so good, it could be made into a movie.

Read this one because it's one of few on Literotica with a sense of narrative. Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew grade, but at least it flowed. Then, four pages in, it SKIPS THE SEX SCENE!! What the hell!? This is a children's story.

I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard over a story!! Brilliant plot, and funny. Well done indeed!

GWAD, I love the SHACK.

I wonder if guts like this exist. If so, your worst God damned nightmare if they show up looking for you💀☠

Some of the 9mm and .45’s silenced are strange to shoot. You just kind of hear a click of the bolt or a click click if it’s not a fixed firing pin. Been lots of years. Quieter than a .22 shooting shorts

Anonymous GWAD

Units like this do exist. And you’ll probably never know they are looking for you

All good stories must come to an end and this was a great ending! Having said that… it also begs a follow on story of the further adventures on “The Wendy”.

This was fun indeed. Glad to see a story with a real plot that wasn't predictable down to the commas. It may have been fantasy of a different kind from what is usual in Literotica, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. 5*

Third time reading this. Next time I’ll be anonymous so that I can give this another five stars. Great story, and a great series.

Great, when is the novel. Hard cover or paperback. Would settle for a e-book.

A comment re. The Shack Series. I have been avoiding it because I can't make heads or tails about the sequence. Why the hell don't you number them? I won't get involved with it. One says you should read x, y, and z first. Too much trouble for me. If I could start at the beginning I could deal with it.

Another great third reading of a great story by a wonderfully talented author and his wife and editors of course. Come on! Get busy we need more stories and maybe a book or two like Needles and Delaney. 500 stars

AWESOME. SIMPLY AWESOME

Good show.

A. Great story; 6 stars!

B. Minor issue with the chronology.

"Normal" enlistments are 4 years active and 2 years non-active Reserve

When she is "interviewing" with Howard & Pogo at the beginning, Pogo says "you have effectively ended your career progression permanently at three and a half years in service" so she should only have 6 months left

After several months at the outlying airstrip getting weapons training, etc., she is being hurriedly packed up for Thailand and Pogo says "You've still got eighteen months..."

Figuring several months getting the lay of the land in Thailand and several more months establishing "The Wendy" legend before Howard tells he she is discharged, etc., that part works.

Just a minor glitch my OCD keeps pinging me about when rereading it.

BTW, re-palleted is usually repallatized, as someone who used to be in that business dropping y'all off in odd corners of the world...

You've got 3-4, maybe 5 books here with just the Shack-related stories, not counting what you and the Missus are hopefully working on currently.

Thank you for such outstanding stories!

Loved this story, did I like the good "guys" - Yes, Did I dislike the bad guys - yes, Did the story flow without getting bogged down - Yes, Was I entertained - Yes, was I disappointed when I got to the end - Yes, I wanted more adventures of "The Wendy.

And I had a good laugh in a few places.

I am new to your stories, got some reading to do, this was an easy 5*, thanks

If the senator pursued a court marshal it would have also forced them to charge her husband and his daughter with adultery which I'm told is a huge deal in the military. So she should have been safe.

I BLOODY knew you were SPEC OPs!!

Outstandi💥💢💯💫

Damn great!