09 December 2020
Soul
Well VWA that was an absolute trip.
Soul had me cycle through the gamut of emotion and had me hooked from the first chapter.
As a lapsed Catholic who has no time for Churches, Master fit in to my sensibilities so well I found myself cheering him on and his actions further made me cheer and laugh, touches of Pratchett and Gaiman along with a decidedly old OLD testament smiting and inventive wrath kept me glued to the page to the very end when I let out an audible Awwwh! :-)
The complexity of the story had me laughing and cheering.
If you ever feel the need a follow up of this incredible story would be greatly appreciated as I suspect there is much more to this story.
Finally the character Aina was a stroke of genius and I am left wanting much much more.
My thanks
13 September 2020
On my way
Dear Very Well Aged,
I hope this message finds you and your family safe and sound.
I will go directly into privacy issues, which I know you hold in high regard. I am not trying to find out about your private life, location, etc. while I will hold some of my own personal details as my private matter. However I will give you the freedom of asking anything, should you choose to reply to me. It will be then my own responsibility to weigh your questions against my own privacy matters and then answer accordingly. I don't even expect an actual answer to my email, maybe a mention in your ASSTR letter section, should I be so lucky. You have my permission for any editorial changes, as long as the content, my thoughts and views, stay intact.
[VWA's note: I have changed not one word. I never do. All I do is remove the writer's name and email address. That was done here.]
I have found your novels in ASSTR already years ago. Like you, I am not a youngling myself either, I know ASSTR already from the times of Usenet Newsgroups, before WWW was even a thing. I have no shame in admitting that I was looking for sex stories, while being deprived the wildly available visual porn now dominating the Internet nowadays. But after finding your stories, I started reading them as novels. Erotic yes, but also giving interesting cultural views on life in Philippines.
Over the years I become a regular reader, always happy for new novels, but always as a quiet backseat reader. So I want to express now, finally, my gratitude to you, Very Well Aged. Your writing has improved over the years, you have been venturing even more imaginative story lines and you have been able to keep your writing interesting. I wait for every new novel like a rising moon. Thank you for your work and I hope your novels will stay available for anyone to read.
Because your writings don't only offer a cultural window through an eye of a westener, they also remind of the respect and love towards the women. As a repeating theme, the family rises always as an important factor, the loyalty, shared love and care. For me personally they have even a bigger impact than any of the sex parts. They work as an examples, that it is possible to have a multi-wife sexual relationship with a respect, love and care. Everyone feeling happy and content as opposed to feeling forced or jealous.
Unfortunately the latter seems to be the norm, how many of us Westerners think. The sick assumption is, if a middle-aged Western man marries a young Asian girl, that somehow the guy is abusing the poor girl and forcing her into something she doesn't consent to. And when there are more women, the bigger the abuse. Confusingly this is also a reason for envy for some: "why should he have so nice and young girlfriend/wife, when I can't catch even a barfly?" Guys envying and women being jealous for a total stranger - how strange is that? From this perspective I understand perfectly the need for privacy. I wish the world was more open and less judgemental.
At the same time I want to say I understand that real abuse and violence do exist. There are bad people, both men and women, who do very regrettable things to their loved ones. Coersion, grooming, blackmail, bribing, abuse of a dire financial situation, etc. should not have any place in any relationship, any religion or any culture. I don't even start about trafficking and the criminal underworld.
But why am I writing to you, Very Well Aged? I wanted to give you, as an author, my thanks and my thoughts. You deserve recognition. Maybe one day you might write a less erotic novel, more suitable for the big audience, to show what I have already learned: that the different corners of world can be wildly different, and they can't always be measured with the same ruler we find so handy at home. As always, your freedom as an author belongs completely to you, and I am in no place of giving you instructions. Mine is but a humble suggestion. I believe you could find a bigger reading audience, should you ever decide to venture that.
Now the actual revelation: I am planning on trying my luck in the Philippines. This is not a decision done in a heat of a moment, it is something I've been thinking about for years. I have had a few long relationships in my life and I never had any kids. Almost every one of my relationships ended in some sort of misery. My biggest complaints were that I was taken as granted, especially my bank account. I often felt alone, unsupported and deprived of sex, I have been lied to and cheated on. But I was lucky to have good experiences too, for example exploring polygamist and open relationships together with one nice girlfriend. So this summer I made an account on a Filipino dating site, wrote an honest message (and later wrote it in simpler English), added few photos - and I was completely taken by surprise with the amount of approaches I got from women between 18 and 60.
I paid my account for three months. I was only thinking I would do window shopping, look what's out there and if I would have any realistic chance of finding 2-3 girls to visit. I didn't imagine, that I would have so many positive responses from girls between 18-25, which was my personal sweet spot.
I think I should explain this a little bit. I started my adult life as an insecure guy, very uncertain about myself. Later in life, through different life experiences, I've learned to appreciate myself more and ask life for more. I have chosen all of my bad girlfriends myself, so why not choose a nice one for a change. I have found out that my "tick" is a young looking, thin, cute and petite girl. Here in EU many people see that as a sign of a pedophile, but I don't feel literally attracted to children. I like the youthful looks and I'm not hell-bent on the age. A consenting young woman of legal age, who is not been forced into anything but acts on their own free will, that's what I want to find. And just like you, Very Well Aged, have described it, there is a big market for reliable and stable white guys regardless their age in the Philippines.
Another interesting thing with the young age is the innocence. I find it worth appreciation. I know so many women, who have had abusive, even violent, relationships when they were young and insecure. I want to be able to give someone or someones a positive relationship experience. I want to help them to discover themselves as a woman and as a part of the society. To get education, diploma and a decent job. I have given up any chances of kids a long time ago, but the women I've been talking to; every single one of them wants kids. So maybe (probably) I will find myself a father some day.
The discoveries, through the women I've been talking with, have tought me a new thing about myself, too. I want to leave behind a legacy of sorts. I want to enable my future girlfriends to take care of themselves, even after I am gone and put 6 feet under some day. I know this sounds a bit utopian, especially when I'm not even located in Philippines yet. But it is something that I find a nice, almost comforting, to think about. I wrote to some women, that I don't want to be a typical Kano, who promises the girls everything and the moon from the sky, come to Philippines for a sex vacation, and then leave without a trace. When I move to Philippines, I will build some sort of legacy, something which helps my loved ones to support themselves and to make choices free of financial consequences.
The reality has been even stranger than anything you, Very Well Aged, have been writing in your stories. I have learned a lot about the reality of a life of a poor person or family in the Philippines and how the COVID-19 lockdowns and the lack of governmental support have shaped their life to the worse. I would like to give some examples, but I don't want to breach the privacy of the people involved. Maybe I will some day tell you privately, as long as it is not published as is. The other aspect is that how willing some women are to commit themselves to me while knowing I want to have more than one girlfriend. Admittedly there has been also rejections and jealousy from some of the women, and a minority of them have been verbal with requesting for money. I would also like to remind my fellow Westerners, that these women are not prostitutes or online hookers. They can have a hard life and ask for financial support, but that doesn't automatically mean they are trying to abuse you or that they are morally questionable. Life is just very different and sometimes very harsh in Philippines, I have learned so much already.
Now I'm talking with three sisters, out of all possible options. Only one of them is over 18, but they all wish to be my girlfriends together. I never imagined anything like this possible. Despite the language barrier I have been able to talk with them, also deeper conversations about love and commitment, plans for life, and so on. I've made clear that everyone needs to get an education and to be able to support the family, and nobody will have kids when they are under 18. Here in Europe I wouldn't be even having a discussion with two or more sisters without being condemned as a pervert, and now I am being approached by the Filipina sisters if I would accept them. I have later realised that this would also be a convenient thing: nobody would be suspicious, if I live with my girlfriend and her two sisters, because they don't have any other family to take care of them. This will even enable trips together abroad without being tagged as a morally questionable person.
I am also lucky when it comes to the work. I have a contact in Philippines, who has promised to help me with a job, an apartment and the visas necessary. And the possibility of remote working with my own company is also appealing. Unlike you, Very Well Aged, I don't have big savings nor a house to sell. So I must plan my financial future carefully, and that's why I think it's important my future girlfriends can support themselves and aren't forced into making any regrettable choices.
I understand I might appear a bit utopian, naive or even blinded by my own ideas. I assure I also have the realistic side. Life can be very hard and people do die, sometimes in very miserable conditions. There is no way I can help everyone I meet. I will have to make realistic decisions on my life and lifestyle. I know there's also a big cultural difference to overcome and learn, and I don't mean the language only. I have already lived most of my adult life abroad as an expat, so I am aware of some culprits - and I know I have no trouble with learning new cultures. Philippines will offer me surprises, I'm sure of it. But I will be ready to learn and adjust, just I have done before.
I wonder, if any of this awakes your intrigue so much, that you dare to step out of the curtain of your privacy and reply through any channel available. I would be happy to write more and exchange ideas and thoughts. But I am also a realist, you have your own life and your own reasons for your privacy - I do not wish to be disrespectful in any way possible.
I wish you corona-free autumn and nice days,
XXXX
And my answer:
Thank you for your email. There is little I need to say, other than the advice issued to Ron, You should come over before making that fiunal decision and make sure this is for yourself, regardless of the conversations you have had online. You need to be sure before you make such a complete commitment. For every guy who comes over and stays, there are probably half a dozen who decide it is not for them... It was good advice then and it is good advice now. If you take those girls and stay with them, then they likely won't turn on you. If you take them and later leave... that will be a problem which you might never recover from. Make sure before you commit.
03 June 2020
Monkey Read ~ Monkey Do
Good day sir. I have been successful in downloading all of your stories in PDF format and started reading them all again.
I am enjoying this format much more than HTML I guess mostly because of all the pictures at both ends.
I just finished Monkey Read ~ Monkey Do and when I got to the point where Ron is explaining to Aubrey about the real world, I had to stop and think a bit. I have always thought that not much reality is real and that most if not all the world are just puppets dancing on the strings of the puppet masters. They would be the few that are so rich and powerful that they can and do influence everything that goes on in the world. Not for individuals like myself, but rather for the masses as a whole. Jim Morrison once said "Whoever controls the media, controls the mind" and I believe that. I like the way Ron explains it better though.
It will take me a while to read everything through again, but then not as long as it takes to write and publish a new novel.
Thank you for all that you have written and what will come in the future.
14 April 2020
The Ark
I just completed The Ark and it was fantastic. One comment though, I didn't see where you had Elena tell Ira about her past before Tom. It seemed you led into where that conversation would happen..and then later in the story it was somewhat referenced, but I did not read where that conversation actually happened.
Just a comment from an avid reader and fan!!
I look very forward to reading your other novels and stories.
And my answer:
You are right. I kept Elena's secret. Ira needed to hear it... but it was a private conversation (and it didn't move the story along one bit). :-)
14 April 2020
Fifteen
I just finished your series "Fifteen". I have to tell you that it was such a fascinating read that I finished it in the span of one day. I couldn't put it down, you had me hooked right from the start. Fantastic writing and storytelling, even though it had far less sex than the normal stories on asstr. Bravo!!
12 April 2020
Fifteen
I love your stories and have for several years. I had gotten away from ASSTR for a while but have returned.I started reading Fifteen yesterday and must say I really like it. I am in touch with some Filipinas and the way you word their speech is exactly how they speak to me. Also some of the actions you have explained now make sense to me as to why certain things are done or said and the reasoning behind it. In 1993 I had the pleasure of visiting Manila with my best friend who was trying to arrange for his wife to join him in the US. We went out to some clubs with the sister to his wife. I rather liked her, but did not know the social graces. When my friend returned back to the States he asked if I did not like the girl. If only I had know what was possible. But the real reason I wanted to write you was to thank you for the excellent stories you write. Keep up the great work.
05 April 2020
The Rainy Season
Again, WOW! What a story! So much here, but presented with excellent context and extraordinary continuity, I enjoyed every page. Have you or will you develop a story around the "confused Kano" and the coffee shop girl and sister? Thanks for The Rainy Season, WA, a fun read and erotic as well. This story has gotten me through several days of LazyBoy time as I recover from an ACL injury.
Salamat Po.
29 March 2020
Retirement
Good read! Interesting story which led me to think, a couple of times, that Lawrence was a bit naive in his expectations and lack of foresight. Aw well it's fun to be a critic! I just love the InterWeb, I keep a tab open to look up places and things as they occur rather than scrolling to the footnotes, mostly food items. Makes the story more interesting for me. Thanks, again VWA.
08 March 2020
The Ark
There is only one thing wrong with the story: I finished reading it!
I love your stories, and not only for the sexual content. You have amazing characters and you develop them nicely through the story.
I've read most of your stories several times and I was excited to get to read Ark. I just wish it were a longer tale but I feel that way about all of your stuff no matter what length it is.
Pleas continue! And thanks for what you have done so far.
20 December 2019
Fifteen
Reading this novel a second time, I have picked up much more than I did the first time. The really sad world that so many had to live in makes me think about other nations that are so poor. Living in north america you fool yourself into believing you know what poor is, but here we have no idea at all. I saw a bit of it in Mexico in the early 90s but had mostly blocked it out or forgotten what it was like to have a child of less than 10yrs approach asking if I liked her and wanted to buy her. That was "normal" for so many back then. I think I will reread more of your books with a new outlook.
07 December 2019
Fifteen
I am about halfway through Fifteen. Great story. Having been living here for more than 5 years, very believable considering the time frame. Even now, it is still possible to have a wife and mistresses cohabiting peacefully in the same house or a number of girlfriends doing the same. Only real big difference is the age of consent.
Keep up the good work.
10 September 2019
What Happened
Well written. You capture the stark realities of life for young women without means in SE Asian cultures. The accommodations they are willing to make for a small measure of support and security are the same now as they were when I was there, sixty years ago.
28 August 2019
Soul
Definitely different. I enjoy different lines of thought sometimes and this is one of those times. A bit of a twist at the end. I found this one hard to stop reading but did take a break last night.I started yesterday afternoon and started today again after lunch.
Thank you again for making my mind start to wonder about things.
And my reply:
Soul, which, by the voicing of others, is my least liked piece, is one I truly like.
It has the odd confluence of being both fantastical and incredibly grounded in reality. The stuff about drugs and the police... absolutely true. The piece about the sanctimonious nature of the medical community here in the Philippines, absolutely true. The part where a church is soliciting funds via deception at fast food locations, absolutely true. The part where they claim to be mutes... true. The part about a church that kidnaps their own members... true.
When writing a blistering social commentary about a nation, it is safer to make it look a bit more fantastical. Johnathan Swift taught us that when he anonymously penned A Modest Proposal in 1729. I will never claim to be as brilliant a writer as Mr. Swift, but his lesson is well worth respecting at such times as these.
06 August 2019
The Rainy Season
This is a complex, multithreaded story that constantly unfolds onto new scenarios. The second part of the story that culminates in Ann's death, I find deeply sad. The Sadducee Jew surprise at the end of the story is brilliant, as is the introduction of Lars and Svea into the mix. The whole weave of the tale is masterful, as is the rhythm of the Rainy Season.
It is very much too bad that the VWA stories can't get truly wide dissemination. You should get that recognition. Of course, I realize that that would be a two-edged sword for you.
23 March 2019
Thanks! But, please don't send attachments.
Dear Sir,
I have now read "Fifteen" twice and want to compliment you on your writing of this novel. It riveted my attention in a way that no other writer has done with their work. I am sending an attachment which spells this out. This can be published wherever you choose. The attachment has some private data that I would prefer not to be published.
Thank you for the effort this work exhibits.
And my answer:
Thank you for your kind words. It is with true pleasure that I know my efforts have value.
As to the attachment, sadly, that will go unopened. Due to either a surfeit of caution, or simple paranoia, I do not open any attachments. There are government actors who would most assuredly seek to know my identity. Attachments can contain code that will expose my identity, or my location, or both.
21 March 2019
Fifteen: See, some folks do read the footnotes!
Thanks VWA for another great read! I have been looking forward to it for sometime. Again you've captured my thoughts and while reading the story I also looked up the footnotes and links and enjoyed the information I found.
Best wishes to you and your family!
22 October 2018
Habits of the Filipina
A question that I was asked to answer publicly. No name or email address provided.
I notice that all the girls in all your stories are shaved.
Most of the PI porn I've seen is about 60-40 hair/shaved.
My experience is that most girls (back in the 80s) that I had the pleasure to bed had sparsely covered pubis.
Writer's prerogative?
And my answer:
I can't speak to the habits of Filipinas in the 1980s, but I can attest that what is in the stories is reflective of current and recently past Filipina habits and practice. Japanese don't tend to shave, nor do the Koreans I know, but the Filipinas do.
19 September 2018
Observations and a question
I have received an email from a fellow who, if spelling is anything of a hint, is from the UK. He didn't provide a return email address, and so I will answer him below the letter without disclosing his name. (He did give me permission to post his letter online.) If he is reading this, thank you, I fixed the error you flagged for me.
Thanks for your very interesting stories. I've read the Joshua Tree and it was a very good story and my favourite one of the ones I've read so far, I really liked the way reality gradually broke in and fused with the fantasy to create something unexpected but brilliant. I initially just clicked on it because the description sounded pretty lecherous and fucked up, but it combined with your About gave me a different perspective on it. When you grow up in a prosperous first world country, the plights of poor people is something that only temporarily breaches your life and even then only very superficially.
I do have some practical questions though. Assuming the underage fictional characters do or do not correspond to real people, and keeping in mind the small forms of Filipinas, did the fictional characters copulating with the aforementioned not worry of causing internal injuries (excl. that one noncon scene with the 8 year old)? I've seen reports of girls as old as 13 dying.
And assuming they were fine physically, how do any of them fare when grown up and independent.
And my answer:
Reports of 13 year old girls dying that you reference probably are related to childbirth issues and not sexual relations. Further, while nonconsensual sexual acts are apt to include injuries, such would be from the nonconsensual controlling acts and not the sex per se. The childbirth issues can be mitigated by proper medical care, and so without knowing specifically to what deaths you are referring, it is hard to say more on the subject.
It is hard to make a universal statement about all girls just based on age of sexual contact. It would be foolhardy for me to do so. There are plenty of girls in first world nations who have sex as early. Are they damaged or OK? Well it depends on many things, does it not?
The girls in these stories are, with very few exceptions, volunteers. And the quid pro quo is neither insignificant nor unfulfilled. These girls are not trafficked, not abused, not treated like meat. Their education is seen as important, and they are respected. Yes there are rules, but in general the rules are no different from those of a normal supportive home anywhere.
You asked, "how do any of them fare when grown up and independent?"
As to when the girls become 'Independent,' I am unsure of your meaning. These girls are not emancipating. They are essentially married to their guys. They don't leave.
22 July 2018
A fan responds
Read The Whale for the third time. I have read all the stories more than once. Also, read Soul which kept me guessing.
Your stories made me look to internet porn for Filpina porn and imagined some of the girls as characters from your stories.
Well done VWA!
03 June 2018
Likes it long
I want you to know that the main reason I am such a fan, is I love a good story that is a longer read, and is NOT just a stroke story. Those are great at times but I prefer to have to use my mind to add tiny details to fill in the blanks of your details to enrich the story in my own mind. Your style of writing does this very well !!
03 June 2018
Anonymous
I am not going to leave a name or email as I do not want anything or anyone to know me. I just wanted to let you know that if I was younger and did not already have a wonderful wife, I would be in the Philippines in a heartbeat. Also thanks for all the fantasies I have had reading your stories.
02 June 2018
Greetings from Colorado.
I am sitting on my deck enjoying the mild breeze with my glass of Pinot Noir, watching my chicken burn (cook?) on my BBQ. It is not the same as when Laurence would sit on his outside space with his occasional distractions of lips in key locations, but what the heck. We are all getting older...
20 April 2018
Feed me!
I received a short note from what may well be an bogus name. The return mail address was certainly bogus and something in the mail header caused Yahoo mail to tag it as spam. I have removed the attribution. Here's the contents.
Read 21 books twice over, sorry to see there are no more to this point.
Hope you never stop writing. Wish there were at least 50 to read.
Very thought provoking reading.
18 April 2018
A short comment from a reader regarding The Inbox
For more times than I can count. I have read this again.
I seem to always learn something I have missed before.
10 April 2018
Fan Mail
In keeping with my current goal of posting more of the letters of simple appreciation, I am posting this one I received today, as I have received permission to do so.
Ok. I've inserted my email (yes, it will work just fine, though I do not expect an answer) and name. Now I just need to collect my thoughts and feelings to adequately express the joy and .. relief your story Monkey Read ~ Monkey Do brought me.
It started by clicking some chapter, seeing the hint about the beginning at the top, switching there - and having been absorbed from the start for hours. Your writing is so vivid, your wording so full of love (where appropriate) that it was a joy to read. Even more so, as chapter after chapter kept coming and the story was unfolding in unexpected and most fascinating ways. Although central to the story, I would've devoured it even without the sex. It is just so "gud". You certainly do have the talent of a writer. I'd happily pay for a book if you weren't so generously giving it away for free.
The fact that it is explicitly stated that (all) stories are modeled after real life make them oh so much better. That could of course be a hoax, but the world you created in the stories are so wonderful that I simply want to believe you have found the happiness described there.
I would never have the courage to do what you have done and thus don't envy you. Well I do, but you made it clear that anybody willing to take the risk could find happiness. If I don't find the courage, whose problem is it then?
How wonderful to find that there are many more stories from you. They offer me a glimpse of something I long for and did not think possible. And like a good movie or book I relish the hope it gives me, even if it were just a fabricated story. Thank you for that, VeryWellAged. Thank you.
Ah, well. By now it is clear that this is not my mother tongue, that I am missing the vocabulary to express what I feel and the discipline to do so in a structured way. Never mind the above ramblings. If anything, I just want to express my heartfelt and truly profound "Thank You". I owe you, if only for letting me participate anonymously in your life. As Harvey would say "A toast to the fucking asshole who wrote those damned stories, whoever the fuck he is."
I don't expect you to reply. I hope all goes well for you. Take care and live a happy and long life full of love and respect!
01 April 2018
Just a happy camper
I received an email in February that, based on my normal way of thinking, didn't rise to the level of a decision to publish. However, based on my comments about other ASSTR authors complaining that ASSTR is a wasteland where no one ever writes the authors, I am seeking to publish some of the letters I get. Here are two from the same individual I have received. The second one just arrived on 01 April and I requested permission publish both sans attribution.
The first letter from 25 February 2018 submitted from the final chapter of Jake's Journal: The Philippines ~ Joyfully.
I ABSOLUTELY loved the world building and attention to detail in this story and can't wait to see what else you write.
I'm crazy jealous of Jake and wonder if someone could really pull this off...
The second from 01 April 2018 submitted from the final chapter of Jake's Journal: The Philippines with Ganda.
Again with the wonderful world building!
I love how the whole thing hinged on Drama finding that girl and that shifted pretty much everything.
30 March 2018
Part of a letter I received five days ago and have just received permission to publish
I have bypassed this story [The Interviews] for some time and just finished reading it. You have done a good job with writing as a woman. Or at least you made it believable to this guy. I thoroughly enjoy your work.
Oh and thanks for the rapid response to my last message.
I didn't remember a 'last message' so I checked. He had emailed me in 2013! ... And yes I did answer him then.
22 March 2018
I guess I made the short list!
I got the following email today. Yesterday one came that, based on its content, I just can't post. Just a few days ago, other ASSTR authors were bemoaning that no readers ever write them, and that ASSTR is a wasteland. I figure I need to post more of the notes I receive to make the point that readers do write!
I am rereading Bayan Na, probably for the third time since I found your stories. These stories are fun and full of details to flush out a full image of the stories in my mind. If you are living a life similar to the Jake stories, more power to you. Thank you for the group of stories. Each of these seem to be written with care and diligence. You are on my short list of authors at ASSTR that I really look forward to reading any and all their great efforts.
05 March 2018
A text message from Filipina friend reading my stories for the first time.
She has read four stories and just finished Gimme Shelter. I got a text message asking for another story. I am sending her epubs, one at a time that she is reading on her cellphone. This is a snap of what I saw tonight.
The reality is that this woman's father has two wives. The guy is 100% Filipino. So, yeh, the holier than thou folks in these parts will lie to you and say it ain't so. Oh brother, it sure as hell is. Why else would the family violence defense act include this little part as a problem..."forcing the wife and mistress/lover to live in the conjugal home or sleep together in the same room with the abuser..."? Note it isn't against a man having a wife and a mistress, only that the husband cannot compel the wife to live with the mistress.
12 December 2017
Another letter from a fellow expat here in the Philippines.
A lot of What Happened I could really identify with. Was a fun read.
Some of the early part of the story is quite familiar to me in my dealings with my 1st wife and a few parts of dealing with my wife here are ongoing. Not exactly the same, but similar enough for me to understand the story.
For people who read your stories and do not know the life as it is here, the stories are all fiction and made up. To really understand, one needs to come and spend time here and see for themselves.
Thank you for the stories.
02 December 2017
Whenever I wonder about how my work is being received, I get the answer in a letter like this that arrived yesterday.
I FINALLY got to finish this story [Sideways], as ASSTR went belly-up when I was about halfway through. I really like the way you somehow connect your stories with little excerpts from previous ones, especially the thing with Rachelle and the famous (infamous?) Jake, that pretty much started all this.
Roland is a very lucky man, and I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to be in his shoes. We all go through our own brand of private hell, and after his separation from Charline, when he finally professed his love for the girls, I broke down and bawled like a baby. [Emoji] Guess I'm just too much of a romantic. Unfortunately, my ex-wife wasn't, and that's another discussion for another time.
I know a bit about the Filipino culture and the push for young girls to seek out and marry older guys (especially ex-pats that are relatively financially stable). Some girls do it for the money, but a lot of them do it for love and stability, if the guy truly is dedicated to them.
It's a totally different mindset in the Philippines, and not a big deal to have maids and mistresses that will seek out sexual fulfillment from their employers if it doesn't disrupt the 'family unit'. If I were a little younger and more informed at the time, I may have actually entertained the idea of moving there myself. I have a real soft spot for cute Filipina girls, and would probably ended up in trouble though, LOL!
I really enjoy your stories, and hope that you continue in the same fashion in the future. A chance meeting between Roland and Jake and their respective clans could prove interesting in the near future (hint hint). Thanks for all the joy you have provided me with your stories.
I may not have much time left myself, but I hope you will continue on to entertain others with probably the most accurate representations of what Filipino family life is all about! Take care and keep writing!!
11 July 2017
Recollections of Singapore in the 1950s.
Your descriptions of place and lifestyle for the less than well off remind me of Singapore in the late 1950's and early 60's before Lee Kuan Yew became Prime Minister and kept all of the promises that most people thought were impossible and just so much hot air.
Attap huts, with their palm frond roofs and wattle walls were the predominant dwelling. Roads were red dust when dry,and a red swamp when wet. Beggars were everywhere, and the island was pretty much under the control of the tongs or secret societies as they were more frequently known.
Many years after I returned to the UK I was introduced to a Singapore Chinese woman who it turned out, much to the amazement of both of us, had lived less than a quarter of a mile from where I had lived just off Serangoon Garden Way. Just that I was there almost thirty years before she was born.
The changes were quite remarkable, and in a way I selfishly felt sort of sad that so much of the 'real' Singapore had gone forever. She told me that they had been forced to put a conservation order on what remained of the old Chinatown district of Singapore City to prevent it being demolished and redeveloped. Without this the only remaining part of Singapore's heritage would have been lost, maybe excluding Raffles if you count that as part of the heritage.
Anyway, now I've finished rambling, what this is meant to be about is the similarity between the Philippines as you describe them today, and the Singapore that I remember from fifty-seven or fifty-eight years ago.
Nostalgia, one of the biggest blocks to progress.
Keep on writing please. If I read the current library any more I'll probably be able to recite it from memory.
Thanks for all of the wonderful work, and the many happy hours it has helped me pass.
08 July 2017
Sometimes my stories hit a nerve.
[ASSTR is having some problems, so my comments there couldn't post to you properly. So, I'm sending thru SOL.]
And you have done it again!! :) I don't know how it always ends up that I finish your stories while at work, but again, I finished "Sideways" while at work tonight. Just now. (8:30pm Eastern, I'm in Ohio). As I have written before, I say again:
THANK YOU!!!!
I'm sure you have moments of clear inspiration and fits of writer's block like all good authors. I thank you for going thru all of that and for sharing your work with us. On behalf of myself and probably 100 lurkers out here in the nethersphere.
This one was right on time too. I just got divorced Dec. 20, 2016. Nope, the ex couldn't wait 12 days to have the judge sign the paperwork. So, a whole year of taxes coming out at the married rate went down the tubes as I ended up having to file as single. *sigh* Sorry, I digressed!
Yes, the timing was great for my choosing to read this when I did. I have that anger. Been trying to deny it, to a point, but thanks to you, I can at least acknowledge it now. Just wish I had my versions of Jecim and Jelou to help with it. :grin:
And, yes, it is a funny thing how you can want revenge on someone you still love. Will always love, in some way. I'm not to the point Roland was able to get to though. I'm still seething. And we have a 10 year son together, so I try to be nice, but there are times I just want to as her, WTF!!!? Again, sorry, I digressed. LOL
So, as I started to say at the beginning, thank you! Enjoyed it immensely. I was say at least as much as "Bayan Na". Had me laughing at times, out loud even. Had me swear once or twice too. Sometimes at how dense Roland could be, then I would think "is that his reflection in your mirror"?. So, yes, you have done what a lot of authors wish to do: made me think on your story and how it pertains to my real world. Definitely can't say that about most of the erotica I read!! LOL
21 December 2016
A visitor recalls his trip
Hi, VWA,
Back in ********! 6 C., Grey & Damp!
The 16 hour out, 20 hour back flights are a bit heavy, man!
Found my stay in Cebu City very interesting! Must tie back to my time in East Africa, it was exactly as I expected, Hot, dirty and smelly ! I felt quite at home in the place. Didn't do much, mooched around the city, none of the tourist places attracted me at all so I more or less acted like I lived there.
One thing very noticeable after here is the sheer number of armed security guards! Inside and outside the stores and malls with shotguns yet!
A number of professional ladies were attracted by boyish charm & good looks or, more likely, the thickness of my wallet, I did not use their services but bought them a drink and a bite to eat and let them show me around places, a bit of company and information, paid them a few pisos for their time. I enjoyed it and they seemed happy enough!
I did find the beggars, particularly the kids, a hard thing to pass by. I felt guilty for not being poor!
Anyway, came home and am already thinking of returning, I think it was the happiest I've been since my wife died.
Hope I'm not too boring,
Thanks for giving me the idea to visit!
Cheers,
And my response
Hi ***,
The working girls are surely out there in Manila, and Cebu, which is why I tell all those interested in settling here to look elsewhere. For the tourist, such as you, it works out fine.
As to the smell, that too is a matter of the big cities. Get out of the city and unless your neighbor has a piggery, the air smells sweet.
As to the noise, yes, Filipinos like to be loud, but if you don't live in a Filipino housing cluster of tiny little houses jammed together, like a rabbit warren, and you are not in a big city, it doesn't always roar like the cities do.
Yes, even if your closest neighbor is too far away to hit his house with a rock, on occasion, he will crank up the Karaoke, but noise is mostly a problem for those who are in the big cities or can't afford better housing. (I have seen blogs and Youtube posts about noise and how the Philippines is the worst. All I can say is that those folks didn't have a clue. There are ways to alleviate the matter.)
Yes, the guards are ubiquitous. Some have short barrel shotguns, some AR15's, and some just handguns. They are great at helping you back into traffic! I have employed them on occasion. After a while, they sort of become background to life. This is not the First World. But then the First World isn't really all that safe anymore, is it?
All the best,
\/\/\//\
7 December 2016
I received this today and removed identifying information
VWA, I want to thank you for changing my life. I was in a really, really bad place in my life. I'm a... well, let's just say I like girls younger than is technically legal. I'm not a monster, I would never force anyone. So, as a teacher, I had a LOT of girls hug me and even some who loved me, but it was never the kind of love I needed. I almost got in trouble a few times, but since I always wanted it to be consensual, as soon as I knew it wasn't, I backed off. But where does that leave me? I hated my life. I was never going to be loved again by anyone that I was attracted to. Then I started reading your stories, for obvious reasons. They couldn't be real, but everything that was checkable, checked out.
So, I started looking online, first in the U.S. I had a lot in common with this one woman who was almost 20 years younger than me. She thought about it, but couldn't deal with the age difference. Then to the Philippines. My goodness there were a lot of REALLY attractive young women. And they talked to me. Maybe they did like me just because I was white.
Well, to make a long story short, I am now married to a 23 year old beauty queen who looks like she's 11. Tiny body, tiny boobs, 75 lbs, and gorgeous. Eleven is a little younger than I would normally be attracted to, but she's so incredibly beautiful. And she'll never mature. I bought her a tiny bikini made for an American 10 year old and it fit her perfectly. Her pussy is so incredibly tight, and she LOVES to go down on me. I bought her this little schoolgirl outfit. OMG! My life is awesome! We're moving to the Philippines in 2 months. Just need to close on the house!
Thank you for a restart in my life. Your stories started the new direction.
30 July 2016
This was an email from the link at the botton of this page.
I just wanted to say thanks for the stories.
I have just retired and your stories have been a fun romp into fantasyland for me.
I spent a year in Korea within the mid-70s and while the people are vastly different from a political and religious background, the culture/street life ‘then’ is what you are describing as the ‘now’ for the Philippines. That past knowledge, from me, adds to some of the descriptions that you portray in your stories. I remember ‘the smells and the dust and the glances of beggars’ type of thing.
Your stories have large grains of truth mixed within them, and the fantasy parts are a fun romp to an old man. You did a great job (no pun) with Bayan Na and From Nothing. Bayan Na for all the detail involved in the business and building aspect, and the ‘John Wayne-take charge’ main character. The sex parts perked me up and the storyline kept making me ‘turn’ the page to read more.
From Nothing hit me a bit differently, but I liked Howard and his attitude seemed (to me) to be a fair assessment of what death of a spouse would be like. I’m not sure I have ever seen a nude 14 year old on the side of the road, but you are the writer and get to put in any plot and ploy you want. Again a good read.
I have never written any ‘feedback’ letters before, but as I stated I retired a December and have a bit more daytime hours that I can fill in different ways. Just wanted you to be aware that you do have a fan base out here in the electronic universe and you stories are appreciated. If you are in need of a proof reader for future work I would be glad to help. I used to do a bit of it as part of my old job.
Awaiting your next story.
Thanks for the ones that you have produced.
Glen
16 May 2016
I got this email this morning from Jeff regarding From Nothing. I asked and he gave me permission to post it.
Hi
This story hit a nerve with me as a widower having recently lost my wife of 46 years. Your description of Howard's feelings precisely matched my own! Unfortunately, living in a cold Northern country, no such cheering outcome has ensued for me! Your stories inspired me to look at the Philippines on Google and Street View, outside the cities, took me back to my childhood in East Africa in the 1950's, the make do and mend which our society has largely abandoned, also the 'us' society as opposed to our 'me' attitude!
Thank you.
12 October 2015
I got a letter from a reader but when I answered the xxxxxxxxmail account, my mail server said hushmail
was not working correctly and the mail cannot be delivered. Here is his mail [edited for privacy] and my response.
Dear Very Well Aged,
Thank you again! Your generosity in giving your wonderful advice is most appreciated!
Can you recommend any specific match making, dating or communication sites to use?
How do you find women from smaller more rural towns and locations?
I love reading your stories. They are moving, intelligent, fun, interesting, informative, erotic and just overall great entertainment -- fantastic writing!
I just read Bayan Na -- LOVED IT!!!!
I have never used bit coin before. I sent you .0025 bit coin via a purchase on ebay as a trial.
If convenient could you please let me know if you received it? No way for me to confirm it was sent other than feedback from you.
Again very best regards to you and your family.
And my answer
Hi! First, yes I saw the bitcoin deposit and thank you for your contribution.
Second, thank you for the list of corrections. I will post a revised version in all the formats in 24 hours. I really do appreciate this.
Third, no I can't recommend any specific service. There are a number, and, if that will be your way, subscribe to two or three of them. As to find girls from less populated areas, there are two things. If they list Manila, stay away. If they list Cebu City, or Angeles City, stay away. Otherwise, look at Google maps and use Wikipedia. It's really very easy. However, my best recommendation is that you get your ass over to the Philippines, find a nice place to stay, away from Manila, or Cebu, or Angeles City and then use the sites,
if you haven't found what you are looking for by just being here.
Thank you for your kind wishes. My girls are fine. All are well.
21 May 2015
A letter that stands as an answer to those who think this is all fantasy.
I have been married to a filipina for darn it, about 37 years now.
We have had our home in many countries also Philippines. We lived there about 10 years in the 1980s.
It was in Manila, and I did get tired of traffic, noise, raising prices and crime in the end and then I got a green card in the late 90s and a good job in the states so we left. I did love the people though, and I often think back on the good times we had there.
I can recognize many of the situations you describe, and while a few situations are outside my experience most things is absolutely true, even prices, streets, hotels etc.
And by the way, it is common as you said, to fire employees after 3 to 6 months of employment. You are never sure, especially if you are female.
Just wanted to say that I love your stories
01 May 2015
I got this email from Barron (or Barren) of Ideas regarding Bayan Na.
Great story, well proofread. Not sure the acronyms (CUNT, PUSSI, FUKME) are appropriate, but authors get to chose. Just a little jarring once in a while when reading.
The Muslim thing didn't go forward as I sort of expected. Did other ferry operations ask to get the software developed by our hero's businesses? Seems that government pressure might be applied in that direction to help hold down smuggling. Clearly the retail operations were very successful. Did all their competitors fail or did some adapt to find niches where they could survive if not thrive. I would have expected some pressure from them before they finally went under, perhaps through government action. I have no idea what kind of antitrust laws work in the Philippines, if any, but there must have been some backlash about throwing their workers out of jobs. Or did the old locations and most of the staff get taken over by the two surviving retail operations?
And the final question, what happens next?
And my answer:
As to the acronyms: FUC, FUCME, PUSSI and CUNT. Sorry, but in the first instance, Wenelyn was pissed and in the others, Dian is raunchy. Plus, Philippine culture has a raunchy side. A very proper side and a very raunchy side.
1: Did other ferry operations ask to get the software developed by our hero's businesses?
Yes and No. The San Jose opperation could sell them a license for the modules but not the proprietary code and hardware developed by GLS by Sea. The weight on and off technology is not proprietary. Only the displacement at sea technology is.
2. Seems that government pressure might be applied in that direction to help hold down smuggling.
The Government is not as powerful vis a vis private concerns in the Philippines.
3. Did all their competitors fail or did some adapt to find niches where they could survive if not thrive. I would have expected some pressure from them before they finally went under, perhaps through government action.
Unstated in the novel. We can assume some fell away while others, in larger places like Cebu City and Manila may have only lost a little business. No, the Government stays out of this for the most part.
4. I have no idea what kind of antitrust laws work in the Philippines, if any, but there must have been some backlash about throwing their workers out of jobs. Or did the old locations and most of the staff get taken over by the two surviving retail operations?
The Antitrust laws are very week, but in this case, the Home Place and Bayan Na look like competitors, even to the Government, (they file their taxes separately,) so no antitrust is triggered. People lose jobs here by failing businesses all the time. It would be incremental over large swathes of territory. A little here, a little there.
5. And the final question, what happens next?
Gordon's story is complete. He may show up in other stories, but this one is done. Bayan Na is what he said he would make it. While Zelle will not own what she started with, she makes a good living and her children will inherit a large part of an empire. Jana, has discovered that she is happy in Cynthia's arms and raising, with Cynthia, the kids that her husband has given Cynthia. She is happy and no longer in any fear. Eve has Gordon in her life as her forever guy, with his kids and she not only got to be by his side as he did his magic, she is now a full fledged magician of the process.
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