*Maggie*

That was excellent Kat, you and ILM are spoiling the Irene fans. As somone said in another thread, little has been said about Irene's early life so its good to read about how it might have been and your descriptions and the emotions which you evoke are very vivid.

Excellent as always ILM, I always enjoy reading your work. I agree with princess sparkle.

I very much liked the turn around of Barry being the one doing the supporting, I always felt it was important to him to be able to support her when he could. The flash back was very effective and I can well imagine Irene as quite a fiesty kid who gave the straight laced teachers a hard time. The real teachers will have loved her. I remember Dani being very shallow and a bit of a princess, the precursor to the character of Nicole in many respects only more childish than Nicole is today. You have captured that self obsessed silliness that I remember very well without it being a negative, its just Dani. I too like the Martha and Kane pairing, its a strong combination, and Martha's attitude combined with his, and his vulnerability, makes for interesting reading. Kane's childhood memories are painful, in fact many of the childhood memories are, but you write them so vividly its very moving. Thank you, that was another great read.

I think you must have a lot of natural empathy, as this must play a big part in understanding the characters. Don't give up on him though, you have captured the loneliness and the despair, the desperation, perfectly I would say. The children and teenagers as well. I really liked sad little Hayley and Freddie Teddy. The other reviewers have said it all so I won't repeat it all again, but this really is excellent and I have very much enjoyed it.

An excellent chapter, which I greatly enjoyed. I always liked Gypsy, her fire and spirit were second to none amongst the teenager characters. You have captured that well, yet given it your own unique spin. I also like how you have drawn the parallel with Irene, who also has fire and spirit.

Thank you for the latest chapter, which I have to say, brought quite a few tears to my eyes. I thought your chacterisation of 11 year old wild Irene was perfect, as I could relate the current Irene to the past Irene. It was very skillful and powerful, and I particularly liked how you used the stars as comfort for both of them. I felt Barry's pain, and Irene's. which is as it shoud be with this sort of piece. It was lovely. Thank you. I shall certainly keep reading , regardless of which characters you are focusing on, as I think your writing is exceptional. But I hope you won't keep the Irene and Barry fans waiting too long before they reappear, as I believe that you are the only person currently writing about them.

The previous reviewer hit the nail on the head as they say. Nothing I can say will add to this. Your writing is exceptional, and your characterisation is exquisite. I do hope it isn't to long before we get to enjoy another chapter.

Thank you once again Dan. You have provided some really fascinating and interesting features which I am sure that everyone really appreciates. I look forward to each one appearing eagerly to see what you have for us next. Thank you.

Thanks for all the work you put into your excellent features and interviews. I enjoyed the Debra Lawrance one enormously. I hope that you enjoy your trip to Australia Dan.

Hot and sunny today.