Dear BCTS Friends,

Evi V is ready for testing in Beta version. Known formally as Balthasar’s Elixir Part V, this 16,000 word chunk is the continuation of Evelyn Westcott’s novel-length journey toward self-realization as a turn-of-the-20th Century gender-conflicted youth.

Jan S. calls Evi’s journey “picaresque,” and I suppose that’s what it is. Borrowing a few ideas from E.L. Doctorow (Ragtime), I’ve had Evi trace a path of self-discovery across the canvas of what is remembered as the Edwardian era in England and the Progressive era in the US, that magical ten years or so when, before the First World War spoiled everything, it was possible to believe that Utopia was just around the corner.

For young Evelyn Westcott, that utopia included real help for gender-dysphoric youth (to use a term that she wouldn’t have known) by making Balthasar’s Elixir freely available to all who needed it. It also included female suffrage and sexual equality between men and women — still radical ideas, but our Evi is no wimp.

I have been posting large chunks of Balthasar’s Elixir every few months since last summer. You can find it and other stuff I’ve written by searching on ‘Daphne.’ I know from fan mail that the Evi series has some serious fans, but there is an interesting regression. As of 25 April, Evi I has had 2511 hits, Evi II 1893, Evi III 1309, and Evi IV now 657. I have a number of theories about what that means. The most hopeful one is that readers pop in and out for a while (looking for the good parts?) before they settle down, download the rest of the 15,000-20,000 word chunks, and enjoy them off-line.

So, what’s with this Beta version? Parts I-III of Balthasar’s Elixir are set in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, a cool city at the time (and OK now, too). When Part IV ended, Evi was well launched on the Grand Tour along with her wealthy, radical Aunt Enid. Part V is set mostly in decadent, elegant Vienna in the twilight of the Hapsburgs and then in Rome at Easter Week 1911.

A few friends have helped with Parts I thru IV, and the story has been much improved thereby. Figuring there can't be too much of a good thing (as Mae West famously said), I’m inviting more of you to volunteer read Part V in draft and feed back comment that I can rely on to tweak the text before I post it on BCTS. You don’t have to be an expert on place and time, that’s my bag. I’m looking for a few more volunteers who’ll help me with character development and plotting. If you catch a few anachronisms, that’s a bonus.

So if you’d like to help me out, send me a PM; in your note, include your e-mail address and a promise to read and send substantial and substantive comments on Part V within ten days of receiving the draft. I will be really happy if you say you’ve already read Parts I-IV and know what the story’s about.

In return, I’ll e-mail you a sneak preview of Balthasar’s Elixir Part V for you to review. Helping vett this section, you’ll join a small, smart group of Evi’s friends. I promise that I’ll listen to your ideas, and I’m sure that Part V as posted will be a lot better ‘read.’

Hugs to all, Daphne