Author:
First, thank you to all those who not only keep BCTS up and running but all those who support BCTS with their donations of monetary, their stories and their time. For some reason I found a home here reading all the great authors who are actually better than anything I ever read coming from NYT Best Seller list. If we had only a few of those authors on our list of writers, I have no doubt the publishing company would be putting out top selling stories month after month. I'm so glad they have found an outlet for their exceptional writing talents. Establishment, you may cherry pick your anointed authors but you have missed the cream de la cream of the crop.
There are so many I wish to thank for their support giving their comments and suggestions along with editing my stories. Thank you to those who give so much of that precious gift which can not be priced nor repaid, "time" one of the most valuable things anyone can give. Believe or don't believe, God allots each of us a certain amount of life time. When it's gone it's gone. To share, give, some of that to others is one of the most unselfish acts of all.
If I start naming all those who have shared that gift with me, who they have never met in person, I'd still be writing this as a tome. I'm going to mention one young lady who called me recently. Hung up on a story I could not keep going with, I called out for help to Cathy. Those who have read my stories know she was my editor for Almost A Girl and the Jessica Rabbit series. Both which she donated so much material to they turned from ho hum reading to please give us more. Thus a cry for help to Cathy with this latest mess I was locked up on. She came through in spades. Last night I was working on the story for hours with fresh material.
Cathy, I read the blogs and the comments. You have supported so many I have no idea where you find the time. From the bottom of my heart, girl, hugs and all my love. If you decide to visit the beautiful, wide open, flat plains of western Oklahoma or Texas, give me a heads up. I'll give you a tour of Pack Saddle Bridge, Windmill Museum, and the most beautiful sky and sunsets God creates almost everyday. Don't ask Angela or the other girls to come. They don't know how to appreciate all the better things in life. Besides I'm holding a grudge. They won't loan me their party dresses.
always,
Barb
Our life is not a set highway. We make decisions all the way through which turn we take to our final destination.
Comments
For those who can't visit Oklahoma personally
There is a semi documentary Road TripOK takes one through several places in Oklahoma. The series is one through twenty one right now. Cathy, Angela, ladies, Oklahoma is as diverse a state as one will most likely find. I know all you girls love western Oklahoma and the plains as much as me but for a change we have mountains, forests, large lakes and sadly those pesty city jungles for those who can't keep away from the bright lights. Last night I was looking at the stars the same as I have since I was five years old. Those are my bright lights. Some of us never were meant for the civilization others crave. Maybe it's the Indian blood in me or possibly the other Heinz 57 flavors of DNA heritage I was blessed with. I'm exactly where I belong in this world.
https://tinyurl.com/wbn7zgb
hugs,
always,
Barb
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Um...gosh.
As I stand here, shuffling my feet and gazing down at them...awww shucks Ma'am, tweren't nuthin.'
In truth, whatever help I've been able to give anyone was more along the line of paying it forward. SO many have given me help that I would be worst kind of ingrate to stand off and say, "Hey. That's YOUR problem. Deal with it." So as I enter whatever time I have left on this mortal coil, it needs to be said that I would have NEVER had the success I have had if it weren't for the help I've received from others and that's the thing about being a part of a community of people who don't always thing of just themselves and their successes.
Most, if not all the writers here at TopShelf and other similar sites are interested in making the success of the site more successful as opposed to feeding their own egos at the expense of others. The colorful, never uninteresting group of unherded cats here have at least one common interest...and that is finding themselves and others who share that finding process, thereby helping them find what it is they need, or have to find.
In my life I ALWAYS wanted to be a writer, but I never found the impetus to actually TRY it. I was encouraged by several online acquaintances to "just give it a shot. You won't know if you can do it if you never TRY!" They perused my efforts, gave me encouragement and helped me hone whatever meager talent I might have had and a modest success followed. KimEm, Prue, Nerine19, Steve Zink, Sapphire and others too numerous to mention fed me with compliments and gave me the will to "go for it."
So in light of what they helped me accomplish, I feel it encumbent on me to encourage others to do the same. It thrills me when someone I might have helped becomes successful, thinking I played some small part in it, and in the process of that, I've helped some great stories and talented storywriters be successful.
I'll say, without hesitation, that I NEVER would have found the courage to post something I wrote if it had not been for those people... who also gave me the confidence in myself to face my other issues and begin transition.
Now, I'm not an editor. I proofread, I spellcheck, I try to offer an idea here and there, but I never CHANGE the direction or content of a story. My mind sees things like misspelled words, or awkward sentences or fragments and suggests to me ways to correct them. I'm not always right.
Oops. I've run off at the keyboard again. So I'll stop here and say _I_ thank anyone who has asked me for help, believing I was capable of giving it. Thats a level of trust that is both rare and complimentary. Again, it's in the spirit of paying it forward. We need more of that in this world.
God bless all of you and thank you for your works, your talents, your abilities and for welcoming me into a community of caring and support. Without all of you, I'm nothing but putting in time and accomplishing nothing.
Barbie, Incoming message.
Catherine Linda Michel
As a T-woman, I do have a Y chromosome... it's just in cursive, pink script.
Blog
Did something happen this sorta felt like a goodbye letter?
hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna
Not a goodbye, not by a long shot.
My response was primarily to Barbie's blog here. I'm not planning to go anywhere any time soon. It was also a way for me to express how much this place and it;s members mean and have meant to me, and to reaffirm my dedication to this place and to help whoever I can help if they ask.
Thanks for your concern though. I'm happy to set your mind at ease.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year coming up. I hope it'll be a great one for you and yours.
Catherine Linda Michel
As a T-woman, I do have a Y chromosome... it's just in cursive, pink script.