Hi, all. I didn’t imagine that 14 months would pass before I posted another chapter of my book-length story, Balthasar’s Extract. Blame it on a serious case of writer’s block aggravated by real life — the usual excuse. It seemed to me important that the story come to a full, complete and convincing close.

I leave it to you, dear readers, to decide whether I’ve succeeded or not. Jan S, my muse and most faithful proofreader, has already chastised me for not carrying Evi Westcott’s story onward to about 1940, but that’s just her opinion.

I gave serious thought to killing Evi Westcott off this time. Her diary just won't quit, there are more characters than War and Peace, and she hasn't even started college yet. All the friends could have come to her funeral and said what a swell girl she was. Anyway, I tried out some scenarios on my friends, one of them (the scenario, not the friend) shamelessly plagiarized from la Traviata, but no one was buying it. So here's Part VI of Balthasar's Extract. If you like it, drop me a note and tell me why.

Hugs, Daphne

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.

Dear Friends, I am an American author engaged in the writing of a coming-of-age novel about a young person of indeterminate gender that is set in the early years of the 20th Century. Four parts to the novel, totalling over 70,000 words, have been posted on Big Closet Top Shelf (www.bigclosetr.us) as Balthasar’s Extract, the Diary of Evelyn Westcott.

Do you know a lot about organic chemistry? Do you speak German and know your way around Vienna? Do you speak Italian, and know your way around Rome? If any of these, and you are able to help me authenticate the plot of a lengthy coming-of-age novel set in the years just before World War One, I would love to hear from you!

Hugs, Daphne