And it’s a BIG Birthday, too!

She’s an absolute treasure. A wonderful author, someone who’s succeeded at marriage for over 57 years, and always a warm, positive presence here at BC.

Take a bow, PATRICIA MARIE ALLEN! Or maybe a curtsy. :) Happy 80th to you! May your pantyhose never sag, and your nighties never tangle!!!

What's YOUR favorite BC metaphor?

R.I.P., Sir Bernard Hill. BBC Obit

You were a great actor in many roles — the Captain of the Titanic and the wily Duke of Norfolk. But to me, you will always be Théoden King. May the Simbelmynë bloom ever white upon your funeral mound, and your memory be ever green.

I love winter. I do. I actually love every season. I prefer it, though, when they stay in their lanes. Watching the poor daffodils wilt under an onslaught of sleet put me distinctly out of sorts this morning. Honestly, though, I’m sure it would depress anyone. It would depress circus clowns and hyenas and the people who get paid to record laugh tracks. I’m sure it would even depress Curly, the obnoxiously cheerful protagonist from the play Oklahoma.

The contest is closed to new entries. Here’s your chance to discuss which stories you liked the best!

I’ve been traveling this week to deal with some family issues, so I’ve been kind of quiet as the contest goes into the final stretch. I have been keeping on top of stories coming in, though. Here’s my latest set of reviews. Great reading!!!

The Promise

When we started this contest, Jill, Joanne and I guessed how many stories we would get. I’m normally the cautious one, guessing low and hoping to be pleasantly surprised. But this time I threw sense to the scirocco and guessed that we would more than double the number of entries in the last contest, hitting . . . 55. Joanne, with the sunny optimism of the Aussi girl she is, aimed higher still, thinking we might get seventy. Jill, though, is savvy in the world of sales. She said we’d get a hundred. Amazingly enough, we’re almost there, and we still have a week to go.

Good morning! It’s February – do you know where your Contest Story is? C’mon, authors! Just two weeks left!

Here are my third set of comments on the stories that have been submitted to date, selected with the assistance of a handy random number generator:

A few days ago, Jill provided some thoughts on the first fifteen entries in the contest, with the goal of getting more of our readers to check out some of the amazing stories that have been posted so far.

Well, we had a bit of a lull yesterday. Can’t have that!

The contest has drawn over sixty wonderful stories, and we’ve had new authors as well as stories from some of BC’s most beloved. But some of you haven’t jumped in yet. :(

Two authors whose stories I’ve been following — one an old BC hand, and one new — seem to have vanished in the last couple months after posting industriously. I hate to see good stories unfinished, naturally, but I am more worried about the authors. I don’t know if it’s considered poor form to ask, but does anyone know whether either Domoviye or Ms. Woolly are safe?