We're going to turn off new member sign-up for the weekend as this seems to be part of the code that is causing the problem. So if you want to join the site, please be patient and we will fix this as soon as can be.

Hugs,
Erin

I just added "2016 February - The Crush Mini-Contest" to the "Contest" list which can be chosen when creating Fiction. This way, it will be easy to look at all the entries and check to see which ones you have read or haven't and vote on them.

Note though that Melanie and I have entries on the list but we aren't eligible for prizes. :)

Hugs,
Erin

Piper and I are back from our vacation in Florida. For me this means going from 65°F damp days to 65°F dry days but Piper has been dropped into the deep freeze of New Jersey. :(

We had fun. We're tired and we probably all have colds. I expect to do very little today and maybe not much more than that tomorrow. And Piper still has some personal stuff on her plate to take care of. So, please, continue to cut us some slack. :)

I hope all are well and enjoying the holidays with family and friends.

I know for some of us this may not be possible but it is my Christmas wish.

Hugs and love,
Erin

We've almost made it halfway to our goal but the end of month bills are coming and we are nearly broke. Please, if you can, I know it is a hard time of year to send money to strangers but we do need to pay our bills. Thanks.

Hugs,
Erin, Piper, Cat and the gang

Felix, Katie's boyfriend, reports that they have the heart arrhythmia under control and the blood tests back so they can start fine-tuning the antibiotics. Katie's blood gases are better but that's after they put her on a breathing tube. Her kidneys are working so that's good. She spiked a temp yesterday and during it tried to get up and leave but they talked her back into bed.

Still very serious condition but the doctors believe they have things in hand and she should be getting better from here on.

Hugs to all and thanks for all the prayers and good thoughts,
Erin

Yes, it is a US holiday, though a few other countries celebrate something similar on other dates but I think it is kind of a universal theme. We all need to take a moment out now and then to be thankful for what we have.

I'm thankful for the community we have here that stepped up and met our goals for the month with gifts. I'll update the Hatbox box later.

I'm thankful for lots of other things, too. I hope everyone has a lovely day. :)

Hugs,
Erin

Eleven years ago, Jeannie died on the day before Halloween, the holiday she loved for its morbid humor.

Last year at this time, I got out of town and went to New Jersey to be with other friends and try not to notice the loneliness.

This year, I knew I would be alone. I've been depressed since I got back from New Jersey in June, having decided then that I would not run away again.

I have been very ineffective in getting things done the last few months. This afternoon, I re-read my blogs and poems from that awful time and I cried. I cried again for Jeannie.

Early this summer I concluded the first part of an epic fantasy role-playing game. This was the third time I had run this story on different groups. It begins with the unrestful dead walking into town and trying to buy a beer.

This first part ended with the final death of a giant wildboar named Sourbelly who had swallowed an undead wizard's soulgem. Sourbelly had become unkillable while his flesh rotted off his giant bones. His mate, Sweettooth, and his offspring defended him against attempts by the players to destroy the undead swine.

Update 9/10 - about $2100 in bills and payments due over the next week. We've got about 1/3 of that in the bank after paying this week's amounts.
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It's a new month and thanks to everyone who contributed money last month, we paid our bills and are now in the position of asking again for gifts and subscriptions to keep us going for another month.

We're not broke but it is tight and we haven't quite made our goal for the month.

If you can, it would be good to subscribe via Hatbox or just send us a donation via Janglewood.

Thanks and hugs,
Erin, Piper, Cat and the rest

I'll be at San Diego Comicon International Wednesday, July 8 through Sunday, July 12. Piper and Cat will be keeping an eye on the site and I will be available through laptop, tablet and phone but I won't be checking in every hour or so like I do normally.

If anyone else is going to be at Con or in San Diego, maybe we can get together. I usually eat lunch and sometimes dinner at one of the excellent restaurants in the Gaslamp quarter or Seaport Village and can be found eating breakfast at Cafe 222 on Island Ave near the Con most days I am there.

On July 1, Amazon will turn off their Payments gateway and the links that BC has been collecting gifts for the Hatbox will go away. Any ongoing subscriptions will be canceled as far as collecting future payments. All such subscriptions will, however, continue to be honored for at least two years.

So this is the last chance for anyone who wishes to contribute money to BC through the existing version of the Amazon gateway. We may have another Amazon gateway up in future weeks but the software and interface to be used are not clear.

Due to various confluences of need and happenstance, we are short of money this month. We have about $1800 in bank accounts and outstanding checks and debit charges totaling about the same. Other bills are coming due, too. I have not taken a draw yet this month but I can wait. ISPs and hosting companies cannot.

We will have about $3500 in bills due before the end of the month. Some of that will be taken care of by advertising money coming in and by the revenue from Doppler Press which is beginning to make a difference.