Details are somewhat settled on the prize front, and this time we've got something super special for all of you avid readers out there: book bundles!

Yep! Miss Erin's putting in some overtime to help with this 'un, and we're going to offer two bundles of (platform free) ebooks for our top two prizes!

First place: 15 Doppler Press eBooks, 12 curated by me and Erin and the other 3 winner's choice

Second place: 10 Doppler Press eBooks, 8 curated by me and Erin and the other 2 winner's choice

Sorry people! I know the delay has been problematic, but at last I'm ready to reveal the results of our Double Dip Story Contest!

It's time to announce the winners of the July story contest!

We had a lot of great entries this time around. I want to make sure every last author who wrote for the contest knows just how much I appreciate their hard work. It's the stories that keep a site like BCTS alive, and without your dedication and effort none of us would have this wonderful place to call home.

Just a reminder to people that the Staycation story contest closes entries on Tuesday, July 31st at Midnight whatever-the-heck-your-local-time-zone-is, so if you've got an entry waiting to be written then hop to it, and if you've got one waiting to get posted, then what's the hold up huh?

:)

It's been a week, and huzzah! The votes are in!

All the stories in the contest did quite well, but two in particular managed to grab the most thumbs-up from our readership, and those two were:

Cursed, by Nuuan

The Fairy, by Bru

Congrats, young authoresses! I get paid this coming Thursday, upon which each of you will be given your prize, a three month subscription to the BCTS Hatbox!

Just a reminder to anyone with plans to enter still, today is the final day of my Fairy Kiss-and-Tale contest! I'm working on the honor system here, so as long as you have your entry in by midnight your time (May 31 2018) we'll call it gravy.

We've had a lot of great entries, and I've already got plans for another contest here in July! Sadly I actually haven't finished my OWN entry for this one yet, though since I'm ineligible for the prize anyway it doesn't matter much :)

Melanie E.

So who's ready for another not-in-any-way-sanctioned-by-management story contest?

Melanie E.'s Fairy Kiss-and-Tale Contest

Dates: May 1st 2018 - May 31st 2018

Everyone loves a little romance, and everyone loves a good fairy tale, right? Well, here's your chance to write your own mash-up of the two!

I've said it before here, and I'll say it again: I'm a huge game geek.

I've been looking to re-obtain a 360 for a while now, since I have a stack of games for it and the original Xbox I've acquired over the last couple of years via yard sales and thrift stores because they were too good of deals to pass up, even if I didn't have the console at the moment.

That all changed last night, when I traded a friend of mine at work a spare NES I had lying around plus a few carts for his old 360 he doesn't play any more. Now I can play all those games, horray!

Spreadsheets.

Word documents.

Games.

Email.

Skype.

All of these things, when used on a modern PC, rely heavily on a keyboard. I use mine constantly, and though I'm not what I would normally call a particularly picky user... I'm starting to have some issues.

I may be on the early side of that particular designation, but I'm pretty sure I qualify, right? Born in the late '80s, some college but no degree, blah de blah. Yep.

So here's the deal. I've spent the last 3 months looking for a new job. I've applied for quite a few, as a receptionist, at call centers, more than a few sales positions from Best Buy to Target... all in all, I've sent out probably 10 or 12 resumes/applications.

I've gotten a call back on all of 2, and an interview out of only 1.

That's the name that shows in my tab when I look at my "my account" page.

I do not understand.

Melanie E.

A tale of storms, poisons, and misdirection.

Today I am officially starting my third decade of life.

Interestingly enough, I've been a contributing member of BCTS for just short of a third of the time I've been on the face of the planet! Weird huh?

Melanie E.

I am SO. FREAKING. BEHIND.

I think everyone here's seen just how dead my writing, or even reading on the site has been of late. I could make excuses, but there's really only one reason behind it all: I just can't seem to make myself do it.

PFH? 1/3 done. Phoenix Soars? 2/3. I have various other projects hovering between 1/4 and 3/4 done, and plans for oh so many more, but it seems like if I manage 500 words in a month any more I've pushed myself hard. It's just... ugh.

We authors here at BC are blessed by our readership.

Really! BC has a large, mostly active community of readers and writers, and comments on stories are quite common, which is a wonderful change from the majority of other fiction sites I've seen, even mainstream ones. The community here is supportive of new writers, positive in their outlook on most tales, and generally a great place to be a part of.

Now, having gotten THAT out of the way, on to the point of this blog.