So surgery went well. I am in the massively boring part where I lie around and sleep. Let me say that I never thought that ice packs could be your friend. The area is lovely from what I've seen and even the hospital room wasn't that bad. Well the sleepy has befallen me so...

Take care and I'll type at you later.

Finally, I see a crack of dawn, the early light that promises a new day is coming. The last three years have been agony on me as I lived daily in fear that my life was going to be ended.

9:31 a.m.

I'm at a desolate, deserted Souter Point on England's gloomy north-east coast. And I'm far from happy.

Ever since St Augustine suggested that humans had free will ( he had to or it implied his god was responsible for everything) there have been others who argued that we didn't. The evidence is mounting to show that we're a mass of influences beyond our control from our genes to our environment, culture and almost anything else you care to name.

This lengthy article is worth the effort to read.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/19/do-your-genes...

A millenia ago an act of anger by a scientist called Silvinas changed our world to his fantasy. The war between the races is again erupting with help from Silvinas. This is a time for men to be real men, women to be real women and dragons to sing old Lennon and McCartney songs.

This can be found at this link; ( btw: BC gets some profit if your click and buy from this link !)

to any who might wonder about the picture on my blog answers, it is old faithful, a geyser, in Yellowstone park.

The doctor picked up the package of birth control pills, “How do these pills EFFECT or AFFECT you?”

Rebecca realized that this was more of a grammar question, than a medical question, so she replied, “The pills AFFECT my body, by overcoming the testosterone my body may make. The estrogen works to feminize my body.”

Proper use?

There is more than one way to keep track of your character and their characteristics, as evidenced by the comments made in response to my previous blog entry concerning character sketches.

I'm sure others have seen this: http://www.autoblog.com/2015/03/17/woman-refuses-to-help-tee...

I was trying to be funny with the title, I'm not that narcissistic (or am I). Anyway, I created a couple of memes, if you like them, please post them on your facebook wall or whereever you would like. There are three.

When we were actively publishing it seemed I spent half my time warning wannabe writers to watch for the con artists. Writers give birth to a story. Because it is their baby they are willing to do almost anything to see it in print. Whether they are thinking of being the next Tom Clancy and famous and rich or just famous, the author stops thinking of risk.

I'm not a big fan of the sun most of the time, but today?

Today is beautiful.

It's in the high 60's, and the birds are out singing, the insects and frogs and other wildlife are joining in, the air is fresh after a few days of rain, and it's just absolutely gorgeous, the kind of day you want to throw the windows open and just let the fresh air wash away all the staleness from a stuffy, enclosed winter.

So, that's just what I've done.

Some of you may find this interesting ....... http://www.buzzfeed.com/arabellesicardi/trans-teen-jazz-jenn...

I think I figured out what the outcome of the great bathroom debate will be (to be referred to as Flushgate from here on out).

In the future there will be a wall of doors leading to bathroom stalls. Signs for 'Men' and 'Women' will be replaced with Cis Men, Cis Women, Transmen, Transwomen, Agender, Polygender, Androgynous, gay man, gay women, bi men, bi women, furry - canine male, furry - canine female, furry feline male.... etc.

Thank you to everyone who has bought 300 Rains since it came out. You all are awesome. I was also informed that it will be released in print format in a week or so, so there is that. But seriously, you all helped me get better as a writer and the success of my book does help me know that. So thanks.

Also, I am planning on revising Transitioning Home next, so it will get pulled at some point. I have a number of ideas for revisions so while similar, any version I put out will be different. Just wanted to let you know so it's not a total surprise when it vanishes.

In the US, it's pi day: 3.14!

In the UK, I guess it isn't but have some pie anyway. :)

And in France... let them eat cake.

Hugs,
Erin

I have avoided talking about this for a while, but I finally decided I needed to share this bit of news.

I am in serious financial trouble.

Thanks to a budgeting exercise my sister in law helped my mom and I with, we discovered that we are in the hole for $ 600 a month.

Six ... hundred ... dollars ... short ... every ... month.

obviously, that's not sustainable.

So we're trying to find a cheaper place to live, and working where we can to get this under control.

Yesterday I had a Dentist visit to have my first tooth extracted at age 66 not bad . I spent almost 2 1/2 hours with the dentist drilling , pulling and drilling some more then pulling and so on finally she called it quits ( I was very happy ) . Now we leave the tooth rest and she said the roots should push up on there own . Round 2 is scheduled for 3/27 I hope it come out then so I can put it under my pillow and see what the tooth fairy leaves me to help pay the bill .
I am OK other than I look I a Chip-muck named Alvin.
The joys of age

With no pressure of the website update I've had time to be ill for a couple of days this week! You don't escape though, there is a new chapter here on BC today.

Mads

Posted, just cause this made me smile.

I was in line this morning. I guess it is important to note that sometimes I go out pretty androgynous when I simply want to get a cup of coffee and a little something for breakfast. I'll get ma'am, I'll get sir, it doesn't really matter to me at that point in the morning as long as I get served.

Anyway, I was in line this morning talking to an acquaintance while the line moved particularly slow. While waiting another acquaintance of ours came through the door and went towards the back for the energy drinks.

"I remember when it was a she," this guy says to me.

I tried to cut and paste the link to the story here but it did not work. The title goes something like "Gym's transgender policy stirs debate".

This is going to make some of you mad as hell, but this needs to be said. If you are going to start dressing as a woman in public then you need to make some effort. Find the article and listen to it. You can do that much.

Hmm…here is an intersex story idea for someone: male/female fraternal twins who discover that they are actually identical twins.

Well, I had planned to write a little blog on the fact that Barbie seems to have less trouble making a super-heroine aimed at kids than either Marvel or DC comics do, but I think I should talk about some more serious stuff instead.

Anybody who knows me probably knows I struggle with self care a lot.

Not to put too fine a point on it, I suck at looking after myself.

Hi everyone this is just a quick post to let you know where you can find the release dates for the Death Dealer Saga. I have post it to my new face book page. https://www.facebook.com/DeathsOwnDaughter.

I will be continuing with my posts here at big closet but at the urging of more than a few of you I have decided to release the Death Dealer Saga in and e-pub format. I will post updates for any late or early releases of the books.

When writing stories such as scify and such do we sometimes put in so many rules about ones character that we end up bogging ourselves down with said rules for the sake of the story?

By this I mean as we begin to formulate the story we put in some rules that we don't want to break, which is understandable. But when you put in to many rules does it seem to take the fun away from the writing that you decide to give it up or perhaps revamp the rules so that you have a bit more flexibility?

Every week on BBC Radio 4 there are snippets of recorded conversations.

This weeks one is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b054pfn5

The item that caught my interest was about Gender Identity (the 2nd of 3 items in the prog). Are you Mr, Ms, Miss or what when you are living in a gender other than the one you were both with. (Gender Queer in the item).

I'm about three quarters of the way through a Bikini Beach story I know it's Elrods universe, his creation. But I do have a few questions which I guess is all about etiquette and protocol really.
First of all am I right in thinking that it would only be right for me to send him the story first? Although from my understanding Ellie Dauber is another I could send it too first.
Second if either of them are OK with the story how would I go about finding an editor or would they do that as well.

When starting a new work, I take the time to develop my character, sometimes spending an entire day working up the character, his or her background, habits, preferences, etc. By doing so, once I pitch into the story, I have a firm idea how the characters in the story will respond to certain situations as well as having a touchstone I can go back to. There is nothing worse than having a character’s eye color go from brown in Chapter One to blue in Chapter Twelve.

Using this is critical when working with another writer, for it keeps both of you on track and in the same ballpark.

Just ove a week ago I went to this place had found on the internet. Is was the house and shop of a very nice lady who has been helping crossdressers and T-girls for like 20 years.

She helped me get dressed up, advised on clothes and applied my makeup. She actually managed to turn me into a good looking woman, for my age and given that I have been a man for over 40 years. She helped me become Anne for real.

Do I need to say that it was an absolutely wonderful experience?

I now *know* that I am more than cis-gendered male. I am _also_ a woman named Anne.

I would like to see the following on a t-shirt or a billboard:

If you think that I am weird
and you are not,
then not only are you weird,
but you're stupid too.

#LoveOutBullying

Welcome new Authors . Now we need to be nice and encourage them with comments and KUDOS so we can get them to write more stories we enjoy so very much .
WELCOME with HUGS and KISSES :-)

As we approach 2600, I'll ask my customary question, do readers want us (Bonz, Whizz and moi) to continue writing this tale of convoluted undulations? I might add as far as I know the writing team is happy to continue if the answers are positive and our gracious hostess is happy for us to fill up her servers with such tosh.

A, B & W.

any way to hide the more shortcuts at the top, when I am on my phone I need to scroll down to see what stories are out

http://www.wtae.com/health/autistic-man-wins-25m-after-meds-...

Autistic man wins $2.5M after meds gave him 46DD breasts
Family says they weren't adequately warned of drug's side effects

PHILADELPHIA, Ala. —An autistic man has been awarded $2.5 million in a lawsuit against the makers of a medicine he used to treat his condition, which also caused him to grow 46DD breasts.

Every once in a while, I get an insight into myself, and even though its not always good, I think its important for me to share it.

As they say, confession is good for the soul but bad for the reputation, so here goes ...

To give you some context, let me tell you a story.

A few weeks back my brother and sister in law were over, and my sister in law got talking about using excuses when dealing with my behavior. I agree with the idea, taking ownership of my behavior is a good step, so I am gonna do that for one area right now.

Yes, amazingly enough, I've posted two entries in one day. Don't worry, Erin, this will be it for now.

I've read a lot of arguments on one side or the other of the "Plotter vs. Pantser" debate, and so far, they've only served to increase my frustration.

Each side has valid arguments. The trouble is, I've tried both approaches, and get equally bogged down with each one--just in different ways.

4 more days until my Birthday which is on 3/5

I've not experienced being "read" more than a half dozen times in 10 years, but Sunday really burst that bubble.

Being a stubborn drama queen, this was bound to happen. I went to a Baptist church were my daughter attends to see if they would help me reconnect with her. In retrospect, it was an unrealistic Adjustment Disorder that drove this.

Well, I might be no expert on dreams, but when I have two dreams in a row about failure and frustration I think it means something.

The first dream involved me trying to make a meal, and very quickly things went wrong. First, some of the ingredients I bought turned out to be the wrong ones, then some tomatoes I bought were so bruised I couldn't use them, and then just when I thought I was ready to put the dish into the oven I discovered that somehow my dog had jumped into the pan wrecking the meal.

Sorry for taking so long in writing the next chapter for The Unusual Clownfish, I got a little bit sidetracked by another DRU tale. That story is not finished either---I'm taking my time with it and writing it all out before I start posting. In the meantime, I'm trying to get back into Clownfish now. I was going pretty well with it back in October when I got to Ch. 9 and started mapping it out in my head. Unfortunately, it started turning into Divergent---good movie by the way, I'm sad to say I haven't read the book.

Dreams are a strange thing.
We have dreams as a number of things we aspire to.
We have dreams as a personal cinema while we are sleeping.

While I am primarily a Reader/Commenter on this site, i do make a little money, now and then, from B2B Copywriting. So, I can empathize with some of the authors who experience difficulties (writer's block, lost muse, focus, distractions, depression, etc.) in getting projects done.

Well, the last couple of days have been filled with anxiety, and last night I finally put together why.

It goes back to an article on Facebook which was about child abuse, and the idea of making a Valentine's day card for your younger self.. I thought it was a really good idea, and was going to work on making one for the 7-9 year old me, but I didn't realize how much I was triggering myself until my anxiety was at Defcon 5 and you could almost hear the robot from "Lost in Space" going "Danger, Dorothy Colleen, Danger!"

I have had health difficulties since February of 2014. I have been in and out of the hospital for falling when I stand up.(7 days in the hospital and one month recovery at home) I had my fifth toe on my right foot amputated in August after it blew up ( two weeks in the hospital two months recovery) November I was admitted to a mental health clinic for depression ( 8 days in the hospital and daily recovery. February 6th this year I had a heart attack that required emergency surgery to put a stent in. ( I am recovering now and have thirteen more days before I can drive or get excited.

To all who have purchased my new book A Necessary Fiction (and thank you for that!)--

The conversion process duplicated some chapters' text and cut part of one. This was caught by Allison Z and thank you-thank you! I double-checked and it has been published again. The title page of the correct book reads: KBB2152

The recent best actor Oscar winner is starring as Lili Elbe the pioneer transgender woman who died attempting to have a uterus transplanted. If this film wins an Oscar will it be as best actor or actress?

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/27/eddie-redmayne-t...