I have over 3000 words of Chapter 16 of Tamara's Trials ready to roll, It's been edited, re-edited and re-re-re-edited but I can't use it, yet!

The Tammy stories are written against dates and the chapter written for Monday 26th Jan should be 2nd Feb! So, I have nothing ready for Chapter 16 as of 1430 GMT, the chapter already written will become number 21 or 22 or 23 etc, eventually!

Can I manage 2000 words plus in the next few hours? Let's see!

Shiraz

Thursday, I rolled over in bed and on top of Felix's laptop. I then proceeded to move it further out of my way with my knee. Long story short, I cracked the screen. I felt bad. I felt horrible. And I should feel those things because, as everyone knows, I am a bad, horrible person.

I didn't know I cracked the screen until Felix came home and went to use his laptop. Only made matters worse. I guess I could have lied and said I had no clue, but I fessed up.

Here are some TG facts and I'm not surprised

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/22/t...

shalimar

Just a thought...

Get 'em while they're hot! First come, first serve!

Recently at work there was perceived racial slur in a comment overheard by a third party and as a result we were all issued a copy of the company's unlawful harassment policy, which I quote below.

last night I had the weirdest dream:

I dreamed that I was a robot who was piloting my real human body. I would watch what I was doing on the screen and run the controls. Then a female robot came in and was helping me pilot and I found out that the female robot was supposed to control my wife. The end of the dream we were talking to our daughter but through my male body. If I leaned the left side of my face towards my daughter, it was me. The other side was my wife. We were trying to see how insane we could make our kid.

Wild, right, or insane.

A thocht f' a' ye attendin' ain.

A SOLITARY PATH

As I Walk’d By Mysel

by Robert Burns.

As I walk’d by myself, and talk’d by myself,

Myself said unto me:

Look to thyself,take care of thyself, For nobody cares for thee

I answer’d myself, and said to myself,

In the self same repartee:

Look to thyself, or not look to thyself

The self same thing will be!

I can't let my muse listen to the radio.....

There was a piece on public radio's "The World" today, about a woman who was hired to chauffeur some Saudi royal princesses around on their visit to L.A.

It was a fascinating story of cultural gulfs, economic gulfs, and how in so many ways, their world was so different from the 'little people' they interact with every day, they may as well have been from another planet.

What happened to Among the Val Kyr?

Cattherine Linda Michel

I want to support BC but am being frustrated.

I tried last week and again tonight to make a donation on Janglewood. Each time the site rejects my credit card. I know the card is good.

Does anyone have any idea how to overcome this issue?

Has anyone else had similar issues?

Thanks!

Jennifer Sue

the time- where did it all go.

Today should be a happy day, but it's not. Not really. It is my birthday and I turned 4 - oh no today. So it is time to put away the pretty little dresses and the rumba pants, time to put the petticoats in storage, and time to say good bye to the party dresses, the footed pajamas, and the one piece swimsuits with the little tutus. I will have to say good bye to my old friends Barbie, Ken, and Skipper. The Barbie corvette is up on blocks and the pink power wheels jeep is being sold on craigslist.

But there are things to look forward to.

I'm now experiencing the dreaded purple background. Definitely makes reading a bit more of a challenge. (chrome on Android 4.4.2)

My latest book; CHANGED FORTUNE - sequel to

Just wanted to says it's nice to see New Authors . I personally want to say welcome and KUDOS the first story is now over so the hard part is done now on to the next story . Hugs Richie2

The white stuff has visited these parts several times this week, the current load being the biggest fall since Christmas. It has been pretty cold with it, temperatures struggling to get into positive numbers - am i glad for the central heating! I'm working hard on the Gaby cook book - it's forcing me to do some cooking, i enjoy doing it but i'm generally rather bone idle! I'm not going to tell you what i've been cooking, you'll find out when i'm done but i am about halfway through the menu!

I finally closed the book on one of the three ongoing stories I'm juggling.

And I breathed a sigh of relief that I only had two tales to attend to...

(Apologies. I embrace alliteration when exhausted)

...but this clean space on my virtual desk is now becoming the itch that must not be scratched....

I've been dying to write a sci-fi (ish) first-contact story for a while now.

Of course it has a TG element, or I wouldn't be mentioning it here. ;-)

The longer I resist, the stronger the urge to start becomes.

I said some time ago that I had never seen 'The Princess Bride', so a lot of in-jokes escaped me. It was shown on UK television recently, so I caught up with it on the I-Player internet system. I enjoyed it... but it was largely filmed on familiar ground.

**********
If you want to be accepted; live an ordinary life, conform to the roles that society expects of you, color within the lines and appeal to the greatest majority of people that you can

But if you want to be extraordinary, be true to yourself; dare to be honest despite what is in vogue, quit worrying about what anybody else will say, and stop bitching about how hard your life is. In the immortal words of William Goldman 'Life is pain, anyone who says differently is selling something.

Why is it so much easier to start than to finish?

I guess it's also easier to just stop than to "finish" as well.

I knew I had to finish what I started with Dead Ringer because it seemed to be getting away from me and turning into more of an action thriller than the tale of survival and triumph of the trandgender protagonist that I originally intended.

I also really had to get out of the bad guy's head. It was giving me nightmares.

I love all the authors here. The act of putting a story out there for others to read and comment on is pretty dam brave.

But I think there are a few who have written stories that deserve a bigger audience, so I'd like to take a moment and give them a plug.

"The Chrysanthemum Inheritance" By Nicki Benson. This story is hard to describe. It starts with a body switch, becomes a murder mystery, and then ends with an alien meme that can strip a person of their individuality.

Hello all,

I just wanted you to know that I have some ideas starting to churn their way through. Hopefully, I can get something concrete and posted before too long.

I also was wondering, so this will be an informal poll, which side would you all prefer me to write a Star Trek Online-themed story about?
A Starfleet Officer, a Klingon Warrior, or a Romulan Refugee? Please note: just because they say Starfleet, Klingon, or Romulan, race is still up for grabs.

Thanks,

Drakira

Recently, everything I read on big closet comen up on my screen (Samsung Galaxy Tab●4) with a purple background. Now, for those of us who don't see as well as we used to, this makes reading more difficult especially when the font size is small.

I recently had to stop reading a story because of this. It didn't help that I wasn't finding the story very entertaining. (It just wasn't my cup of tea, eh?)

Erin, this an official complaint.

This morning BC seems to be going through a rearrangement on my iPad (there have been recent problems for iPad readers) and before I knew it I had for the first time posted on a 'Forum'. That woke me up to examine the home page further and I discovered 'Statuses'

Is there such a word as 'statuses'? A check of the dictionary suggests there is and it is the preferred plural of 'status' despite sounding odd. But what does it mean for a BC member? Is it like Facebook? Do you want to know that I was awoken today by the grunts and cries issuing from a passing dragon boat?

Obama is coming to campus on Thursday and my concern is traffic. To anyone who has had to deal with a presidential visit at their campus or near their workplace I ask the question: Will I have to worry?

I have spent what seems like an inordinate time wondering why I am trans. Oh I know, there are several scientific reasons and more are still awaiting discovery, but I have suddenly found that it isn't really important WHY I am trans, but that I AM trans and, surprisingly, that seems right somehow.

Well, this has been a very interesting week for me. It started with me having this odd urge to look "pretty", followed by feeling very uncomfortable and bloated, having a bit of the runs, and finally, slightly ... er ... lonely ...

In other words, my body tried its very best to simulate a period.

And I blame my friend Jaci. This happens to her every month, and somehow she's given it to me ...

Ah, well.

When was the last time a company made you feel like you were more than a profit center for them?

These days we deal sometimes daily with Insurance Companies, Utility Companies, and even Retail Stores, who all feel they are doing YOU a favor by letting you buy their product.

What happened to the days of companies trying to earn your patronage with kindness and respect? Why have service oriented businesses stopped offering a real service, and instead treat you like a profit center?

Last night a few of us had our first gaming session in the #dungeon room in the IRC chat.

I think it was a success. I enjoyed last nights session. This is my first time being a GM with Pathfinder and I like to think I pulled it off with teaching two new players about how to game in this system, and letting the two experienced players have some fun playing.

This game is being run on Thursdays from 7pm to at least 10pm EST. We actually went to just past 11pm.

The Adventure party is full barring no one drops out. Everyone is welcome to come watch.

It's amazing how much difference time and experience can make in the way that you write a story. Really, it is!

I've been thinking about this a lot this last year, mostly while working with the rewrite of Oh, Cheers, but also now that I'm cleaning up/tightening up Princess For Hire too, it really strikes me just how different my work comes out with more effort put into it.

Early on in the rewrite of Oh, Cheers, I tied to keep things pretty close to the original, but I still found myself changing things quite a bit. I've learned a lot in the last seven years or so.

It's that time of month again. The server bills are due, payments on the debts we owe, and some money to keep Piper from having to look for other work.

Anything you can spare will be appreciated, and if you can't give, well, we know that that happens.

Electronic giving can be done through the Hatbox or through Janglewood or send me a PM for a snail mail address.

Thank you all and Happy New Year!

I occasionally make reference to the weather in Scotland, where the Tammy stories are set, but regardless of how well weather can be described in writing, nothing beats a video.

This was filmed on 9th of Jan and is the ferry between the Orkney Isles and Scrabster, about 4 miles from Thurso. Have your paper bags ready!

http://www.shiraz.me.uk/files/MVHamnavoe.mp4

I think I painted myself into a corner with Dead Ringer, and the only way I could think to get out of it was to go a lot more 'action thriller' than I originally intended.

I am a blessed (or lucky) person, and I know this. I've begun a transition, and still I have been able to have a job, I've still got my family, and none of the horrible things I feared have happened to me.

But despite my blessings, I wish I could have one more.

A person to share my life with.

Ah, well.

I've been feeling a bit down recently, partly post-Christmas blues, partly no work coming in, partly money's tight.

When I last had a major downer, when I was going through divorce and child custody issues, I wrote. That was when, in 2008, some of my stories started and many of the story threads I imagined are now being written into something coherent.

Hi everyone.

Through reading many of the comments by authors and readers here on BC, I know that many of us are gamers of the role-playing kind.

It's still being worked on but a few of us are going to start gaming in the IRC Chat in the #dungeon room.

The room isn't permanent, but it's still being worked on. Also there isn't a dice rolling module in the chat yet either but I've been told that's being worked on as well

I am not a site admin, but after a few of us in the IRC chat professed an interest in gaming, this came about.

My radiators have been fixed so hopefully no more water dripping about the place. My house feels nice and warm again and I'll shall sit down before I open the bill when it arrives.

Did a bit more cycling today but my fitness is well down after my cold. My mileage for last year was the lowest for ages, so I hope to do better this. My daughter seems to be feeling a little better as well, so perhaps things are going to improve at last.

As a technophile, the annual CES in Las Vegas in January is always fun to follow, although my new job has interfered a bit.

But, I thought this article about some of the side activity this week was very funny!

http://recode.net/2015/01/08/this-is-the-unofficial-brothel-...

And since working girls sometimes feature in our stories, it also provides some interesting background material.

All the best!

Russia has included in their infinite wisdom to ban all sexual disorders from holding a driver's license. A short list and by no means inclusive, transgender, cross dressers, homosexual, gay, lesbian, and probably anyone carrying or even thinking of porno. I wonder if women are allowed to wear pants and drive? Funny but I didn't realize how one dressed, considered sex, or gender affected their driving abilities. Unless of course we included chains and whips and all that other kinky stuff that could affect one's ability to operate a motorized vehicle.

Perhaps it is time to clear the air?

Often I write about other cultures, and to be authentic in those stories there is often some element of religion to keep it all in context. There are many places in the world where even though one might be an atheist, they must either pray in the streets or hide until everyone is done. I don't actually care what your beliefs are and if you confront me about them, it will be a waste of time. That element was only in the story to depict realistic situations.

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt's 8-Year-Old Daughter 'Wants To Be Called John.

TRIGGER WARNING: TRUSCUM!

This cute comic depics a serious issue:
http://assignedmale.tumblr.com/image/107391530817

Unfortunately for Sandrx they very much exist. In my old group we called them Benjies (Harry Benjamin Standards of Care) as they actually think there is such a thing as a "true Transsexual."

"Transgenderism and BDSM"

I wanted to open a discussion on the article on this subject here because I think that it would be beneficial.

I want to thank the people here who support me and my work. I just received my 70th review on Unreachable and my 40th review on God Bless the Child on Amazon. Also, The Dress Punishment is well over 40k reads (who keeps reloading the page?) It is incredibly humbling to see people take time to read and comment on something I produced when I know there are so many other great authors out there.

So here we are, 2015 and the start of a year which promises to be every part as exciting as 2014. The immediate news is that i've fixed the problems with last weeks chapter link and Culture Clash is now available in the full version for your Kindle, as a pdf and a paperback.

Rather than give a timetable here are my aims for scribbling for 2015
•Gaby Cookbook
•New Nena story
•Gaby book 14
•completion of Anja & the Druid

I would like to do more than this but its very dependant on available time!

Please visit this and please leave comments please Miranda's a real talent.

http://shimmerverse.com/?page_id=8

At present I have ten transgender fiction ebooks for sale at Amazon.

So. New Year's Eve, and when I came to log on I found my systems wouldn't let me. A quick check and one of my servers, the important one, had died. Some belt and braces rearrangement and I carried on, just about. Then yesterday, another computer died...

In tonight's posting of Love's Shame, Love's Salvation I introduce a wonderful piece of music (my opinion): Mahler's Second Symphony, The Resurrection. It is a profound work, and I encourage you to listen to it, if only the last movement. I know what they say about opinions; however, in my non-professional music opinion, it ranks among the greatest symphonic works of the late 19th century. Even if you don't read my story, please click on the link(s), sit back, and enjoy.: