Hi all, I wanted to start off by saying I'm sorry to everyone who expected to see more That's How the System Works last year. I wanted to let everyone know what I have been up to regarding my writing. One of the problems I have encountered often as I write the story is that new ideas often pop into my head, ones I want to incorporate into the story, but may not always mesh properly with the existing cannon of the story. For example, I began writing this story in 2006, focusing on how I treated my own grandfather (yes, I incorporated nearly all of the details of what I did to him and its consequences into the story). The "punishment" I put on Amber reflected my own guilt, but with a transformation twist. As time went on, I began therapy as part of transitioning M2F. During this therapy, I began dealing with my guilt and eventually learned to let go of it. Once this happened, I no longer felt I could keep the punishment as a main focus and instead decided to add some different elements.

Since I never knew how the story would end as I wrote it, I tried to incorporate even more ideas into a what eventually became a totally different premise. I now have a fully planned plot for Amber, and an end to her specific telling of events, but the story won't end with her. Seeing how several authors have created successful "universes", I have chosen to do the same. Amber's journey won't be completely over, but once I finish with my current project (retconning, rewriting, reediting, and finally finishing the current "That's How the System Works" story), I want to begin writing other stories in what I have come to call the Orphan Universe.

I am also still working on my coming of age story, which now tentatively has the title "A Rose By Any Other Name" (pending research to make sure no other story exists with that title). This is a sentimental story focusing on the transition of a young m2f trans* girl. This story has been difficult to write because of incorporating real life issues that trans* individuals face. It will not be a cheery, full of sunshine story. It will have some very dark themes accompanied by moments of happiness. The story will include violence against at least one trans*person, the kind of thing that can happen in real life. This story now has approximately 30 chapters, but since I didn't want to run into the same kind of "retconning issues" I faced with THtSW, I won't be posting it in installments.

I hope you all are well.
Take care,
Danielle