In many ways, it seems like 2008 and 2009 were the years of vanishing authors of multi-part stories.

Scanning through hundreds of stories, I've hit upon many that started off quite interesting, then just ... stopped.

I've already mentioned Toni Trepasso.

Jesse Rabbit wrote Elan Owen - http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/7094/elan-owen - and then disappeared. The last comments were about having some issues, but hoping to post up more stories, and then nothing.

Taveena was writing Netherworlds, which was looking fun - http://www.bigclosetr.us/topshelf/fiction/12050/netherworlds... - then stopped.

I'm reading several other stories in that period that I'm pretty sure weren't completed as well.

Theide, on the other hand, has been writing, but Rhysling's Rue - http://www.bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/11516/rhysling039s-rue - just sort of stopped. (Same time period for the others)

I think that in many ways, what hurts most about these stories isn't that they weren't completed, it's that there was no closure with the authors themselves. No, "I just don't think I can complete the story." Or "My wife is taking away my computer." or even "I've been diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer."

The TG community, from what I've observed over the years, is secretive, paranoid, and prone to extreme depression and mood swings. Unfortunately, those first two don't help the last one. Sometimes I wonder if there could be some sort of encrypted central database that could be accessed when someone goes 'dark' for too long, and then contact could attempt to be made to find out what happened. We know about Bob, and Stan, and Holly, but how many others are gone that no one knows where they were, what their legal name might have been, or what happened to them at the end. Suicide, jail, institutionalized, homeless, moved to another country, victim of violence?

I understand _why_ TG are victimized so much. Animals are driven to attack those things that are strange, and anyone that looks different has always been a target. That doesn't make it right. Personally, I don't care what people want to do, as long as I'm not forced to join in. As George Carlin put it, if two guys want to put on Bugs Bunny suits and beat each other to death with giant steel dildos - more power to them, but if they try to do it to someone else; that's another story.

Me? I don't suffer from the medical problems some folks here have. I don't suffer from Gender Dysphoria. I have curiosity, and need escapism - transformational stories do that for me. I love to stretch my imagination, and have liked this genre since Heinlein and Chalker were both still alive. (I don't know if Chalker is dead, but you get the picture) Prior to that, I read Asimov, Andre Norton, and many other works that dealt with transformations of various sorts. Even so, I understand what's going on. I've always tried to deal with people as they want to appear. Wear a kilt, I'll call you sir. Wear a dress, I'll probably call you ma'am. Wear a dress and have a full beard, and I'll ask how you want to be addressed. (Montrose was an interesting area in the 90's)

I'll ask this of the people that read this thread. If you know someone that WAS posting a story, but stopped, please ask them to stop by and let people know what happened, or at least that the reason the story stopped wasn't due to something truly bad happening, but rather life happening.

Thanks
BW