I just noticed that in five weeks I'll have been a part of BCTS for three years. Since I'll probably totally miss the anniversary I thought I'd go ahead and reflect on it now.

It was actually just a few weeks before discovering BC that I discovered TG fiction on the internet period. The very first story I read was Sheena by Jennifer Lorissa Leigh. It was really a remarkable discovery to me; here was someone who had put into words the fantasies that had been a part of my life since I was a kid. I used to go to sleep at night thinking of fantastic ways that I might wake up a girl, things like aliens or magical beings that would transform me as I slept. I had to think in those terms because, growing up in the deep south in the seventies, that was the only way I could possibly conceive of my dream coming true. It wasn't until after I'd left home that I learned there was such a word as transgendered, and as a kid I knew without a doubt that if I let slip a word of what I felt inside I'd probably be lucky if all I got was beat up.

To commemorate my discovery of TG fiction, I read Sheena again tonight. Oh I know, some might say it's a very formulaic "boy into bimbo" story, but let's not forget it was first posted to FM ten years ago, and it's my understanding that it was around before that site even existed, back in the BBS days. So in a way, Sheena isn't formulaic, it is the formula. If you haven't read it I encourage you to do so, but be warned, it does contain graphic sex. It also has a deliciously long, detailed transformation scene that sets a standard few have equaled.

Sheena was in part inspiration for my own Genomorph. I envisioned my alien machine along the lines of the one used to entrap and transform unsuspecting college boys by Dr. Barbara Curi. Another of Jennifer's stories, a body swap tale entitled Brandi was also the inspiration for my heroine's name.

If you do decide to check Sheena out, I encourage you to also read its unofficial sequel, Sheena: Your Times of Pleasure by Richard Lawson, which can also be found on FM. Richard took Jennifer's basic concept and explored it much more deeply, showing us the aftermath of what happened in Sheena. It's really quite bittersweet in the end; if you don't feel like crying when Arnie thinks, "Goodbye Jeremy, it was good to know you", well, I just think your tear ducts must be broken.

For those of you who may be wondering, yes, I am hard at work on the sequel to Genomorph, which I'm now calling Genomorph: Valkyrie Rising. I expect to have it ready to go by the end of the year, along with a revised and expanded version of the original.

So, three years down, almost. Here's to many, many more!

Scott