It wasn't bad but I echo some of the critiques: it defnitely had some bloat and some of the action could have been trimmed. Honestly while the beginning connected the end of the first tailing into the other I don't think it was terrible though it could have been trimmed a bit. I don't want to get into the plot much except Jake now has a family and it really gets into that dynamic.

I would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and hope that 2023 will be an improvement over 2022.

This has been a hectic and challenging year for me. I had great plans to release a book a month - such are the plans we make, eh?
I still am working on so many books, I might just finish a few in 2023 - I'm not being as optimistic as I was last year, as there are too many things to stop me.

But, I have actually finished one, just in time for Christmas - Fading Memories

So I have submitted "the girl with the scars in her eyes", and "Gibraltar falls" to a Canadian magazine.

I will know if they accept it sometime in the next 6-8 weeks.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, okay?

I got an interesting email the other day from Karen Lea. She was letting me know that life has slowed from its craziness, retirement I guess, and after reading some kind words from me she wanted to let me know that she got inspired and re-examined her tale "Educating Danielle". Anyway, long story short, she has had it professionally edited and it has been formatted and she has placed the first half on Amazon. She has completed the tale.....it was previously unfinished...... and the second half she hopes to have up around Christmas.

Posting the first chapter of the new Masks book has driven home that I have not done this in a while. I'm having to re-learn stuff I should already know. I hope folks - including those who manage this site - bear with me.

- the final countdown begins!

This is the start of an idea for a story, based on "Educating Special Boys in the Feminist Republic" by Torrey Grover. It's about a kid who doesn't really identify as a boy, but also doesn't identify enough as a girl to be brought into the program for "special boys". I'm posting it here in my blog, instead of with my stories, because I haven't heard back from Torrey yet, but I'm also wondering if people think it's close enough to the original story for it to work in the universe Torrey created.

Looking for a story, but only vaguely remember the details.

Seriously? This little item is being advertised as gender free on my Facebook feed.

Since Sunday the temperature has rarely reached 0c!

The novel by Ursula K. LeGuin, of course. I saw it referred to recently and realized that I didn't remember anything but was sure I had read it. It turns out that I had read it more than once as my old paperback is quite battered. This story from over fifty years ago seems as if it could have been written with todays headlines in mind. My favorite of her Hainish universe books remains The Dispossessed, but anyone thinking about gender or the national political discourse on the meaning of patriotism will be intrigued by this book.

Dr. Big McLarge Huge tells it like it is (well, with some exaggeration):

https://www.empoweredcomic.com/comics/1670081235-EMP10%20p.4...

Yes, it's amazing so many supers (both heroes and villains) make it to retirement age at all, much less remain legally competent in their senior years. Remember that Energia has already had one (fortunately mild) concussion.

There seems to be a problem with Samantha Michelle's Storysite (Samantha MD).
I have tried at least once a day for the last 10 days to view it looking for new stories and have not been able to.
A message appears that the server isn't responding.
I hope is all is well with Samantha and hopefully it is just a minor equipment problem.
And yes, I did see the newest part of her latest story was posted Friday.

Okay so today I was doing a little taxi service for Sharon and Sam, and while they were out shopping in a mall Mom and I went to the food court and got supper.

On our way back to the car, a little boy, maybe about 3 or 4, came up to me and proudly showed off the candy cane he had.

I told him "wow", the kid's dad grinned and kind of blushed, and mom and I went on our way.

Every once in a while, God throughs a little goodness my way, to remind me its not all darkness in the world, and today I really needed it.

I've been under the weather the past two or three days. I thought the cough I had was due to the damp weather combined with the dust raised by the work I'm having done in the basement. Said coughing was bad enough that I had to use my inhaler a few times.

Barney Frank popped up on TV celebrating the Same Sex Marriage act.

My stomach turned at the sight of him.

Am I wrong or did this twisted old man not set back trans rights several decades when he caved to get LGBQ equality passed?

Jill

Roommate/caretaker requirements:
I have a large bedroom whom I am willing to give a trans girl a good place to live, all utilities paid, and shared food bills. Full laundry and kitchen. Dogs/cats are welcome.

In exchange I would need someone with a car. she would be required to run occasional errands, do minor housekeeping, and take out the trash.

For at least the last fifteen years, the majority of websites have used a "freemium" approach to business. They sell advertising to cover their costs while not charging for the content. This leads people to believing everything on the internet is free.

It isn't!

BC costs money to maintain. The 200,000 unique visitors a month it attracts allows Erin to sell advertising. However, that advertising only generates a fraction of the revenue needed.

Well hello, my lovelies.

I am still alive, for the moment.

I did survive 2 rounds of Covid & at least 4 shelter quarantines & close contact, because of outbreaks.

It has been some time, since I updated you & believe it or not, things have slightly gotten better….. but nothing is without its consequences.

Most of my time is spent either writing, or watching movies on my computer. All too often I recognize scenes and situations from one movie story in another. I wonder if there is some group that keeps track of these things and use their lawyers to keep from getting caught impinging on copyrighted material from another work? "Marvel" seems to spend lots of time skirting the edge of legality. There was an author on BCTS who featured Strap on Wings in their work, and then died in Europe. I have seen those wings in more than one Marvel movie. Interesting.

and time marches on!

I was looking at my stories, and I didn't know I last posted 5 years ago. I hope, that nobody forgot my stories. I got 4 more chapters, and I have about 4 more stories written.

This only affects a small select few here on this channel with most of this info. Some may be informative to most trans. I still wish to share. If the VA you are going to doesn't full fill your needs then check with another one. Three years ago Amarillo informed me I had aged out of TG care. They would treat me as a vet but not trans. Switched to OKC and received more support than I knew what to do with. Keep in mind I was supplying them with forty years of knowledge about the mental and medical knowledge of trans in return. Most my doctors knew, some they didn't.

Maybe I was really in a bad accident, lying in a hospital bed, out of my mind on painkillers.

November, coulda done without your legacy!

I spent a lot of yesterday trying to piece together a “meeting of the minds” between Jennifer Monroe and Travis Miller. Travis was one of the guys who left her for dead on the side of road in Missoula, Montana. Three years later, she returns to Missoula to confront her past tormentor:

I want to know if this is a good example of “gas-lighting”:

“It Can Only Go Up From Here”
Chapter 8 “Not Just a Girl” (snippet)

of mice and men....

I really ... really wish I could have a father/daughter relationship with my dad. When I first came out to him, I wasn't especially surprised when he had issues with me saying I was his daughter. But ... it's been a few decades since then. I'm pretty lucky, when compared to others, because my dad is willing to see me, and tells me he loves me. But, deep down inside me, there's still a little girl who wants to be held and cuddled by her daddy. I guess that may sound silly for a 58 year old woman to say, but that's how I'm feeling right now.

Would my friends here please consider this? Samirah Johnson - known here as Violetfyre and on Facebook as Meave (Her primary FB account was hacked at the same time as mine)

Samirah lives in the Richmond area and has had virtually no help from her family The note below references her circumstances.

Amy Schnieder won the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions. She outplayed a formidable field to win the $250,000 prize.

She has become the most successful female Jeopardy contestant ever, and is Jeopardy's first trans champion.

Jill

I am thankful for all of you, readers, writers and supporters. And not forgetting our staff and helpers. Or absent friends like Bob Arnold.

This month marks the 23rd year I have been privileged to help present BigCloset/TopShelf as a friendly place to read, write and discuss TG fiction.

Thank you all,
Erin

I have just posted a story based on fact entitled "Discharged - Female"

I had heard about these forced sex changes in South Africa and so I researched it a little and discovered more about the whole horrific thing, and that the number of mutilated victims was larger than I thought. Some stories have been told but many more have been buried. I did not access the findings of the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" but I do understand the reasons why the post-apartheid government would want to bury the sins of the past in a bid to move forward as a mixed society.

so yesterday, I went to the endo doctor's office, and ran into the doctor who had been treating me when I was part of the bariatric program, and she complimented me on the growth I've had since then.

I really needed to hear that.

I tell ya, its the weathers fault!

Okay, so here's the breakdown of The Mockreet. I can't believe I have to type this out, but here we go:

Timeline 1(Faedrye): Lyra appears in the body of Micah Lavoric, she lives in Auglire with her sister Sheena Rossi. She's been abducted due to Calliope's idiocy and now Sheena is searching for her. Lyra is now hiding amongst a group of would-be revolutionaries led by Quinn Mallory in their fight against both the High Landy and a smuggler named Old Jaf.

I just finished reading a Wiki piece on the Eroticism of Islamic thought. The gist of it is that men are sexually attracted to a covered woman. And, generally women like being sexually attractive. In my years attempting to be a practicing Muslim woman, I liked being covered and really felt secure in the full face covering. The article strips the mystery away for me, not that I think there is anything wrong with being modestly covered. I think that being Muslim or not, generally men like to be in power over women. The Quran and Bible reinforce this. It's a funny funny world isn't it?

As usual with home improvement projects, installing a new shower, and adding a sink and commode in the basement is taking longer and costing more than anticipated. The contractor is currently in the basement with a concrete saw, cutting out the floor.

Clay pipe under the floor is a good choice (in this case made in 1940) if you assume never having to excavate. It doesn't corrode. However, it is fragile. Argh. Tying modern plumbing drains into it is also a problem. Oh, and none of this is vented, so they have to add that.

'At least 32 transgender and non-binary people have been killed in the US this year, the Human Rights Campaign said yesterday in its annual report.

America's largest LGBT political lobbying organisation found that transgender people of colour made up 81% of known victims, with more than half (59%) of victims being black. Trans women accounted for 81% of the deaths.

The report said the number of fatalities was likely to be an underestimate because deaths of trans people often go unreported or victims are misgendered.' (Associated Press)

but you can blame the weather!

So, we went to Sam's doctor today and got some good news.

Her CT scan showed no problems, which means whatever is wrong with her, it's not being caused by a tumor or a stroke or anything of that kind.

Which means that as was suspected at first, this is a psychological issue, or possibly a chemical imbalance, or maybe a bit of both.

We're a long way from a cure, but I think this was a major step forward.

Found this Ikea commercial on Beverly Simmons' Youtube channel (she curates short video clips of gender transformations in movies, TV, and other media).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTAFWOU9vyw.

As far as I can tell, the channel has only been active for several days. She's been posting multiple clips each day. Magical transformations aren't my particular thing but I know there are lots of besties on this site who would enjoy these little video snippets.

Hugs,

Sammy

At the going down of the Sun and in the morning, we remember them.

Okay so last night I think I had one of my best dreams ever.

I was an officer of the law, chasing a dangerous criminal in the mountains of British Columbia.

And I was amazing.

Strong, smart, and above all fearless, I overcame obstacles in my way with ease.

Sadly, the dream ended just as I had the bad guy cornered, but I have no doubt that version of me would succeed.,

That day that means perhaps more to some than others, myself included.

Can Joni escape the mall before she has to give Donna flirting lessons?

I've been wondering about two stories, and what happened. Anastasia Allread wrote Healing a Princess, and Admiral Krunch did Christina Chase. Both have lain fallow since the last chapters were written, though neither story felt finished to me.

Penny Lane's Somewhere Else Entirely seems to periodically get charming carry on chapters.

I suppose HAP could have ended with one more chapter? It is not said what happens to Christina Chase though there is a strong implication that something would follow.

I'm thinking of reading all three of these stories again.

Gwen